Taking the Plunge In Reverse

An indoor pool addition had been built in the 70's. No provisions had been made to manage humidity generated by the pool and this excess humidty was creating problems for the whole house.

We explored the option of restoring the pool and installing a humidity control system in the home, but it was costly.

Our clients decide that this was not the best possible use of their remodeling budget, and made the decision to have the pool filled in and repurpose the space for mixed family use.

Filling in the pool gave space for a playroom with adjoining flexible space that can be used as a guest suite along with an en-suite bath, or as an exercise room.

A new open staircase will lead down to the lower level mezzanine.

On this lower level, there is more closet storage, including a huge walk-in closet, a fresh appealing laundry room, and space for a future wine cellar.

Atop the pool was a woefully undersized kitchen, family room and a leaking deck.

The clients wanted a chef's kitchen for two: one that better integrated with the family room. They also wanted to improve the entry and have a mudroom.

Adding an addition gave us an opportunity to improve the architectural lines as well.

The kitchen will be expanded, and placed alongside the great room, so that  the two spaces will work well together.

The side entry will be relocated, allowing us to carve out some space for a mudroom and an easily accessible set of stairs to the lower level.

The mudroom will have built-ins as well as ample closets for coats.

We even found room to shoe horn in a walk-in pantry off the new kitchen.

In the existing kitchen, there's very little counter space, too little storage, and certainly no room for two people to cook together.

The appliances dwarfed the space, and the cabinets were dated.

The only access into the house from the driveway is through the door on the right. There's no coat closet, and no place for our clients to dump their stuff when they come in.

The lower level guest room and en-suite bath layout necessitated eliminating the two sliding doors on the face of the pool addition.

We popped in a couple of windows and filled in the grade. This allowed us to create a way to get from the deck to the lower level's walk out patio.

A new staircase was added and descends from the deck to a flagstone walkway on top of the filled in space near the guest bedroom windows. From here, new flagstone steps lead to the walk out patio.

Atop the pool addition, you can see the old gable and shed  additions  that housed the old family room and tiny kitchen. 

On the lover level are the sliders that we will need to take out in order to install the guest bedroom windows.

Reworking the roof lines meant removing the old awkwardly placed balcony seen atop the kitchen's shed dormer in this photo.

The old door and window will be replaced with an arched window that features a period correct, Gothic arched grill pattern. It will be centered under the shed dormer that is above it to improve symmetry and balance.

Here is the area that we will be filling in so that we can make a pathway from the upper deck to the lower patio.

On the left, the side entry will be  relocated to allow for a new mudroom, and finished off with a landing and roof above.

We will be replacing all of the window sashes with energy efficient versions. This will allow us to retain all of the original moldings inside and out, giving us the ability to keep "the historic look" of the home.

On the right, the pool originally had a series of five extra tall sliders that opened to a sunken patio.

Two sliders, referenced previously, were on the right end and were eliminated to allow for the install of two windows for the guest bedroom.

The remaining 8 ft. sliders were replaced with standard height sliders with detailing to make them look like they have always been that way.

Here are those extra tall sliders, ready for removal to bring the space down to scale and increase weather-tightness.

Here's the pool - Ready to go away!

The machine just fits through the opening.

A hydraulic hammer was used to break up the pool.

The pool had to be broken into pieces. If we did not do this and the water table rose, the pool would rise up as well.

Starting to break up the pool surface.

You can see the dirt underneath as the base is broken up.

Once the base was broken up, fill dirt was added.

Gravel was added on top of the fill dirt as a base for concrete.

Rebar was then drilled into the sides. This ensured that after time passed, the concrete would not drop after it was poured. 

Now the pool is completely filled in.

After the concrete gelled we used a power trowel to smooth the surface. This puts a proper finish on it.

After we had a solid working floor, demolition of the ceiling began.

Doing it in this order was so much easier and more efficient than trying to manipulate ladders over a 10' deep uneven pool floor.

As we demolished the ceiling, we discovered extensive black lumber and rot.

A Professional Engineer was called in to evaluate the structure and make recommendations for our clients.

While we waited for the engineers recommendations, we framed a floor atop the concrete in order to be able to insulate the space and have somewhere to run the ducts and pipes.

Since the ceilings were 12 to16 ft high, it wasn't like we needed the extra height.

Where the sliders were removed, temporary walls were required to hold up the ceiling.

