Bigger ... and bigger Bigger ... and bigger (December 17, 2004)

One thing just led to another in Los Altos

By Sharon Driscoll

When Frits and Letty Vanderlinden bought their Los Altos home in 1999 they had no intention of remodeling. With their child out of the nest, the three-bedroom, two-bath ranch was big enough.

But the roofs bothered them. The previous owner installed a high, cottage-style roof right on top of the old one, leaving the original low-pitched one in the attic. The space between the two roofs seemed a waste. They decided to take the old one out to create a loft room.

But one thing led to another ...

Two years after embarking on their remodel, the once single-story 2,200-square-foot house is now a two-story 3,600-square-foot home with five bedrooms and three bathrooms. The second story takes up 1,000 of the 1,400 added square feet with a spacious master bedroom and en suite bathroom, and a smaller bedroom that the couple uses as a study.

Work on the second floor addition gave way to work on the ground floor where a small family room is now the landing for a curved staircase that leads to the second floor.

A slanted ceiling in the dining room was raised, and the room extended to create a large, open family room just off the kitchen. A small laundry room was expanded to include storage and space for an ironing board. Behind the stairway a wine closet was installed.

So, how did this remodeling project grow so large? It came down to the engineering, said the couple.

The original aim seemed simple enough, but after meeting with their designer it became clear that adding a second story -- even a small one -- would require reinforcement of the foundation and walls. And that was a huge undertaking and cost.

The couple decided to make the most of the engineering work by adding more space.

"Once we started and saw how much needed to go into engineering, we thought we might as well do this right," Letty said.

They also ruled out rebuilding -- they liked their house.

The couple realized that they spent most of their time in the small family room. So while many walls were being torn apart for strengthening, they decided they might as well move some to make a bigger space for a family room.

The result of their hard work is an updated and much-expanded home with large living areas. Skylights installed above the stairway fill the family room and upstairs hallway with light.

They even have a new roof.

"We decided to replace the shake roof with a slate one. It's durable and we like the look," said Frits, adding that with the walls now reinforced, the house can hold the weight of slate.

The biggest design challenge for the couple was the staircase. They had to find the right spot -- and then it had to fit in.

First they tried a straight staircase, and realized -- after it was installed -- that the last step stuck out into the living room doorway.

"It went horribly wrong. Per square foot, the staircase is the most expensive part of the house because of the difficulty we had designing it, tearing the botched one out, and then installing a new curved one," said Frits. "But to our surprise it is now a focal point and we like it very much."

A software engineer, Frits worked from home during the project so he could keep an eye on the work.

"I micromanaged this project but also helped to redesign things on the fly when it did not look good, which really made a difference," said Frits. "If I had not been here, we would not have had the same results."
Design challenge/goal: To seamlessly integrate a second floor and staircase, to preserve the look of the house while expanding it Unexpected cost: Trash. Despite their efforts to reuse and recycle materials, they spent $6,000 disposing of construction trash. Year house built: 1960s Size of project: 1,400 sq. ft. added to 2,200-sq.-ft. home Time to complete: One year to design and get planning permit, 8 months for construction Budget: Undisclosed, but exceeded by 100 percent of the original estimation
Resources: Designer: Phil Hyland, JPH Design Management, Inc., 585 Quarry Road, San Carlos, 592-0302 Builder: Finato Construction, 2330 Old Middlefield Way, Mountain View, 964-5810 Paving: K C Paving, 135 Laurel St., Redwood City, 356-5520 Iron railing: Hernandez Welding, 2928 Middlefield Road, Redwood City, 364-0280

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