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The work we believe speaks
for itself. Click the images below to access photo galleries of
the work we've performed.
Absher Sunroom and Deck
Absher Sunroom
and Deck: The Abshers needed more living space, as well as a safer
outdoor environment for their growing family. We removed their
delapidated deck, attached a Sunroom that extends off their Dining
Room, and we built a huge Deck around their favorite tree. The Deck
has a bar top built around the tree, plenty of bench seating, gates at
the top of both stairways, and plenty of storage underneath. The
Sunroom is built over a sealed crawlspace. It has wall-to-wall
windows, a tile floor, and a sliding glass door to access the Deck.
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Michelle's Kitchen
Michelle's
Kitchen: Michelle and Derrick bought their first house in Durham. They
loved everything except for the Kitchen. The IKEA-type cabinets and
laminate countertop were too outdated for their contemporary tastes.
Also, the layout was a little off. We gave them a new design with a
much smaller "work triangle", along with some high-end appliances,
including a gas cooktop with a glass hood vent. You'll notice that
with the full granite backsplashes, we had to custom-cut the top of
the granite at the same radius as the designer glass hood vent. The
cabinets are cherry with an espresso finish, dovetail soft-close
drawers, a wine rack, and several roll-out shelves for easy storage.
Michelle had a baby during the project, but we were able to wrap
everything up before she came home from the hospital, including a
professional cleaning job to eliminate construction dust for the
newborn. Now the Wolff-Jones family loves entertaining in their new
Gourmet Kitchen!
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Trosch Addition
Trosch Addition:
Michael Trosch is a do-it-yourselfer. Him and his wife bought this
house in Cary with plans of adding a Master Suite above the garage.
Michael had experience remodeling bathrooms, so he wanted to handle
the interior finishings himself. Olmstead Homesteads was contracted to
get the additional space through the sheetrock phase, and Michael
could take it from there. This meant we had to rough-in the
Electrical, Plumbing, and HVAC. We were glad to perform this task,
being thorough enough to match the brick exterior and shingles and
paint, while giving Michael 800 square feet of additional space that
he could finish on his own.
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Keck Concrete Pour
Keck Concrete Pour: The Kecks had a problematic front porch. The old
surface was settling and cracking. Water and ice were creating havoc
on not only the remainder of the porch, but also to the structure of
the house itself. They also never had a concrete driveway. We
excavated their failing porch floor and poured a dark gray-colored,
stamped concrete surface. We sloped the surface away from the house
and gave it a chamfered edge to drain rainwater. We also re-worked the
steps to make more sense, leading them to a walkway they use to get
to/from their garage. The steps have built-in safety lights installed
in the risers, which let off an attractive glow after dark. For the
driveway, we gave them enough space, as well as tapered turn-outs,
where they could easily tow their orange ski boat in and out of the
side garage. The driveway has a picture-framed edge detail on the
sides, and around the apron by the road.
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King Master Suite
King Master Suite:
The Kings bought a 70's house in Chapel Hill. Being their property was
on a lake, they wanted to take advantage of the views. There were 2
small bedrooms and a bathroom on the left side of the house, and a
mirror image of this layout on the left side. We decided to turn the
left side of the house into a grand Master Suite, with a walk-in
Closet. The ceilings were vaulted, but you couldn't tell because of
the floor-to-ceiling walls, and the small hallway connecting the 3
rooms. We lowered all of the walls to 7-feet, drastically opening up
the upper area, and connecting the rooms together, which also allowed
the natural daylight from the huge windows to fill the space. While we
were there, we did some Kitchen upgrades as well. The Kitchen was cut
off from the Living Room, so we created a pass-through opening in an
unused wall. The Fridge area had a ton of unused space, so we opened
it up to allow for storage, along with some architectural detail. The
owners had some Ikea cabinets and granite installed to finish it off.
This house is now up-to-date, luxurious, and it has some killer views!
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Barbee-Dorrance Flip
Barbee-Dorrance Flip: Rebecca & Jess loved their home's makeover so
much, they wanted to try it on a neighboring house. This time they
were acting as investors, and together with Olmstead Homesteads and a
successful realtor in Durham, Jessica Slice-Sadler, this was a huge
success! The 1940's home was sagging in the middle of the floor by a
good 3 inches. We jacked it up and undergirded it with new piers and
beams. Then we got to work updating the entire 2000 square feet of
living space. We opened up the wall to the Dining Room, added a
window-like pass through opening over the Kitchen sink on the Dining
Room wall, and we totally rearranged the upstairs. There was a loft
area that was basically unusable, so we converted it to a Luxury
Bathroom and a huge Walk-in Closet. Construction took less than 3
months, and the house was sold only weeks later for a considerable
profit. Rebecca & Jess definitely have a future in flipping more homes
in their home town.
