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You’ve looked at seemingly every home for sale on the market, and none of them come close to checking the boxes on your list. Or maybe you want the freedom to tailor a home to your wants and needs, or you’ve found the perfect lot and now need the perfect home to go with it.

Whatever the case may be, you’re ready to start from scratch with new home construction. Building a new house can be a Herculean task, but our checklist can help you master the new home construction process in Philadelphia and the Main Line.

Read on for tips on how to make the new home construction process run as smooth as possible.

1) Choose the best site.

If you don’t already have a lot, start by choosing one. If you’re looking to build a home in an established neighborhood, keep an eye on the market for older, smaller, or run-down homes in your desired area that could be torn down.

Get to know the zoning and building codes in your desired neighborhood or town. Or Choose your design/build team very early in the process to guide you. You may find the perfect tear down, only to discover the lot size is not big enough to accommodate the home you want to build, or storm water management issues get in the way. Do your research before you buy.

If you choose a raw lot, your design/build team can come up with a design that suits the landscape or neighborhood. The physical attributes of your lot will determine not only where the house is placed, but how doors and windows, the driveway, and other elements are placed on the land to maximize the character of the lot. Also, if you are breaking ground somewhere new, keep in mind the costs of running utilities to your home. Getting gas, water, and electric to a remote site can add significantly to the cost.

2) Choose a design/build team.

It never hurts to have a design/build team involved before you even buy your building lot. That way you can get input from professionals on why a lot may or may not be a good fit for the home you plan to build.

Choose a team that is willing to work hard to get your design exactly where it needs to be. Professional electricians, plumbers, and heating and air conditioning specialists should be a part of the team, and contributing long before the first nail is hammered in.

3) Design for whom?

You might have a picture in your mind of what you want your new construction home to look like. But keep an open mind. If you end up in a neighborhood with Colonial and Victorian houses, you might consider building a home with similar character. Or maybe not. Perhaps you want your home to be the unique one on the block.

4) Planning and permitting.

This is the nitty gritty of a new construction build, and is best left to the professionals. Your design/build team will be spending time with town officials, seeking approval for your build at zoning meetings and with other officials. Each town has its own codes and regulations, and you’ll want to work with a team that’s familiar with the regulations in your area.

5) Work schedule.

If your design/build team doesn’t work religiously by a schedule, find a new team. It’s likely, however, that there will be small delays in the schedule. When that happens, a good team will keep you abreast of any changes, and come up with any work arounds that could aid the situation.

6) Project changes

Not all changes to the schedule are because of bad weather. Delays in material deliveries, slow decision making, even illness can create schedule problems. The homeowners can affect the schedule as well. Any changes you make to the project during building can be not only a detriment to the schedule, but can cost you more money.

If you need to make a decision or change during building, do it quickly. Avoid making major changes during construction, because it could have a ripple effect and disrupt the timing and schedule, and impact your cost.

7) Don’t forget….

It’s easy to get so wrapped up in the house design that you forget all about the decisions to make with landscaping, patios, lighting, security, pools, sprinkler systems, and other finishing touches.

A good team will remember these details, but be sure they get worked into the schedule as soon as possible so they aren’t forgotten.

As you embark on your new home construction process in Philadelphia or the Main Line, enjoy the ride! Contact us at Cottage Industries if you have any questions on building a new home.

It’s likely the house you currently live in wasn’t built or designed with older age in mind. But as the years pass, health issues like hearing and vision loss, arthritis, and balance impairment can make living in our homes a challenge.

But there’s good news: Most homes can be redesigned to better accommodate the health challenges we face as we age. And, the remodeling can be done stylishly, without making your home feel sterile or hospital-like.

Read on for our remodeling ideas for aging in place.

What is aging in place?

Aging in place refers to people of advanced age living in their homes as long as possible, instead of moving into an assisted living facility or nursing home before they need advanced care.

Nearly 75 percent of people wish to stay in their homes as they age, according to a 2010 poll conducted by the AARP. In order to age in place safely, homes can be equipped to accommodate the increasing and diverse needs of older residents.

Challenges and changes

As we get older, day-to-day tasks in our homes can become more challenging. Arthritis can make opening cabinets and drawers, or turning on faucets, difficult. It can be hard to maneuver a walker or wheelchair through narrow doorways. Thresholds become tripping hazards, and bathrooms can cause slips and falls.

