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The Millers — New Construction Repair

The Millers — New Construction Repair

The Millers had plans for a rear addition on their home in Galena — a large family room off the kitchen with a wood-burning fireplace, a wrap-around composite deck, and a covered porch on the lower level that took advantage of the home's hillside lot. They hired a contractor to build it. That contractor was later criminally charged with fraud — the Millers were not the only victims.The project stopped when the county inspector red-flagged the rough framing. The previous contractor had deviated significantly from the approved plans and had never called any of the required preliminary inspections. The Millers had already lost roughly $30,000 by the time the work was shut down. The project came to iSpec through one of our subcontractors who had done smaller jobs for the Millers and knew the scope was beyond what they could take on themselves. The county was helpful and eager to see the project completed — between the architect's repair letter and iSpec's coordination with the building department, we got the project back on track and built it right.

Before

When iSpec arrived, the addition was partially framed, partially sheathed, and partially roofed — but almost none of it was correct. The roof had been framed with 2x6s spanning 20 feet where the plans called for 12-inch I-joists — Ohio Residential Code puts the maximum span for a 2x6 at 16 inches on center at roughly 10 feet, so the roof was overspanned by double. The west wall had three undersized headers where the plans specified a single large LVL creating a clear portal opening across the back of the structure. The north and south walls were a half inch out of position, which meant the sheathing couldn't sit flush. The first-floor I-joists were overspanned. The support columns were attached to the concrete slab with the wrong hardware. The electrical was run but not to code. Tarping covered some of the exposed areas, but the structure had already taken some weather.

Everything the previous contractor touched had to be removed, corrected, or reinforced before any forward progress could happen

During

The architect provided a repair letter covering most of the deficiencies flagged by the county. The one item it didn't address was the first-floor overspan — iSpec identified it, developed a solution, and coordinated with the architect to provide a supplemental letter confirming the approach. From there, the work followed a clear sequence: tear out what was wrong and build it to plan.The entire roof structure came off first. The 2x6s were removed and replaced with the specified 12-inch I-joists. The west wall was torn off entirely and reframed with the correct LVL header to create the portal opening. The north and south walls were repositioned outward by half an inch so the plywood sheathing could sit flush. On the first floor, an LVL header was added to split the overspanned I-joists and bring the floor system into compliance. The support column connections to the slab were corrected with proper hardware so the load path was solid from beam to foundation.With framing corrections complete and inspections passed, the building was closed in. Walls received zip sheathing with one inch of continuous insulation between the sheathing and framing to reduce thermal bridging. The roof was finished with polyiso insulation beneath an EPDM membrane. A split-system HVAC unit was installed along with the wood-burning fireplace — a feature the Millers refused to compromise on despite the budget pressure the fraud had created.A sliding door was installed off the master bedroom, complete with a new header, leading to a private section of the deck that the Millers kept at full size. Insulation, drywall, tape, and sand followed on every interior surface.The wrap-around deck was the final scope. Custom steel supports were fabricated locally by Suburban Steel. The decking is composite, and the railing is made of painted conduit — the original plans called for heavy gauge wire, but the Millers scaled the main deck back to fit their remaining budget. The project took approximately three to four months from start to certificate of occupancy.

After

The finished addition is everything the Millers planned for — built correctly this time. The entry opens off the kitchen where an exterior wall and window used to overlook the backyard. That wall is now interior space with a breakfast bar, and the rest of the addition is a large open family room with the wood-burning fireplace the Millers fought to keep in the budget. Off the master bedroom, the sliding door opens to a private deck area — one of the few features that made it through without compromise.Because the house is built on a hillside — street-level entry on the first floor, basement walkout to the backyard below — the addition created a covered porch on the lower level, giving the Millers an outdoor entertaining space underneath the new family room.The wrap-around deck with its custom steel supports and composite decking is the standout exterior feature. The Millers had to make compromises to recover from $30,000 in losses — the main deck was scaled back, the railing shifted from heavy gauge wire to painted conduit, and they handled paint and finish trim themselves to save on labor. But the bones are right, every inspection passed, and the certificate of occupancy is in hand.What the previous contractor left behind was a partially built structure that couldn't pass a single inspection. What iSpec delivered is a properly engineered addition that the Millers can enjoy for the rest of their time in that house.