Getting Started

In 2003, already feeling restricted by our tiny home, we compensated for the lack of space by building a 400 square foot deck off the back of the “laundry tumor.” Bolstered by a new pine fence and professional landscaping, this outdoor “room” addition was an excellent distraction from what would later return to haunt us.

Perhaps having two bathrooms is a luxury.  If so, then wanting more than 30 inches of kitchen counter space is indulgent. Joel loves to cook however you wouldn’t know this given his output. Cory grew tired of Joel’s clutter and the lack of space for furniture to comfortably seat guests. We yearned to not be able to give tours of the entire house standing still in one central spot.

In 2007, we casually called a few contractors over to assess the problem and get ballpark figures on what it would cost to “fix it.”  This was, of course, futile. Without a specific design, nobody could really guess. Neither of us were ready or willing to sink a significant investment into architect fees for a design we couldn’t know would be affordable. So we bottled our feelings and went shopping. The specter of remodeling was held at bay by new bedroom furniture.

Returning Itch

A year passed. Jogging with Caesar (AKA Mr. Puppy AKA Mr. PuppypantsWhoDoesn’tWearPants) Joel passed an attractive home under construction on 12^th Street. The contractor’s sign was staked in the lawn. Joel, being ever-shy, knocked on the door to inquire about their project. Turns out they were thrilled with the contractor they’d used on a few projects.

Changing names to protect the innocent, we called Nat Stone of Espionage Homes in April, 2009 to again explore our residential desires. Smart and helpful, Nat thought it would be best for us to work with an architect since we weren’t sure who we ultimately would hire for the job. Nat felt the best and most cost effective plan would be to demolish our garage and build a new one that would support a 2^nd floor master suite. He felt this would be less invasive and cheaper than trying to add a second floor to the existing bungalow.

Nat referred us to an architect to develop plans to be bid by anyone we chose. We’ll call him Michael Smeller. Joel dubbed him “Burpy” for obvious (and chronic) reasons. He looked every bit the caricature of an architect; artful eyewear, colorful shirts, trendy denim, and pointy-toed loafers. On our second meeting, Burpy arrived a bit late after calling to ask permission to grab a quick bite. Joel knew quickly upon his arrival that the menu had included a burger and coke. Burpy’s belched apology confirmed.

It became clear he was interested in designing our home without our priorities in mind.

He unveiled a disappointing plan to add a measly 400 square feet on top of our current home. Considering he and Nat had convinced us building over the garage was the direction to go, this came as a surprise. Not only was this NOT what he’d agreed to design, but we were not remodeling to reap only 400 more square feet. After a heated discussion, Burpy agreed to talk to Nat and get his input on the cost of the garage scheme versus the build up on our existing house. Then, after ignoring our attempts to contact him for several days, Burpy broke up with us. In a two sentence email, he explained that our project wasn’t a good match for him. We weren’t angry about ending this relationship. We were upset that we were the dump-ees.

Burpy ripped us off like a fiance saying “yes” and then walking off with the ring. We paid him $625. He spent about 2.5 hours measuring our house and returned a doodle and an inaccurate CAD drawing.

Burpy's Doodle

We later had to have everything remeasured. We presume he badmouthed us to Nat Stone because Nat wouldn’t return our calls. We did take some pleasure discovering that Smeller’s website became defunct shortly thereafter. Whether or not that has meaning, we’ll never know.  We choose to believe it does. Burpy did leave us with one useful scrap of paper which served as a conversation starter with our next architect.

Appeasing the Powers That Be and Those That Wish They Be

In searching for a General Contractor, Joel stumbled upon some recommendations by residents in the neighboring Woodland Heights area in an online forum. Billy Lucas of Lucas Craftsmanship Inc. received  positive reviews. With no other leads, we called Billy and arranged for a meeting. Billy brought along Tim Schorre of Morningside Architects as they worked together on many projects like ours.

Our goal was clear: add a master suite and a larger, modern kitchen while attempting to create a floor plan that seemed logical and organic.

We didn’t want the new space to feel like an addition. Also, we didn’t want to lose any space in the downstairs master including its closet. We knew we’d have to sacrifice some yard space, but wanted to keep that impact to a minimum.

Tim proved to be an excellent listener who understood our goals.  He had helpful ideas and we hired him to put together rough schematic drawings for two different design schemes:

1. Demo the garage and build a new garage with a second floor and tie the addition to the existing home
2. Add a second floor to our existing home

We took these drawings back to Billy Lucas who gave us ballpark pricing for each scenario.  Ultimately, we liked the aesthetic and function of the second option more and since it was less expensive, we opted to explore this further.

Our next step was to seek approval from the Proctor Plaza Neighborhood Association. Given the deed restrictions in our historic neighborhood, homeowners cannot proceed without a written blessing from the Proctor Plaza Neighborhood Association. Further, the City of Houston requires homeowners to apply for a Certificate of Appropriateness. The COA is issued once the Houston Archaeological and Historical Commission reviews your drawings at one of their monthly meetings and gives you their stamp.  Turns out that if the HAHC doesn’t like your plans, it doesn’t really matter because they have no lasting authority. If denied, you can wait 90 days then pick up your building permits without their approval. (However you then forfeit a discount on your permitting fees along with property tax breaks afforded to homeowners engaged in “restoration” efforts.)

