Remodeling A Storm Damaged Home & Kitchen

Indianhead Acres, Tallahassee

We removed a wall to open up the kitchen and create more room between the counters

In Their Words

“Everyone agrees the results are incomparable. You should see our counter top. We appreciated the daily log from our project managers (Elliott and Sam) and their willingness to meet us on site as often as we wanted and needed. They made sure everything got done and was ship-shape”… Jeff C.

Read their complete review and other reviews on our Google Business Profile

Remodeling A Storm Damaged Home: Project Summary:

Tornado’s had ripped through the Indianhead Community leaving many storm damaged homes. Our clients had been living with a tarp on their roof for months when they decided to to give up on their contractor and his empty promises and call us.

The storm damage to the home was significant. The framing in the roof and crawlspace was cracked and rain had ruined flooring and drywall in at least half the home.

What was done

We first took care of the structural repairs, then replaced the metal roof and all the drywall in the ceiling. We had our friends at C.S. Lewis construction handle most of that work while we worked with the client to design the new kitchen and interior finishes.

For the kitchen we removed the wall separating the kitchen from the living room. The wall was load bearing so we had to add a pier below and a collumn running up to the room beam. 

Removing the wall allowed to widen the kitchen a bit, making it more comfortable for two cooks. We had to move their wood stove to the corner. 

Project Challenges

• • Older home that had a lot of legacy repairs that were not code compliant
  • Permit complications
  • Stuctural changes needed to remove wall

Project Challenges & Solutions

We spend a lot of time in design and planning so we avoid any surprises. But remodeling is unpredicatble and a few things tend to pop up.

Challenge 1: Poorly Done Repairs 

Hidden condition: The home was built in the 50’s. Over the years a lot of poorly done repairs were made which complicated the work. 

The two biggest issues were electrical work that was not up to code and foundation repairs that had been done wrong. 

Solution:

The solutions were not difficult but they did add expense.

We would up re-wiring the entire home and had to remove most of the wood flooring to repair the work that had been done by a local ‘foundation repair specialist’ a few years before.

Challenge 2: Insulation

The vaulted ceiling was never insulated. The clients wanted to add insulation but did not want to lose the look of the exposed beams. 

Solution:

The solution was two fold. We framed the ceiling in about 4 inches so we could add insulation while still leaving the beams exposed.

We also added exterior insulation between the new roof sheathing and the metal roof.

Challenge 3: Concrete block walls

Block walls are always a challenge. They make running electric and plumbing more difficult. In this case they also made the structural repairs harder. 

Solution:

We knew the block walls were there so we planned to ‘fur out’ or build a 2×4 wall against the block during the remodel. 

This allowed plumbing and electric to be added more easily and created a better load baring surface for the new structural beam that replaced the storm damaged one. 

Video: Storm Damaged Home Before / After

Our Favorite Things

Every project has a few things that really make it stand our or were special to the homeowner. Here are our favorites.

Image size: 1200 x 800 – no more than 4 photos

Tall pantry cabinet with rollouts (they plan to get a new fridge later on so we left space for it). 

Alder Cabinets with Trash pullout

Before & After Photos

Before

During

After

Project Timeline & Costs

Proposed Completion Date: May 27th, 2025
Actual Completion Date: June 4th 2025

Total project length was 12 weeks

We haven’t missed a start date in 10 years. In this case we were able to start early because we finished up the previous project early and the client was more than happy to get started sooner.

Finishing on time is more of a challenge. Weather delays, schedule conflict with sub contractors and jobsite issues can cause small delays in any project.

Still, most of our project do finish within two weeks fo the proposed completion date and this one finished just one week after the expected date.

There were a  couple of change orders on this project that added time to the job. We were able to mostly stay on schedule but the foundation repairs were time consuming and the client requested a few ‘extras’ that added time to the project.

Storm Damages Home: Project Cost Breakdown

Initial Estimate: $116,181

This was the budget the client approved at the end of their design and budget consult.

Our estimates are usually accurate to within 10% of project costs as long as the scope of work stays the same and more expensive materials are not selected in design.

Contract Price: $179,358 (after the design process)

At the end of the design process we present a fixed price propsoal. That cost does not change unless you request additional work (which does happen) or there are unforseeen circumstances on the jobsite (which are rare).

In this case the project price price increase a lot because we adeed a lot to the scope of work. Originally most of the structural repairs were going to be done by a different contractor but they kept delaying things so we took them on.

Added Cost from Unforseen Conditions: $10,096

Sometimes after demo we discover things that have to be dealt with. This also becomes a change order. On this project we discovered issue with the electric and foundation framing that had to be corrected.

This is common in older homes where a variety of repairs have been done over the years and not always by experienced contractors.

Client Requested Change Orders: $4753

Sometime on a project a client asks for extra work to be done. In those cases write a change order that describes the cost for the work and how it will affect the project timeline.

On this project the client asked for some update to their master bath, somem exterior painting and some addional paintiing that added cost.

Total Cost Including Change Orders: $194,207

This was the final project cost including client requested change orders and any additional costs from unforseen condtions.

Additional Costs Absorbed by MKB: $4077

Every project has it’s share of surprises and added costs. Many times we absorb these costs.. especially if we feel we should have discovered them during design or we are cover a mistake from a staff member or sub contractor.

Final Thoughts About This Project

Older homes are always a challenge. Plaster walls, common framing, settled floors are common and need to be dealt with. Often there a repairs that have been done poorly over the years. 

Older homes are also a lot of fun. They are unique and have real character some of our more modern homes lack. 

The tornado’s that damaged this home were a blessing and as well as a curse. Living through that kind of damage is certainly no fun. But it did allow them to update most of the home and have the cost largely absorbed by the insurance company. 

It does not always work out that well… insurance companies are notorious for paying out much less than repairs actually cost and it can be a battle to ge them to pay more. 

In this case the homeowner was smart and hired a public adjuster to fight on their behalf. They were able to triple their payout from the insurance company. We were also able to go back to the insurance company with change order costs when hidden conditions were discovered. 

The final result was everything thing homeowner wanted.