For their second project working with a couple on their 1920s house, the team at Austin, Texas-based David Wilkes Builders was asked to replace an enclosed breezeway connecting two structures of the home with a larger addition to allow for a kitchen expansion. While renovating a historic home is typically anything but straight forward, in this case, the architect also threw the team a literal curveball.
The main goals of the project were to update the kitchen within the larger space, relocate a powder room and visually join the exterior of the addition with the existing structures. Because the architect wanted the addition to offer a clear contrast with the historic home, he designed it with modern zinc siding and a curved zinc roof.
“The design looked amazing, so we were excited to build it,” said Christian Bingham, director of operations, David Wilkes Builders. “Curved roofs are always a challenge, and there were a lot of clever details.”
Challenge #1: Not So Fast
Before the team could start the project, they had to get permission from the Historic Preservation Committee. Waiting for the permits was time consuming but expected. The unexpected obstacle was the official decision that an exterior door with an arched overhang on the side of the house, which was considered historic, had to be saved.
By that time, the architect had already drawn in a new door to sit in the middle of the addition, also on the side of the house. Inside, the kitchen was arranged around having the new door and not the old one.
Rather than reworking the kitchen layout, the builders covered part of the glass-paned original door inside the kitchen, making it look like a window. From the outside, it still looks like a door, but it is nonfunctioning.
Challenge #2: Finding Footing
The expanded kitchen layout was designed to easily accommodate a modern lifestyle. Even more square footage was gained by taking over the powder room, which was then relocated to a former closet.
The bigger challenge came from the fact that half of the kitchen sat above a basement, a rarity in Austin, but a functional space housing the mechanical equipment and new plumbing.
It was above this basement that the team had to move a massive, heavy, two-door wine refrigerator. To support it, they added extra flooring joists and beams down to the lower foundation. The steel beams were thin enough that the basement remained spatially open and functional.
Challenge #3: The Shape of Things
The most significant complication came in the form of the curved roof – a challenge heightened by the profile of the exterior walls. Envisioned as a clearly modern connection between two structures of the historic home, the addition features a zinc panel exterior with full-width, countertop-to-ceiling windows on the back and a curved zinc roof.
Additionally, the plans called for an integrated gutter that could not protrude past the plane of the wall, so the structure’s sleek profile would not be broken.
“The challenge was how to put enough support in there to hold up roof, make the curve and integrate the gutter system,” said Bingham. “And for it not to leak.”
Pulling it together took significant coordination with the steel erection team, the framers, the roofers and the contractors. The zinc roof panels were pre-curved, which meant knowing the exact radius of the roof and building the structure to accommodate it, then coordinating with the roofer to make sure it would be waterproof.
“The shape isn’t crazy, but curves are more difficult,” said Bingham. “We had to get everyone on the same page.”
There was a lot to learn from this project, and while the wall, roof and unique material dilemmas have not come up again, when they do, the team will know how to solve them.
Sources
Builder: David Wilkes Builders, David Wilkes, Owner Architect: Sanders Architecture Photographer: Ryann Ford Backsplash/Wall Tile: Zellige tile Countertop & Shelves: Absolute black granite Cabinet Paint: Sherwin-Williams Cabinets: Kingwood Fine Cabinetry Dishwasher: Bosch Faucets: Waterstone Lighting: Artemide, Copenhagen & Nora Microwave: Sharp Pot Filler: Waterworks Range & Ventilation: BlueStar Refrigerator & Wine Refrigerator: Sub-Zero Sinks: Rohl Windows: Marvin Zinc Panels: Rheinzink
