Light Construction

Beneath the gray Northwest sky, a builder's own home undergoes a sunny transformation.

3 MIN READ
According to Thielsen, if it weren’t for Kirkland’s sun-angle setback rule, building a whole new house would have made more sense than remodeling. This ordinance, aimed at preserving views from the street to the water, prohibits new buildings from sitting as close to the northern property line as the Zeiler house does. “The sun-angle setback drove us towards a remodel/addition,” he says. “The existing building was built before the ordinance, so we could leave it in place.” Plus, Gaerda liked the idea of saving pieces of the old house and reusing them in the new one, something she tries to do in most of the projects she builds. “I really enjoy the feel of a house with materials that tell a story,” she says.

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