We love old houses, but sometimes they need a lot of work to reveal their former glory. Our painters spent four weeks carefully removing layer upon layer of lead paint that looks more like an alligator’s back than a piece of beautiful siding.
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We began the process by demolishing the structure down to the original framing studs. We also installed new highly efficient casement windows by Pella.
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After level the existing house, adding piers and a new floor system, the addition can finally begin. In less than three months, we’ll be completely finished.
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Everyone loves charming old homes in well established neighborhoods. Count us among that group. Long before we remodel a home or build a new infill custom home, we sit with our clients, often many times, and discuss the pros and cons of remodeling vs. building new. We do both for a living, so we have…
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Demolition on our Harris Park project went quicker than we anticipated. The entire garage apartment structure was torn down and hauled off in just three days. The rain came at just the wrong time, however, and digging out the old garage foundation was pushed as we waited for site to dry. We moved our focus…
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The rear of the house currently consists of a kitchen, breakfast room and a sun room. It may not be clear from these photos, but you can tell after a little investigating that there was an addition done to this home at some point. The existing sun room is clad in the exterior siding material…
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An important part of any journey is properly documenting the starting point, and in the world of renovation that means the classic “before” photos. So let’s take a look at what we are starting with. Most of the action is taking place at the rear of the home, which is currently an existing early 1900s…
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We just wrapped up a great kitchen remodel in Westlake, so it’s time for the classic before/during/after photo spread. We are going to include one other round of photos – our “renderings” from the 3D architecture software we use called Chief Architect. It’s a great tool that is helping our customers visualize their end product…
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Over the coming weeks and months, you’ll be seeing a series of blog posts about an exciting project we started at the beginning of July. This home, built in the early 1900s just north of The University of Texas campus, is owned by a wonderful couple that currently has two young boys with two more…
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We recently completed a remodeling job that involved removing and replacing a front entry door unit (including sidelights and transom) for a client in Westlake. This beautiful Colonial style home had a fiberglass door set in an older wood jamb unit that was getting serious exposure to the elements. Some decay on the lower section…
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Foam insulation provides superior performance over many other insulation options, but how does it affect your HVAC options? If a home is completely insulated with foam insulation, your home is almost completely air tight. A good thing, right? Not always. First, interior mechanical systems need to be compatible with a foamed house. Because your house…
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We’ve had a love/hate relationship with CFL bulbs since their introduction. One of our major concerns is their performance in dimming applications. I’ve been testing dimmable CFLs in my home for a couple months, and the results have not been great. Major problems? Flicker, and a very small dimmable range – its either full gas…
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