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Neuman Stairs
Neuman Stairs: You
have seen the Neuman's unbelievable Attic Upfit. The stairs to get to
the space were once closed off with a door at the bottom. Not only was
it hard to get to, but it felt dark and dungeon-like in the stairway.
We removed one of the walls that opens up to the Dining Room,
installed a structural column, and added open spindles to air the
space out. We had to do some repairs to the squeaky steps, but then we
stained the treads and painted the risers. The owners put down a
runner, and now it's an attractive Staircase... and you should see how
much bigger the Dining Room looks after opening all of that up!
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Barbee-Dorrance
Residence
Barbee-Dorrance Residence: Rebecca and Jess bought a lovely Cape Cod
in Durham, where they raise their twin daughters. By finishing off
their attic, this family was hoping for a larger Master Bath and
closets downstairs, while providing a large Bed/Bath/Playspace for the
girls upstairs. The steep, narrow stairway was closed off with a door,
which made it dark, unsafe, and unpractical. The girls love spending
time in their own personal suite. While we were there, we gave the
Barbee-Dorrances new energy efficient windows, a custom-designed
contemporary fence/gate for a safe play space outside, a minor tweak
to the layout of the fridge area, and we opened up the walls closing
off the Dining Room/Family Room/Kitchen by installing a showpiece
stained-oak column. This family does not want to go anywhere else now!
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Neuman Attic Uplift
Neuman Attic Upfit:
The Neumans had a bat-infested attic in Durham. There was about an
inch of guano and a thick stench when you walked up to the unfinished
space in their 1950's Bungalo. After blowing up their small dormer to
add head room, as well as necessary fire egress windows, we reframed
the sagging roof with sweet-smelling lumber and dozens of LVL support
rafters and sanded the floors for a fresh start. Spray-foam insulation
allowed us to keep the maximum ceiling height possible. Sliding pocket
doors everywhere maximized our limited floor space. The Master Bath
included an operable skylight over the shower, frameless glass door, a
double vanity, and slate tile everywhere. The functional exposed brick
chimney gives the space a loft-like feel, and it breaks up the Bedroom
from the Sitting Room. A walk-in Closet is in one corner, and attic
scuttle doors allow for storage over the roof eaves. The owners'
favorite part is a spacious and comfy window seat that even has
storage built-in below.
Update: The Neumans have since had a baby and wanted to move to a more
family-friendly subdivision. After the price of their original
purchase on this home and all expenses paid to Olmstead Homesteads,
the Neumans walked away for over $40,000 cash in their hand (profit
earned by adding this space) to use toward their next home!
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Pittsboro Detached
Garage
Pittsboro Detached Garage: John loved his contemporary style house in
Pittsboro, and he wanted a detached garage to match. We designed and
built just what he wanted and needed. With cedar siding stained to
match, custom painted garage doors, and huge plate glass windows
shedding light into the second level, it's as if it were built at the
same time as the house. Downstairs is a Powder Room for convenience,
as well as a washing sink for dirty parts. John works on his antique
sports cars in this heated space, with tall enough ceilings to lift
the vehicles above his head! Upstairs is a hardwood floored open space
used as a yoga room and office. To create one open space up there, we
installed the biggest LVL beam you've ever seen. John loves his 1800
square feet of additional heated space... it's like a home away from
home, just across the driveway.
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Olmstead Residence
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Betimca Subdivision |
Faulkner Residence
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Huff Residence
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Bathroom Remodel
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Gary Residence Decking
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Clay Tile Roof
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Charity Work
Relay for Life:
To help raise funds for Breast Cancer Awareness, Olmstead Homesteads
constructed a Texas-style jailhouse to be set up at all future Relay
for Life events in Garner, NC. Partnering with a local church, we set
out collecting "warrants" for "arrests" where the plaintiffs paid
$1/minute to lock up their friends, brothers, mothers, and kids. The
plaintiffs could either serve their time, or they could buy down their
time at $1/minute. It was a lot of fun, we even caught the Chic-Fil-A
Cow, and it helped raise about a thousand dollars for the event! This
jail cell can be taken apart into smaller, more transportable,
sections, and it will be re-used for years to come.
Haiti Trip: Partnering with some local churches, Olmstead Homesteads
was able to make a trip to Haiti to help build a shelter that will
serve many purposes. High on top of a mountain, many small villages
are without basic medical supplies, clean water, and many children are
homeless. This mission center will serve the local communities by
administering minor medical tasks, as well as housing and training
some local young men to make a positive influence in the area. While
we were there, we installed vinyl windows and doors, installed the
ceiling boards, poured concrete for the floors, and built 2 water
cisterns. We were also able to completely wire the mission center, so
it can be powered by an external generator. Now they have a functional
home complete with showers, toilets, and lights! |
Our specialties are
virtually unlimited. Our experience spans all aspects of construction from
plumbing to masonry. There is one you can turn to for any task.
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