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- Drawer detail
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- Vanity counter
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- Hall bath
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- Vanity
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- Recessed shelves
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Home Sweet Home
We all want a place to live which is comfortable, pretty, and clean. Maybe a place with history is your dream home…
It could be renovated into a beautiful open home with a lot of beautiful details, expansive spaces, and a soul.
Renovating a building can be an exciting project! It takes a lot of hard work, love, and materials. You never can tell whether or not you are going to find decaying wood hidden in a wall or floor. The plumbing may be so old and dangerous that the pipes all need to be replaced. Maybe the electrical wiring is ancient…
We have renovated a lot of homes and the results always surprise people. They couldn’t imagine that the old home or building could ever be so wonderful
The home you are in can become your dream home.
Maybe you’ve dreamed of a beautiful sunroom. We’ve added them onto homes and the adjacent areas benefit by becoming open spaces.
A basement (even a basement garage) can become a lovely space. Come back soon to see pictures of a basement garage turned into a bright living area!
1960s Modern
We are renovating the bathrooms of a home we built in 1963. Pictures will be coming soon!
Here we go!
Things are picking up in Williamsburg, Virginia! People are ready to buy, add on, and remodel. The past few years have been very slow but it really seems that things are turning around.
Autumn West in Seasons Trace
An article in WYDaily about Autumn West -
“One man came to defend the developer in the case – David Hertzler, the original owner and developer of Seasons Trace in the 1970s. He clutched the original plan and shook it at the commissioners, telling them, “I’m not sure why we’re here tonight. This [plan] was approved back then… this piece has drug on and on and I’m frustrated… That should be it – [the townhomes] can be built there.”
Three planning commissioners agreed with Hertzler.” By Desiree Parker
Here’s a fun story about Seasons Trace -
Daily Press article about Autumn West-
http://www.dailypress.com/news/williamsburg/dp-nws-autumn-west-20100805,0,382980.story
Our Current Projects in James City County, Virginia
We are all over the county! We’ve just finished work in Hunter’s Creek and Norvalia. We are working in Kingsmill, Longhill Gate, and Grove. We’re about to start a job in Lanexa.
Just a side note: Begun in the mid 70s, Kingsmill is still a very desirable subdivision in James City County. It has a nice mixture of traditional and contemporary homes.
http//www.hertzlerbrothers.com
James City County by Sara E. Lewis
In James City County by Sara E. Lewis (http://www.saraelewis.com) (2009), it states
“Hertzler Brothers will provide the first 3 new homeowners of 1981 with FREE VEPCO for 1 full year! for details call 229-0550 or …”books.google.com/books?isbn=0738568503…
http://www.arcadiapublishing.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=9780738568508
Ms. Lewis’ book contains wonderful photos and information about the history of James City County, Virginia!
Seasons Trace is still a favorite!
Hertzler Brothers developed Seasons Trace and built the townhomes plus many of the single family homes in the subdivision. Check out Mr. Williamsburg’s blog about the neighborhood.
http://williamsburgsrealestate.com/2010/06/13/seasons-trace-williamsburg-va-neighborhood-spotlight/
EPA’s RRP Rule
To protect the health of the public, the EPA has instituted a new program for work done on homes and child-care facilities built before 1978. These buildings likely have lead in the paint and/or floors. There had been an option for the owners to opt-out of the rule, where the renovator could fill out paperwork so that the renovation or painting could continue as before. This has been revoked by the EPA, because they felt this option was being misused. Lead is terribly dangerous, so even though the cost of the materials used will increase some and labor costs will be higher for work done on these buildings, lead poisoning can be avoided. Although the material costs should be between $8 and $200 extra per job, the extra labor cost has yet to be estimated by the EPA. There are a lot of extra steps required by the whole remodeling/painting team. 35% of all existing homes in the US still have lead in their surfaces.
Foreclosures versus New Builds
There have been so many foreclosures on the market in the past few years. They seem to be unbelievable deals, which the banks just want to unload. Interest rates are lower than just a few years ago. Foreclosures CAN be bargains, but not always. Many factors come into play. Some foreclosures have been trashed, to put it nicely. There can be many problems in the home, which the buyer may not discover until moving day or later. A home inspector is an incredible asset when buying an existing home! If you plan to remodel or renovate the foreclosure, you add even more cost to the project. The flooring, wall finishes, bathrooms, cabinetry, & counters may need to be replaced or updated.
New, custom homes can be more of a bargain than foreclosures, if one considers that the newly-built home needs no repairs and probably is more energy-efficient. All of the materials will be new, the insulation and windows, as well as the heating and air systems, electrical, and plumbing systems. No extra money will be spent painting the walls the colors you want nor changing the interior finishes to your style. The list goes on!
- Putting WaterSense faucets & fixtures in your new home will save you money on your water bill.
- Many new light fixtures use less energy than traditional lighting, but the appearance is the same.
- Tank-less water heaters only heat water when you are ready to use it, saving the cost of keeping water heated all of the time.
- Low-E glass windows save you money on your heating and cooling bills.
- Renewable energy sources are options which will lower your monthly expenses too!
Just some things to consider…