Rochman Design-Build has moved into a new office!
We purchased a 1923 vintage craftsman home in disrepair, added creativity, labor and TLC and transformed it into our vibrant new RDB Office & Design Center.

November 1, 2013

The original blueprint that came in the home kit... by rail... all parts included!

The front elevation – built as a single family home in 1923

The rear elevation – the outside looks tired.

The inside shows its age and neglect. The property is zoned Office,
and was used as offices for French Insurance for many years.

It had also been used as a rental home.

Old finishes, awkward floor plan for a house, certainly for an office...

November 15, 2013

A lot of work is needed in the interior, and thus demolition has begun.
This front room with the fireplace will become the conference room.

The existing kitchen needed to be completely gutted. The new layout will
eventually allow for a showcase of various cabinetry styles and materials.

The existing stairs are being re-worked to create a better flow
down to the basement, coming off the hall instead of the kitchen.

December 1, 2013

The staircase is being reconfigured, from an ‘L’ going into the
kitchen, into a ‘U’ that wraps back into the new front hall.

We are dividing the large living room into a front entry and a separate conference room.

Carpet in the upstairs bedrooms has been pulled up,
revealing the beautiful original wood beneath it.

December 19, 2013

The kitchen plaster has been stripped off in order to run
new heating, electrical, and plumbing.

This old coal furnace, converted to gas at some point, must
be fully removed and replaced with a more efficient system.

Here is the furnace fully disassembled.

January 6, 2014

The corner of the existing foundation was in disrepair.

So we removed all of the existing block and rebuilt the entire corner.

January 13, 2014

The living room is now divided with a wall to create a front entry space and
a conference room beyond. New ductwork was run throughout the house.

The conference room dividing wall will contain salvaged
French doors that slide into pockets on both sides of the opening.

At the top of the stair on the 2nd floor, a closet was removed and the full height
wall was cut down to rail height to open up the stairwell and let in more daylight.

Here you can see an old photo coming up the same staircase.
Cramped, narrow, and lots of red carpet!

January 20, 2014

New heating and electrical in an office wall.

The kitchen walls had all the old plaster stripped off. All new electrical wiring was needed throughout the house. We also wired extensively with CAT6 wire for computers and phones.