Last updated on August 13th, 2024 at 11:10 pm
With one of the highest median household incomes in the nation, and close to major centers of wealth and power, the Baltimore metropolitan area is a busy market for luxury custom home, renovation, and remodel projects. Whether you’re looking to renovate a historic home in Baltimore City or a build a dream house on the water near Annapolis, you need a general contractor in Baltimore who knows the opportunities and challenges inherent to the dynamic region. Central Maryland includes seven counties, dozens of small towns and suburbs, and some 2.8 million residents.
The residential contractors, home improvement experts, and home designers on this list are all longtime locals with a deep knowledge of how to build structures that fit into the area’s neighborhoods. Working throughout Baltimore, Anne Arundel, and Howard counties, among others, the 15 companies on this list are the best central Maryland has to offer. These award-winning licensed contractors have the skill, education, and imagination to design and build the home you have always wanted thanks to their formal training, their membership in industry organizations, and their passion for the field.
Procopio Family Homes
1046 Annapolis Road, Gambrills, MD 21054
Baltimore-area general contractor Procopio Family Homes has been a major player in the region’s luxury home market since 1967. Founded by Albert Procopio Sr. more than 50 years ago, and led by Albert Procopio Jr. since 1988, the firm has built more the 2,500 homes in Baltimore County, Anne Arundel County, Howard County, and elsewhere.
The design-build firm has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and has won several Maryland Awards of Excellence from the Maryland Building Industry Association (MBIA), including for Outstanding Home. Procopio Family Homes, located in Gambrills — a small town in the Baltimore metropolitan area — offers a 10-year structural warranty on all of its homes.
The firm has extensive experience building on waterfront properties and is well versed in all of the associated environmental and historical concerns. With so many years in the homebuilding business, the company’s portfolio of full of amazing dream homes with fine craftsmanship and stylish details, such as natural rock fireplaces, gorgeous wood floors, large open kitchens, spa-like bathrooms, and lots of big windows to bring the outdoors inside.
Bayview Builders
1912 A Lincoln Drive, Annapolis, MD 21401
Founded in 2000 by President Dave Carlisle, Bayview Builders in a general contractor in Annapolis that works on high-end custom homes and remodeling projects throughout the greater Baltimore area. Carlisle is a National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Certified Green Professional and a member of the MBIA. The residential contractor’s work has been featured in Chesapeake Views magazine and Home & Design Magazine.
Bayview worked with architect Scarlett Breeding to rebuild an amazing waterfront home in Eastport, featured in Home & Design in 2016. The wonderful home, revitalized for a US senator and his wife, features reclaimed-wood beams, stone walls, and a curving staircase. The open plan combines the living, dining, and kitchen areas, with a large porch looking over a pool.
Bayview Builders worked with Breeding on another home featured in Home & Design in 2016. The beautiful 4,600-square-foot, two-bedroom retirement home overlooks Spa Creek in Anne Arundel County and features subtle Asian-influenced touches, such as forward-extending pavilions on the front porch.
Battaglia Homes
14333 Jarrettsville Pike, Phoenix, MD 31131
Battaglia Homes is a family-owned central Maryland contractor that builds homes in some of the area’s most exclusive communities. Battaglia Homes uses nearly a dozen different floor plans, including Traditional, Cottage, Mediterranean, etc. They build in upscale developments throughout Baltimore County and Harford County, including Trail End in Jacksonville, and Fox Creek and Hammonds Glen in Kingsville.
The experienced team at Battaglia Homes includes Owner Ben Battaglia, President Chris Battaglia, and Designer Lauren Battaglia. Working with architect GBL Custom Home Design, the family-centered company won a 2016 Silver Award from the MBIA for Custom Home 7,500 to 12,500 square feet, built in Lutherville-Timonium in Baltimore County.
The company operates out of a showroom in Phoenix, Maryland, which is stocked with a vast assortment of sample cabinets, flooring, fixtures, windows, and all the other accoutrements that go into today’s luxury homes. And once you’ve been thoroughly inspired by all the samples in the showroom, you can stop by the Battaglia Homes Design Studio and start planning your new home.
