We were downsizers who wanted a home with a small footprint that still felt spacious. We bought a 12-year-old house with a footprint we could work with, but it felt stark and had too many rooms. Tremul Construction had builds in our area, larger scale jobs than our reno. We had a tight budget, a clear vision, and no experience of being under contract. We thought they might not be interested.
David and Leann made us feel at ease. They have been building homes for a long time and still have patience left. The brief was to open the living areas by removing the fourth bedroom. Create a larger walk-in robe by absorbing an adjacent office. Redoing and enlarging the butler’s pantry and redoing kitchen, bathrooms, laundry and WC. Create a large skylight in the living area. Replace all the aluminum doors, windows, and sliders with double-glazed timber. Remove all recessed lighting. Install an HVAC system. To customize every inch of a serviceable yet plain property, put some soul into it, and warm it up.
Dave, with his team of talented tradesmen, did an incredible job. We threw them the occasional curveball and they handled it. None more gracious than Matt the tiler. We never met a tile we didn’t want to adhere to a wall and now we get to enjoy his artistry every day. Dave and Surfcoast Cabinets deciphered my ‘sketches’ and the cabinets are stunning. Mark the sparky attempted conversion therapy with my pathological hatred of recessed lights – but everyone has the hill they’re willing to die on — so he replaced all of them with custom and vintage alternatives and I think he’s pleased with the results.
It’s easy to get carried away during the process and my downfall was bathroom fixtures…and tiles. Leann ran a tight ship; kept us on track with budget updates and alerted us to overages. We always knew where we stood. We had great communication and avoided scheduling delays by having alternatives to our selections when they became unavailable. Every first-choice compromise resulted in a better outcome. Dave clearly explained when the scope of the job changed so there were no surprises at the end. Dave was firm when he thought some of our ideas would cost more than they were worth. We’re grateful for his no-nonsense guidance.
We love living in our Tremul home. The team took a house with all the charm of a Utah roadhouse and turned her into a light-filled, spacious, gorgeous home imbibed with our story. We could not be happier.
