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Twin kitchen islands with rattan counter stools

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Webster Groves Addition & Renovation

Residential
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The Finished Home

Arched hallway framing the blue front door
Mudroom hall with exposed stone wall and built-in lockers
Kitchen island with beamed ceiling and blue cabinetry
Marble-topped island facing the range and plaster hood
Twin kitchen islands with rattan counter stools
Professional range and hood set between two islands
Long island lined with rattan counter stools
Kitchen with built-in wine refrigerator and open shelving
Kitchen island with white cabinetry and floating shelves
Dining room with farm table and rattan bistro chairs
Dining room with navy bar cabinetry and wine refrigerators
Living room with marble fireplace and slipcovered seating
Family room with sectional sofa and built-in window seats
Built-in cabinetry and window seats flanking the TV
Family room built-ins with cushioned window seating
Great room sectional looking through to the kitchen
Family room with sliding doors to the covered porch
Open sliding doors joining family room and porch
Covered porch with stone fireplace and pine ceiling
Porch seating grouped around the stone fireplace
Oak stair rail and white balusters at the landing
Primary bedroom with sitting area and wall-mounted TV
Primary suite with sofa and French doors to the bathroom
Bed framed by sconces with a wicker storage bench
Primary bedroom with arched floor mirror and oak floors
Primary bedroom looking toward the sitting area and ensuite
Primary bedroom with French doors opening to the bath
Primary bathroom with twin blue vanities and freestanding tub
Freestanding tub beneath a woven rattan pendant
Freestanding tub centered between matching blue vanities
Primary bath tub with a view through to the bedroom
Bedroom with twin bed, dresser and wall-mounted TV
Child's bedroom with painted brick fireplace and storage bed
Bedroom fireplace with mounted TV and cubby shelving
Children's bedroom with navy bunk beds and plantation shutters
Guest bedroom with wood bed frame and light oak floors
Bedroom with armchair, ottoman and tall dresser
Bathroom with navy vanity and brass fixtures
Navy vanity with brass faucet and framed mirror
Blue bathroom with arched mirror and glass shower
Tiled tub and shower with glass panel and brass fittings
Walk-in pantry with oak shelving and quartz counters

Before the Work Began

The original house from the driveway, with its stone retaining wall and yellow siding
Cracked asphalt parking area and stone retaining wall before work began
The original yellow clapboard house seen from the street
The original front porch with rocking chairs and painted wood decking
Covered breezeway between the original house and the garage
Rear elevation of the original house showing the stone chimney and French doors
Rear elevation of the original house with its bay window
Side of the original house along the iron fence and stone base
Original screened porch at the rear, set on a stone base
Back yard looking toward the original screened porch
Back yard of the original property looking away from the house
The original screened porch seen from the lawn
Side yard between the original house and the property fence
Narrow side yard with the original stone retaining wall
Deteriorated exterior wood steps beside the original stone wall
Front elevation of the original hundred-year-old house with its stone foundation
The original house seen from the street
Worn original front steps leading up to the entry
Original kitchen and dining area with dark hardwood flooring
Original hallway with the plaster arch that was kept in the new design
Original kitchen with a slate floor, white cabinetry and an arched opening
Original kitchen looking back through the arched opening
Original kitchen sink wall with a farmhouse sink and dark countertop
Original hallway with slate flooring
Original living space with a ceiling fan and dark flooring
Original room looking through the arch toward the kitchen
Inside the original screened porch, with a stone floor and stone fireplace
Original screened porch showing the beamed ceiling and stone fireplace
Original hallway with patterned carpet
Original hallway with a paneled door and dark hardwood
Original bathroom with a dark vanity and mosaic tiled wall
Original carpeted hallway
Original bedroom with a dark wood bed and chandelier
Original bathroom with an arched alcove and dark trim
Original basement corridor used for storage

