Case Study — New Construction
Framing a Lake Erie View
Every structural decision on this Kelleys Island build traces back to one thing: the water sitting directly off the front of the lot. Here is the house from poured foundation through dry-in — steel, trusses, and a cathedral gable wall aimed straight at Lake Erie.
The Short Answer
Does PH Design build on Kelleys Island?
Yes — and this is not our first project across the ferry.
PH Design and Construction builds custom homes on Kelleys Island in Erie County, Ohio. Our island work includes completed single-story ranches and the two-story lakefront home documented on this page. Island projects are taken by exception alongside our primary service area of Stark, Cuyahoga, and Medina counties.
This page is a photographic record of an active build, taken on site and first published to our Facebook page in May 2026. No square footage or budget figures are quoted here — the project is documented by what was actually built, not by a spec sheet.
The Constraint
A lakefront island lot rewrites the whole build
Most of what makes a mainland build routine — a supply house twenty minutes away, a crew that drives in each morning, a forgotten bundle of lumber that costs you an afternoon — does not exist here. On Kelleys Island, every one of those becomes a scheduling decision made weeks in advance.
Everything on this site arrived by water. The windows leaning against the subfloor, the steel beam carrying the second floor, the engineered trusses over the great room, the telehandler parked outside the front opening — all of it crossed on the ferry. That single fact reorders the entire job. Sequencing replaces improvisation.
Lake Erie sets the calendar as much as the crew does. An exposed lot with open water off the front means weather is not a background condition, it is a governing one. The practical consequence is that the shell becomes the priority: get the roof on, get the wrap up, get the glass in, and the rest of the build stops being at the mercy of the lake.
And then there is the reason the house exists in the first place. The view is the brief. The great room, the gable glazing, the covered porch on the ground floor and the balcony above it all face one direction. That is a design decision that has to be solved with the structure, not applied to it afterward — exactly the kind of problem a design-build team handles in one conversation instead of three.
We had already done this once. Our first island project — a 4-bedroom ranch delivered without a single schedule delay — taught us the logistics. This build tested whether we could take that same system and put a genuinely ambitious structure on top of it.
The Build, Stage by Stage
Documented on site, May 2026
Concrete you only get to pour once
On the mainland, a foundation problem is an inconvenience. On an island, it is a ferry schedule. Concrete is not something you casually re-order here, which means layout, wall elevations, and every cast opening get verified before the trucks are called.
What is visible in these frames is a full-depth poured foundation with formed footings, a compacted gravel base across the footprint, egress openings cast directly into the walls, and stepped wall sections where the grade changes. The site is taped and secured on an occupied residential street.
- Poured concrete walls with formed footing and block pier supports
- Compacted gravel base across the full footprint
- Egress window openings cast into the wall, not cut later
- Stepped wall sections following the grade change
More than one island build running at once
This second foundation sits on a different lot at a different elevation — a shallower footprint, poured and taped off, waiting on its own framing package. Running concurrent island projects is only possible when the material and crew logistics are already solved.
It is also the clearest answer to the question island landowners actually ask us, which is not can you build here but are you already here. Coordinating two foundations across one ferry route is a very different operation from taking a single job as a one-off.
The Structural Problem
You cannot open a room this wide with lumber alone
A great room this size, carrying a second floor and a loft that looks down into it, needs something dimensional lumber cannot give you at that span. So the answer went in as steel.
A steel beam where a bearing wall would have been
Run your eye along the top of this room and you will find a structural steel beam carrying the second floor across the full width of the great room. Frame that same span in dimensional lumber and you get one of two outcomes: a bearing wall dropped into the middle of the room, or a header deep enough to eat the ceiling height the cathedral was supposed to buy you.
Above it, engineered scissor trusses produce the vaulted ceiling — no ridge-beam wall, no flat lid. And the loft is deliberately left open, framed with a rail rather than closed off, so the second floor looks down into the great room and the sightline carries all the way up.
- Structural steel beam spanning the great room
- Engineered scissor trusses forming the cathedral ceiling
- Open loft with framed rail overlooking the main level
- Stacked window openings on the side elevation
Two ceiling geometries, one roof structure
Move past the great room and the ceiling changes character entirely — a barrel vault framed over the adjacent zone, with a round steel lally column landing the load where it needs to go. Two distinct ceiling geometries under a single continuous roof structure is a framing exercise that has to be resolved on paper long before anyone is standing on the subfloor.
The interior partitions here are already laid out, rough openings framed, and the window package staged on the floor rather than installed — deliberate sequencing, not a photo opportunity. Framing gets verified first; glass goes in second.
