Like most great remodeling projects, Fred and Janette Cunningham’s all started with a small idea about how to make their home more functional.

When Fred had knee and ankle surgeries a few years ago, they began talking about how much more convenient it would be to have a first-floor master bedroom. A self-proclaimed car enthusiast, Fred also dreamed of having a shop to work on his sports cars. After talking it over for a few years, the Cunninghams eventually decided to bring those dreams to life. 

“We found our architect, Abbie Lee, through a friend. We walked her through our ideas and instantly fell in love with her plans to convert our garage into a new first-floor master suite and build a new four-car garage plus a golf cart garage to serve as Fred’s shop,” Janette remembers. 

From there, all that was left was to choose a builder. “We ended up talking to three different builders, but it was clear right away that Rufty was the best choice for the job,” Fred explains. “They asked all the right questions, came to us with ideas about how to solve engineering logistics, and had the foresight to predict potential complications. We could tell they knew what they were doing.”

From the very start of their project, the Cunninghams also knew that the Rufty Homes team was looking out for their best interests. While they were planning to get started on the project in June 2020, they weren’t sure if they should continue due to the uncertainty of the pandemic. After holding off for a few months, talking it over, and weighing their options, they spoke to Jon Rufty for his opinion. 

“Jon encouraged us to move forward with the remodel, as long as we were comfortable with it because he knew that while materials were available at the time, they might be hard to come by later. We’re so glad we listened to him because otherwise, we wouldn’t have been able to get ahead of all the supply chain issues,” Fred explained. 

The project officially got underway in September 2020 and included the following:

• Transforming the existing garage into a new master suite
• Building a new garage for car detailing, featuring space for four cars and a golf cart 
• Remodeling the kitchen
• Turning the former master suite into Fred’s office
• Replacing the siding and the windows

The Rufty Homes team, led by Project Manager, Harry Grube, thought of every detail along the way, including raising the floor and ceiling to match the rest of the house. “The way Abbie Lee designed the space and Rufty Homes built it, you would truly never know our house wasn’t always this way,” says Janette. 

Of course, with remodels in particular, it’s not uncommon to discover underlying issues beneath the surface. When Harry noticed a leak around the fireplace, he quickly discovered that the original builder never properly wrapped the home beneath the siding. 

“Even though these issues didn’t come up because of Rufty, Harry and the rest of the team quickly came up with solutions to fix them. They replaced the siding and even added foam insulation around the home so we wouldn’t have to worry about leaks in the future. When all was said and done, they left us with what felt like a brand new home,” explains Janette. 

Now that the project is finished, the Cunninghams are thrilled to be enjoying their updated space. Fred is often out toying around in his new shop and Janette loves their more functional kitchen, laundry room, and first-floor master suite. 

Fred goes on to say, “Our new layout is so much more convenient. With our bedroom downstairs now, we look forward to being able to stay in our home as we get older. We can’t thank Rufty Homes enough for getting everything done on time and on budget and breaking everything down for us so there were no surprises. We’re so pleased with the end result, in fact, that we recommended Rufty Homes without hesitation to my brother, who just bought a house across the street from us!”