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High Style Meets Top Quality in Concrete Chateau
By Rachel Zwerneman
Durham, N.C., Oct. 27 -— One of the newest concrete residences on the North Carolina scene has been described as a place of "quiet elegance." The Chateau, a French-country-style home built by Jon Rufty Homes, and designed by Davenport Architecture + Design, Inc. achieves exquisite style, superior class and enough resilience to withstand the most threatening elements.
An experienced custom home builder, Rufty has completed five concrete residences to date, the most recent of which is the Chateau, a three-story, 7,345-square-foot, luxury home located on 4.9 acres in Durham.
This magnificent estate home was built without a buyer in line. This may seem unusual for a concrete home with a price tag just over $2.25 million, but for Rufty, building luxury spec homes is all in a day's work. "The reason we continue to build spec concrete homes is we truly believe that cast-in-place, using removable forms, creates superior quality," Rufty says.
It is immediately obvious upon visiting the property that Rufty had a vision in mind when he planned this home. Chateau visitors cross a four-car, concrete cobblestone motor court before entering an oversized mahogany doorway and gazing down at magnificent 24"x 24" limestone floors. Similarly impressive are acid-etched concrete floors in the game room.
 The property boasts five bedrooms and five full and three half bathrooms. So that each room would feel like a suite, Rufty said he included a private bathroom and walk-in closet. Among other extras are a recreation room, an exercise room, a home-automated-lighting system, a media room and a large, rectangular-shaped pool, complete with hot tub, waterfall, tanning shelf and two fountains.
The Chateau's picturesque backyard is framed by a man-made pond with a large fountain at its center. The home also backs up to hundreds of acres of dedicated open space.
Adding Up the Benefits of Concrete Construction
Throughout the home, Rufty has mixed in natural materials to re-enforce the concrete design theme of the structure, providing aesthetic appeal along with reminders of the Chateau’s solid structure. A stacked-stone grotto frames the kitchen's range and oven. Earthy ceramic tiles, in a range of sizes and shades, encase the garden tub and lend natural ambience to the floor and shower. In many places the concrete walls have been thickened to make the already solid walls appear wider.
"Because of the monolithic pouring of the walls and ceilings, the home is essentially a sleek reinforced concrete cube," Rufty says. "In concrete homes, you can't hear the footsteps on the floor above you and the china in the dining room doesn't rattle when you walk by."
In addition to a soundproof environment, other benefits of concrete construction include fire resistance, reduced energy consumption, a healthier living environment, increased durability and lower maintenance.
Rufty's first ventures in cast-in-place concrete construction using removable forms were townhomes in Raleigh and Topsail Island, N.C. and a 10,000-square-foot custom home in Birklands that he has used as a model for the past three years.
Working With an Experienced Contractor
Rufty attributes part of his success in concrete to working with an experienced concrete contractor. Curt Fields and his team at Tri-City Contractors are no strangers to concrete home construction, and Fields says that the Chateau is his favorite among the many projects he has worked on.
"It is the most dynamic house I have helped build in the last 30 years," Fields says. "Rufty is extremely innovative and we're glad that he's building concrete homes in our market."
Located in The Hills of Rosemont subdivision just 10 miles south of I-40 near rapid residential and commercial development, The Chateau was recently named the winner of the local 2005 Parade of Homes "Best of the Best" award based on the findings of builders, new home professionals and Realtors® from North Carolina who toured 89 homes throughout Durham and Orange Counties.
Making strides in home construction for more than 17 years, Rufty and his team pride themselves on providing personalized service, listening to their clients and educating them about possible styles, materials, and intricate details that are available in new home construction.
Rufty's style is extremely versatile and his properties are recognized for their incredible craftsmanship and design. His concrete homes have been recognized for being environmentally friendly and safe.
Rufty was the first Energy Star builder in North Carolina , he pioneered the American Lung Association's Health House in the early 1990s and he has won multiple building, business and community awards. He is also a long-standing member and past president of the Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County and a member of the Home Builders Association of Durham and Orange Counties.
Rachel Zwerneman is a project coordinator for Op5 Creative, Inc. in Atlanta.
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