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| "The most amazing thing about this project was the fact that we technically didn't add any square footage to the home." |
| After - First floor's brand new dining room |
| After - Second floor's new children's bedroom |
| Before and After - The new rear facade is an improvement to the overall look of the neighboring houses. See above and below, the dramatic change from before to after |
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Mount Pleasant, DC - Two-Level Rear Addition
Brief Explanation of the Scope of Work
The owners of this row house in Washington, DC's Mount Pleasant neighborhood wanted more functional space for their growing family. They had very specific ideas about the form and shape of their renovation which focused on reworking existing space. This included rebuilding and enclosing an existing back porch and integrating it into the existing living space and also finishing the existing basement.
Unusual Constraints/Challenges & Creative Solutions
Addition
The existing rear two story unenclosed porch was underutilized space. It was also an eyesore. What's more, we discovered during the design process that the existing porch technically exceeded the floor to area ratio (FAR) of the neighborhood's zoning regulations governing how much of the property could be covered by built space. After a many months long process we were able to obtain a variance from DC's BZA (Board of Zoning Approval) to enclose the porch and to integrate it into the space of the existing home.
By removing the homes brick rear wall, we were able to add the new space to the existing first floor dining room and second floor bedroom. What were dark and cramped rooms, are now well proportioned, light filled and comfortable.
Care was taken to tie in seamlessly the new with the old. We matched the existing oak floor, doors and trim at the dining room. Beams at the removing rear wall were installed flush to the ceiling joists at the first and second floor to eliminate any need for a bulkhead and for a smooth transition between new and old.
The flooring throughout the second floor had already been sanded down to the tongues and couldn't bear any more refinishing. Unfortunately, as in so many old homes, there wasn't a plywood subfloor underneath the wood flooring so we left the existing wood floor as a new subfloor and installed new oak atop of it. This work also necessitated the installation of new baseboard and door casing throughout the second floor.
The new addition begged the question of the back yard which had been little more than a spot to park the car. By building a privacy fence and a flagstone patio, we created a great urban back yard retreat, perfect for party spillover and summer evening supper. The new wood landing with a modern looking stainless steel cabled handrail provides a simple yet welcoming transition to the rear door.
The new first floor dining room with its Craftsman detailing is comfortable and formal without being too austere. The enlarged second floor provides for a wonderful nursery and child's bedroom. The homeowners' chose their own colors and completed their own exceptional paint job.
Basement
The project was divided into two phases: the addition and the basement. While the drawings for the addition were making their way through the prolonged permit process, we got started with the basement construction.
The existing basement had been used for the homeowner's woodshop and for general storage. It was approximately 1000 square feet of underutilized space. The addition went in the location of the existing basement egress. We created a new areaway stair at the existing side dogleg and created a new door at the location of an existing window.
Much of the remodeled basement is taken up by a playroom and storage for the homeowner's toys. Plenty of storage was designed in to replace the open storage which was lost by the renovation. With its new kitchenette and full bathroom, the remodeled basement has very flexible space. It easily can be converted for housing guests or for longer term accommodation as an in-law suite or a future rental unit.
The rest of the house was heated and cooled with central A/C and heated with boilers. A new high efficiency heat pump was added as a solution for conditioning the basement. The rear and front walls of the basement as well as the entire exterior structure of the addition (roof and exterior walls) were super-insulated with spray foam insulation.
Overall Results
The most amazing thing about this project was the fact that we technically didn't add any square footage to the home. By rethinking and reworking the homes existing underutilized space, we were able to greatly improve the quality and quantity as well as the efficiency of finished homes finished space. This family is happy that construction is complete and are enjoying their home very much.
Before and After - The entire structure had to be re-built due to safety concerns. We had to go through the DC's BZA (Board of Zoning Adjustment) office in order to tear down the existing rear screened porch and replace it with a new structurally-sound two-storey addition in same footprint.
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