Case Study - Clifton Park

One crucial component to developing the design was the strong desire of the client to salvage a large, twenty five foot tall and twenty five foot wide Japanese Maple specimen tree. The crux of the problem was the location of the tree. Keeping the Japanese Maple in its original location meant it was directly in front of, and therefore blocking, the entrance of the house. Relocating the tree to a more ideal location would mean eating up a significant portion of the construction budget). Ultimately it was decided that relocating the tree would be the best aesthetic solution.

The final design included the relocation of the maple, the construction of a modest boulder wall that would provide level land for the new maple location, the construction of a new random dimensional bluestone walk, and additional plant materials to add color and interest. Further architectural improvements to the front of the house included the addition of a dormer to the existing front porch roof, removal of the existing railing and support posts and installing two larger more prominent support columns, upgrading the porch lighting, replacement of the entrance door and, finally, replacing all of the window trim on the front of the house with larger, more prominent trim work. We also had to address the steep slope to the east side of the house without disrupting the existing utilities running from the corner of the house to the street. All of the work (design and construction) was completed within the client’s strict $42,000 budget.