Bald Head Island is a fantastic location at the mouth of the Cape Fear River where it meets the Atlantic Ocean. Team Complete and I got an opportunity to work on the island for several years on some of the most beautiful beach houses that a contractor could hope to be involved with. The level of detail in construction is never as obvious as when one builds on the beach especially out of timber or wood framing. These homes house were no exception with challenges followed by great results.
The exterior wall flashings on this residence were custom copper thru wall pans that were installed as backup or redundant system to the layers of felt and peal and stick bituminous membranes. As we installed these products and worked our way through the project we realized that the right way to install these exterior finishes over rainscreen flashings made sense and felt right when it was being done. The feel of the copper and the sanding of the wood and the use of real timbers and solid materials that can not be replaced by engineered products. The aesthetic of the planning and use of real earth materials instead of synthetics reach back to previous times where kiln drying and use of copper and stainless steel were the norm instead of considered code plus or premium. The quality of this residence and many similar ones that I have built continued from the Anderson windows to the cedar shake siding into the roof installation and the interior.
The inside of these coastal residences were awash in colors both strong and vibrant like the sun and fauna that surround this location as well as a carry over of the sea and blue sky over the island where it is built. The floors were wormy mahogany and a full 1″ thick installed on random patterns of differing lengths. The windows were outfitted with interior shutters to control the strong light from the sun at this beachfront location. Use of different countertops and finishes continued the character of the residence making it less formal but still using strong materials.
We were very pleased to be the general contractors responsible for the construction of this beach house and learned a tremendous amount from the process. If you need a beach house built to last, please feel free to call on Complete. Complete has licenses and experience from Bald Head, Figure 8 and Hatteras Islands to Useppa Island and Naples in Southwest Florida to here in Northwest Florida’s beaches of Destin and Pensacola Beach. We only build very special residences.
Have flip flops will travel. Let’s build something great!
