West Austin News

Westside Stories - Community Section

By Forrest Preece
Staff Writer

 

Check this photo. See that basketweave effect in the treatment of the stairs?

OK, here's the deal. Those cross sections were milled onsite and are fitted together front and back in alternating series, like those Lincoln Logs you use to play with. You know what else? The sections that are across from each other on the opposite sides of the stairs are perfectly aligned, square for square.

And have you ever heard of rain chains? Amazing devices, these things are. See, rain water flows down extended gutters onto the chains that hang down, and then the water is directed into catch basins that flow into the pond. After that, it's recycled, usually twice or three times a day, through the grotto under the house. Spring water is also pumped into the pond system. The homeowner could use the water to irrigate as well.

Another touch -—stainless steel screws in the decking so as not to bleed onto the silky-finished Cumaru -—a South American wood that has sensuous feel when you walk on it; even if you are wearing shoes.

OK, rewind. A few weeks ago, I was talking with my friend Kristy Ozmun, who started telling me about Steve Wauson, a homebuilder here in town who was adding a lot of innovative concepts to a spec home he is building. Maybe it's my background, growing up in a carpenter's household, but I got totally intrigued about this home and decided I wanted to meet the man who was building it.

Now I must say that Steve is a departure from most of the homebuilders I know. He's an avuncular, soft-spoken fellow with a short, neatly-trimmed white-beard. With his looks and demeanor, frankly, I can see him playing cello in a symphony orchestra. Maybe it's this introversion that makes him contemplate so much of the process and details of homebuilding.

Turns out Steve has been a single dad for quite a while. In 1996, when he moved back to Austin from Seattle, he went from parenting his two kids in a big way. His son Nick went through Covington and Austin High and his daughter Madison has through Small and Austin High. "We've been in Austin High seven years now," Steve smiles and says. "I've always been a 'room mom.'" And he's coached all kind of sports for his kids-—basketball, volleyball, baseball, softball and soccer.

That caring feel is reflected in Steve's work on homes. Rather than trying to build as many houses as possible, he's concentrating on one at a time. "That's my style -—I want to complete a few special projects that I can keep my hands on and concentrate on the details. I plan on doing ten projects in the next ten years."

He notes that his dad, an architect, is his mentor. "He did a lot of residential work in Houston and designed houses and apartments throughout East Texas and New Orleans." And the family nature of the business extends to the new generation-—his son Nick is working with him. And his sister in Houston may come to join him. What's more, some college student friends of Nick's do work on the house.

Currently, he's building his first spec home in Westlake at 218 Buckeye Trail and it reflects the arts and craft style of Frank Lloyd Wright.

When Steve acquired the original property, it contained a duplex "in need of attention." He razed it and started from scratch. Then the important part started-—the planning. As a college student, Steve worked for Miller Blueprint and later opened Dynamic Reprographics, a longtime West Austin blueprint shop. After the interview and seeing the house. I think that his background definitely gave him time to study many plans and come up with some remarkable ideas about home innovation.

The design for his 5,000 square foot home includes some unique features, some of which were mentioned above. But there are more. The back wall is under grade, so that keeps the house cool, and there is a grotto under the house and a koi pond behind it. They took the rocks from the excavation across the back of the lot to make the pond.

A dehumidifier under the house pumps fresh air all day. And that circulating water from the rain chains can be used to irrigate a well if desired. The upstairs bathtub, which is in its own cupola at the top of the house, has a remote control. The light switches. The light switches are painted to blend with their backgrounds. And the trim work along the baseboards and around the counters in the kitchen even has beads imbedded in it that his girlfriend has collected.

This column is about people, and this one is really about Steve, but I think that this house reflects a lot this man's character. I can't see most people taking this much care with anything these days. Not in this day and age, when's it's mostly throw it together and get on to the next. As I drove away from wandering through this house, I reminded myself that maybe I should pay a little more attention to the details in my life from now on.