S. Greve & Son

Met with Steve Greve to discuss dream of restoring my childhood home, which was built in the 1850's and bought by my grandfather in 1898, repairing it and making modern energy efficient improvements and to build a new addition. He gave me an outline of work to be done. I contacted a historic preservation architect to review plans and meet with Steve. We submitted 10 major projects to the State Historical Society for approval for tax credits. Other sub contractors who worked with the project had been the ones who had referred me to Steve originally. I was very impressed with his professionalism and attention to detail so my apprehensions about undertaking such a major and expensive project were calmed. The architect working with us was so impressed with the high quality of work that he began to refer other historic preservation projects of his firm to Steve and his son Ben. Old milk house and basement shanty behind the house were demolished and a new basement dug on that footprint for addition and back porch. In the process it was discovered that the beam under the back of the old house was decaying. The house was shored up and a new beam installed. Interior of house was gutted. Old woodwork was removed, numbered and sent to painters toremove old lead paint.It was later used in restoring interior walls and windows. Old beams were reinforced with new beams under directions from a structural engineering assessment. New plumbing, heating and electrical systems were installed. New energy efficient windows, which met criteria set by State Historical guidelines were installed. Old house was 3 bricks deep on the foundation and insulation was added to that. Dry walls replaced the old plaster and lath walls. Wooden floors were refurbished. Asbestos linoleum was removed from kitchen floor and replaced with new kitchen flooring. Original kitchen cabinets were reinforced and new kitchen cabinets added. A 75 year old furnace was removed from the basement along with all the old asbestos covered heating pipes. New cement flooring was installed. Rubble walls in old basement were cleaned of coal dust and whitewashed. Old fireplace bricks were repaired and a safety lining was installed. Old bricks which had been the outside back of the house were removed and saved to use in refurbishing and repairing original brickwork on the house. Addition was then added to back of house. New roof was installed on old house and addition. Old garage was reinforced and modern garage door with opener installed and designed to match garage exterior. New garage was built near new addition. Porch on front of house had extensive wood rot so it was removed, keeping the original roof supported, and rebuilt with new pillars, railings and screens. In the back yard a small foundation was built for the original small milk house next to the old barn. It was moved from that site to the new foundation to become a gardening house. Steve chose and coordinated all the work of the subcontractors and interior decorator. Restoration was a long project. Every day I witnessed the great patience and attention to detail and restoration expertise and was impressed and thankful for the good work. Good relationships with all workers made a horrendous task enjoyable. Since having the major work done I have used the Greves for odd jobs and minor repairs that needed attention. I also have immediate help from plumbers, painters, electricians and heating repair when needed. I give S. Greve and son the highest recommendation possible. I have had other people considering restoration projects with them call me. I tell them they are the best in their field and have a great reputation with all the subcontractors they coordinate.