Project Profile: Tradesmen & Dickinson Farm

Stepheni Norton, a San Diego business owner, wanted to offer a creative and cozy workspace for rising entrepreneurs. Norton decided to find a historic home, restore its beauty and create a workspace that would spark creativity for its tenants. She found a small 1886 stick-built, lake-style Victorian home in the East Village of San Diego, offering ample space for work. Its restoration involved installing an energy-efficient HVAC system to provide each office space with superior comfort without damaging the architecture of the space, now called Tradesmen. Only one system could offer efficiency, comfort and a non-disruptive installation: our Zoned Comfort Solutions™.

Norton said, “I looked at everything – from a window and air system to split-ductless. We chose split-ductless after reading about the Strawberry Mansion project. We saw how the system wasn’t obtrusive, and how it could work with an older property and run efficiently because of zoning. This was the only system that was proven to do well while keeping the historic relevance of the home.”

The installation of our Zoned Comfort Solutions in Tradesmen was such a resounding success that it inspired Norton to select it for her family’s home, Dickinson Farm, a large 1888 Victorian Queen Anne Cottage in National City, California.

Norton continued, “Our house didn’t have HVAC, and we’re right on the coast, so we thought we didn’t need an HVAC system. We were wrong! The house, in extreme, gets very cold before sunrise, and retains all of the heat on a sunny day. With only two of us living here, and since we don’t use all of the floors of the house, we wanted an energy-efficient system. We also wanted my office to be controlled separately than my husband’s. So, we needed zoning on each floor and within each room, and a system that didn’t distract from the architecture of the home.”

Looking back on the project, Norton has been satisfied with her decision to select Zoned Comfort Solutions for Tradesmen and Dickinson Farm. “The comfort is amazing. We don’t have to wait for the sun to hit to be comfortable, and we can quickly cool off any room. With split-ductless, there is no more fighting the weather. It’s perfect.”

To learn more about the project, check out the case study here.