We gut renovated a home on Ann Arbor’s Old West Side, turning a badly neglected structure into a standout property in the neighborhood.
Ann Arbor Historic Home Renovation
The Challenge
Before
Our clients came to us with a clear directive: Transform this home. They’d purchased the home at a low price point because it was in a state of complete neglect. For decades, the home had been barely livable.
Upon walking through the house and assessing its conditions, it was immediately clear this would be a complete gut job. Throughout the house, there was significant water damage, and the ceilings and walls were well past their useful life, with cracks running through them. Evidently, the prior owner had done almost no upkeep of the house for many decades. Everywhere we turned, another problem seemingly emerged.
Before
Before
Our Approach
Working with our client, we developed a project plan that would address the house’s significant damage and structural issues while also reimagining the space as a luxury home.
In addition to preparing the home for a luxury remodel, we worked to keep the job as economical as possible — searching for project efficiencies that wouldn’t compromise the quality of our work. Ultimately, our turnaround strategy for the house involved the following:
Complete Wall & Ceiling Repair: We determined we’d need to complete plaster repair and drywall finish throughout the entire house. In many instances, the extent of the plaster damage was severe enough to require removal and rebuilding of segments of wall.
Salvaging of Useable Elements: Where possible, we salvaged original elements of the home — both from a practical (budgetary) standpoint and with historic preservation in mind. Significantly, we were able to salvage the kitchen’s original wood floor, carefully cleaning the residue that covered them. For areas with gaps in the flooring, we used a “picture frame” technique, running hardwood against the pattern in a manner that looks intentional and elegant rather than patched together. Similar to the wood flooring, we salvaged the home’s garage, working within its original footprint rather than pursue a complete rebuild.
Luxury Conversion: Our luxury conversion included building out an entirely new bathroom to create a primary suite, and reimagining the house’s floorplan to create distinctive living spaces. Further, we added elevated fixtures and finishes throughout the home, creating a striking and expansive kitchen and elevated bathrooms with carefully selected tile.
Project Highlights
Creation of Net New Bathroom
The transformation of the home into a luxury property involved building out a new bathroom to create a primary suite. To do this, we converted an existing closet into the bathroom, removing walls and electrical and marking out the footprint of the new bathroom. We then started from scratch, adding new circuits, plumbing, subfloor and framing.
Salvaged Garage
The home’s garage was in extreme disrepair, sagging on one side and with rotted framing and sheathing. But rather than treat it as a teardown job, we saved our client time and money by determining that enough of the garage’s original elements were intact to allow a restoration of the existing structure. Read more about our work salvaging the garage.
The Result
“This house fit us immediately. It’s as good as it gets. We love that the work that was done respected the history of the house.”
