Saturday, October 5, 2024

Updating the Exterior


These clients already had a great location and a pretty great house when they called me, but...





 
    
 
But the cedar shingle siding and wood framed windows were rotting. The living room, especially (with it's four exterior walls) was very cold and drafty in winter and hot in summer. The house was not well insulated or air sealed at all. It also had odd, high window placement toward the front and no windows to the side. They wanted the entire place to look more modern from the exterior, to feel like the interior felt with their minimalist Danish Modern furnishings and lighting. And they wanted a patio off the Dining area on the north side of the house -that area of the yard was never used and felt sort of like an afterthough.


New glass door from Dining

Since they had already purchased and installed "Craftsman Style" doors to the garage, and they were drawn to dark siding colors, I suggested we go for a "Modern Craftsman" vibe. We could use some brackets and gable pediments on some roofs and over doors to add architectural detail. I also suggested if we were removing and replacing all the windows and siding, we really should then also take the time and spend the money to properly airseal and insulate the 70s era construction to be more energy efficient and comfortable.




Here are photos of the project before, during, and after. A total transformation with the "Iron Grey" vertical Hardi siding from the weathered large exposure, dated (and insect-eaten!) shingle siding. New Ebony Marvin Elevate windows and industrial style barn lights lean toward the contemporary. I changed the window layout in the living room and entryway- adding tall windows to the east and south in the living room where there were none before. I added a new sliding glass door to connect the Living Room to the back deck. I added a new sliding glass door to the north, with it's own small roof overhang detail, to connect the dining and kitchen area to a new patio in that under-used area of the yard. I designed some stepped planters to avoid having to add railing that might block the lake and mountaian view from the new decks. And I dressed up the basement door area with a roof overhang that helps direct water away (along with a new drain) from the foundation, offers shade from the harsh western sun, and visually breaks up the tall elevation where the basement is exposed above grade. The fireplace chimney received new stone and a metal chimeny cap- upgrades that made it more energy efficient, safer, and more beautiful, since the bricks were in disrepair. Spiffy new galvanized half-round gutters and leaders were installed so this big roof is ready for the large downpours that happen more and more frequently.

 



In terms of efficency upgraades, once the siding and old windows were removed, a fluid applied flashing and air barrier was applied everywhere. (Yes, the neighbors did wonder aloud if pink was the final house color.) This meticulous work will be well worth it when the winter winds whip off the lake and mountains to the west. This surface is also the WRB, meaning that any water will be excluded from entering the wall, which will protect our new windows from having the same issue as the previous units did. Next a rain screen was created, to allow the siding to stay dry. Then rigid boards of insulation (rockwool) are installed to add much-needed R-value to the walls.  New vertical cementitious board and batten and shingle style siding and trim was installed with mimimal1x2 casing around the windows all in a monocromatic color. The A/C was an old system that is replaced with efficient heat pumps, and the underside of the existing roof deck throughout the home was also insulated.






















Monday, December 11, 2023

Transformation

 Adding space by going up can help stretch the budget. There is framing of walls and roofs, but no excavation or foundation work required. This project did just that and the change in feeling and function is HUGE. Taking the opportunity to redesign the window and roof arrangement and change the vinyl siding materials to solid materials allowed for a whole new look. Removing fussy porch railing and wrapping roof and too-thin posts and installing new lighting and doors helped us take a mundane suburban modular house and transform it into a chic modern farmhouse.

New Modern Farmhouse 

During Construction - view from NW

During Construction - view from SW

Front of House Before

A large playroom was added above the garage (right side) and a primary bedroom suite was added above the other one story area on the north/left side of the house. With all this extra space and new bathrooms upstairs, this family didn't need to add to the footprint of the home. The living room will be so much larger when all the kids toys are up in the playroom!



Before- Front Garage Section

New Playroom above

The original vinyl windows that came with this modular home were not performing well, and the interior trimwork was more 'builder colonial' than the updated style my clients wanted. So new black-on-the-exterior windows with sa single vertical divided lite '2 over 2' pattern were ordered and installed with new painted square-edge interior trim. The update is dramatic!

