Name: Rafael
Location: Miami
Favorite: taking a floor in bad shape and reusing, almost exclusively, all of the original wood to create a wonderfully restored and uniform hard wood floor
For three years, Rafael, a male model by day, construction worker, electrician, mason, gardener, concrete pourer, cabinet maker by night has been diligently turning a banal ranch house in Miami into a open, airy, comfortable and beautiful home for himself and his wife Heike, also a model, and their 2 year old son.
Rafael hails from Argentina and Heike hails from Germany. Rafael does not believe in building permits per se.
He also doesn’t believe in hiring any specialists of any kind. He designed and built his father’s house in Argentina at the ripe old age of 18.
Over 20 years later, he remembers a lot and has more than proven his ability to do very skilled labor. For some tricky solutions such as how to eliminate the need for a bearing wall, he called in a number of contractors to look at the problem, suggest solutions, and offer bids. Rafael gleaned the answers he needed—align 3 beams adjacent to one another—and then sent the contractors on their way.
The only help he got this time around was some work from a plumber and a couple of books on framing from the local library.
What an image Rafael depicts when he explains his daily schedule. While mixing concrete, plastering walls, ripping out floors, or redoing the ceiling when suddenly, he would suddenly be called in for a casting call and have to run into the backyard and clean himself off with a hose. (There was no working bathroom at the time.)
In a matter of minutes he would transform himself from a dust covered construction laborer to a suave and debonair model in an audition for a Calvin Klein ad. Rafael told me he would, on occasion, repeat this ritual a couple of times in the course of one day. He wanted to get his family into the house as soon as possible, so he had to fit the remodeling into every free moment of his day.
Rafael’s philosophy on house renovation is to start from the inside and work one’s way out. This is why when we pulled up to do the tour, the front of the house looked uninviting and in desperate need of a paint job. It created for dramatic effect when I finally saw the inside of the house. When he gets around to it, he will paint the front of his house.
Unlike many of his new American neighbors, Rafael doesn’t really care what reputation he develops in the eyes of his immediate geographic community. His hard work is to please himself and his family foremost.
Throughout the process, Rafael told me, he knew exactly what he wanted and did it. Fortunately, what he wants and what he is capable of doing is one and the same and of great caliber. JS
Originally posted June 8, 2005
Thank you for speaking up, Pat! I was wondering what the deal was with doing major plumbing moves without permits.
I know the permitting process can be an unholy hassle, especially in larger cities, but it's there as a guarantee that the finished work meets a minimum requirement for safety. Of course this particular homeowner believes in doing the job right -- but that trust can't be extended to every DIYer with a dream, which is why we all have to have our permits and inspections.
i liked the pillows in the child's room -- otherwise the muted colors surprised me. though "male model by day, construction worker by night" leading to "his wife and child" surprised me more.
Wasn't Jonathan seeking bar stools, and here they are--among the most beautiful I've ever seen. But are they steady?
Henrietta, indeed I was. And they are very nice. I was going to buy the stools from DWR that Enrique suggested but the wife is giving me endless crap on the subject and I am still eating dinner on a godamned cardboard box.
I do like this place, in particular the crystal cahndelier in the kitchen.
Patrick is right. Even I - masculine, red-blooded lion that I am - was all ready to hang up my hetereosexual shingle, what with the male model construction worker and all that. And we got nothing!
As soon as I started reading I thought we were going to get some really hot male model/constuction worker shots, but NOOOOOOO. You know, sometimes it's not just about the home, it's about the people in the home.
Charming pictorial and captions. Beautiful home made more so by a beautiful child. Congratulations!
As the friend of some very nice, hard-working contractors, I need to point out how truly rotten it is to use them in this way. Lie to them so they come out and take the time to assess your place, and write up a bid, just so you can pick their brains and do the work yourself. Without permits. Great (and AT reports this luike it's a good, clever thing!). This guy will pay the price when he tries to sell the place. It will be red-tagged, and the cost of bringing it up to code will come out of his profits.
And letting the outside of the house look like hell becasue he doesn't give a rat's patoot about the neighborhood? Nice guy all around.
Wait, that's the ONLY shot we get of Rafael, male model by day, construction worker (et al) by night?!?!
Ah, mangoes (even though the only way my Mom could get me and my sister to eat them was in mango pie, or the rare batch of mango ice cream...)... they make me miss Florida. Well, mangoes and the male models/construction workers.
Patrick, you always make me laugh.
We had a huge mango tree at my mom's house (until it was felled by hurricane Andrew and luckily fell into my neighbor's yard instead of on our house). People would go to any length to steal our mangos. It was like they were friggin' gold, I tell you, and you could buy them in the store for $1. People would pull up their Mercedes and pull out those long mango pickers. Crazy.
Those are some of the most gorgeous floors I have ever seen.
Beautiful bedroom too...
As a Miami native, I always enjoying seeing people's interpretation of "South Florida/Miami style." Some transplants migrate to different parts of the available interior vocabulary...be it beachy Caribbean, Haitian, Cuban, Deco, "Palm Beach", Arquitectonica/Miami Vice, vintage Flamingo kitsch, South American, etc., all either fueled or tempered by the heat 'n' humidity, and the unforgiving light that really changes/inspires a whole different palette down there.
It looks like a South American/plantation sensibility has infused this house with a great ease and a sense of heritage, all with a greta sense of personal style. No surprise, considering the origins of the occupants.
Quite the renovation! Judging from the interior shots, I sure wouldn't have guessed it was a ranch house. Sweet home! Especially love the barstools--which I usually don't care for. (PS I don't think ranch houses are banal, in general. But then, I grew up surrounded by them in the 'burbs!)
Hey Rafael,
Just wondering if you could suggest somewhere that I could look at/buy those brazilian stools you have? They're wonderful!
Thanks,
Lexi
Great philosophy! Don't expect great results if you are not doing it yourself. Sounds very unhealthy, but it seems to be the only way. The bathroom is indeed nicely done. As the rest of the house. Sorry, beautiful bathrooms are my weakness.
To AT folks:
I, too, agree whole heartedly with Pat. I don't think AT should take this kind of stuff lightly. The contractor part is totally unethical. The permit part is also illegal and potentially dangerous. I am not amused.
He's not misrepresenting himself to clients. Its his own house. He'll either live with it or have to get it fixed if he wants to sell.
I don't see a problem aside from asking for unpaid consultations from contractors.
The comments immediately above sum it up for me- the disengenuous idea of getting expert advice through subterfuge is just plain immoral- the DIY attitude I can certainly appreciate, and also the potential to make some $$$- he'll certainly have to pay someone to permit everything (plans, fees, calcs) plus pay penalty fines if he's caught or tries to sell.
The floor looks great. What type of wood and stain did you use?