We have been working on a residential addition and kitchen remodeling project in Wauwatosa since June of 2019. The renovation consisted of the demolition of the existing kitchen, patio, and laundry room, building a 500 square foot addition to increase the size of the kitchen and laundry room, and creating new dining and living room space.

Over the years, our clients have had Dimension Design-Build-Remodel renovate other areas of the home, including two full bathrooms and the family room fireplace. The kitchen and laundry room were the last areas in their Prairie-style home they needed to update, as they were the only spaces in the existing home that were original construction.

The new layout will boast a gourmet kitchen that will double the space’s current size and add an informal dining area at the island. The new first floor laundry room will have a larger sink and countertop, seating bench, and added storage. The new dining and living room area will look onto the beautiful river and park adjacent to the property.

The project began with exterior demolition work followed by the installation of the new addition footings and foundation. You never know what you’re going to find when demoing part of older structures. In this case, we discovered a well buried inside of a masonry wall that was part of the removed masonry patio enclosure.

The new addition structure was built, protecting the inside from the elements, allowing for interior demolition. As part of any interior project completed by Dimension Design Build Remodel, we provide dust management through the use of a zip wall system that blocks off the current living space from the remodel area. The HEPA filtration systems manages the dust created during the construction process within the construction zone. Due to the size of this project, two machines run at all times and will continue to operate until the project is completed and turned over to our clients.

During the interior framing of the addition, we discovered a surprise inside the walls – the bleeders for the boiler unit and in-floor heating were located inside a wall that was to be fully removed. This required us to relocate the bleeders, as the ductwork inside the wall feeds the second floor and cannot be relocated.

In order to create the desired open concept kitchen, two steel beams and three steel columns were installed inside the existing home’s footprint. One of the columns ended up on an area of the existing floor in the kitchen that did not have a load bearing point. We needed to jack hammer the concrete floor open and install a new footing in the floor to carry the load. The floor also has an in-floor heating system, which needed some repair work too.

In order to properly crane the two new beams into the existing home, careful preparations were required. Our rough framing carpentry team and the structural steel framing team worked hand in hand to modify the existing ceiling and install the beams above the existing ceiling joist framing system. Many temporary walls were required to hold up the existing second floor while the new beams and columns were installed.

Our mason team needed to save as much of the existing brick from the demo portion of the project as possible in order to blend the new masonry wall with the existing home. Although the new stone we found was not an exact match, when we blended it with the existing stone, we created an exterior that looked like it had always been a part of the existing home.

We are continuing to make good progress on this project and look forward to showing it off on the 2020 NARI Tour of Remodeled Homes. A future blog will provide a final recap of the project and photos of the completed addition, kitchen, and laundry room.

As southeastern Wisconsin’s leader in building and remodeling homes for wellness and healthier living, we utilize wellness concepts on each and every project we do. The Dimension Design-Build-Remodel team understands what traditionally makes homes unhealthy to live in and we take the necessary steps during the design and build phases to make sure we create a better living environment for you and your families.

Our professional team is ready to meet with you to discuss your renovation or new home construction projects. Call 262-402-6602 to arrange an appointment.