Does your home need a significant renovation?
When I was hired for this “Ranch Renovation” the existing 1952 home was in desperate need of updating!
To begin, the ceiling height was very low at only 7’6” high, which meant that the height of the windows were hung too low. All the windows were single pane and in disrepair. The roof pitch was low and needed to be replaced. The kitchen and bathrooms all needed updating. The interior layout was not ideal with small bedrooms, one bathroom, and little closet space. With only 1800 sq. ft., we needed more square footage for functional living space!
DECISION 1: TO GUT OR NOT TO GUT?
Given that we were changing the footprint and interior layout with a desire of raising the ceiling height, we needed to evaluate what would be saved from the existing home. Often people think that they are saving money by saving windows, flooring and other existing features; however, it actually costs more to pay someone to carefully remove and store old windows, wood flooring and other features that are outperformed by modern manufacturing techniques at a lower price. Decision one: gut the house with everything except the existing foundation, exterior walls, staircase and the kitchen cabinets that would become the walk-in pantry.
DECISION 2: STICK OR TRUSS?
When deciding to rebuild the roof it also gave us the opportunity to raise the plate height (or the point where the wall meets the ceiling). The goal was to have a cathedral ceiling with an open concept layout of Living, Dining and Kitchen. Early in the process, the contractor decided that the best approach was to use a truss roof system in order to accomplish the major goals.
The advantages of a Truss Roof System:
- It can be designed to span open without any posts to create wide-open spaces.
- It can be installed very quickly. Besides the fact that the price of labor goes down, so does the risk of damaging anything that we are trying to preserve in the existing home.
The disadvantages of a Truss Roof System:
- It can be more expensive or perhaps match the price of stick building (but often you will make up the price difference in time and labor).
- A truss system creates a commitment to not build on top, attic or dormer the roof in any way in the future. If you think that this could be a possibility, this is not they right choice for you.
We were able to customize the roof system and provide specifications to the truss manufacturer to reach all of our goals. In about 2 days the existing roof system was demolished. Then in another 2 days the new roof was installed. Literally, in one week there was demo and rebuild of an entire roof system. Pretty amazing!
Overall, the price was negligent because the system was so efficiently designed and installed. It was a fun and inspiring collaboration with designer, builder and homeowner and allowed us to focus on other important parts of the project.
Let me know if you think your renovation would be a good fit to work together with us. Read the blog post below about the kitchen pantry we added in!
CLICK HERE: Say “Yes, Please!” to a Kitchen Pantry