The Burgan’s were feeling a bit cramped. Their three bedroom ranch could no longer accommodate their family of five. Parents Blaine and Neelu were in one bedroom; their daughter was in another; and “my two boys were squished in the third. It was way too small for them to share,” lamented Neelu. “And when guests came over, there was no place for them to stay.”
Better shop around: So they shopped around for a new home, but, Neelu said, “We couldn’t find anything without spending at least two or three hundred thousand dollars more than we wanted to spend.” Also, by the time their home had become too small for them, they had already fallen in love with their neighbors. “Everyone on our street gets along, we have parties every summer, we watch each others’ homes…we could never find this again,” said Neelu. “You can’t pay for neighbors that you love as much as we love ours.” So moving was soon ruled out.
Then one day they received a post card in the mail from Gettum Associates, Inc. a design/build remodeling firm specializing in kitchens, bathrooms and one- and two-story additions. “We checked out their website and were really impressed with their work. They came out and gave us a quote and we found it much more affordable,” said Neelu.
A perfect storm: “The Burgans had a very standard three bedroom ranch,” explained then vice-president of Gettum Associates, Inc Gary Mullikin, “and they put a second story on it. This is one of those homes we have done where the budget was perfect, the project was perfect – it was almost a perfect storm. And the value put into it was well worth the neighborhood – it wasn’t overbuilt for the neighborhood. It’s fantastic!”
What’s unique about Gettum Associates, Inc, Mullikin explained, is that they have everything they need in-house to remodel or to build an addition, including an in-house designer. They don’t have to farm out the design to another company. “As we design and work with the customer we know precisely what needs to be done for the job and we have the homeowner’s interest and wants and dislikes kept in-house. We don’t lose all that in translation,” he said.
Designer Dan Miller created the plan for the Burgans and Mullikin praised Dan by saying, “He comes up with some very, very unique designs.” The Burgans praised Dan as well. “We didn’t give him any suggestions as to what we imagined the upstairs would look like,” Neelu said. “He just came and took pictures of every room on the inside and from every angle outside. And a week or two later we had the drawings. They were beautiful. I never would have dreamed of designing the house the way he did. I never would have thought it possible.”
Extreme- makeover:
Literally before their eyes, the Burgans saw their ranch transform into a stylish two-story home. “We thought we were in that show ‘Extreme-Makeover: Home Edition.’ The crew ripped off the roof in one day and framed it the same day. Every week there was this huge, physical change to the outside of our house,” said Neelu. Gettum started the project at the end of September and they were finished by Thanksgiving. “To come in way before completion date and within budget – it was amazing!” she said.
During construction, the Burgans wanted to change some room sizes. “Steve Denny, the one who runs the show, is phenomenal,” Neelu said. “He would just say, ‘You’re right, let’s take care of it.’ It just didn’t seem to be a problem.”
Now their cramped ranch has three large bedrooms and a bath on the second floor; their master bedroom downstairs is the same, but their daughter’s bedroom has been redecorated and made into a guest room; the boys’ bedroom is now an office; and the downstairs bath was gutted and remodeled with new tile and new fixtures and now is “always clean so when someone comes over it’s always nice.”Neelu said she can’t believe she ever lived in her house without the upstairs. “It seems so natural. It looks natural. It feels natural.”
They were awesome: “They did a great job,” Neelu concluded. “They were so clean and so professional. They didn’t overprice it. We felt we got everything we paid for and more. It was really one of the best experiences. And how many people can say that?”
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