We have just completed our biggest project of 2007 this week.  Since starting in late April, this whole house remodel is something that we are both very proud of, and eager to show off.

If you are in the parish of The Holy Redeemer in Webster Groves, you have probably seen our project nearby.  Allow me to show you some of the milestones throughout the duration of this extensive remodel.

Here are a few pictures of the house before we started

Nearly every aspect of this house underwent some changes, but a primary objective of this project was to maintain as many of the original features of this 1922 house as possible.  The staircase above was preserved almost entirely intact with extensive protection throughout the whole demolition.  The kitchen was an entirely different story.  This space was far too small for a growing family and was seriously in need of an update since a previous remodel in the early 80’s.  

We set out putting a two story addition on the back of this house to include a new kitchen, breakfast room and family room on the first floor, and a master bedroom suite on the second floor with a new back staircase.  This was going to involve opening up the entire rear wall of the house on both floors, and removing the full width of the rear foundation.  

Here is a picture of the rear of the house after we removed the foundation and  poured the new 9 foot foundation.

(also you can see the temporary bearing wall we used to support the house while the old foundation was removed, and the 3 foot difference between the old basement and the new one)

The view of the kitchen that you see above was going to be turned into a new mudroom and butler’s pantry connected to the dining room and family room through a small vestibule.

Here is a shot taken from the same point of view.
            

and next to it is an after picture of the staircase I showed you before.  Be sure to note that the doors in the hall have moved and the hallway itself was extended 4 feet to accommodate a new window, bathroom, laundry room and linen closet where a bathroom and small bedroom were before.

In the picture of the front elevation above, you can see on the left side of the house, the first and second floor 3 season porches that were additions to this home early in its life.  The first floor porch was remodeled later on to include a small powder room and double hung windows instead of screens to create a small den.  We wanted to keep the same feel of the house, but the existing frost wall and shallow slab would not support our intended improvements. 

Our solution was to remove the entire addition and start over with a new foundation and crawlspace to support a new den and powder room on the first floor, and a bathroom and walk-in closet on the second floor.  By pouring a new foundation, we were able to insure a solid construction, and at very little additional cost, we slightly extended the addition out from the house, thus increasing the available square footage giving the homeowners a tremendous advantage in useable floor space above the original footprint, while still retaining the original look of the house.

In the picture on the left here, you can see our carpenters framing up the new addition, as well as the marks on the original sheathing where the first addition was made.  In the picture on the right, the addition is finished, and we have wrapped the entire house in Tyvek before installing new windows.  You can also see that we have extended the existing porch to return to the addition to better balance the feel of the house from the street.  

Below are pictures of the project after most of the exterior work was completed.

We have looked at just a few of the high points of this project that met its completion date on schedule.  After a little over 6 months of work, the owners were able to move back in on the day they planned, and all it took was some excellent planning, and a lot of teamwork.

Keep a lookout for more of our projects around Kirkwood, Webster Groves, Glendale, Creve Couer, Ladue, Sunset Hills, Ballwin, Manchester, Maplewood, Des Peres, Frontenac, Clayton, Brentwood, Richmond Heights, Warson Woods, University City, and St. Louis Hills.