SEEN AND UNSEEN

The nature of our work at Oak Leaf Design Build is readying homes structurally and mechanically for the next 50+ years with elegant simplicity and thoughtful design - incorporating present day spatial expectations and energy efficiency.  459 Manor needed this level of attention. The work we undertook was extensive and thorough with a level of cleanliness verging on compulsivity. As we went through the house, inch by inch, no problem went unresolved.  We treated this home as if we were going to move in - this is no quick flip, rather a carefully renovated rehabilitation of a classic mid-century Ann Arbor home in a friendly, centrally located, walkable neighborhood.  

We also thought of the future needs of the occupants and how to make maintenance/upkeep easy and accessible.  The house now has access to the electrical panel through the central basement soffit - the spine of the house.   We created removable boards in the basement soffit so that no cutting and patching of drywall is ever needed.  Shut-offs are concealed behind labeled access panels. The laundry/mechanical room is unfinished because that is where the sewer access is; with the floor drain there, cleanup is easy. Additionally, the laundry room is where we placed a centrally located cable/phone wire hub as well as transformers, water manifold, and meter.  Soil pressure from decades ago had cracked the foundation so we added several steel stabilizer posts to the inner framework, injection grouted the cracks, and anchored each floor joist to the concrete wall to direct any residual pressure to floor framing.  Finally we covered the basement work with interior insulated walls - transforming the space into a delightful, bright living/work space.