I like remodeling Southampton houses. Almost all of them are well built with consistent construction details and an extra strong slab foundation system that has advantages when we do additions. Thousands of these houses were built over the span of two decades and they dependably used these same construction techniques throughout and that lets us later-day designers and remodelers know what we’re in for. Beyond that, the basic roof shapes make it simple to design attractive additions. It’s easy to make such additions blend into the general look of the neighborhood but still add some distinction [...]

Most Southampton homes are built on concrete slabs, meaning that the floor of the bottom story was not framed from wood (with a “crawl space” below) but was instead created by pouring a thick slab of concrete directly on the ground upon which wood framed walls were then built. Exceptions to this exist, especially if your Southampton home rests on a hillside (the house itself, not just your yard areas away from the house.) Subdivisions often are constructed on concrete slabs because doing so saves money for the developer. That said, it’s actually a fine way of doing things, resulting [...]