Many Kent homes began as summer cottages. We design and engineer the additions, second stories and renovations that turn them into full year round houses.
Kent is a town of about 41 square miles in the hilly interior ridges of the Hudson Highlands, about 60 miles north of New York City. Its lake communities, including Lake Carmel, Lake Tibet, Kentwood Lake and Sagamore Lake, began as weekend and summer places for city residents and became year round neighborhoods. Lake Carmel was developed in the 1920s. Much of the land is protected as part of the Croton Watershed, with the Boyds Corner and West Branch reservoirs supplying New York City.
Former summer cottages often need real structural work before they can grow: new foundations, framing upgrades and roofs sized for a second floor. Our engineers design all of it with the architecture.
Licensed architects and professional engineers on one team, one contract and one set of signed and sealed drawings. See all of our services.
Rear, side and wraparound additions for kitchens, family rooms and primary suites, with the existing house evaluated by our engineers.
New floors over ranches, capes, garages and one story wings, with foundations and framing checked and reinforced as needed.
Whole house and partial renovations, wall removals and open plans, basements and attics, with structure and systems designed in house.
Ground up single family homes and teardown rebuilds, from site planning to sealed construction drawings.
Decks, covered porches, pergolas and garages engineered for footings, ledgers and loads.
Beam replacements, foundation fixes and engineer's letters for homeowners, buyers and insurers.
In New York, building permits are issued by the town, village or city building department under the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code, and zoning comes first. When a design needs relief from a setback, coverage or height limit, it goes to the Zoning Board of Appeals, and many villages and towns also require Architectural Review Board or Planning Board approval for exterior changes.
Homes in the Croton Watershed and near reservoirs may face added review of septic systems, stormwater and land disturbance. We identify those requirements early and design to meet them.
Converted summer cottages often have shallow foundations and light framing. We evaluate them first so the design and budget are realistic.
However your project is approved, we deliver signed and sealed drawings to you, support you and your contractor through the permit submission and answer the building department's review comments in house. Read how a project moves from consultation to close out on our process page.
Sometimes. We check the foundation and framing and design what is needed to support the new floor.
It can. We check the requirements for your property before design.
Yes, across all of Kent.
See a fixed design fee in about two minutes, or book a consultation and we will visit your home.