Before renovations could begin, more obstacles arose. During their yearlong architectural
planning process, Hurricane Irene hit the coast, flooding the house and setting the couple
back a year as they cleaned up and filed insurance claims. “We finally got all ready to start
the project again when Hurricane Sandy arrived, and we had yet another devastating flood,”
Jaqui says. At this point, the two were losing steam and running out of money. The city then
notified the couple that flood zoning changes were coming, and they’d be required to lift the
house before they could renovate it. “All the plans we’d paid for were useless, and we had to
go back to the drawing board,” she says.
The 9-foot “lift” was a costly and time-consuming project, taking another year to
complete. “We thought of throwing in the towel on a daily basis, but we were well aware of
the uniqueness of the house and its location, so it never seemed not worth the effort,” John
says. In the end, the cumbersome process and their perseverance were redeemed when the
couple realized they had even better water views than before.
Over the next few years, Jaqui patiently oversaw the revival of the little beach house.
Second-floor ceilings were lifted, support beams were added, and walls were removed,
giving the spaces “room to breathe.” They took the 2,000-square-foot cottage from five small
bedrooms to three, salvaging as much beaded board as they could from the original walls to
create a consistent backdrop for the new spaces.
joyce
(Joyce)
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