Project Description
We won a Lehigh Valley Builders Association award for this project!!!
The sign at the beginning of the mile-long driveway says, “Castle”, and the name is quite fitting for this property. A custom built Tudor on a huge property make you feel as if you’re in a German Estate. The master bath lacked the stature associated with the name and was in dire need of an upgrade. We gutted a 1970’s bathroom, raised the roof, and built a balcony to create a spa-like bath in our customer’s home.
The steep pitch of the Tudor roof looks impressive on the outside, but on the inside, it wastes usable space and limits vertical walls. The first job was to lift the roof for two dormers. It was imperative to match the architecture of the home. We wanted to avoid the difficult task of blending in the stucco and wood to match the Tudor style. While looking at the home for ideas, we noticed a small dormer flanked in cedar and a faux balcony above the front door. We pulled ideas from both of these areas to build our new dormer. The new bathroom would be clad in vertical cedar. For our new balcony, we traced the original balusters over the front door and custom-made new ones on site to save the expense of a millwork shop. Everything was stained to match. Now that the outside was done, we could turn our attention inside.
In one dormer, there are French doors on the balcony that swing into the bath to catch the morning breezes and seating to enjoy a morning cup of coffee. In the other dormer, there is a huge copper soaking tub that sits in front of windows to capture the views of the 30-acre property.
The bath is surrounded with imported tile floors. We recreated the gothic arched doorways found in other places inside the home. After three renditions, the 9-foot-long custom vanity cabinets would take center stage in any other bathroom, but in this bathroom, the show stopper is the shower.
The shower is over 6 feet square, with a bench big enough to lay on. The plumbing required a new high-pressure well pump and larger hot water heater. We built his-and-her sides of the shower to accommodate their respective heights and preferences. Our plumber spent a 12-hour day piping the shower. With six body jets, two shower heads, a handheld, and a giant rain head in the ceiling, all with their own valves, he needed a drink afterwards! Huge custom shower doors lock in the moisture from a steam generator. A granite threshold and knee wall cap match the vanity and tie everything together inside. Since completion, the customer’s 220 pound English Mastiff has commandeered the shower whenever the door is open!
For the electric, we installed new LED lighting. The crowd favorite is a toe-kick night light that turns on when you walk in the room. This was an idea we stole from a hotel room in Europe. Automatic exhaust fans come on when motion and/or humidity are detected. Electric tile warmers keep your toes warm, and can be controlled with an app on your smart phone.
The owners refused to borrow money for the project. It was completed in phases over a three-year timeframe as they saved enough money. We think it was worth the wait!
