Six new homes with craftsmanship of old go up in Church Hill

Bryan Traylor is back in his old stomping grounds of Church Hill and building houses, not just one house at a time.

Nor is Traylor, owner of Unlimited Renovations, building what he can afford to build and sell. He is building what he wants to build.

“I am basically building history,” Traylor, 42, said. “I want to be able to drive by in 30 or 40 years and look at the detail.”

Traylor has six houses under construction and one renovation, all within a two-block area of one another on North 30th and North 31st streets.

“This the first time in Church Hill where we have had so many specs in one small area of the neighborhood north of Broad Street all over $400,000,” said Matt Jarreau, the listing agent with Hometown Realty.

The Richmond builder is taking his cues from the old housing stock here and blending craftsmanship with modern designs, materials, open floor plans and energy efficiencies of new construction.

The houses are built in sets of two single-family attached homes. Finishing touches are being put on two houses and the others are under roof with doors, window and some siding.

The renovation is an attached home to one that Traylor owns and refinished a few years ago.

Traylor lived in Church Hill 19 years ago, when it was not as safe as it is now, he said, and he has been building there for 15 years.

He defined the architectural style of these new houses as transitional craftsman with a Victorian tone. “I am not original; all these things have been done before, but I am original in combining elements from different homes.”

The first finished houses at 616 and 618 N. 31st streets are on the market for $414,950, which may seem pricey for this section of town.

Most new houses or renovations in the area sell in the $300,000 range, Jarreau said. But most new houses or renovations don’t have this level of craftsmanship, he said.

Traylor didn’t cut corners to save a few dollars. The interior doors, for instance, are solid wood. “They are $20 more,” he said. “Why not?”

He took the same approach throughout. “I stand by my work,” he said, adding that he doesn’t want homeowners to deal with problems that could arise in five or six years if inferior building materials were used.

He used double-insulated doors and windows, wide moldings, crown moldings, interior columns and carved railing posts. He built window transoms not only above the front door but also above interior doors to bring natural light into corridors.

He used recycled materials for porch flooring, so they don’t have to be redone or restained. He added storage sheds to fenced-in backyards. “People have stuff, coolers and the like.”

Most people who have looked at the houses have the same question. They want to know if they are renovations or new construction, said Nancy Kuehl, co-listing agent with Hometown Realty and Traylor’s wife. “That is the best compliment.”

Traylor said he has done about 140 full-house renovations in Richmond of structures built from the early 1800s to 1920. “I got tired of eating that dust and pulling out rotted trim.”

He wanted to build new with the same attention to detail as the old and add new features such as security systems, wireless Wi-Fi systems, wide hallways, walk-in closets and stamped concrete walkways. He put in high-end finishes such as apron sinks, granite countertops and stainless steel appliances.

The attached houses have the same floor plans in reverse, but that’s where the similarities end. The furnishings and details are different. One has a dark acacia floor, the other has a light acacia floor. The floor in one half bath is herring bone Carrara marble, while the other is tile.

It would have been safer to build basic, solid houses in the $200,000 to $300,000 range, Traylor said.

But the timing felt right — with the rediscovery of Church Hill as a cool place to live and do business — to build the houses he always wanted to build, he said.

Traylor assembled the lots over the past couple of years and waited for the economy to turn.

“I couldn’t have put so much detail and money in these houses if it weren’t for what business are doing,” he said, mentioning The Hill Cafe, Dutch & Co. and Metzger Bar & Butchery.

“By concentrating my efforts, I am trying to change a block and make a change.”

chazard@timesdispatch.com