Easterday Construction

Historic Renovations

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We have completed many historic projects over the years.  If you are considering a historic renovation project a 20% tax credit is available as an incentive to encourage you.  The first step is to see if your proposed project qualifies.  Here are the Secretary of The Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation:

  1. A property shall be used for its historic purpose or be placed in a new use that requires minimal change to the defining characteristics of the building, its site and environment.
  2. The historic character of a property shall be retained and preserved.  Ther removal of historic materials, or alterations of features and spaces that characterize a property, shall be avoided.
  3. Each property shall be recognized as a physical record of its time, place and use.  Changes that create a false sense of historical development shall not be undertaken.
  4. Most properties change over time; those changes that have acquired historic significance in their own right shall be retained and preserved.
  5. Distinctive features, finishes and construction techniques or examples of craftsmanship that characterize a property shall be preserved.
  6. Deteriorated historic features shall be repaired rather than replaced.  Where the severity of deterioration requires replacement of a distinctive feature, the new feature shall match the old in design, color, texture and other visual qualities, and if possible, materials.
  7. Chemical or physical treatments, such as sandblasting, that cause damage to historic materials shall not be used.
  8. Significant archaeological resources affected by a project shall be protected and preserved.
  9. New additions, exterior alterations or related new construction shall not destroy historic materials that characterize the property.
  10. New additions and adjacent or related new construction shall be undertaken in such a manner that, if removed in the future, the essential form and integrity of the historic property and its environment would be unimpaired.

Historic renovation is also one of the most green forms of construction.  Finding a new use for a historic building may well save the structure from the landfill.  Careful analysis should be conducted, though.  Old is not always historic.  Historic structures are notorious for construction cost overrun issues as well as operational costs that exceed those of new construction.  As the project is considered, it must be determined if the project is being approached altruistically or for profit.

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Outdoor Living Project I

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This Fall we received the opportunity to work on a unique project.  We were asked to take over a project for a poolside cabana project.  The project had gone through multiple initial designs, but the original contractor was an expert in landscape masonry and not in the type of structural project this had become.  We were asked to look into options to make the project work.

North Elevation

We were able to redesign the roof line to match the house as the owner originally wanted.  We added a bathroom with a shower to improve the usability.  We redesigned the fireplace to tie it to the structure.  We improved the drainage system allowing leveling of the paving system.  We added hurricane shutters to protect the interior as well as extend the useful seasons.  We employed Scearce Rudisel Architects to provide drawings and verify that we were on track to meet the owners’ vision.

Step DetailThe original design called for sand set pavers, but because the interior of the project was enclosed on three sides, we revised the design to include a sloped concrete slab base with the floor pavers set on pedestals to level the floor.  This system is similar those we have used on roof deck projects.  This allowed for a flat floor, with positive drainage beneath the pavers.  The cabana was to be raised one step above the existing pool deck, so we installed a trench drain to collect water from the sloped deck of the pool.  The step also allowed us to create a new level edge from which to start our construction.  (The pool deck had previously drained into a landscape area and the edge did not need to be perfectly level and was allowed to have variations.)  The pavers themselves will be 24″ x 24″ x 1-1/2″ thick installed in a stacked  bond pattern.

The outdoor kitchen has been designed with stainless steel appliances protected by a stacked block wall.  The wall will create bar height seating on two sides.  The bar and countertops will be Typhoon Bordeaux granite.

Cabana Columns & Beams in placeThe exterior roof style has been designed to mirror the existing home’s roof line.  To reduce the water returning to the pool deck at the front of the structure, the top section of the roof has been designed with a slight slope to the rear.  Flashings will be installed to hide the slope.  Gutters will be installed around the entire structure for continuity and rain chains will be installed to handle the minimal water exiting the front, while downspouts will be concealed at the rear to handle the majority of runoff.  The interior ceiling shall be comprised of two crossing barrels giving added height to the interior.

Cabana Truss Installation UnderwayFoundations and slabs are in place, steel columns have been set and the roof framing is underway.  Roof sheeting should be underway yet this week.  Weather has held up the fireplace mason, but we are working around that the best we can.  Despite poor weather conditions, the project is beginning to take shape.

Happy New Year 2011!

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Here’s hoping everyone in the Easterday Construction Co., Inc. family, those we have met, those that we have affected and those that have affected us, have a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!  Let your hair down and Bang Your Head!  It’s a new year with all its promise of better things to come. 

Happy New Year!

Happy Birthday to Bob Cooper

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Bob is celebrating a Birthday today.  He informed me today that as of this Birthday, he has been with Easterday Construction as long as he hasn’t!  Ha!  Bob has been a Superintendent for us for nearly a decade and an employee for much longer than that.  I count on him for his expertice in several fields.  Not only that, but he has been with Easterday Construction longer than I have so he knows where a lot of things are hidden.  (Easterday’s has been here since the 1920’s, so even Bob doesn’t know where everything is.  Four generations of pack rats have accumulated a lot.) 

Bob was the mystery Citizen in the Culver Citizen last week.  He’s pretty easy to recognize.  He is the third Easterday Construction employee (that I know of) to be featured.  I’ve been featured twice and Leroy Bean made an appearance as well.  (If there is another former employee that has appeared that you know of, let me know.)

Congratulations to Andrea Cook and The Midas Center

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Picture from Midas Center Reception
Attendees at The Midas Center Reception (Left to Right: Bob Wagner, Brent Martin, Kevin Berger and Marcy EckoffWagner

Congratulations to Andrea Cook and The Midas Center  on their move to their new location at 200 North Michigan Street in Plymouth.  I attended their Reception on December 17th and it was interesting to see their progress and the various people, some of them old friends, that are involved and were there to help them.

I initially connected to Andrea through her position on the Culver Redevelopment Commission.  She has become quite active in the Culver and Plymouth Communities through her business at The Midas Center as well as her two community promotion sites, iHEARTplymouth and iHEARTculver.  I have consulted with Andrea and her husband Phil on the status of the historic building they have purchased and we are working with them on a restoration project at the site.