THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 14, 1995 TAG: 9501200700
SECTION: REAL ESTATE WEEKLY PAGE: 3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SHIRLEY BOLINAGA, SPECIAL TO REAL ESTATE WEEKLY
LENGTH: Long : 164 lines
It took about five months and $150,000, but renovations are finished for David and Suzie Shulmister of Virginia Beach.
The couple planned to move back into their waterfront home in Birdneck Point this weekend.
What they had expected to be a six-month, $140,000-job, ended up taking three weeks less and costing about $10,000 more.
Good weather and subcontractors who finished their work on schedule helped contractor Steven W. Howell beat the deadline. Unexpected problems and upgrades the couple added during the project boosted the cost.
The Shulmisters are happy with the results and eager to leave their rented condo and return home, accompanied by 4r-month-old Jacob.
David can't wait to try out his dream kitchen, especially the 700-pound restaurant-sized gas stove.
Suzie, after five months with cramped closet space, is especially looking forward to her new walk-in closet.
Both are eager to just stay home and enjoy it all. ``We plan to spend all our time here,'' said David.
When the couple couldn't find a dream home to fit their budget, they decided to create one. They bought a three-bedroom, two-story house built in 1948 for $240,000, planning to make extensive renovations.
Now, a year after first moving in, they have what they wanted: open, airy living spaces that take full advantage of their sweeping water views.
``It's like we're outside,'' said David.
Much of the new construction boasts walls of floor-to-ceiling glass. Windows alone cost about $14,000, not including installation, according to the contractor,
The Shulmisters are returning to what is, in many aspects, a new home. Only the spare bedroom over the garage was untouched by the project.
The old kitchen, dining room, screened porch and an upstairs bedroom were completely demolished. In their place rose a new great room, kitchen and breakfast room downstairs, and master bedroom with a deck, a bath and two large walk-in closets above.
The old living room is now two rooms, separated by sliding glass pocket-doors. One room, adjoining the kitchen, will be for formal dining. The other is an office for David, an emergency room physician.
The former TV room, laundry and storage areas were converted into a two-car garage.
A new $12,000 heating and air conditioning system was added.
Remaining areas got a new look. The hardwood floors in the upstairs hall and the old master bedroom (now Jacob's room) were refinished to look like new. The stairs were also refinished and carpeted. The foyer has new vinyl flooring. The baby's room gained a new, larger closet. Walls are freshly painted.
On the outside, almost everything is new, including the roof, front porch, light-gray vinyl siding with white trim, and a gable on the front.
Because so much of the old house was torn out, the net gain in living space was only some 400 square feet, going from 2,800 to about 3,200 square feet.
The newly constructed rooms are all on the water side and designed to take full advantage of the view. The breakfast room and two sides of the 21-by-18-foot great room have floor-to-ceiling windows, and the master bedroom, also 21 by 18 feet, and the bath both have large expanses of glass. Adding to the feeling of spaciousness are 9-foot-high ceilings in the great room and master bedroom.
The new kitchen is done in gleaming black and white - white cabinets, a black and white diamond patterned vinyl floor, white walls, and formica counter tops in speckled gray and black.
The 19-by-13-foot kitchen boasts plenty of cabinet and counter space and a center work island with its own sink. David credits the cabinetmaker, Jay Baart, with helping design a layout that is both attractive and functional, such as the cooking triangle that places refrigerator, stove and counter space all within easy reach. ``He really helped,'' said David. ``He spent a lot of time with me.''
The Shulmisters were also pleased with their contractor, Steve Howell.
David particularly noted his attention to detail, picking up lumber himself from the supplier so he could check its quality, instead of just having a load delivered. Steve also worked closely with subcontractors to make sure they did everything the way he wanted, David noted, and he fired one roofer who refused to work on Saturday when Steve was rushing to get the interior protected.
Howell even fed Kula, the Shulmisters' cat, who stayed at the house.
