Dilworth · 1900s–1920s, with 1930s infill

Charlotte's first streetcar suburb, and the one where the exterior of your house isn't entirely your decision.

Kitchens opened into the old rear porch, primary suites carved out of two small bedrooms, and rear additions that have to negotiate a deep setback.

The thing to know first

The Certificate of Appropriateness isn't a formality

Dilworth is a local historic district, so any exterior change — a window size, a rear door, a deck, a roofline — needs a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historic District Commission before the county will issue a permit. The Commission meets monthly. Miss a meeting and you've lost four weeks, not four days. We build that into the schedule from week one and we don't order exterior materials until the COA is in hand.

A doorway during renovation with the plaster removed above it, exposing horizontal timber lath and old brick, new studs framing the opening, and armored cable dropping through the ceiling. — Lath above a doorway, exposed. This is what a pre-war Charlotte wall is made of, and it's why an hour of plaster repair is never an hour.

What is behind the walls in Dilworth

Heart pine floors under two or three later layers, usually worth uncovering
Lath and plaster on the original walls; drywall wherever a previous owner gave up
Cloth-sheathed wiring and, on the untouched houses, a fuse panel still in service
Original single-glazed sash that the historic district would rather you repaired than replaced — and which is usually repairable

Dilworth is a local historic district. Exterior work needs a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Charlotte Historic District Commission before Mecklenburg County Code Enforcement (LUESA) will issue a permit.

What it costs around here

Same ranges as everywhere else. Where you land in them is what Dilworth decides.

Kitchen: $58k — $135k
Bathroom: $28k — $72k
Whole-home renovation: $180k — $650k

The age of the housing stock here is one of the biggest single levers on those numbers. Finding out which way it moves yours is what the design agreement does — $3,500 for a room, credited in full against construction.

Request the design agreement

Licensed: DEMO-GC-78412; North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors
Insured and bonded: General liability, $2,000,000 aggregate; Certificates come to you from the carrier, not from us
Building since: 2014; 12 years in Charlotte