We contacted Thomas McWhorter who works for the City of Houston Planning and Development Dept. To help owners of historic homes comply with the Historic Preservation Ordinance, he offers design guidance in preparation to apply for the Certificate of Appropriateness. The first question Thomas asked was, “Did the Proctor Plaza Neighborhood Association already approve your drawings?” The answer was no. We didn’t realize it, but our deed restrictions give ultimate authority to the neighborhood association. Without their written approval, Thomas would not continue working with us.  This seemed counter-intuitive. It made sense that the City would have more authority, but this is not the case. Thomas explained the goal of preservation architecture is a clear demarcation between the original historic structure and the addition. The addition should complement the original home without trying to pass itself off as original. (Basically, it should be obvious that the addition is an addition.) This was unexpected but made sense in an academic sort of way.

Next we contacted Marcus Fleming, VP of Deed Restriction Enforcement for the Proctor Plaza Neighborhood Association. Marcus asked us to e-mail the drawings so he could put them out to the Board for evaluation. This made us nervous.  What were their criteria? What was important to them? Unfortunately they have no written standards so each approval is an exercise in whim and subjectivity. Marcus did share that they insist on the use of wood double-hung windows, no vinyl. We knew from asking questions of the previous VP years ago that second floors must be set back on the rear of the home so that they appear less visible from the front. We also heard that they prefer designs that blend seamlessly with the original house and don’t appear to scream “add on.”  Yes, the opposite of what the City prefers.

The senselessness was starting to make sense. You design to appease the homeowners’ association and hope that the City likes the designs too.  If the City doesn’t award you a Certificate of Appropriateness, you wait 90 days after which you can blow them off and proceed with whatever you want.

We e-mailed our drawings to Marcus Fleming who forwarded them to the rest of the Board. They had their Star Chamber e-mail election and approved our drawings provided we would use wood windows. They also said final approval was contingent on resubmitting our drawings after going through the City COA process. They want to be sure the City hasn’t steered your drawings too far from what they approved.

Back to Thomas McWhorter. Overall he found our designs acceptable and emphasized the need to distinguish the addition from the original structure. By using hardi-plank siding on the addition and continuing the roof eaves back to salvage the appearance of the old house, Thomas was on board. He prepared the application for the Certificate of Appropriateness and scheduled us for the June meeting of the Houston Archaeological and Historical Commission. That was interesting. Thomas presented each application to the voting members who viewed the plans on video monitors and debated simple issues that made me wonder if any of them had ever been to one of their own meetings.  One woman asked, “Thomas, did you advise these homeowners that they should have used a hip-style roof on this addition?” Thomas replied, “Actually, we advised AGAINST this. It’s preferred that the addition not attempt to mirror the historic building.” These debates continued. the acceptability of hardi-plank, the size, etc. It became clear that this entire process for preservation was being determined by a group of uninformed amateurs who maintain no memory of their decisions on basic issues which they vote on again and again, month after month. No wonder you can ignore their decision after 90 days! In the end, they awarded our COA almost unanimously.

The sketches went back to the Proctor Plaza Neighborhood Association who had another secret ballot e-mail election, provided more commentary, but ultimately sent us a final approval letter to proceed with our work.

Working further with Tim Schorre was a great experience. We had no idea just how much was involved. First a soil test. They drilled into the earth and pulled out a plug of soil that went off to a lab where they reported its weight bearing properties for the purpose of designing a foundation. These reports then went to an engineer who analyzed the data and created a foundation plan. Our home is pier-and-beam with a crawl space. The foundation design stipulated how many piers would be needed as well as their positioning.

Despite our job being a small one for Tim, he was patient with our questions, input, changes, etc.

• Where would the windows go?
• If you place them for your needs inside the home, does their placement look odd on the exterior?
• If you remove the window in the closet, does the exterior elevation look flat and lifeless?
• How big a tub will we want? Does it steal from a spacious shower?

These issues are endless. Most changes, while they meet one desire have an undesirable effect on something else. We learned that you have to give an architect your priority list, trust, and try to get out of the way.

Our finished designs were exactly what we wanted. Sadly, after final pricing from Lucas, it was going to cost 25% more than the initial estimate. There were many reasons for this, all of them understandable and a bit disappointing. By this time we had invested too much time and money to not proceed on to financing.

The Lender

Given the mortgage meltdown of 2008–09, even borrowers with excellent credit are punished with delays, indecision, red tape, etc. We were in the market for a “one-time close construction loan.” This means you refinance your existing loan up front, secure the short-term construction financing, and create a provision for rolling the entire note into permanent loan at the end of construction. This product allows the borrower to accomplish all of this with one set of closing costs.

The problem is that by the time we were ready to proceed, Whitney Bank was the only lender actually offering this. When we first began working with them, they assured us we could close in three to four weeks. In reality, it took well into the third month.

Permits

If government offices hand you red tape, call your city councilman. What should have taken hours took two weeks. If not for the help of John Daniel in the District H office, it could have lasted four. Ask your elected officials for help when needed. It seems they’re there to help you.

After all of this, construction started.