This residential remodel has been one of our absolute favorite projects. Despite having to work through the Covid pandemic and all the challenges, delays and risks that it involved, we were able to finish out this project and provide a solution to the house that balances the needs, restrictions and requirements of the structure and the clients. They are now back in the residence and loving their new home and changes and opportunities it brings to their lives.
This was an extensive remodel that touched all but one interior wall on the lower level and a few on the upper level. The clients contacted me after dissatisfaction with designs from their previous design/build firm. We met at their interim residence and hit it off immediately. They invited me to a site visit to the project site and within a few minutes of the first site visit we had a schematic approach that carried through and was largely employed to the final working drawings, and later to the build. The structure needed a complete rework of the 80 year old floor plans to one that could better match the needs of modern life. This involved moving and removing many walls as well as actually reducing the interior floor space (by approximately 80 sqft) to allow for a better connection between the new den and exterior dining space. While I do not always prefer to default to an open floor plan, in this particular case it made great sense to open the dining and kitchen space to each other.
Because we are comprehensive and true design build firm with an extensive shop of wood and metal tools and over 75 years of combined experience using them, we are capable of actually producing nearly every thing we design. One of the cool things we did for this project was design and fabricate a chamfering tool that allowed us to mill a 45 degree bevel on all edges of our steel parts with consistency and precision.
This tool was employed in the fabrication of the staircase we designed and built both in our shop and on site in the residence.
We built a crane from a wench and safely lifted the upper section of the staircase into position and ready to be TIG welded in place.
Hand selected rough Quarter sawn White Oak lumber was laminated and milled into the stair treads. We templated the Oak to let in the steel brackets that secure the treads to the staircase. Providing a seamless, secure and beautiful look.
The clients are avid foodies and both fantastic cooks. We took inspiration from their kitchen knife collection and applied it to the design of the handrails. They were largely built on site. I fabricated and TIG welded the structural components out of standard steel profiles and then our master carpenter and apprentice completed them with the quarter sawn White Oak sections that fit comfortably into the human hand.