Finish Werks Custom Builders
8600 Foundry Street, Cotton Shed Building, Savage, MD 20763
National leaders in green building techniques, Finish Werks Custom Builders focuses on constructing net-zero, modular, solar, and sustainable homes in and around the Baltimore metropolitan area. Founded by President Harris Woodward in 2004, the residential contractor has an A+ rating from the BBB. Woodward sits as a board member of the Modular Home Building Association and the NAHB Building Systems Council and serves as the vice president of the MBIA Green Building Council.
Finish Werks Custom Builders works all over Maryland, including in Anne Arundel County, Baltimore County, and Howard County. The company builds many of its homes according to the National Green Building Standard, including a gold-level green home — the standard’s second-highest level — in Jessup, Maryland.
The general contractor in Savage, Maryland, is a design-build firm that offers a range of services and styles, always with an emphasis on eco-friendly building techniques and materials, including passive solar energy, solar arrays, state-of-the-art insulation and wall materials, and geothermal heat pumps. The company also has experience integrating aging-in-place features and high-end amenities, to create efficient, cutting-edge family homes that are built to last.
Morse Contracting
P.O. Box 4308, Annapolis, MD 21403
Founded in 2008, Morse Contracting is a residential and commercial contracting company based in Annapolis, Maryland. Founder Randy Morse, a native of Annapolis, has a degree in business and political science from the University of Maryland, College Park. Prior to going out on his own, Morse worked as a construction project manager. Morse Contracting works on projects in the greater Annapolis area and throughout Anne Arundel and Queen Anne’s counties.
Though Morse has worked in several styles over the last 10 years, including Traditional and Transitional, his best work to date has to be the Modern masterpiece he built on the Severn River. The long, two-story, wood-and-glass structure is set among the trees, with a wonderful upper deck, glass doors, and a indoor-outdoor design perfect for its lush location. Morse is currently working on a similarly stunning and sleek Contemporary home on the Severn River near Annapolis, along with the Kezlo Group, a local architect firm with which he has worked on several residential projects in the area.
Bement & Sons Construction
1920 Bank Street, Baltimore, MD 21231
Bement & Sons Construction builds stately, high-end, traditional homes that reflect owner Marty Bement’s knowledge of and love for the historic properties around the Baltimore metropolitan area. The Baltimore general contractor got his start working for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and the City of Baltimore after graduating from Georgia State University with a bachelor’s degree in urban studies.
In 1982 Bement started K/B Construction, which focused on the rehabilitation and restoration of historic properties in Baltimore City. The company restored 10 properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Bement changed gears in 1999 and founded Bement & Sons Construction, with a goal to build custom homes, additions, and renovations in the classic styles, including Federal, European Traditional, and French Country. Now, nearly 20 years later, the residential contractor’s portfolio is full of large, beautiful homes that could very well end up on the National Register far in the future. The construction company is a member of the NAHB and the MBIA.
Cairn Custom Homes
10548 Gorman Road, Laurel, MD 20723
Winner of the MBIA’s 2016 MAX Award for Outstanding Home, Cairn Custom Homes is a deeply experienced, family-owned construction company in the greater Baltimore area. Principal Steve Appler has been in the construction and home improvement business since 1972. He formerly worked for Goodier Builders, at which he oversaw the construction of more than 1,000 projects.
Appler has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and is an NAHB Certified Green Professional. Co-principal Lisa Appler has a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Maryland and worked as a selections coordinator for other homebuilders before co-founding Cairn Custom Homes. The company and its work have been featured in Modern Home Builder Magazine, The Baltimore Sun, and Build Magazine.
The residential contractor’s portfolio includes many styles, but one of its most spectacular new homes is a huge contemporary at Walnut Grove in Clarksville, Maryland. This wonderful residence features a unique, rounded exterior with jutting overhangs and natural stone details, as well as a wide-open floor plan and a dramatic, twisting staircase.
Baldwin Homes
2410 Evergreen Road, Suite 104, Gambrills, MD 21054
Baldwin Homes is a national leader in bringing green, energy-efficient, high-quality custom homes into the mainstream. Founded by President and CEO Michael Baldwin in 1999, the company has demonstrated that sustainability and luxury need not be mutually exclusive. The contractor is responsible for $700k to $900k green homes at the upscale Preserve at Severn Run in Gambrills, Maryland, about 20 miles outside of Baltimore.
