Category:
5 Additions $100,000- $250,000
Summary of Project
The homeowner’s enjoy entertaining friends and family, and had a need for a larger dining room and den area. We designed and added a vaulted ceiling in the new den with rough sawn cedar timber beam trusses. We used the existing den as the new dining room, giving the fireplace a makeover with new cultured stone and rough cedar timber mantle. We removed the old bookcase and entertainment center, and added transom windows to allow natural light, and we added window seat storage cabinets and a new bookcase. We removed the exterior rear wall, saving existing Pella windows and door to reuse in addition. This home backs up to a wonderful back yard view of a creek and natural woods so we added a beautiful quad Pella window with segmented arch transom to the end wall of the addition to take advantage of the view. We added a beautiful slate tile floor. The owners ordered a custom made entertainment center and we added a 70” flat screen TV on an articulating swivel bracket for viewing from the kitchen angle if needed, as well as a surround sound system along with speakers for the den and covered porch. We created an elegant outdoor Loggia below den the for outdoor dining using fire rock Ore concrete pavers for floor and counter top to add that old world character. We used Owens Corning “Cultured Stone” for the exterior of this addition. Discovering the need for cross ventilation we added oscillating ceiling fans in the corners as well as old world style arched window openings with operable cedar shutters.
For outdoor entertaining we added a large deck and covered porch with double stairwells leading to the rear yard and loggia. In order to not block natural light into the rear of the existing house we installed 4- Velux skylights in new covered porch. We used rough cedar trim to complement the Cultured Stone and coated the existing brick with a coordinating color Boral “Recoat” for a long term finish. The owners wanted a long lasting deck material so we used Timber Tech “XLM” PVC coated decking which we purchased from Home Depot. To insure long lasting stability we installed powder coated iron handrails with gates to contain their best canine friend, Lilly.
Project accomplishments, significant challenges and creative solutions
This addition made a great improvement in owner’s desire for entertaining guest. We were asked to remove and leave open a major load bearing wall across the rear of the existing den. We engineered 4- 24” -24’ LVL beams and heavy duty offset iron brackets to carry load of the half the upstairs rooms and roof of the new addition and leave an opening to make the addition seem like part of the original home. Homeowner asked if we could open covered porch with no columns so we did the same as we did in the den by engineering 3- 18”-36’ LVL beams wrapped with rough sawn cedar to support the porch roof. To insure no weeds below the tall open deck we installed landscape fabric and dark tan pea gravel to coordinate with deck color as well as complement landscaping.
