Smart Solutions

A recent Madison remodel needed a creative fix for a problem window.

The home sits on a narrow lot, making any kind of outside storage difficult. The decision was made to build a storage addition outside of their dining room. The addition would be perfect for their needs, but it would mean sacrificing the dining room window.

Since the window did not offer much in the way of a view (the neighbor's house and a fence), the main tragedy caused by the loss of the window was the loss of light. 

To solve the problem, we built a light box behind the window, installed rope lighting, and then ordered a custom piece of stained glass.

Now the homeowners have the light they would have missed, but this time with a better view!

Look at what we found!

Remodeling a Madison, WI home, our lead carpenter, Anthony, came across these pictures.

He was tearing up the old carpet.  The kids must have created this "time capsule" of sorts the last time it was replaced.

Does anyone know who they are?  It might be fun to show them what they wrote back in 1995.

I wonder if Max ever learned to like the piano...

                                          

Love in the Paint Aisle

Laurie strolled into the home improvement store with her bag slung over her shoulder, the sun in her hair, and paint on her mind.

“I’ll meet you back here.”  Her husband, Steve, grabbed a cart and disappeared.

It was almost Valentine’s Day.  Paper hearts, emblazoned with power drills—a modern day Cupid’s arrow—twisted lazily from strings taped to the ceiling, and cheap chocolate hearts screamed male desperation from the end cap of every register.

"Aisle seven," said the wholesome looking lad with the apron…and aisle seven it was.

Row after row of colors beckoned in waves of gradient hues.  Laurie’s fingers traipsed across the smooth little papers, loitering at the blues, lingering when they shifted to green.  She pushed her hair back behind her ear and checked for any watching clerks.  She knew they were free, but still…

Alone in the aisle, her teeth worrying her bottom lip, she grasped three strips of promise and pressed them deep into her bag.  She would add them to her collection at home.

They’d been talking about remodeling the master bath for years.  Laurie thought longingly about the jetted tubs just a few aisles away.  Their bath was a conglomeration of the 1970’s gold and a late 1980’s peach remodel gone wrong.  But they were waiting for now.  Laurie sighed, maybe next year the bathroom would get tackled.

Finished with his shopping, Steve watched his wife from the end of the aisle.  She was pocketing far too many paint samples—they were free, but he was pretty sure they hadn’t planned on her level of enthusiasm.  She was completely engrossed in a color pamphlet, gazing longingly pictures of modern day bathrooms, when a fellow brother in pain walked by, nodding sympathetically.

Steve ducked back around to the next aisle and shot off a text message to his buddy Abe at Degnan Design Builders.   

“Are you ready to go?”  Laurie surprised him.

“Sure am.  Did you get the colors you think you’ll like?”

“Yep.”  She patted her swollen bag.

“Know what?  Let’s take a look at the tubs while we’re here.”

Laurie shot him a surprised look.  Steve ignored it, relishing the idea of catching her off guard.

Still watching him, she looped her arm through his as they walked past the cash registers on the way to the plumbing department.

Steve smiled to himself, thinking about all the poor guys out there who would be grabbing the last minute waxy chocolate hearts on Valentine’s Day.  This year he’d get her exactly what she wanted: a new bathroom, with a new tub to sit in while she thumbed through the constantly growing stack of color brochures...planning what to do with the kitchen.

The e-card picture created by Grzegorz Łobiński for the EcardSphere project. 

Here it is!

Here it is!

The first floor 

of our

2013 Parade Home

Are we ever excited!

Designing this year's parade home was a challenge.  The owners wanted a small footprint, but with all the amenities...as you can see, we did it.

This unique plan offers an envy-inducing master suite, a kitchen that will make you want to do the dishes, and some funky ceiling design features that will draw you in the front door, and right to the serene view from the screen porch.

Kickin' it a little old school (but updated and super cool), is the fireplace that separates the living from the dining. Wait until you see what we do with that focal point!

You'll have to wait until next month to see the basement plan...

Screen Addition for Cats

This custom screen porch addition was designed with the owners and their cats in mind. 

They wanted a screen porch that would be accessible to their cats, but didn't want to block the sun from their inside living areas.  Check out our solution!

Thanksgiving...Brought to you by the Kitchen Remodel

Ahhhh...Thanksgiving.

Apple pie, mashed potatoes, all those things we typically avoid like the plague, for one day, and one day only (yeah right), they're back in play.

Your family comes stomping into the kitchen entrance, ooh-ing and aah-ing about the aroma of turkey and stuffing. You crack open the oven and peek in on your perfectly browned bird. The leftovers will be phenomenal. So much for one day.

Aunt Elsa waddles into the family room and plants herself on the sofa--it's where she'll spend the majority of the holiday. The kids run "the circle" around the kitchen, dining, and living room. Someone breaks out the Euchre cards, while grandma whisks the gravy into liquid gold. Over the background sounds of the Macy's day parade, your cousin leans on the new island to dish on her latest love interest. It is here that you realize none of this would have been possible if you hadn't made the decision to remodel your kitchen.

It's almost impossible to remember yourself in that previous place with the orange counter tops and dark wood cabinets. Your old stove had only two working burners (because you knew you would eventually remodel), and your noisy, energy-hogging refrigerator occasionally leached water onto the floor. You had to juggle around just to pour a bowl of cereal. You look around at your new, functioning appliances--it seems like a lifetime ago.

