Edward Hobler and Dave Garrity
The Specs
- Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico
- Neighborhood: East Side/Downtown
- Date Purchased: 2005
- Architectural Style: Adobe (Pueblo Revival)
- Square Footage: 1,300 Square Feet
The Story
Describe the neighborhood a bit for us. What’s the vibe? What are the people like? What do the houses look like?
We're on the dead end, unpaved uppermost block of Hillside Avenue. Most of our neighbors are Hispanic families whose ancestors built their houses – and ours – by hand. Back then, when a child was born, they'd add a room. When they grew up, they'd build another house on the family's land. Most of the houses are traditional adobes – one story, built of stuccoed mud blocks. The family across the street are the patriarchs of the neighborhood. Three generations, masons by trade. They helped us work on our house. We've become friends. We're not the only Anglos; there are some others, mostly unique characters who can be whoever they want in Santa Fe and who appreciate being in this neighborhood. Eight or nine years ago, there were still horses and chickens up here. Most of us here know and respect that this is the last authentic, original neighborhood left in Santa Fe.
What did you first think when you saw the house? What made you fall in love with it? What condition was the home in when you bought it?
My partner, Dave, first found the house in an online real estate listing, and it was the stonework and the integrity of original fabric that got our attention. When we got here, it was clear that it hadn't had any TLC for several decades – no central heat; homemade plumbing, wiring and gas piping (!); no interior doors...all beaded curtains; drafty, undersized single-pane aluminum sliding windows; many roof leaks; a medieval bathroom off the kitchen; etc. However, it also had a workable layout, stone or brick floors in all but one room, and a walled private yard with two healthy apricot trees. And of course, character that couldn't be replicated.
From the outset, what was your vision for the property? How did you go about your plans and renovations? What projects did you do?
We didn't want to change the design or materials of the house at all, and we thought of our job as a restoration, not a "remodeling." We also didn't want it to stand out as a gentrified intrusion on the streetscape. We knew we had to replace all the mechanicals, all of the windows, some of the sagging vigas (the peeled log ceiling/roof beams), most of the roof boards, and the roof itself. We had to rebuild – and wanted to enlarge – the portale to better protect the two exterior doors. We also wanted to have a cuved copper gutter fabricated to collect all the rainwater in underground tanks for an automated drip irrigation system. We put in four double-glazed, UV-blocking skylights. We had a traditional kiva fireplace built in the guestroom; rebuilt the firebox in the master bedroom fireplace; enlarged the brick patio to be big enough for a table and chairs; built a stone-lined hot tub; and added a wall and gates to make the yard private and separate from parking and the road. We also built an addition to create a second bath and closet off the master bedroom.
We also wanted to make the house as energy efficient as we could, and adobe is of uncertain R-value. Dave found solid cedar double-glazed casement windows. The roof is between six and ten inches of sprayed-on polyurethane foam, which allowed us to run new water and heat piping, as well as new wiring over the roof boards. There's a modulating/condensing heat boiler and a tankless on-demand water heater. Adobe houses are infamously cold in winter but ours is very comfortable. January gas bills, when lows are teens and single digits, run around $75 for heat and hot water.
What was the biggest challenge you faced in renovating and restoring your house? Other notable obstacles?
There were many challenges. Every bit of exterior work – even if not visible from the street – had to be negotiated with and approved by the city's historic design review board. We hired a general contractor who was nowhere near qualified for the grade of work we specified...even though he came well recommended. Some of the exterior walls were little more than two layers of stucco with a foot of brown dust between them. And, although we had bought a huge $250 tarp big enough to cover the whole house, it wasn't in place when an afternoon cloud burst dissolved the wall between the kitchen and the living room. It literally became a pile of mud on the floor.
With all or most of the work behind you, what do you love most about your house? What makes it really feel like home? And what advice would you give someone who is about to start what you've done?
After a lifetime in the northeast, I'm surprised that we find ourselves so drawn to this place and to this house. There is an organic comfort here that I simply haven't experienced before. I think it's a combination of the natural materials; the fact that nothing is square, plumb or hard-edged; the scale and flow of its spaces; and its proximity to but separation from the center of town. There's also a real sense of community in our neighborhood that I've never found before. And you get to see a lot of your friends; having a guestroom in Santa Fe is like having a hide-a-bed in Manhattan.
Advice: If you can, live in your new town for long enough to know your way around before you start a big project. Be on the job every day, period. Don't hire a general contractor without seeing some completed work and checking some references. Use an AIA contract and payment schedule, even if you have to modify them. Work on an older house almost always has to be on a time-and-materials basis, which is easily abused. You want to be able to cost every identifiable task in the project.
Calling all older and historic homeowners – we want to hear your stories! From major renovations to over-the-weekend projects, we're interested in what you're doing to preserve your home. Use our online questionnaire to tell us everything.
