Our work, middle included

Every job is named for its neighborhood and the year the house was built, and every one shows the house mid-build.

Kenwood bungalow kitchen

Built 1924 · $84,000 · 11 weeks on site

Before: the narrow galley with the door and window at the far end

Before

During: the room opened to the joists with a new steel beam

During, week 3

After: white cabinets to the ceiling and the sink under the window

After, week 11

A 1950s galley opened into the dining room, rewired, and fitted with cabinets to the ceiling. What we found behind the walls, and where each dollar went.

Read the project →

More projects

Kitchens

Prospect Park kitchen

Built 1911 · $96,000 · 10 weeks

We stripped and kept the original oak cabinets, then built new ones to match around a range that finally fits.

Restored oak cabinets in the Prospect Park kitchen
Mid-build: a bearing wall opened, with temporary posts holding the floor above

Como kitchen

Built 1948 · $71,000 · 9 weeks

Walnut cabinets with iron hinges, a red counter the owners chose themselves, and new plaster where the old soffit came down.

The Como kitchen: walnut cabinets, iron hinges and a red counter
Mid-build: the Como kitchen and dining room plastered, tools on the floor

Baths, attics and additions

Longfellow bathroom

Built 1912 · $36,000 · 6 weeks

The clawfoot tub stayed. Everything around it is new: beadboard, a heated floor and plumbing that won’t freeze in January.

The Longfellow bathroom: clawfoot tub, white beadboard and a wooden bath mat
Mid-build: the bathroom wall opened to new framing and wiring

Linden Hills attic bedroom

Built 1926 · $92,000 · 12 weeks

An unused attic became a bedroom with the rafters left open, a new dormer for headroom and insulation that keeps it warm.

The finished attic bedroom with exposed beams and a stone fireplace
Mid-build: the attic stripped back to its framing

Macalester-Groveland mudroom

Built 1922 · $58,000 · 8 weeks

A small addition off the back door: a bench, a hook for every coat and a floor that takes Minnesota winters.

The finished mudroom: a white bench, cubbies and a half-glass back door
Mid-build: the addition framed and scaffolded against the back of the house
Swebsy