Second-floor space makes most of canyon location in Auburn
As seen in: Auburn Journal | Loomis News
By Gloria Young Home & Garden
When Auburn resident Terry Torr decided to add a deck to his home, there were three “must-haves” on his list.
“I wanted it to take advantage of a part of the house that provides a nice view,” he said recently. “I wanted it to be structurally very strong — I wanted it to last. And I really wanted something the neighbors would like, as well, and that would be seamless — something that looked like it had been there all along.”
Now completed, the second-story addition is made of stucco, with no exposed wood. The floor is covered in travertine tile. The 600-square-foot space has a full stainless steel kitchen, built-in gas firepit and a six-person hot tub — all illuminated in plenty of recessed lighting.
There were some challenges, contractor John Nelson of JNT Building and Remodeling said.
“The house is on an incline, so we had to dig some pretty deep footers to extend out the deck over the slope of the house grade,” he explained. “We cantilevered the deck.”
The railing posed a special problem. It had to look like stone but without the weight of concrete.
“We found a unique product out of Florida,” Nelson said. “It looks like stone, but is polymer-based and weighs 60 percent less. You can have it on an overhanging railing system …”
And it looks absolutely authentic.
“It doesn’t feel like wood or plastic,” Nelson said.
The colors of the rail, flooring and countertops are in earthtones to create a Mediterranean feel.
“The 24-inch travertine is a light neutral color,” he said. “The railing is also a light neutral color. The granite is called Mombasa. It’s got a lot of dark browns and swirled-in lighter browns with black. It has a unique yellowish tiger’s eye (appearance).”
Torr is very pleased with the results.
“I couldn’t be happier with (Nelson’s) attention to detail and skills as a builder,” he said. “He took a personal interest in making this what I wanted it to be and something I’d enjoy.”
Nelson’s can-do attitude really became apparent about a third of the way through the project, when Torr decided to make a change.
“I threw him a curve ball,” Torr said. “I asked him to extend the deck 15 feet to the west. He was able to manage that very nicely.”
Nelson, an Auburn resident, has worked in construction for about 15 years and started his remodeling company a couple of years ago. He and his two-man crew specialize in kitchens, baths, outdoor living spaces and whole-house remodels.
The deck project, which took about three months, is his biggest one yet, and turned out to be a very special for him as well as for the homeowner.
“It just won Contractor of the Year in the Sacramento region for residential exteriors (costing) more than $100,000,” Nelson said. “We’re pretty excited about it.”
For Torr, the deck makes the best of the home’s location overlooking the American River canyon.
“I take my meals up there and I just enjoy the view and the peace of my neighborhood,” he said. “I absolutely love it. I have to give credit to John for the design, for giving me choices of all sorts I didn’t know existed, and for my daughter. She worked closely with him on choosing the doors, the stone and the granite countertops.”
Reach Gloria Young at gloriay@goldcountrymedia.com.
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JNT Building and Remodeling
Website: jntbuild.com
Phone: 916-878-6792