Upward Motion: Builder framing elevated homes in Beresford village once slowed by contractor changes | Real Estate

Read article : Upward Motion: Builder framing elevated homes in Beresford village once slowed by contractor changes | Real Estate

By JIM PARKER

The Post and Courier

Meandering through Berkeley County’s lower reaches, Beresford Creek follows a route that today passes by some of the area’s growth regions.

At the Wando River, it carves a watery path around the northern extremities of Daniel Island’s chic “Park” neighborhood. The creek tracks under Interstate 526 past Blackbaud Stadium to the Cooper River, where communities on St. Thomas Island border the tributary.

Maybe the largest concentration of neighborhoods is in one four-mile stretch off Clements Ferry Road and west of Daniel Island. The communities typically borrow the nearby creek’s name: Beresford Hall, Beresford Commons, Beresford Creek Landing.

While each neighborhood has its own characteristics, one of the more active in terms of new construction lately is The Retreat at Beresford.

Started up in the mid 2000s off Sanders Farm Lane, the moderate-sized village has counted five builders, which have met with varying degrees of sales success. They include The Peninsula Co., which is the developer; Meridian Builders; Catalyst Builders; and Ryland Homes.

The newest arrival is Eastwood Homes, which this spring began framing 55 “Charleston style drive-under homes,” according to Charleston division sales manager Jason Esposito.

The Charlotte-based company sold 14 homes in the first four months on the market.

A big attraction is the price, in the $250,000 to $350,000 range for houses sized from 1,767 to 2,785 square feet while sporting three-to-five bedrooms and two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half baths.

Eastwood Homes is attracting its share of first-time home purchasers, but more specifically, the residences are “for buyers who can spend $300,000,” Esposito says. Traditionally, upscale buyers wouldn’t be able to find homes east of the Cooper for such a price, he says.

Custom in appearance, the homes offer shoppers plenty of choices. Lots range from 1/5 to 4/5 of an acre.

Models are the Ashton, Drake, Logan, two-andthree-story versions of the Radcliffe and the Murray.

Features distinct to a particular floor plan are oversized kitchens, the master bedroom downstairs, lofts, double front porches, sunrooms and media or playroom “walk-ups.”

Along with its mix of home designs, the community provides a convenient location for commuters. The Retreat is a couple of miles from I-526, making the trip to and from Blackbaud and Benefit Focus high-tech companies on Daniel Island and the Boeing aircraft plant at Charleston International Airport relatively easy.

The neighborhood is within the Daniel Island school zone, whose Berkeley County public schools run from kindergarten to eighth grade. “That’s a big draw,” he says.

While amenity-less, The Retreat at Beresford is five minutes from Daniel Island, home to parks and,for a charge, golf and a country club. For boaters, Daniel Island Marina is about a mile away.

“There isn’t anything east of the Cooper — Hardiplank (siding), elevated, good schools — close to this price point,” Esposito says.

To reach The Retreat at Beresford and environs from downtown Charleston, travel west on I-26 to the Mount Pleasant exit for I-526. Follow I-526 across the Cooper River to the Clements Ferry Road north exit. The Beresford-named communities and others are on the right. To get to The Retreat at Beresford, turn right on Sanders Farm Lane. The neighborhood is ahead on the right. The Eastwood-built homes are toward the middle and back of Sanders Farm Lane.

Reach Jim Parker at 937-5542 or jparker@postandcourier.com.

BERESFORD AREA AT A GLANCE:

Location: Clements Ferry, north ofI-526

Number of homes: 300

Square footage: 1,008-8,100

Look and feel: A variety of neighborhoods have opened primarily between Clements Ferry Road and Beresford Creek. Most subdivision homes have been constructed within the past decade. Wooded lots with oaks and pine are fairly common. Some neighborhoods have sprawling homes and acreage, others such as in The Retreat at Beresford are on smaller tracts with value-priced houses. Some houses border the creek, while many overlook or are built near marsh. Most houses are two stories or higher. Families and young professionals occupy many homes, while executives and empty nesters live in some high-end residences.

Homes on market: 44

List prices: $89,900-$1,749,000

Schools: Daniel Island Elementary, Daniel Island Middle, Hanahan High

Fun facts: The Beresford name stems from Richard Beresford of Barbados, who received a 950-acre land grant in 1706 and would become a member of the First Royal Assembly in the Carolina colony; Beresford Creek was the name of a 1970s folk-bluegrass trio from Charleston, according to YouTube.

What goes into a spa bath that wins a National 'Contractor of the Year' award? | Articles

Read article : What goes into a spa bath that wins a National 'Contractor of the Year' award? | Articles

It's a matter of record that only one National Contractor of the Year (COTY) award was conferred on a Washington-area company in 2017. The winning project is a spa bath in the McLean home of Sunder and Premilla Raman. The project was ranked the nation's best residential bath in the $25,000 to $50,000 range.