Howell admits that even he sometimes finds it hard to believe the changes. His goal on any renovation is to have new parts and old ones flow together so there is no added-on look. ``We made it look like it's just been standing here all the time,'' he said. ``It amazes me looking back at what we've done.''
Howell and his long-time subcontractor, Dennis Kemp, a carpenter, did most of the actual construction themselves, working steadily from August to early January. Other subcontractors did such jobs as plumbing, electrical work, flooring, cabinets, plumbing, carpeting and heating and cooling.
Despite the unusually warm weather and prompt subcontractors, the project was not without delays and frustrations.
Howell could have been finished two weeks earlier if Virginia Power had not taken so long to remove power wires from the outside of the house and put them underground.
Then there was the rainstorm that blew off a 30-by-60-foot tarp from the new framing. Rain damaged the foyer's parquet floor, which had to be removed and replaced with vinyl. But even that ill wind blew some good. The new flooring dressed the foyer up so much that the Shulmisters have dropped plans to redo it later.
There were other surprises: a broken sewage pump, an old septic tank that had to be pumped out and filled with cement, and a leaky shower in the old downstairs bath that had damaged the surrounding area.
For David, 37, and Suzie, 30, it has all been the proverbial learning experience.
The couple had heard horror stories about couples constantly clashing or even divorcing during major construction or renovation projects. Suzie recalled one woman who told her: ``Don't do it. You'll destroy your marriage.''
They made an agreement and stuck to it, Suzie said. If one felt strongly about something, the other would go along with the choice. That helped resolve such differences as the shower doors.
David wanted clear glass to enjoy the view. Suzie feared they would be too difficult to keep clean and lobbied for smoked glass. David invoked the ``feel strongly'' clause and also promised to clean the doors himself, a pledge both appear to regard with skepticism.
David had said from the beginning he wanted the project to be fun, and he feels it has been. A crucial element was being able to move out and not trying to live in the midst of the construction. Indeed the contractor feels it would have been almost impossible for them to remain in the house because so much of it was torn away.
David has advice for other homeowners who might be contemplating a similar project. ``Show up as much as possible, especially in the middle of the day while work is going on, and not just at the end of the day after it's done. Drop by on your lunch hour and talk to the contractor and the subcontractors and ask what they will be doing later that day. That way you can have more input.''
While contractors and subcontractors take some things for granted, ``You have to walk around and picture how you will live,'' he said.
``We walked through with the electrician to determine the placement of every recessed can light,'' he said. They had some 40 recessed lights, and Suzie believes that by placing the lights where they need them, they have eliminated the need for lamps.
They had input into other changes such as placing the air-handling unit for the heating and cooling system into what was slated to be a pantry. That eliminated the need for a soffit running down the hallway connecting the kitchen and garage.
Other touches they had added include a wall nook in the hallway leading to the master bedroom. Equipped with lighting, it will make a good spot to add a dramatic touch with a vase or piece of art.
Seeing the framing going up, he realized there was wasted space behind it that could be put to good use, he said.
In the bedroom, he realized there would be no room for nightstands after the head of their king-sized bed was slipped into place against a recessed wall. So he had nooks built in the walls on each side of the bed to house clock radios, telephones or other bedside accouterments.
He also learned that keeping the price down is not easy. It's a temptation to keep upgrading, he said. The electrical work went over budget because they added items such as more canister lights. In the master bath, they opted for fixtures that were over the contractor's budgeted allowance.
It's uncomfortable to keep asking how much something will cost but necessary, he said. ``No one else is looking out for you from a financial point of view. That's not their job.''
The project involved seemingly endless choices, and Suzie found herself spending hours gathering and poring over samples of carpeting, formica and tile. They changed their minds three or four times on the carpet before settling on a tightknit berber in a cheerful gray-green downstairs and an off-white upstairs.
Now that the house is finished, David is looking forward to improving the yard and landscaping. And Suzie is eager to unpack the things they left boxed up after the first move, knowing they would be moving out again. ``It's going to be like Christmas,'' she said, ``unpacking all our stuff.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos and photos by Joseph John Kotlowski
by CNB