Where to Get Everything Fixed

If you’ve ever spent hours scrolling through Pinterest, then you know how easy it is to be enchanted by lofty ideas and dreamy aesthetics. Turning those ideas into reality, however, isn’t so simple. • Marni Deutsch says that’s where Derek Centorbi excelled. Deutsch, who began construction on her family’s home in 2013, showed Centorbi pictures she’d pulled from Pinterest boards, magazines, and elsewhere to give the cabinetmaker a sense of her style. Centorbi made it happen. • “He would take inspiration from pictures and make it work for the space,” Deutsch says. He also took drawings from Deutsch’s designer and brought them to life. • But as any carpenter will tell you, design doesn’t always favor practicality. Those family room cabinets with the huge wooden doors that Deutsch coveted? Pretty, yes. Pragmatic, not really. Centorbi figured out how to keep the integrity of the design while allowing for hinges that would support the doors without the risk of their drooping in the future. • “It’s not the stuff you think of, because you’re not the carpenter,” Deutsch says. • Centorbi built and installed custom cabinets throughout Deutsch’s home. But she isn’t yet finished poking around Pinterest—and she’ll tap Centorbi for his expertise. “He’s got that eye for it.” -Julia Feldmeier

It was City Museum’s former creative director, Bob Cassilly, who first spotted the potential behind a casually constructed barn in House Springs, converting the property into a one-of-a-kind residence with a sunken tub, floor-to-ceiling mirrors, and stone hearth. • “Basically it was just an open four-walled structure,” says Amy Swartman, who took up residence there with her former husband, a friend and business partner of Cassilly’s, in 1981. • Over the years, the two added a living room, porch, and interior walls to create three bedrooms while striving to retain the home’s character. But its first life as a barn meant that every repair and renovation presented unique problems. • A lack of right angles means that plenty can go wrong, so Swartman typically hires independent contractors such as Alex Thonen, who recently overcame several challenges while remodeling the bathroom. The latest hurdle is a sunken patio with a clogged drain. One consultant suggested using water pres- sure to clear the clog; others think that Swartman may have to tear out part of her patio to uncover the problem. She’d like to avoid such drastic measures and find a plumber to clear the drain and a roofing specialist to devise a way to add gutters to divert water to other routes without detracting from the roofline. • “I believe there’s a way to do it and maintain the aesthetic value,” says Swartman. “We just have to be creative.” –Charlene Oldham

ACCORDING TO ANGIE'S LIST SPOKESWOMAN CHERYL REED
1 Research five to ten companies to determine their reputations, how well their work stands the test of time, and whether they specialize in the work you want done.2 Get at least three written estimates.3 Verify the applicable trade license, bonding, and insurance status.4 Insist on a payment schedule tied to project progress and keep at least ten percent back until the job is completed to your satisfaction.5 Include the payment schedule in your contract and a termination clause allowing you to walk away if terms aren’t met.Never pay in full up front.

The sound of running water should be soothing—unless ankle-deep blackness is pouring across your kitchen and threatening to collapse the second floor. • That’s the situation homeowner Vince Volpe faced on returning from vacation during a record-breaking cold snap in January 2010. Water pipes between the home’s joists and studs had frozen and snapped, triggering a chain reaction that ended with burst radiators, three floors of destruction, and an unpleasant smell. • The next day, Volpe was surveying the damage with an insurance inspector when a sound from above caught their attention. Second floor pipes burst and, as they watched, the ceiling collapsed, bringing most of the back bathroom to rest on the kitchen table, along with the kitchen ceiling fan. The water found its way to the basement, falling in a steady drip that destroyed more than 30 years’ worth of family keepsakes and photos. The restoration process took nearly a year and considerable research. • “The back of the house was destroyed, but this was not a whole-house renovation,” Volpe says, “so it was critical that the millwork be replicated with historical accuracy.” A canvas of neighbors provided a few names, but one was a favorite and Volpe’s final choice—Burkarts Woodworks. —Joan Lerch