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Gable Pair at dusk: two shingled 1920s gables joined by a long low glass hall, lit from inside.

Gable PairOyster Bay

No. 34 / Whole-house renovation / 2023

Two 1920s gabled wings in Oyster Bay, joined by a low glass hall where a passage of closets used to be.

Scope
Whole-house renovation
Completed
2023
Area
3,420 sq ft
Lot
0.9 acres
Bedrooms / baths
4 / 3.5
Design, approvals, build
6, 4 and 12 months
Contract
$2,240,000
Final cost
$2,276,000 (+1.6%)
Changes
4 owner
Superintendent
Dana Whitlock
Approvals
Building permit, Slope and drainage plan
01 / The site

Two houses that never spoke.

The house was built in 1924 and doubled in 1936 by a second gabled wing, joined to the first by a dark passage of closets. It sits on 0.9 acre, sloping down to the woods behind.

Contours every 2 ft. High point 74 ft, low point 57 ft. Ground generalized from the survey, which stays with the owners.

60701924 GABLEGLASS HALL1936 GABLEOAK WOODSSTREET72.460.7N050 FTGable PairL-1 · CONTOURS EVERY 2 FT · HIGH 74.4 · LOW 57.3NO. 34

Gable Pair, site plate

60701924 GABLEGLASS HALL1936 GABLEOAK WOODSSTREET72.460.7N050 FTGable PairL-1 · CONTOURS EVERY 2 FT · HIGH 74.4 · LOW 57.3NO. 34

On a small screen, scroll sideways to read the whole sheet.

02 / The brief

One kitchen, one way through.

Two kitchens, three stairs and no room where the whole family could be at once. The owners asked for one of each.

Inside the glass hall at Gable Pair: a bluestone floor stepping down between walls of glass to the old house.
PL. 01 / The glass hall where the passage of closets was. The floor steps down 18 inches so the two old floors meet.
03 / The answer

A hall made of glass.

We took out the passage and built a hall 14 feet wide between the two gable ends, glass on both long sides. Its bluestone floor steps down 18 inches with the ground, so the two old floors finally meet.

LIVING26'-0" x 20'-0"STUDY14'-0" x 14'-0"STAIR, 192412'-0" x 14'-0"GLASS HALL32'-0" x 14'-0"steps 18 inKITCHEN16'-0" x 22'-0"DINING14'-0" x 22'-0"MUDROOM12'-0" x 12'-0"PANTRYSTAIR10'-0" x 12'-0"88'-0"34'-0"N10 FTA-101 · GABLE PAIR · GROUND FLOORFour bedrooms and three baths upstairs in the two gables.

Gable Pair, ground floor

LIVING26'-0" x 20'-0"STUDY14'-0" x 14'-0"STAIR, 192412'-0" x 14'-0"GLASS HALL32'-0" x 14'-0"steps 18 inKITCHEN16'-0" x 22'-0"DINING14'-0" x 22'-0"MUDROOM12'-0" x 12'-0"PANTRYSTAIR10'-0" x 12'-0"88'-0"34'-0"N10 FTA-101 · GABLE PAIR · GROUND FLOORFour bedrooms and three baths upstairs in the two gables.

On a small screen, scroll sideways to read the whole sheet.

04 / The price

Four changes, all in the kitchen.

First price $2.1M to $2.35M. Signed at $2.24M. Final $2.276M, up 1.6 percent: four owner changes, every one of them in the kitchen.

First band
$2,100,000 to $2,350,000
Contract
$2,240,000
Final
$2,276,000 (+1.6%)
Construction
$2,168,000
Site work and abatement
$72,000
Owner changes, all in the kitchen
$36,000
Total
$2,276,000
Sample data

Design fees are billed separately: 10 percent of construction for a new house, 12 percent for a renovation or an addition.

05 / Materials

What Gable Pair is made of.

  • Thermal-finished bluestone, a flat grey-blue surface.
    Thermal-finished bluestone

    2-in, in three steps of 6 in

    The glass hall floor.

  • Steel-framed glass

    Thin black frames, floor to ceiling

    Both long sides of the hall.

  • White cedar shingle

    Matched to the 1924 exposure

    Patched where the passage came off.

  • Painted cabinets, grey-green

    Inset doors, built in the shop

    The one kitchen.

  • Honed soapstone

    1.25 in

    Kitchen counters.

  • Original oak floors

    Sanded, patched where walls came out

    Both gables.

Plates

More of Gable Pair.

The one kitchen at Gable Pair: grey-green painted cabinets, a soapstone counter and farmhouse sink, the glass hall through the opening.
PL. 02 / The one kitchen, in the 1936 gable. Grey-green cabinets from the shop, soapstone, and the glass hall through the opening. All four owner changes happened here.
The stair at Gable Pair seen from the landing above: oak treads and handrail, black iron balusters, white walls and an arch under the run.
PL. 03 / The stair in the 1924 gable, seen from the landing: oak treads and rail, black iron balusters, and an arch under the run.
Bluestone steps in the glass hall at Gable Pair, where the two old floor levels meet.
PL. 04 / Three bluestone steps of 6 inches each, where the 1924 floor meets the 1936 floor.
The glass hall between the two gables of Gable Pair, lit at dusk.
PL. 05 / The hall from the garden at dusk, glass on both long sides.

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