She Renovated Her House Without Moving a Beam: Leslie Schneeberger, Chatham MA

Leslie Schneeberger's family walked through the house she wanted and asked what had happened to her. She bought it and never moved a beam.

It was post and beam, dark brown, reading like a Vermont cabin, tucked behind the commercial block in downtown Chatham. She measured where every post sat, sized a kitchen cabinet to fit exactly between two of them, and renovated the whole house without changing a single piece of structure. Her daughters have since agreed she made a good decision.

Barb Garside sells Cape Cod real estate as a Broker Associate with Coastal Chatham at eXp Luxury, and she runs into the same argument from the buyer's side. Clients ask for the primary suite on the first floor because that is what the next buyer wants. Leslie has watched them fight that layout for months, then admit the second floor is where they actually want to sleep. She also explains tolerance, her word for how much risk a client carries when conservation marks an area do not touch and they want to ask anyway. Barb's daughter worked for Leslie for two years and summed her up as someone who puts a pop of color and a touch of whimsy into everything she designs.

Hosted by: Barb GarsideGuest: Leslie Schneeberger

Leslie Schneeberger is a licensed architect and the founder of Schneeberger Collective, which she opened in 2023 after 25 years in architecture on Cape Cod, including running her own practice and opening the Cape office for another firm. Her team is now fifteen people, working on custom homes, commercial buildings, and community projects across New England. She lives in downtown Chatham in a post and beam house she renovated entirely around the original framework.

What You'll Learn

• Designing for the life you want instead of the buyer who has not shown up yet

• Renovating a post and beam house without moving a single piece of structure

• Reading conservation boundaries and zoning off a site plan before anyone draws a line

• Knowing what the Chatham boards will approve before you spend money getting to a hearing

• Bringing your Pinterest boards and magazine tears to an architect and using them properly

• Building a hiding place for the kid who needs one

• Finding the corner of the Chatham lifestyle where you go to unwind, literally

Connect with Leslie Schneeberger Website: https://www.schneebergercollective.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-schneeberger-482782a1 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/schneebergercollective

Connect with Barb Garside Website: https://barbaragarside.exprealty.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coastalchatham LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbara-garside-a78a554 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BarbGarside

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