Courtyard Fence with Gate

This is a fence with a privacy panel and gate which encloses a small courtyard accessible from the home's master bedroom.   It is a centrepiece of the homes rear yard and is in direct view from all of the home's rear facing windows and doors.  It was therefore required to be visually pleasing.  It is entirely redwood and custom cut to fit together without the need of fasteners with the exception of the top plate.  The finish is also custom to preserve the natural beauty of the wood.  I designed and constructed it in October of 2012. 

Custom Redwood Home Entry Gate

This is a courtyard entry gate that provides a privacy buffer between the front of the property and a courtyard off of which is the home's entry.  I designed and constructed it.  All of the surroundings, outer wall, lights, door bell and associated wiring, the vented roof soffit, and paint are also my work.  The same wood and finish was used for French door entry landings in the courtyard to tie the area together.  The landings can be found on the Custom Landings posting.

Outside view.  The gate is constructed of redwood 2x4s ripped to random widths and framed.  A water based clear satin finish preserves the woods natural beauty.

Outer gate detail.

Gate inside showing frame and mounting hardware.

Bath Remodel Plumbing

As part of a recent complete interior remodel, installed  new master bath tub which involved moving and installing new plumbing, tub, toilet, and fixtures.  I also framed the tub enclosure and installed a water prof barrier in preparation for the tile work. (also see "Custom Vanity" blog).

 

Framing and plumbing of bath remodel 2012.

 Installation of fixtures

 

Completed bath.

Installed new toilet and door.

Another Bath Remodel

Another Bath Remodel with Custom Vanity

This is another custom vanity for a guest bath in a full bath remodel, 2012.  I modified the original Sideboard drawers and top to accommodate the plumbing, sink, and fixtures, while keeping  the drawers fully functional.  The water and wast lines were re-plumbed to work with the Vanity/Sidboard.  I also installed the new mirror, sconces, electrical, doors and trim, the entire bathroom and painted.

The use of a sideboard in the bath gives it a formal and rich elegance.

Completed bath with custom sideboard & sink installed.

Original Sink/Vanity - Removed along with entire bathroom down to the studs.
More before - below.

Vanity in position, sink being installed, showing drawers modified to function around the sink and plumbing.

 

BEFORE

I found the original colour scheme very interesting.  I think it would best be called "Bad Trip"!

Another view of the guest bath showing the original "Bad Trip" color scheme.

 Below is the same shot following completion of the project.

The finished vanity sink.

All new fixtures plumbed and installed.





I added the light tunnel.  A huge improvement in the rooms ambient light.  Light makes a small space feel larger.  Also, note door detail and crown molding.

NEW FLOORING AND PAINT

Over the years I have installed many new floors and done a lot of painting.  Here is a recent example.   After new floors and base boards were installed the interior was painted. 

Detail of paint work with gloss enamelled fireplace mantel.

It's interesting how improving or updating any one portion of a space ends up accentuating the drabness of the remaining area.  This is especially true with new flooring and paint.  When one is done without the other, the one that wasn't done stands out like a sore thumb compromising the newness and beauty of the other.  I always recommend painting following the installation of new flooring when needed.  The two will then compliment one another to maximize the overall beauty of the space.

There is so much more to painting than most people imagine.  Preparation is critical.   Slapping on a layer of new paint without doing anything else may initially look like an improvement, but all of the old underlying flaws, dirt and debris will very quickly be noticed.  Improperly applied paint will leave walls reflecting the light differently resulting in a poor blotchy looking paint job.

When the right colors are selected, proper detailed preparation is done, and good painting methods are applied, a newly painted room will look as though it is a brand new space and will be beautiful.

Here is the flooring installation in progress and prior to painting.  The picture colors aren't true but it is clear that the new paint in the picture below enhanced the flooring and give the entire room an incredible new richness.  

Here is the new floor with a custom trim around the fireplace brickwork.  New base boards were installed  and the ceilings, walls, baseboards, mantel, and built in shelving  were painted.  Two colors were used on the adjacent walls for a more interesting contemporary look.  The fireplace which had been a dreary, dirty with age white, was painted to compliment the other wall colors while accentuating the fire place as the centerpiece of the room.  I assisted my client in the selection of the colors based upon the new flooring.

New Flooring installed though kitchen looking toward dinning area(baseboards not yet installed).

New Flooring from kitchen looking toward Family room.

If electrical switches, outlets, and plates look worn or dirty they need to be replaced to achieve the completely new look and feel of the room.

 Experience with attention to detail can produce a near perfect paint job.

Finished Floor and Paint with custom cut and finished trim around fireplace base to match flooring.

Preparing Home for Sale

Preparing a home for sale or rent pays off big.  A home that feels appealing without blatant flaws is much more likely to motivate a potential buyer or renter.  The cost to do this is minimal for a house that has been maintained at a basic level.  

This house had been well maintained  but had a dated feel primarily due to the original flat dark wood doors.

 The owner wanted the house to go on the market in a few days so 3 of us went at it.  We removed all of the interior doors and replaced them with new doors, "slabs", that had to be cut to fit original openings.  The doors were painted and installed using all new hardware, hinges and knobs. Dark sliding closet doors in the bedrooms were replace with mirrored doors giving the rooms a much larger and brighter feel.  This brightened up the home and gave it a newer feel.

We did quite a few minor repairs including a miss-wire in the 3 way stair lighting switch that the owner told us had never worked properly.

It is important the the entry to the home be appealing and inviting.  We patched up dings in the door, replaced a cracked glass pain, and painted the door and trim.

Following these minor changes and repairs the home was sold after only few days on the market.

New doors and hardware.

Installed Oak casement to match floors and base board.

Trimmed out kitchen lighting in oak molding to match cabinetry and installed new frosted panels.

Renovated entry door.

Small Add-on Roof Construction Project

This project was the result of a small poorly constructed addition.   Before I started the project the roof was flat with a low pitch and had quickly begun to sag and leak when it rained.  I was consulted after numerous attempts to have it fixed by the owner had failed.  I proposed removing the existing roof and reconstructing it as a peaked roof tied into the existing main house roof.  The owner also had me add a skylight and vent for a stove.

The pictures below show the new roof framed and covered.  The new roof design also tied the attic spaces together for proper insulation, ventilation, and air flow.  We  stuccoed the exterior walls up to the new leveled upper wall plate.  Lastly,  rain gutters were installed to carry the water away from the home and addition and keep rain water from pouring onto the entry area.

This is the new roof over the addition tied into the main house.  Composite shingles were found that closely matched the existing house.   This change to the roof design fixed the leak problems.

View of other side

This side view of the new eve shows the original flat roof pitch that followed the top of the stucco wall.

View opposite side.  I matched the existing house construction method and style over the small addition.

This is my helper prepping the walls for the stucco.  We cut out the old lookouts and filled in with stucco.

I constructed a small custom cabinet to mount the stove vent system.

Interior shot of skylight framed and drywall installed.

Window / Energy Upgrade

This project involved removal of all of the home's single pain windows and sliding doors and replacing them with new double pain windows and doors. The owner saw an immediate significant reduction of energy use as well as drafts and also got the excellent sound dampening benefits making life in the home much more comfortable. 

For this retrofit "new construction" windows were used due to the siding which was easily trimmed out to remove the entire original window.  In this way the windows did not have to be smaller.  The original wood interior window trim were left in place.  As the pictures illustrate, the new windows were framed in wood giving the home a more contemporary look.

Front of Home - Before

Front of Home - After

Another Front Window -  After

Rear of Home - Before

Rear of Home - After