With Reused Materials, a New Apartment Takes Shape in Dorchester

With Reused Materials, a New Apartment Takes Shape in Dorchester
When Jen Rowe bought her home in 2022, she had in mind to eventually build an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) in the basement. “I have a family member who has a disability, so I wanted a space where they might be able to live down the line, especially if they need more medical assistance and care from family,” Jen said.
She dove in, with an assist from her partner, Jess, who located the original 1896 plans for the house in the city archives, as well as the plans from 1944 when it was converted from a single-family to a two-family dwelling. Jen attended the city’s monthly online ADU workshop and began to sketch out some ideas of how a basement unit might be laid out.

As the plans became more refined, Jen hired an architect friend, Josh Smith of Mythic Architecture, to ensure that everything was up to code, and found a general contractor, Franklin Martins of New England CHR, Inc., to do the work. She also went in person to Inspectional Services and received a lot of helpful feedback prior to submitting the plans for review.  

“I had envisioned doing more of the work myself, but I ultimately hired a contractor, because adding a third unit requires a construction supervisor’s license. It also would have taken a lot longer for me to do it without a general contractor,” Jen said. “It’s always more involved than you might think when you get into it.” Jen had taken BBR’s Working with a Contractor workshop and found it very valuable. “I hadn't had very much experience working with contractors and came away with an understanding of how important it is to prepare a detailed scope of work before getting multiple quotes.”

When the workshop instructor, BBR’s Paul Kiefer, learned that Jen wanted to incorporate reused materials as much as possible, he advised her to find a contractor who was on the same page with that approach. “My contractor is amenable, but that is not everybody, right?” Jen worked with her contractor to come up with a list of things that could be purchased on the reuse marketplace along with deadlines of when the items were needed. Jen and Jess have also received advice and guidance from Vivian and Elisa Girard, longtime customers of Boston Building Resources.

Reuse has both budgetary and environmental advantages. “When I was growing up, my dad instilled in me the importance of reuse and reduce and all of the like,” Jen says. “I try to minimize my impact.”

The reality of the volume of waste that a construction project can generate hit home when a nearby house underwent a full gut-renovation. “The amount of waste that they produced, dumpster after dumpster, was astounding. I knew that demolition creates waste, but I didn't realize the amount. Seeing them throw what looked like perfectly good things was eye opening, and we knew we did not want to do that.”

Most Saturdays, Jen and Jess will stop by the Reuse Center to see what has come in. “Sometimes I’ll call ahead and ask, ‘Are there any doors?’ The folks here have been amazing about checking what’s in stock and answering questions.”

So far, they have obtained several doors, some tile, and a bathroom sink, as well as acoustic ceiling tiles that they’ll use in the utility area to minimize noise made by the laundry and other systems. “It's taken a little bit of asking ahead about what's going to come in, but it's been really nice, working with everyone,” says Jen.

Before starting the ADU project, Jen thought of BBR’s Reuse Center as a place to find light fixtures or décor. “It's great that it's not just the decorative things, but allso the functional, structural things.” She also took the Installing a Window and a Door workshop, which helped her understand how to choose the correct type of door.

In addition to Boston Building Resources, Jen and Jess have taken advantage of programs to make their project possible. Jen bought the home with the City of Boston’s One Plus Boston mortgage, and MassSave provided rebates and an interest-free loan for the HVAC work. “There have been a lot of resources available from BBR, the city, and the state that made this all possible.”