Northern Virginia Custom Home Builder, Craftsman Construction Congratulates Ahmann Architects LLC, Principal Thomas Ahmann, AIA.

EDINBURG, VA, April 21, 2012

Perry Botto, principle and Vice President of Craftsman Construction took charge of 2 projects that Ahmann Architects designed.

One of the projects was a sprawling 61 acre eclectic Tuscan style estate named Fidelio after Beethoven's opera of the same name. This project is located in the rolling hills of the Virginia country side. This house was also featured in Home & Design Magazine in the Spring 2004 Issue.
A long curving driveway leads to a court yard and front entrance. As you enter the home, reclaimed 17th century stone imported from Europe covers the foyer and corridors. Arches and niches break up the expanses of walls. The house features a formal living room, library, family room, informal dining room, kitchen, great room, offices, master suite and more.

The library features a domed ceiling with painted images of the heavens and earth. The family room features a timbered ceiling and stone walls. Reclaimed wide plank antique red oak floors with worm holes dating back over 100 years contrast with stone in the corridors. The formal dining room features an elaborate coffered ceiling. Stone fireplaces from European mansions where taken apart and shipped to Virginia for the contractor to reinstall.

The property also features a pool house with an exercise room, outdoor pool, tennis courts, a large studio building used to store the client's art work and a guest house that now acts as the client's offices.

The second project Mr. Botto supervised was a historical renovation to a home in the Virginia foothills called The Manor House at Chattins Run. This house dates back to 1795 when Benjamin Rust who rented the land from George Washington built the original house. In 1832 a two story addition was added to the original house. During the Civil War confederate soldiers made extensive use of the house. In 1945 the original house underwent major renovation. It was at this time that Architect Thomas S. Waterman added an East and West wing to the house.

In 2003 Mr. Botto was put in charge of a major renovation to the house. The kitchen and great room were moved to the new East wing. A new foundation was added under the original house, as it was built right on the ground without any foundation. "To preserve the historic value of the house we had to essentially build a new house inside the old house, said Mr. Botto" All the old floors were removed and a complete new structure was installed inside the framework of the old stone house. All the old flooring was recycled back into the house. New mahogany windows and doors were installed. A state of the art Geothermal heating system was installed along with 13 Geothermal wells. To keep the house comfortable year round, spray foam insulation was used throughout. All new kitchen and bathrooms were added and custom millwork was installed throughout the house. " This was quite an undertaking as the original house was very much out of level after settling for over a 100 years, Mr. Botto said"

The last project Craftsman Construction worked on with Ahmann Architects was a huge estate in Potomac, Maryland. This project was so large that I am just going to list some of the project highlights. Basically this was a 30,000 S.F. addition to a 15,000 S.F. home. The addition included a 12,000 S.F. underground parking garage for the client's car collection. A wine tunnel to connect the original house with the addition. A two lane bowling alley for the kids to play with. A gymnasium to work out in. Two elevators to service the upper floors. A game room with a large built in aquarium. A caters kitchen for when they have parties. The main addition is attached to an indoor sports complex that features a full size ice hockey rink, tennis court and basketball court. This whole sports complex is covered with a glass retractable roof system that can be opened with the touch of a button. To maintain the indoor ice hockey rink, a garage structure was added to the side of the sports complex to house the large cooling system necessary to support this building, as well as housing the Zamboni machine to maintain the ice. Next we turned our attention to building an indoor pool house, also with an retractable roof system to let the sun in on nice days. This pool house featured a kitchen and bathroom along with marbled walls. The structure was fully heated for wintertime use. Finally a large Porte Cochere was added to the front of the original house to give the client and his guest a place to enter the house and stay out of the weather.

Overall this was a great project that spanned several years to bring it to fruition. During this time Tom Ahmann and his team gave us great support. "Without this kind of cooperation between the Architect and Builder a job of this scope could never get done quoted Jerry Jackness, President of Craftsman Construction". Very few Architects will listen to what the builder has to say, thinking that they know best, but Tom would always listen to our problems and suggestions, this created the rare situation of perfect harmony between the Architect and Builder, allowing the project to move forward smoothly.

Craftsman Construction is a custom home builder and remodeler specializing in energy efficient building solutions. Craftsman Construction provides a wide range of services. For further information contact us at Phone: 540-984-4907 Fax: 540-984-4906 Email: jerry@craftsmanbuilds.com