Its perch atop a steel framework gives the house a panoramic view of Aquia Creek. The cost of the home, including land, is $1.3 million. van View More Images from this story Visit the Photo Place

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Rising above Aquia Creek

Dream house is being built above ravine and overlooking Aquia Creek.

By RICHARD AMRHINE
The Free Lance-Star

Date published: 12/27/2002

Builder tackles challenging site

HEARING ABOUT new homes going up is nothing new around here. But one house under construction along Aquia Creek in eastern Stafford County is giving new meaning to the term "going up."

Rising from a ravine to become level with State Route 630, the house sits on a graduated steel framework that reaches down some 70 feet. The terrain drops still farther as it spills into Aquia Creek.

Engineering this architectural challenge is local builder Christopher Kohlhaas, whose company, Fredericksburg Custom Homes, specializes in difficult projects and produces just one or two homes a year.

"That's the way I like it. I like to be getting started on a new one just as I'm finishing one up," he said. "You can't rush these things, and the owners know that going in. It's done when it's done."

Kohlhaas said the owners of the home prefer not to be identified for this story, but said they understand the patience that's required for such a project.

That is particularly the case for this one, he said. The idea was born with the purchase of the land four years ago, he said. But decisions about exactly what to build and how to build it, plus a fickle economy, delayed the start of the project until last July. The complex job will be completed in May, Kohlhaas said.

What the idea became is a 4,700-square-foot home on two levels. The upper level is even with Route 630. "That was the only way to get the spectacular view," said Kohlhaas, which includes the confluence of Aquia Creek and the Potomac River to the far right. Across Aquia Creek is the countryside of the Widewater peninsula.

A carport recessed from the roadway will be linked to the home's main level by an elevated walkway.

Accented by a double-sided, wood-burning fireplace, the upper level of the home holds the main living area, with living and dining rooms, kitchen and master bedroom suite. The ceilings soar as high as 25 feet.

The living area offers access to a large porch that provides a bird's-eye view of the surroundings, and overlooks the breathtaking 150-foot drop to the creekside pier and boathouse.

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Date published: 12/27/2002