Typically sliders and doors are raised up a few inches from the grade outside, so that you "step down" when you step out through them.

In this pool addition they had been built flush to the patio. We built them up with concrete block to preclude future water incursion.

So that the facade would look more original, we filled in the top of the openings with masonry to provide for more standard height slider openings.

Here's where the guest bedroom windows will go.

Note that the concrete block has a "brick pattern' so it will look like painted brick rather than concrete block when it is done.

After the wall was built it was waterproofed.

Then, as a "belt and suspenders" practice, plastic was added over the waterproofing materials.

We'll do everything we can to keep the house watertight!

This area was backfilled. Next we reset the old flagstone, creating a new walkway to the backyard.

The flagstone faced steps are now complete.

Here we are digging a trench so that we can run the electrical and propane lines for the generator.

A big hole was needed to bury a 1000 gallon underground propane tank.

Lowering the tank into place.

Positioning it exactly.

Now it's in place.

The generator is now in place. It has settled in place and the flowers are blooming.  Note how they match the Generac logo!

More importantly, this generator is big enough to run the entire house, so power outages will be never be an issue for the clients.

Once the masonry work was complete, demolition of the family room began.

The engineers recommendations included replacing the whole ceiling at the deck end of the pool addition, and sistering up the joists closest to the original house.

Demolition is now complete!  Here we are looking into the kitchen.  

We were able to retain the ceiling and outside wall of the great room, although we had to remove the entire roof structure.

The whole ceiling of the lower level was replaced.  

Here you can see the ring beam circling the perimeter.  

Peeking inside, on the lower level, gives you a view of the newly raised interior walls.

HVAC ductwork is being done on the wall on the right. There is a view of the mechanical room straight ahead.

The clever layout of the space eliminated the need for unsightly soffits to disguise the steel I beams that traversed the ceiling without reducing the ceiling height.

Taking a look underneath the tarp, we see the interior walls of the kitchen and great room are taking shape.

This view is from the kitchen to the great room. On the left there will be a pass through. The cabinetry will be installed between the two walls.

In the kitchen, the bay window and window seat have been framed.  

In the middle where the island will be located you can see where the plumbing has been roughed and is ready for the island sink to be installed.

This is what the walls look like after the spray foam is complete.

The tile installer is creating a  "mud"  (concrete) base in the shower for the shower tile.

Once the framing is complete, and the rough mechanicals and insulation are done, the sheetrock can be installed.

Here's the pass through after sheetrocking.

After the sheetrock is finished, tile installation begins in the lower level playroom.

Of course, it is important for the tile to be installed straight. A string is run to make sure that it stays straight across the room, and great care is taken positioning it.

Here is the completed tile floor.

Steps down to the lower level have been installed.  A hand rail will be installed on the right, but is not there yet.

The lower level is covered in rosin paper and is now ready to paint.

Painting is underway. The floors have been carefully covered to protect them.

And here is a very bright yellow for the laundry room.

Cabinets are being installed, and await finishing details and counters.

Granite counters are installed.

Here is the finished pass through.

The mudroom floor has been tiled.

The counters are installed, but covered so that they don't get damaged while the finishing details are completed.

The appliances have been installed and it's starting to come together.

The backsplash has been completed with carerra marble tile. It looks classic, with a little pattern to it, giving it some interest, without being "in your face".

Trim has been added to the window seat.

On the outside, the deck with its rails.

Here's the outside of the kitchen. The window seat is within this bay window with its cedar roof.

Trex has been used on the steps.

The sunroom doors are done.

Here are the new steps off the back deck going down to the backyard, with Trex decking.

The lower level steps have been completed and painting is underway.

Here's a modern floating vanity for the bathroom.

The shower is now complete.

Floating shelves adjacent to the shower will be very convenient for towels and baskets of toiletries.

Now it's time to finish the hardwood.  You can see the squares of stained floor samples at the end of the island used to select the final flooring color.

From the mudroom, you can see the floor finishers at work.

Here they are screening the floor.

While much of the flooring work can be done with a big machine, the edges are done by hand.  Good quality prep work is essential for good results with the final finish coats.

The finished hardwood in the great room, appropriately looks great!

The finished floor in the kitchen and great room with the sun making patterns on it.

Here's the finished window seat.

The island features butcher block recessed into the counter and a farm sink.

Here's a shot of the mudroom floor.

The steps down to the mezzanine with the new handrail.

