When my husband Bart and I looked at houses to buy in the Omaha area last April, we narrowed down our choices to two newly constructed spec homes. Bart’s preferred house needed a few renovations to fit our lifestyle and, after eight years of renovating our first home together, Bart preferred not to “live” with contractors again, so he acquiesced to my preference—the house we now not-so-lovingly refer to as the “lemon”. I had hoped in this column to tell you the problems we were having with the lemon have been resolved. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. (Read the introduction to the lemon in the Fall 2023 issue.)
We continue to discover plumbing leaks behind walls. We have not been able to use our microwave/
wall oven combo for more than a month. We have learned our home was not plumbed to soften both
sides of the house (Nebraska has hard water) without adding more lines to the main. And, now that
Winter is upon us, our daughter Clare’s bedroom is frigid. It has a very high ceiling, a large east-facing
window and only one HVAC vent, which could not keep the room cool in summer and is not warming it
now. These issues already have or will require more cuts in drywall and flooring, repairs/replacement,
painting and more. We have had a steady flow of contractors coming through our home since we moved in—the exact opposite of what Bart (and I) expected by purchasing a new build.
I realize the team that built our lemon was not like the communicative teams mentioned in the stories
of this issue of retrofit home. The authors of these stories took the time to mention the dedication of
the teams and that their work is ultimately what created these successful projects and made homeowners happy. What a concept!
For example, Author Lisa Boquiren refers to the group of trades that came together to renovate a Ranch-style home for longtime owners as a “dream team”. She writes, “This project is an example of what a dream team, consisting of architect, landscape architect and builder, along with other project team members, can accomplish—a dream home that encapsulates the essence of California living for contemporary times and for the future.” Read the story now.
In another example, our cover story explains how a late-1800s Queen Anne home, on a prominent San Francisco street, underwent years of strategic efforts between the city’s historic planners, the design and engineering teams, and many subs. The home was completely restructured to meet the needs of its current owners. The more than 100-year-old home even was lifted from its foundation to create an underground garage. Just thinking about the effort, logistics, communication and dedication required for a project of this magnitude blows my mind!
My entire publishing career (23 years), I have only written about design and construction. When I
started, “doing it right the first time” and “buildings are systems” were mantras. Based on the stories in
this issue, I know these tenets are still alive and well in the design and construction industry.
I recently subscribed several of our builder’s employees to retrofit home. I have faith that when they
see the dedication of other building industry professionals throughout the country, they’ll start working a little harder to create fewer lemons.
