I used Kitchens by Request for my bath. They are up in northern Baltimore County, so I don't know if they'll go as far as Montgomery County (they do projects as far south as Anne Arundel, where I live, and Columbia/Clarksville in Howard). Based on my kitchen remodel experience (which was also top-notch -- I must be very lucky), I would also recommend Stuart Kitchens. They also do baths, and they have a Bethesda location.

We are just finishing our build down in So. MD...plastering tomorrow. We went with A&S and have been pretty happy with them. All of the subs seemed good, especially the decking (Santos.) Not really any issues at all, but it was a little annoying that they normally called and left a message only the day before they were going to do something with the pool, which was a pain when we had to take off work. They are transitioning a scheduler, so that might have been a temporary thing. Also, it seemed like the Sales group has a lot more leverage with price than after you signed the contract. We added some stuff into the addendum (actually easy to do) but the pricing on those items seemed a little high....but not a big deal. As far as the pool is concerned, we haven't gotten it filled, but we're really happy with it. Our backyard was quite a challenge becaus of it being hilly; but the Sales guy came up with a good plan on how to work with it and its looking really good.

Like sixtyohno we also did our own GC. If you are handy and do the proper research you should be abe to GC this on your own. We got a bid from a one stop kitchen place and it was more than triple what we ended up spending for a lot better finished product. I think the most intimidating part of acting as your own GC is finding qualified workers to do each phase of the work. If you try to DIY too much you slow down the job and quality suffers. We ordered our cabinets, paid to have them delivered, hired each contractor individually. Our trim carpenter was excellent and hung all our doors did the trim work and hung our cabinets. We found him after touring model homes and asked the realtor who did the trim work in the house we liked the trim work quaity, they happily gave us contact information. It was nice to see the quality of work they did before hiring them. Tradesmen are a great resource to find experts in a particular field. Talk to them and they usually know other tradesmen that do good work and happily give you a name to call and I always let them know I got their name from X and they highly recommend them and said they do great work. Most take pride in a job well done. When we spoke with the painter we asked who he recommends for drywall, ask drywall guys who they recommend for framing etc. The people that work in a specific trade know what they are doing and if they know the person that they are following I think it makes them take pride in the work knowing they recommended the person doing the job after them. I would not hire a "jack of all trades" they can do it but are not expert at any one trade just adequate at many. We did have to clean up in between contractors which was alot of work, did our own demo and my DH was able to be on site if needed on occasion. With GW as a great resource on any topic you would face you have a army behind you to help make decisions on the things you are not familiar with. Good luck hope to see pictures of your progress soon!

I am using a female-owned business in Upper Marlboro (actually on the south side of Bowie) in MD. They have let me pay in advance, like a layaway for my bathroom marble and I'm starting to pay them for the soapstone for my kitchen. Their name is Granite Grannies, owned by Laurie. (Can't remember her last name, but it's not Granny!) The work in my bathroom was evidently very custom. Set them back a bit to think about it, but they came through. I think my bathroom double vanity (88" long), my window cabinets (54" wide), my show seat (36"x 17") and my two window sills (why not!) are absolutely perfect. They matched grain, they polished beautifully, and I love it. I know they travel a lot around the area, and they've done a lot of historical work. That is how they came to soapstone. I can't wait until I've paid 1/2, because then they'll fabricate. I just continue to pay them. They know my story and are kind about my struggles to get my home done. They said they realized I'd never have the $1000s to do all I'd like to do. They also understand "done once, done right". And I should be able to accomplish what *I* want in my home. So... they let me just send them money all the time. Anyway, they're kind, their work is beautiful, and I recommend them highly. And this is not spam.