Ailments and degenerative diseases can turn once comfortable homes into challenging places to live. Some aging in place changes can be simple and inexpensive to make, such as placing paddle handles on doors and faucets, or adding a stair climber. Other changes, like building a first-floor master suite or installing an elevator require a more substantial investment.

Time for a remodel

Whether you want to remodel to age in place, or you’re doing a remodel and want to prepare in advance for aging, here are four areas and design ideas to consider:

1) Accessibility: You’ll need to be able to enter your home and gain access to the second floor. Design options include:

– Reconfiguring stairs

– Adding an elevator or stair inclinator

– Widening doorways

– Lowering thresholds

– Adding handrails and easier-to-turn knobs

Case study: We doubled the size of this turn of the century Wayne Victorian and added an suite for the grandmother to age in place. By utilizing old world building techniques, custom made wood moldings and matching finishes, we were able to seamlessly blend the 3000 square foot addition with the unique Victorian Architecture of this exceptional home.

Wayne Victorian Exterior

Grandmother’s elevator on the 3rd floor suite

Looking for more layout ideas? Read about optimum kitchen layouts.

2) Safety: Slips and falls can happen more often as balance becomes challenging with age or disease. There are steps you can take to make your home safer and possibly prevent falls:

– Replace steep stairs with steps offering a gentler incline

– Add handles and grab bars around the home, and in bathrooms

– Use non-slip surfaces in bathrooms

Also read more bathroom remodeling ideas, including how to keep renovation costs  in check.

3) Comfort of use: You’ll want your home to not only be functional as you age, but comfortable to use and move around in. Consider:

– Making rooms more open or private, depending on your needs

– Replacing handles and knobs

– Rethinking storage, and providing easy access to most-used items

– Floor surfaces designed for comfort (carpet vs. tile)

– Better lighting, including switches or dimmers located near seating

4) Security: A monitored home security system means help is always available if you have an accident in the home, or there’s an emergency such as a gas leak or fire. They also help prevent break-ins, which the elderly can be targets of. Even if it’s never needed, a security system provides peace of mind for both you and your family. Consider these hi-tech (yet easy to use) systems:

– Video monitors, and cameras to view the front door

– Home automation, like remote controlled lighting and heating and cooling, so you don’t have to get up to turn off the lights or turn up the heat

Will all these changes leave your home looking sterile, or hospital-like? They don’t have to. A good design/build team will use the principles of universal design (creating and remodeling spaces to be accessible for older people and the disabled) to make your home not only safer to live in, but comfortable and stylish.

Of course, every home and every family’s situation is unique. Contact us at Cottage Industries, Inc., to discuss your home and how we can help you plan to age in place.

Today we’re going to share our top 3 favorite home additions on the Main Line. Let us know in the comments which one you liked the most!

Lundy

Client style: Contemporary eclectic with some mid century modern mixed in.

Client needs: Other than decorating the interior, the exterior of the home needed to be changed and expanded to reflected the clients style and accommodated their day to day living.  Also, a very dangerous garage driveway condition that required backing out onto a high traffic state road had to be remedied.

Before: Garage

After: Garage

Homes Architectural style: A very tiny, open floor plan, box like home of no particular architectural style on a very tight, high profile, corner lot in Gladwyne.

Houses needs: Generally in good condition with some minor exterior siding damage and poorly built flat roof conditions. Very small house and lot

Budget challenge: Medium

Design Challenges: Convert the exterior of the home to an interesting and stylish contemporary. Preserve a new masonry patio immediately adjacent to the side of the house while still expanding on that same side (due to set backs) and acquire a variances from both the Pennsylvania and the Lower Merion to relocate the garage and driveway to a safer location that zoning did not allow.

Before: Bathroom Side Exterior

Design solutions: Add bookend additions to the sides of the home with contemporary half pitched gables and clear story windows. The left side is a “floating” second story addition open below to preserve the existing masonry patio and housing a stylish yet funky master bathroom. The right side addition is a two story with a two car garage and driveway facing a quiet side street, the second floor is a large family room with high open ceilings. Cantilevered addition sections and juxtaposition of strong horizontals and diagonals give the façade of this gorgeous contemporary lively textural movement.

After: Bathroom Side Exterior

This project was deeply rewarding both because of the numerous challenges the home and lot presented. No matter what the hurdles were thrown in our way I was not going to have my clients live with their dangerous driveway and I get to drive by it several times and week and it is still beautiful.

Mulvanerty

Client style: 19^th century restored antique but very clean, new and functional.

