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The Renovation
Moved to this location in Tampa Heights to make room for the expansion of the Interstate Highway 4, this structure was in very poor condition. It had been the home of termites for decades and the damage was extensive.
Our first action was to improve the lot by hiring an arborist to remove the dead trees, and those that were growing poorly due to overcrowding. They trimmed the beautiful, old oaks to enhance their beauty & safety. We started killing weeds, a task that we repeated many times over before creating the gardens.
We had hoped to repair the existing roof, but its poor condition required complete replacement. We chose a metal roof to mimic the original.
The siding was crumbling from age and neglect, so we replaced it with new real wood siding, milled to look just like the old, and painted with a high-quality paint to protect it for a long life.
The porch was rebuilt to appear like the original may have looked. It is a porch that would have been typical at the time the house was built and is appropriate to the Folk Victorian style. We had a wood gable decoration custom crafted as well as porch embellishments.
We used salvaged period screen doors, stripping and refinishing them, and replacing their screens, as well as replacing their molded detail with to compliment the gable decoration.
The screen door hinges and door knobs were ordered from a company that specializes in antique reproduction hardware, and the doorbell from another company that offers those created to look the period. The lighting was chosen to compliment the black, wrought iron hardware.
We installed a micro-irrigation system to comply with the City of Tampa's new water restrictions. It has an automatic timer so it will provide the correct amount of water for the garden, as well as a sensor for rain shut-off. We will take care of setting it seasonally.
We built a 6' privacy fence in the back yard to provide you with an oasis in the city. The front garden is surrounded by a white picket fence through which the flowers peak.
Motion sensitive light fixtures were installed at the four corners of the house for added security and safety.
The Interior
We kept the original footprint of the house as it was when we purchased it. At some point in its long life, it had been converted into 2 apartments, complete with 2 horrifying bathrooms and 2 disgusting kitchens.
We stripped these rooms and hauled the whole yucky mess to the dump.
After demo'ing the interior walls, we discovered that there was too much termite damage to the framing for a safe, high- quality structure, so we reframed the entire house almost completely with brand new materials.
The exterior walls are insulated to current code, but we added extra insulation in the attic. The electrical and plumbing were completely replaced and a brand new, efficient HVAC unit was added. All work was done by licensed contractors and passed many inspections by the City of Tampa.
We chose to replace the original wood windows because of the extensive termite damage and because few of them had their original beautiful old glass. We used Marvin wood windows which mimic the look of the original ones while offering better insulation.
Moldings were custom made to match the original moldings and the salvaged Victorian back door. The corner blocks mimic the sunburst pattern that crowned the doors. The trim was cut to look like the trim around the kitchen door.
Home Cookin'
The kitchen is the modern day version of a Victorian one. Back in the day, cabinets were free standing "kitchen furniture" and nothing was built-in. Such furniture being impractical in today's world, we used painted cabinets with wood countertops, and added a beadboard backsplash to give the look of a vintage kitchen. A newly refinished antique cabinet adds to the old house feel, as well as providing extra storage.
You'll be able to stand at your sink and view your brick-lined patio and sunny garden through 4 lovely windows topped by a shelf built to hold decorative plates and small plants.
Living in this home, you would believe that you had traveled back in time to the romance of Old Tampa but for the comfort of the high quality, modern day renovation!
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