Building from ground up has plusses, minuses

Even our most experienced homeowners find a challenge when they choose to tear down their home and rebuild from the ground up.

Just ask Chris Burckle and her family.

This was their third remodeling project on three houses in Salt Lake City's historic Avenues district.

The previous renovations were a complete interior remodel on the first and the building of an upper story on the second. However, the Burckles didn't grasp the complexity and headache of building a brand new house — in the Avenues, no less — until they did it.

They have always loved the neighborhood and the charm of the homes in the Avenues, but these old homes come with designs that don't function well for today's lifestyles and with old materials and systems that need updating in order to raise the home up to modern standards.

In this case, the 900-square-foot home's structure was in bad enough shape that there was no choice but to tear down the house and start over.

The Burckles knew that was the case when they were looking at the house, but they decided to buy it for the land. A quarter-acre lot in the Avenues was "a dream come true" for the Burckles.

Having done two previous remodeling projects in the Avenues, they had some understanding of the challenge of working not only within city building and zoning codes, but also within a neighborhood with a distinctive historic flair and residents who keep a sharp eye out for compliance in all remodeling projects.

They knew they had to work with an architect that was familiar with the process.

"You can't just hire any old architect when you are remodeling in the Avenues," Chris Burckle says. "It gets too complicated. All it takes is one complaint from a neighbor — which may or may not be valid — to get a permit pulled and stop a project. When this happened to us, it took six weeks to get our permit back and get back to work. Your architect has to be prepared to plead your case and revamp the design if needed."

It has been a little over a year now since the Burckles moved into their new home, and they can happily say it was worth it.

"The process was definitely a challenge," Chris said. "But it's everything we wanted in a house. We love our home."

They created a 1940-style bungalow to fit the neighborhood but used new products and materials. They chose durable materials such as cement-fiber board siding to minimize maintenance and make their new "old" home last for many years to come.