Client needs: A family gathering space for their large family of six to be together to eat and cook, do homework, projects and watch television. A new kitchen, a proper master suite, enough bedrooms for the children, a mudroom to catch an enormous amount of jackets, shoes and sports equipment.

Before: Front

After: Front

Homes Architectural style: 1880’s Wayne Victorian era with both Craftsman and Shingle Style architectural features and a dreadful one story, flat roofed “box” apartment addition on the back.

Houses needs: This home is one of the most prominent in Wayne but had suffered from fifty years of delayed maintenance and neglect. Hiding behind huge over grown trees and hedges the poorly installed aluminum siding and pole gutters had caused substantial rot and damage to the entire exterior of the home. An existing wart of an addition and no master bedroom.

Budget challenge: Medium high

Design Challenges: The layout of the existing house was keeping the family from spending time together by splitting activities all over the house. The kitchen was small and isolated. The only play space was in the partially finished basement, the only homework/computer spaces were in the bedrooms, there was no master bedroom/bath and the prettiest room in the house, the formal living room was being used as a television space. The existing apartment on the back, was a rabbit warren of rooms and was only connected to the interior of the house through the dining room and was five steps lower than the first floor of the home giving us a seemingly insurmountable connection problem.

Before: Side

After: Side

Design solutions: The budget was not enough to remove the box addition. We had to take full advantage of it to meet the financial goal. We removed all the interior walls of the apartment and redesigned the space to become the new kitchen, family room and mudroom, using a broad half stair case connected to the center hall we created a wet bar and traditional butler’s pantry as the gradual transitional point between the upper and lower levels. On the flat roof of the addition we built a master suite with vaulted ceiling, walk in closets and a luxurious bathroom. The budget would not allow for an entire second floor above the flat roof, so we finished the remainder with a second floor porch accessed from the new master bedroom.

Contemporary Kitchen

Master Bath

I love to go back and see how the lives of our clients are changed by the work that we do.  Adapting a 19th century home for a family of six creating space for them to be together as a family and have it function in the modern world yet stay true to the exceptional architecture of these antique homes is the most difficult construction challenge and also the most rewarding. I am very proud to say we won the Radnor Historical Societies Preservation Award for our work on this home without sacrificing a single one of our client’s goals.

Donovan

Client style: Their goal was to stay true to the Colonial Revival nature of the Cape Cod style, reproducing its existing finishes and only modernizing where necessary.

Client needs: Marion and John had raised their family in a large Wayne Victorian and wanted to down size and simplify their lives now that kids had all moved out. They purchased a cute stone Cape Cod a block from their home of 30 years and needed to fit their lives into a much smaller space.

Before: Rear

Homes Architectural style: 1940’s stone 1 ½ story Cape Cod with small, poorly designed rear facing garage addition and once open side porch poorly enclosed in the 1960’s

Houses needs: The house was in good condition

Before: Front

Budget challenge: Low but conservative

Design Challenges: The client was used to substantially more space than the house could provide. Even when the goal is to downsize it can be very challenging when deciding what exactly this means. What to dispose of? They still needed the flexibility for family over night visits, future grandchildren and the possibility of a child moving back home. The house needed a proper family room. They also wanted a first floor master suite to accommodate their desire to age in place and a proper two car garage that did not use up so much of the back yard outdoor entertaining area.

Before: Rear

After: Rear

Design solutions: When adding substantial space to a small compact home like a Cape Cod the tendency is to overwhelm the existing structure with new dormers and additions that provides the space on the interior but leaves an awkward top heavy architecture. To avoid this problem most of what we added is tucked behind the house, with a side facing two car garage hidden behind the reworked side porch. We created space and light for the new second floor rooms with two dormers cut down into the roof line to reduce their visual mass and expanded the roofline above the front entry to a feeling of texture and depth while minimizing mass.

Portico

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The secret to historic home renovations are melding the old with the new, and letting your tastes and styles shine.

Historic home owners: it’s time to breathe a sigh of relief. You can let your tastes, not some perceived rules, dictate the style choices you make when remodeling the interior of your older home. Unless your home is a registered national historic landmark building, there are no regulations binding you to maintaining historic character when remodeling the interior of your house (depending on where you live, it’s likely exterior changes are subject to regulations).

It’s not uncommon to come across historic home owners who feel penned in, thinking if they have a Colonial home, for example, their kitchen remodel should be done in the Colonial style.

