David A. Markham

Vintage tower

Posted by David A. Markham - 01/01/10 at 11:01:47 am

The Vintage Tower on Santa Clara Street was once second the tallest building in downtown San Jose. Known as the Medico-Dental Building, the 55,000 sq. ft., 13-story building was built in 1928 to house medical office suites exclusively.

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Saratoga House

Posted by David A. Markham - 11/12/09 at 09:12:32 pm

This contemporary Saratoga house was remodeled by C.M. Peletz Co. inside and out from the ground up essentially becoming a brand new, state-of-the-art structure.

The top level walls and roofs were removed. Extensive wood and structural steel framing were installed over existing and additional foundation systems.

Every finish was changed from its original tract-level beginnings including smooth plaster exterior, level 5 finish interior walls with inset metal reglet base, rounded stone fireplace and interior/exterior cedar siding.
Challenges included a suspended reflecting pond, interior solid mahogany bridge with glass/steel railings, standing seam lead roofing, and a 21 foot stacking, sliding door.

San Francisco Marina Boulevard Residence

Posted by David A. Markham - 01/12/09 at 02:12:29 pm

Marina Boulevard Residence

Location: San Francisco, CA
Description: Residence
Square Feet: 6500

This California Mediterranean house built in 1929 is one of the classics along Marina Boulevard in San Francisco.

C.M. Peletz Co. completely renovated the 6,500 square foot house from top to bottom including a large garage and terrace.

The designs by Robert Aydlett, Architect, were aimed at “preserving the good historic elements while modernizing, without faking it.”

The kitchen was opened up dramatically with windows and wall moves to convert it from a servants kitchen to that of an entertaining homeowner. Several additional window additions and moves were included to capture the light and view that Mr. Aydlett was so adept at emphasizing in each room.

Additional challenges to the project included adding a stair from the kitchen to the garage, remodeling a very large terrace over the garage, converting the steam heating system to hydronic and rewiring and re-plumbing while avoiding certain existing finishes.

The building is wood-framed over concrete foundation walls and except for a fair amount of dry rot in problem-maintenance areas was in pretty good shape. Special touches included the restoration of the elevator which fills the center of the circular stairway, bamboo flooring with hemlock cabinetry in the kitchen and the restoration of the penthouse suite to take advantage of those priceless bay views.

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