During Construction

Anzac Developments site sign on the front lawn
Dumpster in the driveway beside the house in its housewrap
Pile of stone and lumber from the demolition
Excavated ground at the side of the house beside the dumpster
Original siding stripped back to bare wood, with the stone foundation exposed
The original house with its siding removed at the front porch
Bare original wood siding beside the front entry
Plywood patch where an original window opening was closed up
Trench opened alongside the original stone foundation for underpinning
Underpinning trench running along the basement wall
Excavation beside the original foundation wall
Tape measure showing the depth of the underpinning excavation
Rebar cage set in the foundation trench
Foundation reinforcement and starter bars ready for concrete
New foundation formwork and concrete being placed
Drainage and utility runs laid in gravel
Trench cut across the yard for new services
New service pipes stubbed up beside the house
New concrete slab and steel beam in the lower level
Finished lower level slab with the new steel beam in place
Crane lifting steel beams into place on site
Exterior stairwell to the lower level during construction
Excavation exposing the original stone wall beside new services
The original house raised on temporary cribbing so it could be leveled
Front of the original house supported on temporary posts during leveling
The original house on temporary posts with new siding started
Framing underway on the new addition, with lumber staged on the deck
Carpenters raising framed walls on the new addition
Framing the new addition, with carpenters working on the deck above
Roof framing seen from below against the housewrap
Crane on site as the new addition is framed alongside the wrapped original house
New porch framing along the rear elevation above the original stone foundation
Framing for the new porch roof beside the new windows
Framed floor structure over gravel at the new porch
Gravel base and slab beneath the new porch framing
Freshly placed concrete slab beneath the new framing
Housewrap going on beside the retained original stone chimney
Front of the house part way through being wrapped
Housewrap across the front elevation
Completed housewrap on the side wall
Wrapped porch area with demolition debris below
New lap siding and concrete path along the side of the house
New composite decking laid on the rebuilt porch
Wood-patterned stamped concrete on the new patio
Stamped concrete patio beneath the new covered porch framing
Interior room with subfloor down and insulation going in
Original stone foundation wall in the basement with new spray foam insulation above
Drywalled room with electrical rough-in and new windows
New bay window framed and drywalled, ready for flooring
Hallway after drywall, with the new stair opening framed
Great room with the coffered ceiling drywalled and sliding doors fitted
Uncoupling membrane laid ready for floor tiling
Floor tile being set with leveling clips over the membrane
Tiling underway across the bathroom floor
Marble-look floor tile being laid in the hallway
White oak floorboards being laid
Kitchen and great room with hardwood flooring stacked to acclimate
New handrail installed at the top of the stairs
Kitchen cabinetry and glass-front doors staged before installation
Kitchen island cabinetry set on the new hardwood floor
Utility room with new white cabinetry and protected countertops
Kitchen cabinetry installed beneath the new beamed ceiling
Kitchen and living space with beams in place and cabinetry going in
Kitchen and great room during finish work, with the island framed and floors protected

About This Project

This Webster Groves home was a little over 100 years old and about 2,500 square feet when we started. Over roughly 10 months we renovated it throughout and added a further 2,500 square feet, close to doubling the house.

Marrying old and new

The existing house was neither square nor level. It sat 3 inches out of level, so before anything else we raised it and brought it back to level, then built the new addition to match. That is what lets the finished house read as one building rather than two. The front porch was reframed level at the same time. We kept the entryway arches from the original home so the new plan still carries some of its character.

What the old house was hiding

Demolition turned up framing that would not pass an inspection today, including door and window openings with no headers over them. We brought all of it up to code. We also found fire damage in the roof of the existing exterior porch and rebuilt it, rather than leave a problem for someone to find later. The house still had its original knob and tube wiring, which we removed and replaced with a full rewire to current standards.

Underpinning the existing foundation while the new foundation was being poured was the most demanding structural part of the job. There was no off-the-shelf answer to it, so our team design-built and coordinated that work as it went.

Matching new stone to stone that is over 100 years old is difficult, and our masons did a fine job of it.

Permitting, access and communication

Inspections had to be booked one to two weeks ahead, so we planned around them to keep the schedule intact, and over the course of the project we became well trusted by the municipal building inspectors. Site access was tight for both deliveries and parking, and careful planning kept that from slowing the work down.

This was a design-build project that took shape as it went, which only works if the communication does. Our in-house designers guided that process alongside the homeowners, keeping the job on track while their ideas developed.