Milpitas Addition — GTL Architecture & Interiors

This extensive remodel and addition to a 1988 Planned Unit Development home was carefully reimagined into a contemporary custom residence. The project unfolded over five years, during which our homeowners transitioned from a young couple to parents of two boys, navigating the challenges of a global pandemic before returning to a sense of normalcy.

In the end, we expanded the home by nearly 400 square feet, creating a new front bedroom/office, an enlarged primary suite with a serene, Japanese-inspired bathroom, and a stunning open floor plan. The kitchen, designed to accommodate the homeowners' weekly large gatherings, boasts every imaginable amenity.

Come back to witness the full transformation...

The “welcome home” charm of a new front door & entry accent light.

New exterior paint scheme is looking sharp with just the right accents✨

Our new front addition terracotta roof & half round roof vents are in - and the window install & stucco prep work are happening…

The craftsmanship of an arch...

Roof sheathing for our front addition is up!

And check out our entry archway...

Exterior wall sheathing for our front addition is up!

Our front addition foundation work is underway!

Thrilled to see our rear extension nearing completion!

Our rear addition is approved for stucco.

The black asphalt saturated building paper is a moisture barrier to protect the building from water damage. And the wire will provide the stucco something to adhere to. Both must be field inspected & approved prior to stucco installation.

With the exterior extension framing in place, the addition is coming into view.

Despite the roof slope, skylight curbs are necessary here given the existing terracotta roof. See also how the contractor diligently saved the removed roof tiles for re-use at the new street-facing addition. This ensures that the new roof won't visually stick out - details matter...

Our wood accent framed entry vestibule portal.

Our final quartz install day is complete with our full height backsplash & spice ledge perfectly executed.

Day 1 of our counter installation is complete. By morning the exhaust hood will be up & our installers will be back to put up the backsplash. Great first day…!

No detail is too small as our counter installer uses electric seam clamps to ensure a perfect alignment between adjacent counter pieces.

Removing any mystery of the “undermount sink” - where the lip of the sink sits on plywood & the countertop will then sit atop the lip & hide it.

Our Kitchen counter installation is finally underway! With careful planning, we designed our island counter to be a single slab without any joints or seams which means not only easy maintenance, but a clean modern look!

Junior inspectors are onsite to review the in-progress millwork installation.

Millwork installation is looking good…

Kitchen cabinet installation is underway with the crucial first step of installing level “toe kicks” which the cabinets will sit on.

Always a good day when the kitchen cabinets arrive. Time to take attendance!

Great progress with our building envelope closed up with doors, windows & skylights installed. On the inside, drywall is up & painted & the floor also in & protected. Time to schedule our millwork delivery!

Our new 16" deep beam supports our existing trusses to create an open visual & social connection between our Kitchen & Dining/Living spaces.

Going up...

Ever wonder how they lift a 500 pound beam into place?

Existing trusses cannot be cut - without opening a can of costly structural worms. We first site documented each truss location before deciding which truss bay to slot in our new skylights.

The existing post tension slab is making for slow & tedious demolition as our contractor can only remove concrete between the existing tensioned steel strands…

Tough start to construction as we discovered during demolition that our slab is “post-tensioned” which means that there is a grid of tensioned steel strands embedded in the concrete. This type of slab is virtually unseen in residential construction - especially with single story homes such as ours. More importantly, these strands cannot be cut which means that our contractor will need to scan for the strands & demo around each of the strands.

| Kitchen Visual |

| Dining Visual |

Our glass shower enclosure is complete with low iron glass so that all our shower tile can be enjoyed with a pristine uncolored view - unlike standard glass which has a green tint.

While a counter may appear to be a thick piece of stone, it is actually “built-up” from 3/4” pieces. In order to have a monolithic appearance, our standard is to always miter our counter edges to allow patterns to read continuously.

Our walnut double vanity is looking amazing in its new home!

Checking in our custom vanity at our millworker’s shop. We are all set to go to the finisher & then to be installed!

Tile maketh the room… Stay tuned for the vanity & glass!

After our permit was approved and construction had started, our homeowners decided to pursue a second addition at the rear of the house. This additional square footage will allow us to create the homeowners’ dream Japanese-style wet bathroom where the double shower & soaking tub will be in a separate “wet” compartment than the dry vanity area.

One of the most valuable services we provide is our construction support. Here, we provided the contractor framing & power comments at the Primary Bath. These are relatively easy fixes at this stage of construction. It would be a very different & costly story after the drywall is in. We are here to protect both the design & homeowner!