When Rich Kronfeld and Robin Doroshow bought their 1959 split-level home in Golden Valley, it came with something extra — a quirky detached screen house in the backyard.
"It was a nice, unique thing," said Kronfeld, who described the screen house as "architecturally interesting," with lots of screened openings of different shapes and sizes.
The family sometimes ate meals, including holiday and Friday night shabbat dinners, in the airy 280-square-foot space. But after 15 years, the screen house had deteriorated to the point that it wasn't inviting anymore, and they rarely used it.
"Over the years it got worse," Kronfeld said. There were no windows on the screens, which made it difficult to keep the space clean. "It was always dusty and dirty inside."
Last year, Doroshow decided to replace the old kitchen table in the screen house with some nicer furniture. That prompted Kronfeld to decide it was time to spruce up the structure itself.
"I went out there, and it was filthy and rotten," he said. He thought he'd have to replace some of the boards, so he hired a handyman to help him, although Kronfeld is no stranger to home improvement projects. He learned his skills working alongside his father, an engineer.
"He was real handy. I picked it up from him," said Kronfeld.
The handyman pointed out serious structural problems with the screen house. The support beams had been set directly on the ground, and the bottoms were rotting away.