Homeowner Spotlight

Hi Sandy, tell me about yourself.

I am the mother of two grown sons who have blessed me with two granddaughters and a grandson, ages five and under. I moved to Arizona from Michigan in 1977 with some high- school friends. From the time I arrived in Arizona till 2010 I had resided in the Tempe/Chandler area aside from the three and a half years I spent living in Texas after accepting a new job offer in 2010.

So how long have you lived at Country Trace and what brought you to here?

I have lived at Country Trace since June of 2014. When the work project I was assigned to in Texas finished late spring of that year I moved back to Arizona. I still owned our family home in Chandler, but since there was a nice family living there and I did not want to disrupt them I thought it would be a good opportunity to try living in the Kierland area so I could be close to friends. This home on Beverly was marketed as a rental property, so I initially moved in as a tenant. I had to think twice about signing the lease because the master closet was just 24 s/f with a door that swings in. I thought, “Where on earth will I put my clothes, shoes & handbags?!” That was almost a deal breaker. Just one year after moving in, the property owners decided to sell. 

The last thing I wanted to do was move again. So, although I owned two other homes, I decided to buy this one and make it three homes. That is how much I disliked moving. More importantly, I knew that I had great neighbors. 

You have a beautiful addition to the front of your house. What prompted you to add on to your house?

For five years I traveled at least every two weeks for business, and other times for pleasure. More often than not a suitcase was laying on my bed. I imagined how nice it would be to have a closet large enough for a packing island that would also fit my girly stuff. I hang almost everything. I imagined the steps saved by not having to access three different closets when getting dressed or packing. 

Based on that response, is it correct that your addition includes a larger master closet? 

Yes, it is a much larger closet. Some may call it a dressing suite. 

I see you have been involved in many projects with your house. What other projects have you accomplished to update your house?

Along with the walk-in closet I added a flex room, rooftop deck, covered entry, wider front iron door, enlarged front windows, new landscaping, and new exterior light fixtures. The flex room is multi-use with a rowing machine, vision and P.T. therapy, and a built-in Iron-Away ironing board. We live in an area with mountain views and frequent fireworks. I thought a rooftop deck would be a nice feature. Yes, I still iron. 

How important was it for you to maintain some Country Trace features in your project?

I love the stately grandeur of the wrought iron lanterns here at Country Trace and felt a fervent desire to keep this as part of the elevation. The Arabesque/Quatrefoil windows are also in many homes, and I wanted to keep it as part of mine. With the intent of repurposing my existing A/Q window, my contractor hired a concrete cutter to cut around it. It was a huge gamble that paid off wonderfully. Not a crack or break anywhere. I promise you that these frames are 100% concrete. If you want to move and repurpose your A/Q window – I gotta guy.

I can only imagine that you have learned so much from this experience making numerous decisions and working with multiple contractors. Are there lessons that you have learned from this experience that you would like to share with our homeowners who could benefit from your experience?

Oh gosh Richard, where do I start? Well, here are a few that come to mind.

1. Read all fine print included in Terms and Conditions when reviewing quotes. I did this and it saved me from contracting with a GC who initially looked great. Then in the fine print they wanted 35% down at day of signing. Another 25% at project start day, and he was not going to break ground for 6-months. There is more to consider than price and I had no interest in funding someone’s business cashflow.
2. All subcontractors need to clean up/remove their scrap materials in your yard or in your home at the end of each day. These are practices implemented in new construction subdivisions. It should be automatic in a residential area.
3. Your general contractor should line-item your bid by category. Mine did. Be sure their bids are firmly based on the project scope and not general estimates left to interpretation.
4. It is going to take longer than you think.
5. These Dell Trailor homes are built to last centuries. My front entry wall is 12” thick, consisting of the 8” block wall plus a 4” slump block.
6. Be flexible. Yet pick your battles that matter most to you. It’s not going to go perfectly.
7. Take the time to get 3-4 bids. I received a bid that was $100,000 higher than my highest quote.

What was the timeline like and were you effected by Covid?

I began design concepts with an architect and GC guidance in the fall of 2019. Through 2020 (Covid shutdown), time was spent determining stair access to the rooftop deck. We ended up putting the stairs where we started. Not ideal but considering all parameters of the project it was the best option. Access to City of Phoenix Zoning Dept. was limited during this time. In 2021 I submitted documents to obtain variance approval with the City of Phoenix. Once approved the architect was able to finalize the drawings, and permit was issued in April 2022. After receiving a few “You can’t be serious” bids from general contractors I signed with a commonsense contractor in October 2022. We broke ground in December 2022 only to have it rain for almost six weeks straight, drenching the soil which delayed foundation work.

As a Country Trace community we want to improve the value of our homes, be it small updates or big ones. How supportive were your neighbors during this construction project?

My neighbors were great! Doug & Sue Lynde who live east of me recommended that I seek a variance to build the addition closer to their side of the property so I could save my multi-trunk pigmy palm tree. They provided a letter in support to the Zoning board. That is going above and beyond. They also tolerated construction noise on some incredibly early mornings.

Shout-out goes to Kathy Bryant, for having to look across the street at my construction mess for many months and for occasionally bringing treats and beverages to the sub-contractors. They enjoyed it. Richard Morrell was immensely helpful in assisting me with the new exterior paint selection at the midnight hour. I appreciate my Country Trace neighbors for tolerating all things related to this project. The noise. The mess. The porta-potty. Thank you all so much for your patience and support!

Anything else you would like to share?

It is ironic that this project started because I was frustrated with having a suitcase on my bed most of the time due to frequent business travel.  Yet I have only traveled twice for work since February 2020 – Covid Kick-Off. But all is good. In lieu of walking to three closets to get dressed, I now go to one which makes me timelier.