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FALL 2006 - UPDATING HOMES THAT DAD BUILT

In the Bethesda neighborhood of Springfield where he grew up and still lives, Frank Bell remodels the houses his dad and uncle built back in the 50s, boosting curb appeal and fashioning homes that fit the way families live today. Just like Frank Bell, Gerry and Ellen Fay love this neighborhood so much they have never left. Gerry grew up in the nearby Wood Acres community and they were married at The Church of the Little Flower right around the corner on Massachusetts Avenue. When they decided that they needed a bigger house, they moved just two blocks from where they were currently living in Springfield into a home built by Bell’s dad and remodeled to their specifications by Bell Builders... FULL ARTICLE

5/5/05 - GIVING YOUR SPLIT A NEW PERSONALITY

Gerry Fay's decision would surprise many: This fall, he plans to move his family from a traditional two-story Colonial house, the stately favorite of many Washington suburbs, into that bane of late- 1950s architecture, the split-level home. How bad a rap do split-levels have? Just say the words "split- level" to homeowners and watch them grimace. Split-levels are dark, they will say, their fronts are dominated by unappealing garage doors, their bedrooms and baths are tiny and all those stairs are a nuisance... FULL ARTICLE

5/26/01 - LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON

When F. Meade Bell began building houses in 1951 in the Bethesda neighborhood of Springfield, two miles from the District line, he had lights and signs out till midnight on River Road for weeks, trying to get people to buy all the way out there. It's hard to believe today. Wheaton, Rockville and Silver Spring were the outer edges in Montgomery County then. The other Springfield, in Virginia, and Annandale were among the development hot zones. Fifty years later, Bell's houses sometimes don't even officially go on the market. They sell as soon as the owners hint that they might be moving. And they go for about 20 times the original $17,000 to $30,000. In those old houses, Bell's son, Frank, has found a ready- made market for another business -- redoing his father's designs for today's buyers... FULL ARTICLE

FALL 2000 - BELL BUILDERS ~ A Tradition in Fine Homebuilding

A tradition in fine home building began in 1946 when F. Meade Bell built his first home in Washington, DC. He was joined in the early 1950s by his brother David and built homes at F.M. and D.P. Bell until their retirement in the early 1990s. In 1984, F. Meade Bell asked his son Frank to carry on the home building tradition. Bell Builders began with second-generation spirit and a commitment to continue a fine home building reputation of over 50 years... FULL ARTICLE

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