Home Remodeling in Clayton, DE
Remodeling for the railroad-era houses and the newer homes of Clayton, Delaware.
Clayton exists because of the railroad. The Delaware Railroad reached the spot in the fall of 1855 and called it Smyrna Station; in 1860 the town took the name of John M. Clayton, the Delaware statesman who had pushed for the line, and it was incorporated in 1887 with commissioners told to hire a skillful surveyor and plot the town. For the next sixty years it was a rail hub, the junction for lines to Smyrna, to the bay at Bombay Hook and southwest into Maryland, and division headquarters for the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad from 1885 to 1920. The houses that survive from that era are frame, two stories, close to the tracks and to each other.
The rest of Clayton is newer. The town has been adding houses steadily, enough that its planning committee tracks building permits as a trend line, and the subdivisions on its edges are two-story houses from the 2000s. Dawson's serves both, the century-old house by the station and the twenty-year-old house on the edge of town.
Permits through the Town of Clayton
Clayton issues its own building permits, along with demolition, plumbing and site plan permits, from Town Hall. Its charter gives the town authority over subdivision and development inside the limits, and its planning and zoning committee reviews anything that changes a lot. Addresses just outside the town line fall to Kent County or, for the northern edge, New Castle County, so the first question on any Clayton estimate is which side of the line the house is on.
Railroad-era frame houses
A Clayton house from 1890 is balloon framed, with plaster on lath, a kitchen in a rear wing and a bathroom that was fitted in during the 20th century wherever a closet could be spared. Remodeling one means rebuilding the kitchen in the wing with cabinetry fitted to walls that lean, running new plumbing and wiring through the old chases, and giving the bathroom a proper subfloor, waterproofing and a fan. Additions on these narrow lots go straight back, and the exterior work is siding repair and window replacement chosen to keep the house looking like its neighbors.
The newer subdivisions
The 2000s houses have the open plan already, so the projects are finishes and the basement: a real kitchen in place of the builder's, a tiled shower in place of the tub, and, where the lot allowed a basement, a family room below. Most of these communities have homeowners associations that review exterior changes before the town permit. Clayton is about twelve miles from Dawson's base in Middletown, down Route 13 and across Smyrna.
Ready to plan a remodel in Clayton?
Call Dom with the address and the project, or send the details through the form. The walkthrough is free and the estimate comes in writing.