A stone landing makes the stairs more interesting than they would have been if they were "all wood".

Here, at the base of the stairs, the combination of wood and stone looks great.

A final challenge was to replace over fifty windows with new energy efficient versions while preserving the various original case moldings found in the different additions that had been built over 150 years ago.

Rather than doing full replacements, we replaced just the sashes. 

Simulated divided lite grills were ultimately chosen and look historically appropriate for this new England classic.

From the backyard, you can see the kitchen/great room addition built atop the former indoor pool addition. On the lower level, a guest bedroom, playroom and en-suite bath replace the pool.

Squaring off the addition allowed for a 'ski slope' roof line bringing it back in line architecturally with the rest of the home. 

The new covered side entry porch leads into the new mud room.

By relocating the side entry, we were able to carve out some space for this mudroom area, and fit in an easily accessible set of stairs to the lower level.

The new covered mud entry on the side is just steps from the driveway and detached garage. The stone flooring will hold up to years of muddy shoes and snow covered boots. The custom built in storage bench and shelves keep gloves, scarves and the like organized and within reach.

Building on clues from the original styling led to a kitchen and mudroom that is a felicitous pairing of old and new. The cabinetry and trims, with an abundance of traditional detailing, molding and pilasters, feel fresh and classic at the same time.

Classic inset style white painted cabinetry, chosen for its neutrality and broad appeal, contains custom furniture style details such as arched toe valances, beaded side panels, as well as decorative corbels at the island and the mantle style hood.

Contemporary lighting fixtures, whimsical window coverings, (on order) and pops of color make this classic kitchen feel fashion forward in an antique home. 

It's a truly functional kitchen.

A charming window seat allows for casual family meals while the island stools lend themselves to quick snacks.

A large built-in cutting board  next to the sink and directly over the pullout trash bin makes  rinsing and chopping of vegetables a breeze.

This large pass through between the kitchen and family room serves as bar, buffet and homework spot away from the island and kitchen table.

On the family room side, a couple of stools provide an ideal homework station.

By matching existing fir floors and mimicking existing moldings, the new section blends seamlessly with the old original areas of the home.  The addition of a large dog has aided in aging the new floors to blend in further with the original flooring.

And here's the family room.  It's a much warmer space now that we have insulated the walls and ceiling and replaced the windows.  Lighting changes make it feel more cozy.

On this side you have a good view of the new addition, the deck and other improvements to the lower level that were made.

Perhaps, the best feature of the interior reconfiguration is the location and design of the new stairs that go from the mudroom to the lower level.  The elimination of the awkward dark stairs and fear of bumping your head makes an inviting entrance to the lower level.

As a bonus, the fact that the client's children can come and go from the side entry without needing to pass through the main living areas will help keep the peace in the house.

As you go down the stairs, there's a lower mezzanine, with storage, and room for a future wine closet.

Here's the lower level playroom.  In the distance you can see the guest quarters.  Any sign of the former pool is gone from sight.

The repurposed lower level adds quality space to the home; dark dank spaces have been replaced with open, bright rooms full of custom features not often found in antique homes.

The lower level is a flex space, and can be used  in limitless ways. The owners opted to tile the lower level playroom floor as they envisioned their young son using the space to ride his bicycle indoors. It will work just as well as an exercise room or as a family room.

The guest quarters are bright and sunny, with an en-suite bathroom. The French doors will allow this space to act as a future office or work-out room should future owners not wish for another bedroom.

The new bath, with its' contemporary design, feels like a day spa. 

The en-suite bath was purposely designed in a contemporary style and boasts a huge shower to enjoy after taking a turn in the sauna. While mixing in contemporary details and finishes, in a traditional home doesn't always work, a good balance  between classic and fresh touches was achieved on this project.

Here's the new and bright laundry area.  We had removed a duct that ran across the window, replaced the window, and relocated the stairs that came down into this room, so it is much larger and sunnier now.

Even the former laundry room received a fresh update. The tile floor replaced dingy carpet. A bright yellow wall and one wall of blackboard paint makes this space a pleasant one in which to spend time while doing laundry. The original door that led to the former pool space now accesses a bonus space that will act as storage and wine cellar.

The clients are thrilled with how the spaces flow seamlessly together, both inside and out.

This house  reminds them of former homes they had  lived in and loved, separately and together all around the world. So they feel right at home here, with the best of old and new, feeling as if they have been here all along.