|
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.
The interior of the home includes recessed lighting, a double-sided fireplace and large windows An elevated walkway leads to a porch on the home's upper level. |
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.
Downstairs are six more rooms that can be used variously as extra bedrooms and offices, or hobby and storage areas. There will also be a kitchenette, creating a self-contained living area on the lower level.
Both living levels have plenty of large windows, so a view of the creek is never far away. There is recessed and indirect lighting built in throughout that will add ambiance.
Beneath the lower floor, in the true belly of the home, is a utility room with the heating and cooling systems.
Though the project remains months from completion, Kohlhaas estimates the whole deal, land and home included, will cost the owners about $1.3 million.
He said it was the owners' intention to remove as few trees from the site as possible, adding to the challenge Kohlhaas faced in bringing in the heavy machinery needed to prepare the site and foundation, and maneuvering the crane used in building the structure.
Kohlhaas, 40, is clearly buoyed by such challenges. He got into the construction business in 1986, but after eight years had seen enough as an employee, and decided to set out on his own 1994.
"After seeing all that goes on in the construction industry, I decided I'd just rather be a builder," he said. "I saw some houses built the wrong way, and I realized I could build them the right way."
Eventually, he sought out the most challenging projects he could find. The satisfaction he derives from the projects he works on leaves him happy with his choices, "even though I've gotten gray hair and I'm going bald doing it."
He said he owes his success at building the way he does to word of mouth, and contacts at the Fredericksburg Area Builders Association.
He also counts on the loyalty of the subcontractors he's worked with for years. "When you only build a house or two a year, they have other jobs going on and they can't always come on short notice," he said. "But if they're good, they're worth waiting for."
