For six months, commuters traveling the Veterans Bridge into downtown have followed the progress of Kevin Hix and wife Jennifer Caruthers as they added a second floor to their home at the corner of Barton Avenue and Crewdson Street.
"A lot of people stopped and asked about it," said Mr. Hix, "especially when we were building the stone retaining wall. There are boulders from 3,000 to 5,000 pounds stacked on each other. People'd walk up and ask, 'Where'd you get boulders that big?'"
The home's arts-and-crafts architecture and prime location near the North Shore caught the attention of the couple, who lived in Atlanta for 12 years. Its central location as a home office within the four states in which he does business for LSI Corp. was another selling point, said Mr. Hix.
"I like being able to walk and ride my bicycle to community events like Nightfall and Riverbend. I like that lifestyle of being able to get out and take your dog on a walk," he said. "We chose to renovate because we came here to stay indefinitely."
They bought the circa-1918 home at 301 Crewdson for $290,000, then began to gut and remodel the house through a combination of contracted help and their own sweat equity.
Ms. Caruthers said the first step was hiring Atlanta architect Jody Hunt. She said they spent six months in discussions on their requirements and how they planned to use the house. Then they called Collier Construction to add the second level.
Bryan King, Collier's project superintendent, said the company added 1,600 square feet in the second floor, which included a master suite, two guest bedrooms and a full bath. The addition brought the home's square footage to 3,600.
The downstairs was gutted to the frame. Collier put in Sheetrock, replaced all windows, painted exterior siding, completed a portion of the kitchen work and added a deck that gives the couple a winter view of the river.
Mr. King said the exterior siding is a 2.6-inch, pine lap siding down to the brick foundation, for which they found a match at Chattanooga Lumber. The homeowners wanted to use as much of the original siding as possible, so Mr. Hix reconditioned pieces of siding himself to restore it.
The couple has installed new wiring, new plumbing, roof, hardwood floors throughout to match the original on the main level, slate tile in two baths, cherry kitchen cabinetry, replaced all appliances and landscaped. Ms. Caruthers painted all 13 rooms in the home in three complementary neutrals.
"We have done some minor renovations before, but nothing on this scale," said Ms. Caruthers. "We also had the help of excellent local skilled craftsmen who helped us with projects."