The winning remodeler, Michael Nash Design Build and Homes, is a 30-year-old design build firm which maintains an extensive Lee Highway showroom.

Michael Nash is no stranger to awards for excellence in home remodeling. In recent years, the firm has won several prizes from the “Finest in Family Living” competition sponsored by the National Association of Homebuilders, and about a dozen Chrysalis awards from Qualified Remodeler Magazine, which assess the quality of remodeling projects in a nationwide contest.

More generally, Michael Nash ends the year by submitting work to the National Association of the Remodeling Industry's Washington, D.C. chapter, which has conferred its Contractor of the Year award on Michael Nash projects in one category or the other every year for 30 years. In fact, the full-service remodeler has amassed more Washington-area COTY awards than any company in the award's nearly 40-year history.

Among other things, the COTYs are designed to assess what the remodeler has accomplished within a specific budget range.

“The criteria works well for us,” says Sonny Nazemian, Michael Nash founder and CEO. “Our work culture is oriented towards outperforming the limits of the budget. Yes, you can point to an upscale celebrity bathroom in, say, Architectural Digest that's more luxuriant than anything we've done, but what the story doesn't reveal is that someone spent $200,000 on it. The COTY, by contrast, compares apples to apples, and we are good at stretching the size and quality of what can be achieved in a bathroom within a specific budget parameter.”

Part of this, the remodeler observes, is the design and technical back-up provided by the firm's 11,000-square-foot showroom. Nazemian places a premium on being able to sell finish work materials for close to cost.

Even so, the range of counter surfaces, cabinetry, flooring, plumbing fixtures, lighting solutions on display are without rival in Northern Virginia. Then, too, the company commits to a “fixed price” contract, which means that the quoted figure is binding even when there may be change orders.

The company's greatest value component is its talent pool. The top designers have been with the firm for a minimum of 12 years. There is always a professional in the showroom to talk through ideas with browsers when asked.

Some homeowners say they “discover” the core solution to a previously undeveloped design problem on the first visit. Others take their time, treating themselves to multiple visits, researching online and in magazines, then spending long afternoons in the showroom.

Premilla Raman falls into the later “patient and deliberate” category. Raman and her daughter spent hours poring over selected web sites and magazines – even talking with neighbors who had recently remodeled.

It was on a friend's recommendation that Premilla Raman wandered into the Michael Nash showroom, and began looking at full-sized displays and talking with staff designers.

“There are hundreds of samples; I could wander around on my own gathering ideas and taking notes. There was no sales pressure, but when I asked for feedback, I received immediate assistance and very relevant suggestions.”

Raman's vision called for converting a 210-square-foot production-house master bathroom in their four-bedroom Colonial into an open, free-flowing spa bath loaded with cutting-edge amenities. After occupying the house for 22 years, the Ramans – both seniors – were ready for luxury.

“In the previous floor plan, there was a platform tub in a bay window that absorbed about half of the available floor space, yet the shower was too small,” Premilla Raman recalls. “But once we starting looking at alternatives with the designer, we began to see the possibilities of a much more luxuriant space.”

Still, the larger question was how “successfully” can a dated production-house floor plan be transformed into a flowing postmodern design while sticking to the boundaries of the bathroom's existing footprint? For instance:

“We wanted a larger walk-in design that wouldn't require a built-in curb to keep the water in,” the homeowner remembers. “But weren't sure this was even possible.”

To meet these new requirements, the design team removed the platform tub and introduced a subfloor that raised the floor about an inch. The shower is now lower than before, and the subfloor bevels slightly toward a linear drain, eliminating the need for a built-in lip around the shower.

“Of course, this kind of change demands angles that are absolutely precise,” Nazemian explains. “Water is an absolute judge of whether a shower design works well.”

Tucked behind floor-to-ceiling glass walls, the new shower sits on river rock flooring that connects it visually to a freestanding pedestal tub. There's a small bench at one end, a hand-held shower nozzle within easy reach. Overhead, the stainless steel “waterfall” shower head proffers a range of body sprays with varied temperatures and pressures.

The shower's inside wall is finished in soft Brennero Pearl porcelain accented by a glass tile inseam; cubbies designed to hold personal items are within easy reach.

For a still more leisurely bathing experience, the acrylic tub tucked into a three-window bay presents a restful view of the tree tops. Window shades by Applause can be easily adjusted to screen back light.

For enhanced convenience and privacy, the former double sink has been replaced with a pair of floating vanities, each on a different wall.

Featuring espresso-colored maple and mission style cabinet facings and white quartz surfaces, the vanities present a clean, linear elegance in a room that is refreshingly simplified and spacious.

Is this the nation's prettiest new spa bath?

“We like it,” Premilla says. “Better yet, everything we were promised was delivered. That's a good feeling.”

For information call (703) 641-9800 or visit MichaelNashKitchens.com

John Byrd has been writing about home improvement for 30 years. He can be reached at (703) 715-8006, www.HomeFrontsNews.com or byrdmatx@gmail.com