Hey folks,

Many of you may know that I've been a regular contributor to the "Bungalow of the Day" topics and I've been an avid Bungalow & A&C fan for many years.

You may also know that I've had a 10 year+ dream of turning my humble yet solid '50s ranch house into something with A&C character. I designed a renovation about 1 year ago and we have been gradually making progress on it. I wanted to share one before and after photo to see what you think.

The first attachment is right after the footings were dug and the house is pretty much in original state.

The second photo was taken today, after the addition construction, shed front porch and 3 shed dormers were added. One open question remains what kind of columns should we use on the front porch? Round vs. square vs. tapered?

Let me know what you think and I'll be posting more photos as the progress continues. There are lots of fun surprises on the inside of this house.

Regards,
Eric

Second photo attached.

LOOKED AT THE PHOTO'S ROUND POST WOULD STILL GIVE IT THAT RANCH LOOK WITH A TOUCH OF COLONIAL GO WITH OVERSIZED TAPERED IT WILL LOOK LARGER ALSO. USE BOTH WOOD AND BRICK COMBO OR WOOD AND STONE.

quote:

Originally posted by BUNGALOWMAN:
LOOKED AT THE PHOTO'S ROUND POST WOULD STILL GIVE IT THAT RANCH LOOK WITH A TOUCH OF COLONIAL GO WITH OVERSIZED TAPERED IT WILL LOOK LARGER ALSO. USE BOTH WOOD AND BRICK COMBO OR WOOD AND STONE.

Thanks - I might not mind a little Colonial look - many of the A&C bungalows and cottages in my area have a wide variety of column styles. I do like the tapered ones a lot, but those may need to be custom-built and that could be pricey.

As for the exterior materials, the addition will be brick to match the existing house and the dormers will be Hardi-Shake shingles painted to match my existing trim. You can't see the now finished screen porch in these photos (basically becomes part of the house) - that will also have the shingles.

Regards,
Eric

Nice stuff; the original seems to be a good host for a makeover, meaning it already has the right shape and brick look. Brick house so I would say brick with posts on top for the columns, and maybe a low brick wall between the columns to tie it all together. Keep the pics coming.

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecat:
Nice stuff; the original seems to be a good host for a makeover, meaning it already has the right shape and brick look. Brick house so I would say brick with posts on top for the columns, and maybe a low brick wall between the columns to tie it all together. Keep the pics coming.

Thanks for the suggestion - I had not considered brick piers or a wall...perhaps one reason is the house is a bit overrun by brick as it is! A few people have suggested that I should paint the brick, but I really don't want to do that. As for a wall on the porch, it is a low porch and I'm hoping to avoid any sort of railing just to keep it open looking.

I'll put up a few more photos in a bit. I have not taken too many great ones that show the whole house - most are just the incremental details coming along.

Here's a shot of the back of the house.

Here's another angle of the front that shows the porch a little more closely. I'm pleased to have the covered front porch.

...to clarify, I was thinking half of the height in brick and the top half as a wood post, square or taper, with a low level tie-in between each, just a few bricks high (no higher than the window) as sort of a bench or footrest or cat-sitting-in-the-sun thing