This was a quick & easy deck for some dear friends of mine who bought a new home out in the boonies. Demo and framing couldn’t have been simpler. The tricky design elements were the corner stairs, the awning over the backdoor to the house, and the corner bench. Everything came out great — I need to keep on them about sealing this before winter hits!
This project is a LONG story. I’ll spare you the details. Suffice it to say that it’s been a long and winding road for the owner to get this baby ready for renters, but it’s finally nearing completion. The owner selected some of the nicest engineered wood flooring we’ve ever installed via The Arch Building Materials, and some beautiful wood-style porcelain tile to create a beautiful monochrome floor design. The cabinets from Asheville Kitchen Cabinet are top notch and were a breeze to install.
Dual Recessed bookcases with Sheetrock returns and hardwood shelves, Empire Boulevard ventless fireplace, American Clay surround, and AV system installation.
These clients celebrated their retirement by buying a house in Asheville where they can rock their golden years in style -- with plenty of wine. As is often the case in Asheville, the developer left a "bonus room" unfinished. This space was to become a climate controlled wine cellar and a storage space for art & collectibles. From a framing standpoint, it couldn't be simpler - but the manufacturer's specs for the air-handling unit were very specific and to function properly the insulation and vapor barriers needed to perfect. What's more, Solberg Builders managed the job while the clients were packing up their old house 500 miles away. Communication flowed both ways regularly and everything got finished ahead of schedule and under budget. More finish photos to follow.
A pair of great clients with whom we've worked on several projects had long been wanting to remodel their somewhat "soulless" bathroom. It sounds a little harsh to diss their bathroom like that, but it was the type of bathroom that a developer skimped on in the nineties and it never got the design and craftsmanship it deserved. We started by taking everything down to the studs & subfloor. Then we framed a closet where the shower stall had been and laid out a shower where the tub had been. As there was a guest level below the main floor, we went with the Schluter-Kerdi shower underlayment system - all surfaces and corners were waterproofed with Kerdi fabric. The shower space was complete with a shampoo niche and corner bench seat. The floor substrate was embedded with a Danfuss radiant heat system for year-round warm feet. The clients picked out large-format porcelain tile with a bold modern look juxtaposed with small hexagonal ceramic mosaic on the floor and accent. We executed the layout perfectly. We're super proud of this one. Finish photos coming soon.
This one was a first for us - we converted a backyard utility structure into a functional fitness studio with lavatory. We started with a fairly wobbly backyard studio with a good roof, but little else. First we stabilized the foundation with new piers and grade beams, which took all the bounce out of the floor. Then we demolished the ceiling, removed the 12 lightweight trusses and replaced them with 3 heavy-duty trusses which manage the roof load and opened up the ceiling. We clad the interior gables and underside of the roof with rough cedar-faced siding, which got sealed with clear acrylic. The main feat of this job was to install Caroma lavatory with an in-ground pump to manage the waste flow 30 feet uphill to the sewer line. No pain, no gain.
These clients are rad. They just bought their first house and are improving key components one at a time. We originally contracted with them to fix a bunch of typical old home framing and envelope problems. That process went smoothly, so they contracted with us to do some serious work to their bathroom on a relatively modest budget. So far we've expanded into the unnecessary adjacent closet space and created a toilet niche, which includes a drywall display niche; a niche within a niche. We improved the framing all around, including a severely sagging floor and ceiling, blocked for all the new fixtures, and provided new rough plumbing for a shower/bath combo (plumbing also includes new water heater and laundry hookups.) Electrical rough in was pretty simple - just a lighted exhaust fan and sconces on either side of the medicine cabinet. The client has chosen a very nice vanity and toilet - but the real centerpiece is the deep soak tub, under-mounted on a custom tub pier, skinny-ed down to just barely fit within the confines of the space. The pocket door helps save space in this regard, although we had to reinforce it heavily so that it would provide ample tile subtrate stability. Cannot wait to see this one when it's completed this week.
This relatively simple shower was not a simple process to acheive. The original plan was to have a wide 24x52" slider window, but the structural components of that wall made it impossible without hiring a structural engineer. The client opted for a smaller slider, but that unforunately was also impossible because the ingress was too close to an existing dryer exhaust vented above it. So ultimately we went with a vinyl double hung with tempered glass, which functions well - just not as impressive as the original vision. All final inspections passed today. This job also included a new 20A circuit for a heated bathroom exhaust, a "barn door" installation, and a hobbit door for under-stair storage access. Eric and Tom did an outstanding job on all the details here. Kris handled the plumbing and Steve handled the electrical - both of whom deserve medals for the time they saved us. Britt & Tilson provided the custom 3/8" tempered shower glass enclosure.
