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Mid 50s Brick Farmhouse Remodel

This project involved the total interior and exterior restoration (plus additions) of a 1950s-era brick home built on a pier-and-beam foundation. The house had been abandoned for nearly 10 years, and was an “extra” to the owners main residence on a Longhorn ranch assembled from several smaller land parcels.

Originally, the house was intended to be “fixed up” to serve as a residence provided to a future ranch manager. However, the project was quickly expanded by the owner to accommodate a significant resale potential.

At the start, the house was uninhabitable – the well hadn’t been used in a decade; the electric wiring was inadequate and far below code, as was the plumbing. There was neither central heat nor air conditioning. The roof and ceilings were sagging badly from age and substandard construction. Floors were uneven from settling of the pier-and-beam foundation, and the house was infested with termites that had destroyed the floor plates and joist-ends.

The only “good” things in the house were the good condition of the brick veneer and the solid oak wood flooring throughout.

Reconstruction began with jacking up the house to level the floor and replace termite-damaged structural members, completely stripping the interior walls down to the structural 2x4s, removing ALL of the ceiling joists and replacing them and jacking/re-bracing the entire roof structure.
 

Then, all new wiring, plumbing and central HVAC, complete with telephone, cable and network wiring. The garage was converted to a master suite, with a 20x16 bedroom, 4 x 6 walk-in closet and full bath.
A carport was added along with a large storage room and a continuous covered porch surrounds the house that varies in depth from 10 feet to 19 feet – 1,970 square feet of covered porch; 90 more square feet than the 4 bedroom/2 bath living space of the house.

All exterior decorative wood is cedar, including the cedar plywood that serves as soffit, porch ceilings and carport interior walls and ceilings. The porch is of pressure-treated structure and decking; the roof is copper-colored sheet metal. There are 5 entrances to the home off of the porches – a primary front door; a rear kitchen door; a double French door off the master bedroom; a double French door from the formal dining room onto the 14 foot deep back porch; and a door from a back bedroom/office/study.
 

The kitchen cabinets are Alder, the counters are granite, and the appliances are Jenn-Aire. Lighting was an important issue with the owner – there are 72 recessed can lights in the interior and exterior of the house with all of the interior cans on dimmers. The master bedroom has a coffered ceiling with crown molding that hides low-wattage rope lighting.
The new master addition was floored with solid oak floors, and the original oak flooring was completely restored, re-stained and refinished..
 

Interior doors and custom-made woodwork (by US!) is Knotty Pine with a clear lacquer finish. Oversize crown molding highlights the living room, the master bedroom and, along with chair rail, the dining room.

The project took nine months from start to finish.

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