The company’s innovative “Eco-Model” home has 69 green and sustainable features, many of which are standard elements of the high-end homes on 72 wooded homesites at the Preserve at Severn Run. These include panelized construction, energy-efficient heating and cooling systems, and water-saving plumbing fixtures. The company also does remodeling projects and renovations.
A graduate of Salisbury University, Baldwin has spent his life in the construction industry and has more than 20 years of experience building new homes. Baldwin is a NAHB Certified Master Homebuilder and a member of the NAHB National Green Building Program. The residential contractor received a 2016 Gold Award from the MBIA for Custom Home 5,000 to 7,500 square feet.
Raphael Homes
110 Painters Mill Road, Suite 205, Owings Mill, MD 21117
Raphael Homes is a licensed contractor in the Baltimore metropolitan area, led by talented, second-generation builder Rich Raphael. Raphael has built one-of-a-kind homes all over Maryland, including in Anne Arundel County and Baltimore County. After learning about homebuilding from a his father, Raphael earned a bachelor’s degree in building construction from Virginia Tech’s College of Architecture. He started Raphael Homes in 1994 after working as a finishing supervisor and project manager for other home builders.
Ranging from $400k to more than $1M, Raphael’s spectacular homes include a contemporary net-zero gem in Anne Arundel County’s Tracy’s Landing. The sustainable home, which is surrounded by tall trees, has a unique L-shaped design, headed by two tower-like structures attached to a long, low wing with a large covered porch. And in Baltimore County’s Owings Mills, Raphael built an amazing modern-contemporary home with a Japanese-inspired design and a Frank LLoyd Wright aura. Some 40 percent of home’s exterior walls are made of windows, inviting natural light and framing the surrounding countryside.
Zander Homes
10829 Falls Road, Lutherville, MD 21136
Zander Homes is a family-owned, licensed contractor working in and around Baltimore, including in Baltimore, Howard, and Anne Arundel counties. The new-home and remodel company builds energy-efficient, state-of-the-art homes, additions, and renovations using the latest techniques and premium materials.
The home improvement contractor was founded in 2013 by owner Alex Trakhtman, who has a bachelor’s degree in business from Towson University. Zander Homes received a 2016 MBIA Gold Award for Speculative Home 5,000 to 7,500 square feet. The award-winning home, designed by architect Joseph Bandli, is located in Sparks, Maryland, just outside Baltimore.
Zander Homes also built a stunning, high-end custom home in Lutherville, Maryland, which includes a host of elegant, top-shelf design details. The home features high ceilings, huge windows, dark wood floors, and an intricate, natural stone fireplace. The home has an open floor plan that extends throughout, with wood stairs leading to an open second level that overlooks the main living area, kitchen, and dining room.
Lang and Company
273D Peninsula Farm Road, Arnold, MD 21012
A highly trained, multiple award-winning new home and remodel contractor in the Baltimore metro area, Lang and Company has been building and remodeling stylish custom homes since 2003. Though they work all over Maryland, the residential contractor is based in Arnold, close to Annapolis.
Founder Rick Lang has been a home improvement expert and builder for more 20 years. He has an associate’s degree in in architectural engineering from the Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, and a bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Among its many awards over the years, the team at Lang and Company won a 2015 MBIA Award of Excellence for an environmentally sensitive, 2,500-square-foot contemporary home on the Chesapeake Bay. Designed by architect Cynthia Shoup Schiffrin, the waterfront home, with views of the Baltimore lighthouse, features an orientation ideal for passive solar heating. It has an open floor plan, large windows and glass doors throughout, and two master suites.
Delbert Adams Construction Group
1417 Clarkview Road, Baltimore, MD 21209
Winners of the 2017 President’s Award for Excellence in Construction from the Baltimore chapter of the American Institute of Architects, Delbert Adams Construction Group has been building homes in Maryland since 1997. The design-build firm is focused on sustainable, high-end residential and commercial building. The company works on both new builds and remodeling projects. Managing Member Delbert Adams has a bachelor’s degree in business management from Babson College.