Aunt Elsa calls from the family room. She wants a stuffing sample. Your cousin rolls her eyes but grabs a fork-full with a smile. You hear your teenager laugh from the rooms upstairs. Suddenly, you realize you are right where you want to be: standing in your kitchen, cooking and entertaining for your family in your home.

It was a good decision, and the added bonus? You get to watch the game you want to watch.

Big or Small Projects

Sustainable Remodel

On April 21, 2012, we will feature one of our remodeled homes in the

2012 Sustainable Showcase.

This Madison family called us to update a home they'd recently purchased. They wanted to do so in a way that wouldn't interrupt the charm of the existing house, but would make the house more energy efficient and livable.

There were a number of items on their list, and with some design work and a little balancing of priorities, we accomplished what we set out to do--plan for a sustainable, updated house that stayed within their budget.

Some of the features they chose were:

• A whole house fan rather than an A/C unit
• Re-using as much of the current wood and trim as possible
• A soaking tub rather than a whirlpool
• CFL and Flourescent lighting
• Ceiling fans in each room
• A 1.28 gpf toilet in the remodeled bathroom
• Utilizing natural light in the remodeled bathroom

The green practices we followed:

• Lead-safe work practices
• Removing knob and tube wiring so house could be fully insulated at a later date
• Asbestos removal
• Used local source for new cabinetry
• Re-used and re-finished existing wood floors

Are you considering a remodeling project?

There are ways to stay green without increasing your budget.

Let us show you how!

Designed for Your Life

Winter Maintenance

Inspecting your home and taking care of it with regular maintenance protects your investment and ensures little problems don’t become big expenses. Although we typically think of home maintenance in the spring and the fall, there are a few tasks that should be tackled mid-winter, along with some diagnostic checks that are best performed at this time of year.

In order to ensure your home is healthy and is performing as it should, the following tasks should be on your January maintenance list:

• Change furnace filters
• Clean the humidifier
• Vacuum or dust bathroom fans, smoke and CO2 detectors, and the grilles of refrigerators and freezers
• Check under all sinks for leaks
• Test plumbing shut-off valves
• Check window latches, door knobs, and cupboard hinges and tighten if necessary

When these are complete, and if you are still feeling ambitious, you may want to take on the next list.

• Feel for drafts around doors and windows. Now may not be the time to repair or replace them, but it is a really good time to take note for when the weather warms.
• Feel for drafts at the electrical outlets. Again, this probably isn't the time of year when the drafts are going to be corrected, but later you may want to remember where the problem places were. This fix is typically completed when other exterior maintenance is performed, so take good notes--especially if you plan on replacing siding or making future energy improvements.
• Stick your head up into the attic and look around for signs of frost or mold. You’re only going to see frost in the winter, so now is the time. If you do see any frost, it’s a sure sign something needs to be addressed.
• Perform an inspection of your roof from the ground. Do you see ice dams? Uneven melting?
• Check all exterior vents to be sure they are free of snow and ice.

If you happen to find something that is not easily repaired, or something that concerns you, please give us a call. It might be something we can help you with, or it might be a task better suited for a member of our outstanding subcontractor team. Either way, we want to be your first call for any of your home care questions.

The VALUE of DESIGN

Given the small area of most bathrooms, and the number of elements that need to be included, it is no wonder why remodeling can be such a challenge. However, breaking the obstacles down to their most honest form reveals a much simpler challenge, and fortunately, simple challenges usually have simple solutions.

No budge in the budget ...

Let's face it; the budget dictates your project. Even if it's a generous budget, it's still the deciding factor in not only the choices you make, but also the options you have to choose from. In fact, the only thing more important than creating the budget is sticking to it - and in a big-box-world of choices, sticking to a budget isn't easy…

…and the solution is not always about cutting back.

It is about making smart choices. Educating yourself about the available options is a good place to start, but the information is only as good as the source, and if you are counting on a teenager standing in the tile aisle of your local big box as your main source of information, then you may be placing your project in the hands of someone with very little practical knowledge. This assistance is probably fine for choosing paint colors, or a cool new lamp, but surely not the best source when considering plumbing and electrical code. In order to make the most informed decisions, you need a professional who is familiar with your home’s intricacies.

Your one defense against budget breaking choices are the experts you rely on. Yet for some reason, when attempting to control the budget, professional design is often the first item scratched off the list.

Design takes into account all of the elements: plumbing, electrical, traffic movement, ventilation, storage space, and aesthetics. A good design means that you will have a convenient place to plug in your blow dryer. It means that your door will close properly. It also means that the toilet is not the first thing you see when you walk past the bathroom.

A good design ensures the room will last. It alleviates mold and mildew before it starts to grow. It allows for plumbing accessibility in case of a malfunction. A good design means you only remodel once, the right way, with the right elements, chosen with the help of someone who knows which faucets will last, which tile is too slippery, and how to save you money without sacrificing value.

Consider this: over the past three years of projects, 100% of our customers surveyed reported that they were satisfied with how we handled their budget. We attribute this to the planning that takes place in the design phase, and more importantly, the resulting low incidence of change orders and surprises during construction.

When was the last time you talked to a friend who remodeled, and they reported their project actually stayed on budget?

If remodeling choices are truly about money, and they always are, the question is not if you can afford to use a design/builder, but rather, if you can afford not to use one.