Home improvement in Newark, DE

Local homes

Newark bathrooms: ranches, split-levels and a lot of original tile

Newark's housing runs from brick ranches and split-levels in older subdivisions like Fairfield and Brookside to the 1970s and 1980s colonials and townhouses around Pike Creek. Split-levels usually put the main full bath on the upper half-level, sometimes over the garage, so we pay attention to the floor framing under the tub and to how the drain lines run down through the level below. In ranches the bath typically sits over a crawlspace or basement, which makes plumbing changes easier to reach from underneath.

Two other requests come up often here. Homeowners who have been in the same house for decades want a low-threshold or curbless shower they can keep using as they get older, and owners of rental houses near the University of Delaware want a bathroom that survives hard use and quick turnovers. The builds differ: the first gets a sloped floor, a linear drain and solid blocking for grab bars; the second gets tough porcelain, a simple layout and fewer grout lines to keep clean.

Communities we cover from Newark

• Pike Creek
• Bear
• Glasgow
• Hockessin
• Christiana
• Brookside
• Stanton
• Ogletown
• Elkton, MD