Sears Kit House Renovation + Addition
Initial Description
Prefabricated home featuring 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. The date of initial construction is unknown.
Changes
Two-story addition to existing structure includes new master suite, two new bedrooms, new public bathroom, new front entrance, two new parking spaces in garage and new exterior deck. A complete renovation of first floor creates a a game room and office space.
Narrative
At the owner’s direction, we developed a bid three successive sets of documents: the first was a “Las Vegas master suite” with amenities requested by the owner, the second design was very modest and the third design was owner’s choice. Each time we put the documents out for competitive bid and each time we hit the price set by the owner. The owner decided the first plan would trap too much equity, the second design was too small and the third was just right.
The captioned images below will give you a sense of the journey for this project…
BEFORE: Sears Kit House: rectangular footprint with a steel beam running from side-to-side to carry the floor load and roof trusses spanning from front to back.
BEFORE: Though some work had been accomplished, it was mostly interior projects.
BEFORE: Though some work had been accomplished, it was mostly interior projects.
DURING: The soft soil and significant amount of fill dirt required installation of helical piers. This system was faster and less expensive than a very deep conventional foundation.
BEFORE: A kitchen and sun room were added at some point so footprint is no longer rectangular.
BEFORE: The entrance is split-level: inside the door is a landing with one flight of stairs to the basement and one flight of stairs to the main level.
BEFORE: The entrance is split-level: inside the door is a landing with one flight of stairs to the basement and one flight of stairs to the main level.
BEFORE: The existing building systems were a mess after many small projects. We replaced them with new, efficient systems.
BEFORE: This condition is unbelievable: the post supporting the corner of the exterior deck is on a couple of boards on a concrete block (no footing, anchors or ties).
DURING: A survey revealed more property than expected: the neighbor's structure was across the property line. A variance was required to meet the "average setback" requirements.
DURING: The most difficult part of the project was protecting the existing work while building beneath, around and over it.
DURING: The split-level entrance has been removed and replaced with new framing and entrance.
DURING: With the flooring system installed, framing for the rest of the house can continue.
DURING: Moving the front door up to the main interior floor level meant we had to find enough space for an entire stair in the new floor plan.
DURING: Temporary shoring supports the house after a foundation wall is demolished to expand this end of the house.
BEFORE: Before this work began, the owners had invested a significant amount of money in a new kitchen and sun room (behind the kitchen).
DURING: Designing a new truss package and getting it married to the existing construction was a significant challenge.
DURING: The house begins to take shape. The wrong windows have been installed over the new garage door though that will be fixed by the end of the project.
DURING: The lot slopes down from the street to the font of the house so a system of drains are installed at the front of the house to collect and divert the water.
DURING: One end of the new steel beam will bear on the new foundation and the other end will be welded to the end of the existing beam.
DURING: One end of the new steel beam will bear on the new foundation and the other end will be welded to the end of the existing beam.
DURING: The new truss system married up to the existing system and we created some comfortable spaces like this sitting area in the master bedroom that overlooks the back yard.
DURING: The master bathroom is not very large though it has some very nice finishes and amenities.
DURING: The rear of the house is much more organized and certainly safer than the conditions at the start of the project.
DURING: The new hardscape is significantly different from the "before" images"
DURING: The masons work on the front entrance. It's hard to see the stamped concrete beneath the mess they've made.
AFTER: The finished project looks great, met the owner's requirements and addressed some very difficult, technical problems along the way. It hardly looks like the same property.
Installing a Helical Pier
Setting the foundation on helical piers is an alternative to the expense of excavating and building a deep foundation. Helical piers are long tubes with thick blades that are screwed into the ground. (You can see a picture of them in the gallery above.) The blade is turned down through the soft soil until it reaches soil with enough bearing capacity to carry the load of the foundation above. The tube carries the load of the foundation down to the blade. A metal plate is installed on the top of each tube and a concrete footing is pouring across the top of the plates for a typical foundation.