The story below is from our July/August 2019 issue. For the full issue Subscribe today, view our FREE interactive digital edition or download our FREE iOS app!
From the street, you’d never know what was going on in the Moyers’ Raleigh Court home. But from the back, it’s demolition central.
John and Laurie Beth Moyer felt cramped in their 1922 brick American Foursquare in the Raleigh Court neighborhood. Baby number two had been born, family coming from out-of-town had no place to rest their heads and John’s medical supply business needed an office. So, they started looking at homes for sale.
“We wanted to stay in the neighborhood. We love it here,” says John. But six months later, they kept coming back to the idea of remodeling the home they’d grown to love in the last nine years.
“We love this house and its big porch,” says Laurie Beth, a physician’s assistant. “And the flat lot. Flat lots are hard to find in this area.”
The process began with architect Monica Rokicki-Guajardo, recommended by Building Specialists, Inc. The Moyers were happy to start with an architect because they had a written plan.
“Construction changes are easier to make on paper,” says Josh Beisley, project manager with BSI, “than when laborers are standing in the yard.” He added that having those plans in place reduces change orders and revisions once the project is underway.
Choosing a Partner
When you’re undertaking a renovation job that takes almost six months and has total strangers in and out of your home every day, choosing a building contractor is much like choosing a partner. According to Rokicki-Guajardo, good strong relationships between the homeowner, designer, contractors and architect make a big difference in how the project flows, keeps the costs down and avoids problems all the way around.
“We chose BSI,” says John, “because there was a level of trust.” Not the cheapest, nor the most expensive, BSI proved to the Moyers they would be accountable for their work from the first time they visited their home.
“When they came to bid,” says Laurie Beth, “they brought all the subcontractors with them. We had like 15 people in here.”
“They were crawling all over the place,” adds John, “looking in all the nooks and crannies of the house.”
“BSI,” says Laurie Beth, “is like a well-oiled machine.”
According to Beisley, inviting all partners to the home is standard procedure to help them get realistic pricing as early as possible in the project.
“This way,” he says, “we get answers to questions before the project gets started.”
As far as home renovations go, this job started with a modest wish list: a bigger, open kitchen, a master suite and more guest space.
The Heart of the Home
“I wanted to open up the floor plan,” says Laurie Beth, “so I could see the kids from the kitchen.” What was a small, secluded kitchen now includes a family room, walk-in pantry and coffee bar.
The quartz countertop, stainless steel appliances, LED strip lighting and gas range are tell-tale signs that this home went through a renovation. But otherwise, the flooring matches the rest of the home.
“Daniel called it ‘seamless’,” says John, referring to Daniel Hurst, vice president of BSI, who came to estimate the job.
In an effort to keep the original feel of the home, so the untrained eye would never realize they tore off the entire back-end of the house and added 1,500 square feet, the contractors went to great lengths to maintain the character of the home. They saved and refinished all the original flooring and made new flooring to match. They installed period tiles in the bathrooms. They made new baseboard and crown molding for the addition to match the rest of the home. They even matched the arched doorway downstairs in the upstairs addition. Best of all, they kept the old steam radiators (and furnace), but added mini-splits for air conditioning.
The Master Suite
Upstairs, the master suite covers the entire second story of the addition. Large windows open it up to the treetops, particularly one large pin oak they worked hard to avoid while relocating sewer lines. A vaulted ceiling makes it feel larger than it is. And a bath and walk-in closet make it feel like John and Laurie Beth’s own private place.
The highlight of this space is the balcony that overlooks the backyard. Through French doors, this particular inspiration of Rokicki-Guajardo’s is the perfect place for morning coffee or for these two medical professionals to unwind after the boys go to bed.
The Guest Quarters
This four-bedroom, two and a half bath home includes one guest bedroom on the second floor. But because both John’s and Laurie Beth’s families live out-of-town, they wanted more space for visitors. That left the garage.
The detached, brick single-car garage was, according to John, a “falling down structure.” But because the bones were solid, they decided to put it to good use. Though not quite finished on the inside, the outside has a completely new roof, new facade with French doors and a patio.
To make this space more private, they cut the driveway back to stop in the front yard, installed fencing with a walk-through gate, and had Sal’s Property Improvement do his thing, which is amazing.
The backyard is one of Rodicki-Guajardo’s favorite parts of this job. Creating a relationship between the garage and the porch that was functional, as well as personal, was important to her.
“It was found space,” she says, referring to making something previously unused into a private retreat.
Outdoor Details Count
“It’s always a challenge,” says Rocicki-Guajardo, “to be sensitive to a client’s needs and at the same time the neighbors’ expectations or views of what is appropriate.”
Therefore, to make it possible for the Moyers to stay in their home and to preserve the character of the neighborhood, the project called for some pretty mean attention to detail.
“When you look at home additions,” she says, “a lot of them are out of scale or lack those details. There are so many details to make something feel like it grew there rather than just got stuck on the back of something.”
For the Moyers, in addition to tying the house and garage together with patio space, those details include matching 100-year-old brick, end-cutting exposed rafters to match and saving the tree.
John, Laurie Beth and the boys moved out for the six months the job took. But from the street, you’d never know it.
“The front appeared untouched,” says Beisley, “down to the rockers and coasters on the porch. But the house was completely missing in the back.”
Was it worth it? Absolutely. The Moyers couldn’t be happier.
The Beauty is in the Details
Significant details to the Moyers’ remodel job make this 100-year-old brick American Foursquare not just an architectural wonder, but a home.
Throughout both floors, cabinetry and built-ins provide a place for everything a family with two small children would possess. The folks at Rutrough Cabinets of Rocky Mount fashioned them all to complement the character of the home and their desired function. From the always-needed kitchen and bathroom cabinetry, to the built-in library shelving in the family room, to the bespoke produce bins for storing John’s garden veggies, this German-Baptist family of fine craftsmen left their mark in almost every room of the home.
Other details you’ll see here are the decorative tiles from Portugal behind the gas range, quartz countertops and farmhouse sink in the kitchen. And, in the bathrooms, subway tile, double sinks, glassed-in showers and heated floors.
Finally, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the attic playroom. This room isn’t just a functional space the boys will love as they get older, but the keeper of an important unseen detail.
“Monica is very focused on energy efficiency,” says John as he opens the panel to reveal new blown-in insulation.
“Yeah,” adds Laurie Beth, “we added 1,500 square feet to our home but our electric bill is one hundred dollars less per month.”
What can be more beautiful than saving on your electric bill?
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