exterior contractor
and you're adding on or changing the layout, it looks much
more difficult in the plans than it
actually is," he adds.
Realistic Expectations
Strategically placed windows give the master suite
a sleeping porch feel.
without having to back the bed
up to windows," Smith says.
Because of the home's age,
finding windows to match the
existing divided lite windows
was important. Pella's Architect
Series was chosen to accomplish
this task. The windows are aluminum-clad exterior with wood
interior, Smith adds.
Evolving Design
Connecting a new space to an
older one is a challenge because
you never know what to expect,
DeCenzo says. "Nothing in an
older old house is level or square.
And working over existing space
in the middle of winter adds to
[the challenge]," he says.
At the same time, the addition was easier than DeCenzo
expected. "When it's an old home
The design/build nature also
helped the challenge of getting
the homeowners to understand
what would and wouldn't work in
the space. It was imperative for
Teakwood Builders to show the
homeowners their expectations
in the limited space they were
working with. This is where the
continuous sketches came in to
play. "The benefit of being design/
build is that we have a fair idea of
what we can and can't do in the
space," Smith says. "In 3-D, they
can see and get a feel of why it
does or doesn't work. You need to
have the patience and willingness
to put it on paper and go through
iterations. And coach them."
The team provided at least five
sketches before agreeing on the
final version, which was an important aspect to getting the roofline
to match, achieving a design that
met the homeowners' expectations and using space efficiently.
In fact, the bathroom ended up on
the other end of the original floor
plan sketch, Smith adds.
The homeowners were very
involved in the process, living
in the home during construction. This aspect presented an
opportunity for DeCenzo to
share advice to other remodelers who are working with live-in
clients. "Keep the place as clean as
possible all the time — not only
your work space but also their
space," he says. "Clean up dust
every day everywhere you've been.
It makes the homeowner feel like
you care about their space and
their life."
Smith adds that Teakwood's
clients are almost always involved
in the projects, and it's key to a
successful project. "It's very
important to work with clients
who are willing to invest time and
effort," he says. "These were great
clients to work with. They knew
what they wanted, and were very
engaged in process."
Maureen Alley writes about remodeling
and design from Madison, Wis.
The homeowners were
very involved in the design
process, going through
several sketches before
deciding on a final plan.
Replicating the bungalow roof
style was crucial to maintaining
the seamless integration of the
second-story addition. The solution involved numerous design
sketches before the final version
was chosen.
Teakwood Builders partnered
with an architect on the project,
but Teakwood drove the design
as is often the case with their
projects. "We do a lot of the
legwork. This was a perfect fit for
that. We did a sketch, received
budget and had [the homeowners] buy into design process. It's a
collaborative effort," Smith says.
ForResidentialPros.com
March/April 2013
5