Todd Renger is getting into the home-building business in a big way, shepherding a large, energy- and resource-efficient project that is but another step in the gradual transformation of homes on Cambridge Boulevard near the Scioto Country Club and Historic Upper Arlington.
The two-story, 6,000-square-foot home is expected to be completed by next June with an exterior design that reflects nearby historic homes. The project continues the slow but definite trend of razing the area’s 1960s-era homes and building larger, upscale residences in their place.
Renger’s Grandview Heights-based company, Hope Restoration and General Contracting, has until now focused on historic renovation, remodeling and additions in his five years in business.
But last year, he decided to take the plunge and tackle an even larger project.
“I was looking for something (to buy and) remodel, and I wasn’t having any luck,” Renger says.
Through a Realtor, he found a one-and-a-half story, three-bedroom, 2,200-square-foot home on a half-acre lot that is a drive and chip shot from the country club. Rather than remodel it, Renger decided to tear it down completely and rebuild from the ground up.
When making the $350,000 purch
ase, his first task was to determine “what is going to fit” considering building setback requirements and the like, Renger says.
He wanted to build a LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environment Design) home that focuses on sustainable, recoverable and energy-efficient building materials, equipment and practices.
That would mean using such building techniques as tight-envelope construction to minimize air leakage, high-efficiency heating, air conditioning, ventilating and water heating equipment, low-energy (LED) lighting, and low-flow water fixtures.
With the help of LEED design consultants, numerous features are included to increase the chance the home will be designated as a LEED silver project – third in the ranking system after platinum and gold.
Several materials should help Renger meet requirements for durability of building products: metal and slate roofs, stone and stucco exterior walls and trim.
Another feature will be surface water management in a system of three 3-by-5-feet, gravel-filled dry wells that collect water from the roof so it can seep back into the ground rather than into the storm sewer system.
Driveways and sidewalks will be sloped to rain gardens. There will be no irrigation system. Drought-tolerant plants and grass will be used.
The architectural style is English Cotswold, a popular choice that reflects the historic UA community, although it is not required for the location.
The home will feature a three-story turret with a slate roof, an option in the original floor plan. The turret will house spiral stairs connecting the three levels of the home. Carriage-style garage doors coupled with a mahogany front door and other wood features, including windows, carry through the historic design.
A Realtor marketed the concept and found a buyer, a family of four who will be moving from Harrison West.
Getting started was a major undertaking because the home will have a basement. The thick layers of limestone upon which the foundation will rest are time-consuming to penetrate. A hydraulic stone-cutting hammer attached to a backhoe spent nine days – rather than the two days typically required for a basement excavation – breaking the limestone deep enough to allow 9-foot, concrete foundation walls and a sewer trench.
“There’s not going to be any settlement, no cracks in the walls,” Renger says, noting a smooth, solid surface of limestone exposed as the work was completed.
Piles of dirt and broken rock from the excavation will be used for fill around the foundation and under a three-car garage.
When Renger was contracted to have the home built, the buyers wanted some changes to the initial design. They opted not to have a first-floor master suite or a swimming pool in the rear. Instead, they will have a three-season room to one side of the home off the patio.
As construction continues, the final design is a work in progress. For example, solar panels were a probability in the original plans, and Renger expects final buyer approval for them. Limestone is expected to be used on the exterior and possibly in landscaping or hardscaping as well.
The firs
t floor will be 1,890 square feet with 10-foot ceilings and plenty of room for a kitchen and adjoining eating area, a dining room, an expansive family room with a fireplace, a large office, and a generous mudroom.
The second floor, 2,275 square feet with 9-foot ceilings, will have four bedrooms, including the master suite; three baths, one a Jack and Jill; the laundry room and a bonus room over the garage suitable as an entertainment room.
The lower level will have another bedroom and bath, a large recreation room and storage space.
The size of the home is not an untoward concept for the desirable neighborhood. Renger notes that two lots away is another large home recently built after razing an older, out-of-date house. At the end of the street, just off Dublin Road, is a large, upscale condominium building, also on a former home site.
He says he’ll be looking for other opportunities to tear down and build in the neighborhood, a trend that’s becoming more widespread in older but not historic areas of UA.
This home will be, he says, “the best of both worlds. It looks historic on the outside while it’s modern on the inside.”
Duane St. Clair is a contributing editor. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
