We are midway through a nice remodeling project for Bob and Barbara Will in Northfield.
Their project, designed by Gary Hanson of Prairie Creek Architects, consists of a new garage, addition and remodel of their kitchen, and conversion of the existing garage to an entry area. The Will home is a somewhat “historic” house in Northfield, in that it was originally constructed by Larry Gould, an early president of Carleton College. The home has many features of Prairie school architecture and Craftsman construction common in the early 1900’s. We are carefully matching exterior stone, stucco, wood roofing materials, etc. to maintain a consistent architectural statement on this fine home.
If you are considering an addition or remodeling of your home, there are two very important items to deal with. The first is selecting a building contractor properly equiped to construct your project. Not every building contractor is familiar with or prepared to deal with the challenges of residential remodeling. Remodeling brings unique challenges for builders such as coping with rain and snow on exposed roof areas, maintaining satisfactory utility connections at all times, matching existing materials, and dealing with “unknown and unexpected concealed conditions”. Building contractors that only build new homes or structures, or do not have permanent full-time construction employees may be a poor choice for your project. It is not easy to adjust work procedures to include full service remodeling work if you are not geared up and prepared for it.
A second concern for any remodeling work is to make sure you have adequate, proper plans and specifications prepared for the project. This sounds simple, but can actually take many, many months or even years to work out. Some remodeling contractors may assist you with this process, or you may wish to hire an architect or design professional to prepare the necessary documents. Either way, both you and your contractor should have clear, accurate drawings and project specifications to work from. I started working with Bob and Barbara Will on their project about six months prior to starting work. I have worked with other clients for up to six years in planning extensive additions and remodeling.
Northfield Construction Company has been performing quality remodeling work for over 30 years. We employ workers that are familiar with and enjoy working on remodeling projects. I have some employees that have worked virtually exclusively on remodeling work for 10-15 years. This amount of experience allows them to effectively plan projects to minimize disruption for the residents of the homes we work on, and at the same time move the project along as quickly as possible. In addition, the equipment Northfield Construction Company owns and maintains allows remodeling work to be performed safely and efficiently.