apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I live in California, so I'm not any help I'm afraid. But I wanted to say how amazingly adorable this house is!!!!! What a dream, you're right! I'm sure with some patience you'll find a great contractor, I had a hard time here in CA with contractors too and ended up in the end, hiring individual tradesmen to do the work. If you can't find a good contractor perhaps you could find a carpenter to get a start on it.
m.

I'm sorry I have no answer for you, but I love it, and I hope you find someone really good.

It looks like either those strange-and-wonderful doors were either salvaged from the original or the one that re-built it must have sunk some bucks into re-creating them. I think it's totally worth the trouble.

I wish I had the luxury of being able to work on such a thing, but I gotta keep the day job, and I'm merely very handy -- not quite contractor material.

Debre,

I also cannot offer any resources but just wanted to echo the others who have posted here in saying what a truly unique, wonderful home this is. Having spent time on Shelter Island I know what a special place it is. I wish you many beautiful seasons in this lovely home and I hope the renovation brings you as little frustration as possible and an abundance of happiness. Christina

My boyfriend lives out east, and has lots of friends who do construction, contracting, etc. I can ask around this weekend and see if they mind me passing along their names, etc. How would I be able to contact you, off list?

Madeleine, I'm already very much leaning toward your approach. When a big contracting company sweeps in with their crews, all conrol leaves the hands of the owner. Curtis, the previous owner did indeed sink major bucks into recreating the doors to match the originals. The only surviving set is in the playhouse. Christina, your kind wishes choked me up! Thank you so much. And s (and anyone else who might be interested) I can be reached at here(at)debredemers(dot)com.

...or "control" as the case may be. (cough)

Wow, what a project to come into! Good luck!

(In my head your house is tan with dark brown trim ala Switzerland :) )

Debre,

I just spoke to a contractor contact of mine in Montauk and they said they would consider it if it was a big job, which yours is. He's a good guy and his wife's restaurant, Joni's, is the best:

Michael Brosnan
Black Dog Construction
516.852.2680

This house will be so fun and lovely when it's done. Please send pictures when it's finished.

And is it bad that I love the current color scheme on the outside of the house? It looks like Hansel and Gretel should be stopping by any second.

Is a contractor someone who supervises the whole job and hires the tradesmen? We call them 'builders'. I gave up trying to hire one.

I phoned 32 plumbers; 8 tilers; 15 electricians; and even more painters before I found people willing to do my renovation because:
1. they don't like to work for a woman
2. it was a small job (this isn't)

I learned that every trade has an IQ test that differentiates the wankers from the terrific guys, eg positioning wiring so the plumber is OK with it. No trade knows anything about the next trade; and anyone says the next guy will fix it will end up with body parts missing.

The best thing Debre could do is buy a book on building for an owner builder - over here you can go to classes for it - so she can talk 'man to man'. The guys who don't like this aren't worth hiring.

It was a very steep learning curve but worth it.

There's a couple of ways that contracts go; there are General Contracters and there are Construction Managers; it's just a matter of how the contract is structured. One gets a flat fee to make the whole thing happen and has to make it all fit within the budget, and the other kind of directs the whole thing instead.

Please contact John at The Wooden House Company on Shelter Island (631.749.9300) and tell him I sent you. They specialize on antique reconstruction projects and this would seem one. Good luck.

As a former Sag Harborite, I can recommend two people if there still up there. One is Terry Remkus - he's from North Haven and will listen to you. Also he did the same for himself. The second is Artie Spink he's a magician- he's also a local and knows about living in your dream house. He did the same for his. There friends of each othr so they might tackle this together. Unfortunately my brother who is meticulous vacated the Hamptons a few years after I did. He would love this type of job. Anyway both should be in the phone book if there still there - look in the residential section or ask around Sag Harbor. Tell them Marlena (it's been years) said hi and that you want a good old fashioned carpenter that has been around long enough to know what a house is supposed be built like and feel like.