Adrienne Whitlow
Owner and design-build lead
Draws the first layouts and signs every contract.
Design-build additions, intown Atlanta
We build additions. Our license number is on the shirt.
Whitlow Design-Build draws, permits and builds room additions, second stories and whole-house remodels. One contract, one superintendent on your site every day, and the same state license number on our crew as on this page.
On the crew shirt
Read the shirt
Everyone we send to your house wears the same one. Here is what is on it, and why.
- 1
License number across the shoulders
Our state contractor license number, the same one in the bar at the top of this page. Look it up on the state's site before you sign anything with us or anyone else.
- 2
First name on the chest
You should never wonder who is in your kitchen. Every person on site wears their name.
- 3
Hard hat, glasses and gloves
On every framing, demolition and cutting day. If the work needs it, we wear it, and so does anyone visiting the site.
Shirts are the crew's, the license is the company's. Both are checkable.
What we build
Rooms, floors and walls that weren't there
Six kinds of work, each with its own page. If your project is two of them, that's normal.
Rear and side additions
A family room, a primary suite or a kitchen that grows into the yard.
See rear and side additions
Second-story additions
Bedrooms and baths over a bungalow or brick ranch, with the old house kept dry.
See second-story additions
Bump-outs and sunrooms
A few feet for a bigger kitchen, or a bright room off the back.
See bump-outs and sunrooms
Whole-house remodels
New layout, new systems and a house that works the way you live.
See whole-house remodels
Opening walls and beams
Take out the wall between kitchen and living room without taking out the ceiling.
See walls and beams
Plans, surveys and permits
The drawings and paperwork that come first, whether or not we build.
See plans and permits
How it goes
From the first call to the final inspection
Five steps, in this order, every time.
- 01
Step 1: Site visit
We walk the house and the lot, measure, photograph and ask what the room is for.
- 02
Step 2: Survey and sketch
A measured drawing of what exists, then two or three layouts on paper for you to mark up.
- 03
Step 3: Plans and permit
Construction drawings, an engineer where the structure needs one, and the permit set. We submit and track it.
- 04
Step 4: Build
Site protection first, then foundation, frame and dry-in, then the systems and the finishes. A daily text with photos.
- 05
Step 5: Inspections and walk-through
We book each inspection, and you walk the finished work with a list before the last payment.
Permits
The permit office is part of the schedule
We plan around it instead of promising a date it controls.
Atlanta's city and county permit offices review drawings in a queue, and some neighborhoods add a design review on top. We know which of those your address needs, and we tell you at the first visit, not in month three.
What we check first
Zoning and setbacks checked before you pay for drawings
Historic-district review, where your street has one
Tree protection rules checked before anything is dug
Footing, framing, insulation and final inspections booked by us
Pricing
How pricing works
We don't print a per-square-foot number. We print what moves the price and when you get yours.
What decides the price
Foundation: slab, crawl space or a basement under the new room
How the new roof meets the old one
How much of the existing house is opened up
The kitchen, bath or systems inside the new space
Windows, floors and finishes you choose
What the estimate includes, and what it doesn't
Scope, allowances for items you choose, the schedule and who is on site. It leaves out furniture, landscaping beyond the work area and anything hidden in the existing house until it is seen.
What the design fee covers
Measured drawings, layouts, construction drawings and the permit set. It is a separate line in your contract, and we say in writing whether it is credited toward the build.
How and when you pay
In stages tied to finished work, written into the contract. No payment is due for work that hasn't been done.
If the job changes
A change order, in writing, with the cost and the schedule effect, signed before the work happens.
When you get the number
After the drawings, in writing, before any construction deposit.
Who is on your job
Five of our eight, by name
A small firm on purpose. Three more carpenters work on the crew with Brody and Hieu.
Belisario Alcantar
Site superintendent
On your site every working day. His number is on your schedule.
Aditi Bhargava
Estimator and permit coordinator
Writes the scope and walks it through the permit office.
Brody Aldridge
Lead framer
Runs the framing crew from footing to dry-in.
Hieu Le
Finish carpenter
Trim, doors and built-ins, the part you touch every day.
Sample reviews
What clients say about the work
“They found an old chimney footing before the excavator did. The change order was one page with a photo, and the schedule moved by exactly what they said.”
Amani J.Rear addition
“We stayed in the house for the whole addition. Belisario texted pictures every afternoon, so I never had to ask where things stood.”
Bria L.Primary suite
“I wanted the wall between kitchen and den gone. They brought the engineer's letter to the first meeting and the beam was in on day four.”
Dariush K.Open-plan remodel
Sample reviews.
Where we build
Intown Atlanta, both sides of the county line
A job site needs a supervisor on it every day, and that is what sets how far we go.
- Fulton County: Ansley Park, Morningside–Lenox Park, Peachtree Hills, Brookwood Hills, Collier Hills, Ormewood Park, Reynoldstown, Cabbagetown, Edgewood, Poncey-Highland · Inside the city, permits go through the City of Atlanta.
- DeKalb County: Druid Hills, Lake Claire, Oakhurst, Belvedere Park, Scottdale, Pine Lake · Permits go through the county, or the city of Decatur where the address falls inside it.
We don't build north of the Chattahoochee, in Cobb or Gwinnett counties, or outside the Perimeter in Clayton and Henry counties. Call and we'll say who we'd ask.
ZIP codes: 30307, 30306, 30312, 30316, 30317, 30319, 30324, 30030, 30032, 30033, 30002, 30308, 30315
Questions
Before you call
How does your estimate work, and what does it include?
We visit, measure and photograph, then write a scope: what we build, what we don't, the allowances for things you choose, and the schedule. The design fee covers drawings and the permit set; the construction price follows from them. Nothing is a final price until the scope is in writing.
Do I need a permit, and who pulls it?
Any addition, any structural change and most whole-house work needs one. We prepare the drawings, submit them and pull the permit in your name or ours, as you prefer. Inspections are booked by us and written into the schedule.
My house was built before 1978. What do you do about lead?
Federal rules cover paid work that disturbs paint in houses built before 1978. The exceptions are small: repairs under 6 square feet inside or 20 square feet outside, and even then window work and demolition are always covered. We hold the EPA firm certification for this work; the credentials page shows it. Work areas are sealed, dust is controlled and the site is cleaned to a standard before we leave.
What happens if you find something behind the wall?
We stop, photograph it and tell you the same day. If fixing it changes the cost or the schedule, you get a change order that shows what we found, what we propose and what it adds. Nothing proceeds until you sign it.
Can we live in the house during the work?
For a rear or side addition, usually yes: the new space is built outside the old one and we connect at the end. For a second story or a whole-house remodel, many families move out for some of the build. We plan that with you at the start, with the schedule in front of us.
Start here
Tell us about the room you want
A few lines and a photo or two is enough. Adrienne or Aditi calls back within the business day to set the site visit.