But think again. If you have a modern flair, let it off its leash. You can even mix old and new for a nice middle-ground combination, keeping the historic elements you love while adding new-age touches. Or stay entirely true to the charm of your older home. Just make sure the design reflects your style and meets your needs.

Read on for our tips on how to make the interior of your historic home sing, with touches of both the old and the new. Also read up on how to avoid the “gotchas” of remodeling an older house.

Expose the old

Historic homes come with plenty of quirky features that, when uncovered, exposed, and buffed up can become brilliant features. Peel off layers of dated paint to discover old woodwork. Those nicks and cuts from years of wear provide character and charm.

Some historic home elements worth highlighting:

– Old brick and stone walls: You can find them buried behind sheetrock and plaster, and once exposed can offer dramatic feature walls for your living areas. Or use them as a backdrop for a favorite work of art.

– Old flooring: Look beneath all those layers of linoleum, vinyl, and carpeting and you could find some spectacular, and spectacularly-worn, wooden floors. It can be time-consuming to remove the surfaces above, but the prize awaiting you below is worth the effort. Older wooden floors provide character and beauty that can’t be bought.

– Old framing: Exposing old framing, the bones of your house, can provide not only added interest, but a more roomy feel. Oak wall studs aren’t uncommon in some historic homes, and large timbers were used for ceilings and roof framing. These elements can help make different areas of your home stand out.

Mixing the old with the new

While old wooden floors and beams can lend charm to a historic home, old pipes, knob and tube wiring, and coal burners converted to oil certainly don’t. Bring your electrical, plumbing, and HVAC systems into the modern world. Don’t compromise on your home’s systems.

Your home’s electrical system should have:

– Proper wiring to code

– Grounded outlets

– Adequate amperage

– Circuit breakers

For the plumbing, replace galvanized water pipes with copper or PEX tubing, and make sure waste lines are cast iron or PVC, not lead.

While upgrading your systems, decide what to do about the radiators, if you have them. Some historic homes have beautiful radiators that can be wonderful to keep (and you’ll still have options for heating and air conditioning). If your radiators aren’t so pretty, consider removing them and ducting the house for heat and air conditioning.

Once your systems are up to date, the fun part is choosing if you want to add any modern elements to compliment the old. New kitchen cabinetry and appliances can offer a sleek juxtaposition to old-world charm.

Modern lighting can be a sight for sore eyes. Also use lighting to highlight your historic home. Train some high-tech lights on your favorite features, such as an old brick wall or decades- or centuries-old carpentry, for dramatic effect. Also consider how modern accessories, art, and furniture can play a role.

Exterior Elements

Don’t forget about the exterior of your historic home. When replacing windows, consider not just the warmth they’ll provide inside, but how they’ll look on the outside. Details like mullions or dividers in the window panes offer a visual sign that you’ve replaced your windows. Historically accurate windows are available, though they can get pricey.

If you’re considering an addition, this is one area where we recommend maintaining the design integrity of your home. You don’t want to end up with an addition that doesn’t blend seamlessly with your house, looking like a box plunked down next to your home. Careful design and material selection are paramount.

While we advise a more conservative approach to exterior renovations of historic homes, remember to have fun designing the interior. It’s your home, and your canvas!

There are pluses to remodeling and to adding on, but it all depends on your home and your family’s needs.

It’s time. Whether you’ve outgrown your current home, are frustrated by its functionality (or lack thereof), or want to revamp a tired room or few, you’re ready to take on a home improvement project. The question is, should you remodel your current space, or add on?

The answer will depend on your home’s specific needs and what conditions you have to work with. Read on, and we’ll help you assess your home’s current situation and determine whether a remodeling project or an addition is right for you.

Remodeling

The scope of a remodel can be—but isn’t always—simpler than adding on to your home’s footprint. Again, it depends on your home and your family’s needs. Taking on a remodeling project is a big decision, but might be necessary in order to make your home comfortable and livable for everyone.

You might consider remodeling instead of an addition if:

– You have a smaller lot, or not a lot of room for an addition

– If your home is big enough, but lacks a needed function or flow

– You don’t have the budget for an addition, but you need more functional space or there’s a key layout change to make

– You’re moving into a new home and want to mold it to your needs

Renovating smartly and creatively can provide an alternate to an addition. Think adding space without adding space. There are two great ways to do this:

– Basement renovations: You can add square footage to your home without building an addition by finishing your basement. Code requires an egress, so don’t leave that out of your plans. Natural light can be tricky, but there are ways to solve that issue: light wells and enlarged basement window wells being two options.

