Job Site: Culpeper Street #1


The Off Campus Work Experience's next project started as a simple home renovation in Arlington County. The original plans called for simply improving the outside of the house, landscaping the yard, and making some minor changes inside the house. However, those plans were quickly scrapped in favor of far more extensive and grander plans which the staff felt would make the house much more desirable and give the students more experience in different areas of building trades.

The kitchen was taken apart, the heating system was taken out and the old plaster from the walls and ceilings was removed. Students also removed all the existing electrical and plumbing systems and tore the back side of the upstairs second level off to convert the second level from two bedrooms, one bath to three bedrooms with two and a half baths. The master bathroom was equipped with a jacuzzi.

By the end of the 1991-92 school year, all the windows had been replaced, all new plumbing, electrical wiring and heating were installed, and a deck on the first level had been built. The roof was completely replaced with new gutters added. Additionally, a brand new kitchen with all new appliances was put in place. Ceiling fans, accent lighting, and new doors were added. The front porch got a new roof, new steps, a sidewalk, and driveway.