Renovation: Braintree Rebuild

building the vermont lifestyle at any age

This project was started in late August of 2015 although we had been working with the clients for almost a year prior to the first swing of a hammer. The clients had recently sold their home and moved permanently to what was their second home. The empty-nesters were beginning a phase of their life where the wife was retiring and the husband entered a semi-retirement working at a local bank. What had been a sufficient weekend/vacation getaway for years, was not going to work as a permanent long term home for the couple and their adult children, their spouses, and future grandchildren.

Allied Building Is Your Central Vermont Home Builder Specialist

The original home had been built in the early '70s as a camp and had been added on to in the late '80s, with a second edition shortly thereafter. It was cobbled together, dark, lacking in space, and for a couple that enjoys cooking and entertaining, had a non-functional and dark kitchen. We signed a design contract with the clients and began working on their dream home which was slated to be a complete reconstruction of the home and an addition of a first-floor master suite. Midway through the process, the addition was set aside in an effort to save valuable retirement capital and to re-evaluate actually how much room they really needed in the end. To accommodate that, few sacrifices had to be made and only a slight increase in knee wall height on the second floor allowed for all the space they needed within the current footprint of the existing home.

Design and Logistics

With a design finalized in early summer, the project was scheduled and the clients prepared for construction. The scope of the work included tearing down the existing structure to the first floor deck. We would keep in place the oak hardwood flooring on the first floor and then build the new two story home on the existing floor deck. Logistically, it would be a challenge under normal circumstances, but adding to the complexity, the clients decided to live in the existing semi-finished basement during construction - which meant to preserve the hardwood flooring and the finished living space under it, we could not let any water into the home.

That called for some extremely complicated logistical challenges. Once a construction contract was signed, we went to work taking accurate measurements of the existing footprint and came up with a plan. We would prefabricate all the walls, and the second floor in the side yard before we ever took a shingle off the roof. It was daring, but really the only way to do this without tenting the entire home for at least a month. We worked with our truss supplier on the roof trusses as well as a second floor truss system that clear spanned 28 feet and had a stair well right in the middle. We then worked with an engineer and an excellent crane company to engineer the lift of the entire floor system - already assembled in the side yard. We also consulted with a local builder who had done a similar lift with the entire roof system of a home and felt like while it was a first for us, we were up to the challenge.

Jon, Allied's Owner, and another employee started in late August by building a set of custom jacks laid out to support a dummy foot print first floor walls. Once that was set in the yard and leveled, we were able to set the floor trusses, add bracing, and sheath the floor all at ground level. after 2 days we had a nice flat level deck which we then framed all the new walls of the home on. In 8 working days two of us had framed the new home and it was sitting flat packed on the floor system in the side yard. We covered it all with a tarp and looked for our weather and scheduling window which came in mid September.

Bring in the Big Crane!

With the 100 Ton crane scheduled, availability of our crew, and a heavy dose of good fortune from mother nature, a week of zero forecasted rain came in mid September and demolition began at 8am on a Monday morning. With no time to organize the mess, we simply ripped the building apart and peeled it off into the yard to be picked up later. After 3 days of tearing the house apart leaving the front and side porches in place, we were ready. A beautiful fall morning greeted us Thursday and in rolled the crane. The first two walls were the first floor as we were able to keep two existing walls to the porches in place and simply raise the height of them. While those were braced in place, the second floor deck was rigged and the second floor was lifted into place and set down in 5 minutes. Second floor walls came next and by the end of the day we had already set a few roof trusses. Friday brought the completion of the roof trusses by noon and the beginning of sheathing. with rain in the forecast for Saturday night a push on Saturday to finish the sheathing and get the roof dried in proved successful and the building was then safe. A very action packed week came to a close with a sigh of relief by all.

Our crew worked the remainder of the fall finishing the exterior shell of the home and prepped the interior for finish work. Our goal was to alleviate the clients stress of living under a construction zone by Christmas - which we did. With the caveat that their was some minor trim work and the finished stair case was trimmed out and completed during the month of January after New Year's.

Design features of the home included changing the first floor ceiling height from 7'3" of the original building to 9' ceilings which allowed us to install not only tall windows but add a transom above to open up the interior space to the amazing westerly views and an abundance of natural light. We worked with a fantastic local custom cabinet builder, Glen Solley of Galloway Fine Furniture, to execute the client’s kitchen vision and designed an entirely open floor plan that met their entertaining needs - all within an 840 square foot footprint. The second floor provides for an incredible master suite area that has ample closet space, incredible views and a lounge nook where books and movies can be enjoyed. A guest bedroom and a large bathroom that includes the laundry completes the formal spaces. A convertible nook at the top of the stairs was left unfinished to potentially add a day bed, craft, or reading area once the clients had lived in the space and decided how they wanted to use it.

Custom Details

Working with Glen Solley of Galloway, Fine Furniture, allowed our clients to execute a custom feature in their kitchen and bath vanity - extra height. Both clients are tall and rather than a traditional 36" counter top height, 39-40" was the goal. Trying to accomplish that with stock cabinets was expensive and complicated and working with Glen, it was a breeze. His fine craftsmanship sets the tone for the fit and finish of the entire interior space.

Nuts and Bolts

From a systems perspective, the aging oil boiler was removed and a new high efficiency gas condensing boiler was installed to power the existing hot water baseboard heating system. The new spaces were insulated with Icynene, open cell spray foam, and the walls were sheathed in taped with Huber's Zip Sheathing to increase the air tightness of the home. The clients budget didn't support, nor were they interested in going to great lengths to approach a net zero scenario, but by utilizing a combination of air sealing at the sheathing level and a spray foam insulation package, we were able to exceed energy code for air tightness and performance utilizing standard materials and installation and a small increase in attention to detail.

We used Panasonic spot ERV units on each floor for the fresh air exchange. Marvin Integrity windows were installed and we used Low-E 366 glass for the large expanse of western facing glass to help prevent overheating in the spring and summer. The home has a wood trim and fiber cement siding cladding package and an architectural shingle roof. A monochromatic paint scheme reduced painting cost and adds a striking, contemporary appearance to the home on its spectacular site.

The end result is a clean, comfortable home that performs well in function and comfort. Now a bright airy space allowed their clean design aesthetic with furnishings and decor to really shine through and a wonderful retirement home now serves as the hub for many family gatherings to come.