– Attic renovations: If you have enough headroom, the attic can be a good place to gain footage in your home without the land surveys, excavation, and foundation work required for an addition. If you need more headroom, consider dormers (though technically, dormers are additions).

For some, renovating a few rooms or one area of your house will meet your needs. For others, a whole-house renovation is what you want. Read up on maximizing your whole house renovation for tips on how to take that process on effectively.

Additions

If your home and your family’s needs go above and beyond where a renovation can take you, an addition could be the answer. Consider an addition if:

– You need more space, and basement or attic renovations aren’t possible or are already completed

– The space and acreage is available to support an addition

– You have more money to work with. Additions are typically more costly than renovations

– Less intrusion is important to you. You can usually continue living in your home because the addition is a separate, cordoned off area

– You’re interested in resale value. Adding on adds to the value of your home by increasing the square footage

While a renovation can be less expensive and make planning simpler, sometimes adding extra space is the only way to accomplish what you want. But before taking on an addition, there are some things to be aware of.

With an addition:

– The cost of building a foundation, walls, and a roof are about half the cost of a construction project, with the finishes making up the other half

– Building and zoning department approval are necessary

– Land surveys and plot plans are needed to get approval for construction

– Storm water management solutions can be costly, and the price goes up as the size of your addition goes up

Weather is another factor. Rain, snow, sleet, and high winds all could delay your project when doing an addition. Know this going in, and make sure you contractor builds some extra time into the schedule for any weather-related delays.

Middle ground

Still wondering whether a renovation or an addition is right for you? There is middle ground. Try a remodel with a small new footprint. Sometimes adding on just a little bit can make a huge difference providing you enough space to get a necessary new staircase or hallway.

Whatever path you choose, keep an open mind to new design ideas. Have a frank conversation with your design/build team about your budget and what is possible within that limit. You don’t want to over design, only to discover you can’t afford to build it.

Older homes are full of charm and plenty of memories. But renovating an older home can also involve many challenges.

Go into the renovation with your eyes wide open. Read up on renovation tips for older homes, potential “gotcha” moments, and mistakes to avoid, like the five we’re listing below.

1. Not being mindful about which materials to keep. Sometimes replacing materials sounds so much easier than working with the originals (and, in reality, sometimes it is easier). But an old home’s charm—that thing that makes it special—is often the original materials that the builders of yesteryear chose for that particular house. This is especially true for historic homes.

For example, the artistry of the woodwork from the eighteenth, nineteenth, and even early twentieth centuries is unparalleled. Ideally, you’ll want to save as much of the original woodwork as possible. Think moldings, baseboards, casings, paneling, and so forth. Yes, the restoration effort could take longer, but the results will be worth it.

2. Not thinking about the big picture. When it comes to renovating an older home, it’s tempting to become hyper-focused on a specific area or “thing” (such as a staircase). But at the end of the day, you need to keep the whole house in mind.

An old house has history. It has a story. Your job when renovating is to think about the elements of this history and story you want to preserve while adding on a new chapter that represents the “now” and the future.

This is why it can be extremely beneficial to work with a design/build firm that specializes in renovating older homes. The firm will have the necessary distance to see the big picture, and it can remind you to take a step back and keep the whole home in mind.

3. Not considering the future. On the opposite end of the spectrum is the temptation to be too authentic and true to the original home. Yes, preserving the home’s history and charm is important, but you also need to be able to live comfortably in the home today . . . and tomorrow.

If the old home is your “forever” home (perhaps passed down to you from another generation), there’s no shame in adding modern amenities or even incorporating elements of universal design. Again, working with a professional design/build firm can help make sure whatever new elements you add will work seamlessly with the old.

4. Not paying attention to restrictions on what you can and can’t remodel. If your home has been labeled an historic site by your town or state, you might be restricted on what you can and can’t remodel due to this historical designation (and, admittedly, some of the restrictions can be confusing). If you ignore these restrictions when you renovate, you do so at your own peril.

5. Not being patient. Renovating an older home takes time. It’s important to be patient with your builder or yourself if you’re doing it on your own. For example, removing decades’ worth of paint requires a gentle touch. Rushing through it will only leave you frustrated with the results.

At Cottage Industries, we love renovating older homes and historic homes. If you have an older home, but you don’t know where to start when it comes to remodeling, get in touch with us. We’d love to sit down with you and have a conversation.