I used to call it the “Hysterical” Board of Commissioners before I was asked to be on the Landmarks Commission in Kirkwood. I’m in my fourth year and that opinion has changed dramatically. Riggs Construction & Design is a remodeling company after all; we change the appearance of our client’s homes! How dare the “hysterical” board tell me or my client that they couldn’t add an addition on their house that is exactly what we designed and what our clients love?

I’ve come to appreciate the value of the historical buildings here in Kirkwood. They are a link to our past and each building has a story of the people and/or businesses that lived, loved and worked in them. Many aren’t beautiful or classic designs that are pleasing to the eye. In fact, some of them are downright ugly but they are symbolic of certain periods in the development of our town and therefore, hold a great deal of significance.

We at Riggs used to be proud of the fact that when we finished an addition or renovation of a house, you wouldn’t know that we had been there. Our favorite story was the client who said, “It looked like it grew there it matches the house so well. I can’t tell where the old house used to be!” You can imagine how I felt when I first joined the Landmarks Commission and learned that the number one rule of adding to an historical building was to preserve the outline of the original structure! That way people could still see the old building as it was and know that it was added on to after it was originally built.

Now, if the home is older (as most are in the Kirkwood/Webster area) we inform our clients that we need to not align exterior walls and roofs but offset them a little so that the original home is not compromised.

Learn something new every day.

admin Historic Renovation, Life In General

I have a lawn tractor with a snow plow attachment. At 4:00 AM this morning I was driving down the street toward my office to plow the parking lots because I’m too cheap to pay the outlandish prices the plow guys get. Done by 5:30, I headed home to do my own drive and walks, so I didn’t get into the office until 8:00.

At about noon, I’m in a board meeting and got a voice mail from a friend who is moving tomorrow. She wondered if I might plow their new drive so the moving van could make it up the drive to the front door.

I was insulted!!! I was angry!!! I didn’t call her back. Finally my wife called (it’s her friend) and wanted to know if I planned to do their drive. So it was my wife who recommended me … hmmm. I had a full day so it meant doing the work in the evening. Let’s see, up at 3:30 AM working by 4:00 and finishing about 7:30 PM. By the way, plowing with a lawn tractor isn’t like sitting behind the wheel of a truck.

I voiced my opinion to my wife and she had some words of wisdom for me. “Look,” she said, “Don’t do it if you are going to resent them for asking. It would be more damaging to our friendship than you saying no. Just tell them you can’t and give them a landscaper’s name that might be able to get it done today.”

I was tired anyway, my pride a little bruised at being asked because I knew that their two boys and the husband were off because of the snow. I had all kinds of reasons to say no. But my wife’s advice gave me pause. These were friends of ours and they are packing up their house and moving tomorrow. They’ve been working for weeks and weeks to prepare for the big day and they get hit with a huge (by St. Louis standards) snow storm the day before.

So, I took off work a little earlier than usual, got my long underwear back on and plowed away. Who would I be more upset with if I didn’t do it? Me, and I’d still resent being asked. It was the right thing to do and I had the equipment, the knowledge and ability to help some friends. All it took was a little time and effort and although that’s valuable, that’s what friends should do, give their time and effort toward that friendship. It’s the least I could do…

admin Life In General

My dog and I walk the city of Kirkwood twice a day. She’s a year and a half old and we’ve been doing it since the first day she came home with us. I don’t put her on a leash because she can get five times the exercise running around as she can if she were at heel.

People always comment on how well trained she is. She stops at each street crossing until I arrive, heels, comes, stops and sits on whistle command and never, ever bothers other walkers or their dogs. It wasn’t always that way though! It came with consistent training twice a day, every day, so she knows what’s expected of her. It was hard work but it has really paid off in the close bond we’ve formed.

I wish I had known this simple principal when I was younger. I would have been a better father, husband and business owner. All it took to have (or be) a great companion was consistent expectations, patience, understanding and love. It seemed so easy to understand while training my dog but for some silly reason, interacting with humans with the same approach never crossed my mind!

My dog has taught me more than I’ll ever be able to teach her. Thanks Nelly.

admin Life In General kirkwood, Life In General

Welcome to the Riggs Construction & Design Blog!

With the launching of our new web site comes this new feature, our remodeling blog.
I’m Tom, the president of the Riggs Construction & Design team.  We hope this blog will be entertaining, informative and read by all of our clients, future clients and anyone who is interested in remodeling.  I’ll be writing many of the blogs but I’ll also bring in other members of our team who are the experts in their field; from architecture, interior design, kitchen and bath design, production gurus, product selections, financing and estimating.

We hope that our blog is interesting and interactive.  Our goal is to give and receive as much expertise as possible to better educate you and the Riggs team.  I’ll post things that I am well versed on such as green building, the design/build process, the remodeling experience and the business of remodeling. We’ll talk about how to design your existing home to fit your needs, using the space you have, or adding on.  Product trends, handyman tips and tricks, remodeling budgets or construction methods are all on the agenda.

We hope to inspire and excite you by providing and receiving insightful and creative ideas.  Remodeling your home can be a fun and creative experience if approached with the team concept in mind.  We realize your home is an extension of who you are and how you want to live your life.  It’s more complex than just creating “space,” it’s about creating the right space for you and your family.  That means listening to you and your dreams.  We hope this space will give you the opportunity to do just that!

If you have any topics or questions you would like addressed you can leave them in the comments section or email it directly to me here.

Welcome and enjoy!

Tom Riggs, Certified Green Professional; Certified Graduate Remodeler

Tom Uncategorized commentary, housing market, kirkwood, remodeling, st. louis, webster groves