The home improvement contractor has won many awards for its work, including Baltimore Magazine’s Best of Baltimore Award and Remodeling Magazine’s Top 550 Award. The Baltimore general contractor has also won numerous Home Builders Association of Maryland Remodeler’s Awards of Excellence, including for Kitchen and Outdoor Living Space.
In 2017, Delbert Adams Construction Group won three awards from the Remodelers Council of the Maryland Building Industry Association. The Awards of Excellence recognized the company’s stunning kitchen remodel over $200k, called “The Essence of White,” in Sparks; a barn conversion/interior remodel project over $400k in Owings Mills; and a master bath remodel over $75,000 in Baltimore City.
Mueller Homes
7520 Main Street, Sykesville, MD 21784
Members of the NAHB’s prestigious high-end Builders 20 Club, family-owned and operated Mueller Homes has been building luxury custom homes throughout Maryland and Washington, D.C., since 1992. The Baltimore general contractor also works Anne Arundel and Howard counties, among other areas.
Mueller Homes is a member of the MBIA and the Residential Warranty Corporation. They have three in-house carpenters and foreman, each with more than 30 years of experience in the building and home improvement industry. Mueller Homes CEO Paul Mueller Sr. is a longtime industry professional, and President Paul Mueller Jr. graduated from Pennsylvania College of Technology with a bachelor’s degree in construction management.
The company has received Gold Awards from the Homebuilders Association of Maryland, and the MBIA’s 2017 Custom Home of the Year Award for a home over $2M. The amazing, award-winning home, “Greenspring Valley Luxury Estate,” is a sprawling traditional mansion located in Stevenson, Maryland. But the company is also adept at building sleek, modern-contemporary homes like the “Kirkegard Contemporary” designed by architect Mark McInturff, an elegant two-story rectangle with lots of full-length windows and unforgettable modern interiors.
J Paul Builders
1 Reserve Circle, Suite 100, Baltimore, MD 21208
J Paul Builders is a licensed new home contractor that has served the greater Baltimore area for more than 25 years. The company builds all over the Baltimore metropolitan area, including throughout Baltimore County, Howard County, Montgomery County, Anne Arundel County, and Baltimore City. Owner Paul Lichter founded the company in 1991 after working for Toll Brothers and other homebuilders. Project Manager Steven Lichter has a bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of Maryland, College Park.
The construction company has received numerous Awards of Excellence from the HBAM for its luxury and environmentally friendly custom homes. J Paul Builders’ work has been featured in Dwell, Architectural Digest, Luxe, and other publications.
One of the company’s more interesting and innovative projects is the “Lochview Project” in Timonium, Maryland. The project includes a cement tower topped with a version of a shed, with lots of windows and long views of the surrounding countryside. The fascinating tower somewhat resembles a fire-lookout and features a “three-story exercise lift.”
Sandy Spring Builders
4705 W. Virginia Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20814
Sandy Spring Builders is one of the most experienced, talented, and lauded home builders in Maryland. Based in Bethesda, the licensed contractor builds luxury homes with a focus on sustainability and efficiency all over the Baltimore metropolitan area. A participant in the NAHB’s National Green Building Program, Sandy Spring Builder says that its homes are about 40 percent more efficient than the average Maryland home.
The company’s CEO is Phil Leibovitz, a homebuilding professional with more than 30 years in the industry who has worked on more than 1,000 homes. COO Mimi Kress, a partner in the firm since 1998, formerly worked for Kenwood Builders and Springbrook Builders. Kress has worked on more than 500 homes in Maryland and Virginia.
The company has won numerous awards, including a national “Best in American Living Award,” sponsored by the NAHB and Professional Builder magazine. The construction company virtually swept the recent 2016 MBIA Custom Builder Awards, winning Gold Awards for Custom Contemporary Home and Custom Home 7,500 to 12,500 square feet; Silver Awards for Custom Transitional Home and Custom Contemporary Home; and a Bronze Award for Custom Home 3,500 to 5,000 square feet.