New clean white window casing

New Dormer in New Bedroom

Former Window & Trim Style 
that was replaced

Back of House

Back of house- BEFORE the 2 additions



When the project is complete (soon!) I will head back for final photos and post them to share. In these snap shots try to ignore the piles of building materials and the sections of unpainted trim. :)

New Back Door 
New Front Door

Tuesday, February 28, 2023

Roof Shape Transformation

 

Second Floor Area expanded and gable roof shape replaces almost-flat roof

Front view before

The shape and arrangement of the roofs at any structure greatly influences how the building looks, feels, and functions. Some existing structures, than have been added to over decades (sometimes one room at a time) can look very disorganized and overly complicated. Oftentimes when I begin a renovation or an addition to an existing older home, I have to start by thinking about the roofs.


Back view before

This home is a good example. This existing house may have started it's life as a timber barn in the late 1800s, and it was modified and added onto multiple times with varying level of skill as the owners converted it into a home, added modern amenities, and needed more space. My clients bought it thinking it could be renovated into their forever home with just a small bit of space added, so I designed a second floor addition over an area that had been only one story, and a small addition off the back. We came up with a completely new interior layout that would work for their family but even with all that, one of the most important design tactics I brought to the process was creating order from the jumble of low-pitch roofs housing low-ceilings rooms. The new home has shapes that look intentional rather than cobbled. Bringing order to what has become a mess is what a good designer can do. Part of if, for me, is looking at how the structure wants to be organized. Usually there is a logic that can be uncovered and brought forth. And this isn't esoteric - this can be about real-world solutions for shedding rain and snow as much as anything.


Back view before

I hope you can see how the change from low, almost flat roof shapes to more traditional, appropriate gabled roof shapes improved how this house looks and feels. And how, while client's eyes are focused on the floor plan, an architect is thinking in three dimensions to make a cohesive whole and can make it seem effortless. This cute building now accepts the challenge and succeeds at holding it's place in the streetscape of the historic village of which it is a part.

Wednesday, June 1, 2022

Converting a Stone Carriage House to a Playhouse

 


This building is what is called and Accessory Structure. It likely dates to the same time the home was built, around 1900, and over these many decades it has been used as a rough, unfinished "garage" type storage space- most recently for bikes, garden supplies, skis, and other recreational equipment. It is far from the house, down a steep hill, and right on the street edge in a village. My clients wanted to take advantage of this cool building and be able to use it for more than just rough storage.

Street side view remains unchanged, but with re-built doors

At my suggestion we are going to keep it simple by not trying to add plumbing. The site size and steepness, along with the existing septic system size and location, just made that too difficult or impossible. So without a bathroom, this will not be a "guesthouse", but rather a "playhouse". We envision  it having a ping pong table, and some comfy chairs and tables for game playing, along with a  desk area for quiet remote-work or school space. New roofing and rebuilt curved top carriage house doors (and removing all those vines and wires) will be the main changes to the exterior. It is inside where most of the new work will happen.



Above is an animation fly-around with the roof removed so you can see the layout for the interior. I propose building a small upper level, so we can connect to the house and yard. This will take the focus- and the access- away from being only on the street side of the structure, thereby making the space more private. We can do this by excavating away some of the ground and creating a low patio behind the structure. Once a few feet of the stone back wall is unearthed, glass doors can be installed where currently there are windows, the family will have a way to easily step into this new space from a path in the yard behind the house.


Currently the stone on the back/yard side is buried into the ground

The new design proposes digging out to expose a few more feet of the back of the building to allow for doors facing the house. This makes the playhouse connected to the yard and the home, without having the walk into the street. 

Thursday, December 2, 2021

Designing a New House

 I am working on the design for a new construction on a square, flat lot. The last couple months have been all about site and program analysis and gathering information and a "feeling"... There were meetings to discuss what the clients want from their future home and research into zoning and other regulations as well as walking the lot and taking note of the natural and man-made site features of the property. (like the 200 year old sugar maple tree I decided we really needed to work around!)

After all that fact finding (input in) my architect brain put this out. It's not going to be the final design (we met yesterday and already have a few tweaks to make) but it was fun to create both the design and this sketch-up model and animation and I wanted to share.


Photo of the site in November













View of proposed house from road

View from South and Pond


View from East and Pond