The gable end was framed as glass first, structure second
This is the frame the whole project was organized around. A full-height window wall runs up into the gable — stacked units below, a triangular composition above — and it points straight out at Lake Erie. Covered porch openings flank it left and right, so the view is not just framed, it is inhabited from both sides.
Leaving that much of a gable end as glass while it still carries roof load is not a detail you resolve on site. Header sizing, king and jack studs, the load path down through the structure to the foundation, and a truss package designed around the opening rather than adapted to it — all of that gets solved before the first wall goes up.
The view is not a feature we added to this house. It is the reason the structure is shaped the way it is.
PH Design and Construction
Closed in before the lake had a say
Dry-in is the milestone that matters most on an exposed lakefront lot. Roof shingled, the shell wrapped in DuPont Tyvek HomeWrap, windows and exterior doors set. From this point forward the interior trades work on their own schedule instead of the weather's.
The massing reads clearly now — steep gables, a shed dormer, a covered front porch, and a second-floor covered balcony stacked above it. It is farmhouse-adjacent, but the proportions are driven by what is happening inside: the tall gable is tall because the great room behind it is.
Explore: our two-story floor plans →
Explore: the Modern Farmhouse II plan →
What the Photos Show
Structural elements, documented
Every row below is visible in the project photography on this page. Nothing here is inferred from a plan set or estimated after the fact.
| Element | What is visible on site | Why it matters on this lot |
|---|---|---|
| Structural steel beam | Dark beam spanning the great room, landing on a round lally column | Keeps the main level open beneath the second-floor loft |
| Engineered roof trusses | Scissor-webbed trusses over the great room | Creates the cathedral ceiling without a ridge-beam bearing wall |
| Gable window wall | Stacked units under a triangular head, lake-facing | Turns the primary elevation into the view |
| Barrel-vaulted ceiling | Curved framing over the adjacent zone | Second ceiling geometry under one continuous roof |
| Open loft with rail | Second floor framed open to the room below | Extends the sightline vertically through the house |
| Covered porch & balcony | Framed openings at ground and second floor | Outdoor living on both levels, facing the water |
| Poured foundation | Formed walls, footings, gravel base, cast egress openings | One-shot concrete work on an island supply chain |
| Weather barrier | Shingled roof and DuPont Tyvek HomeWrap | Closes the shell against open-water exposure |
Project Gallery
The full record
Photographs taken on site and originally published to the PH Design and Construction Facebook page on May 14, 2026.
What This Build Proves
Three things you cannot fake with a rendering
We take the work most builders decline
Kelleys Island is not a convenient jobsite, which is exactly why so few builders will quote it. Our island record is already on the record — named island clients in our reviews and a completed zero-delay ranch.
Design and build are one conversation
That window wall works because the elevation, the truss package, and the steel were solved together rather than handed between three companies. That is the whole point of our design-build approach and our in-house 3D renderings.
Questions We Get Asked
Building on the islands
Does PH Design and Construction build custom homes on Kelleys Island?
Yes. PH Design and Construction has completed custom home projects on Kelleys Island in Erie County, Ohio, including a single-story ranch and the two-story lakefront build documented on this page. Island projects are taken by exception alongside our primary service area of Stark, Cuyahoga, and Medina counties.
What makes building on an island different from the mainland?
Four things change. Every material crosses by ferry, so sequencing replaces improvisation. There is no local supply house for a same-day fix. The local trade pool is small, so crews travel and their schedules have to be locked further out. And open-water exposure raises the stakes on reaching dry-in, because until the shell is closed the weather governs the calendar.
Why use a structural steel beam in a residential great room?
Steel spans farther than dimensional lumber at a shallower depth. That removes the two compromises a wide open plan usually forces — a bearing wall dropped into the middle of the room, or a header deep enough to eat the ceiling height. On this build, the steel beam is what allows the main level to stay open underneath the second-floor loft.
Can you frame a full-height window wall into a gable end?
Yes, with engineering. It requires header sizing, a clear load path down through the structure to the foundation, and a roof truss package designed around the opening rather than adapted to it afterward. This is where a design-build team has the advantage: the glazing gets solved with the structure instead of after it.
What does "dried in" mean on a construction schedule?
Dried in means the roof is on, the shell is wrapped in a weather barrier, and the windows and exterior doors are set. It is the point at which weather stops governing interior progress. On an exposed lakefront lot it is the single most important milestone in the schedule.
How do I find out whether my island or lakefront lot is buildable?
Start by gathering your parcel number, any existing survey, the utility and septic situation, and any prior soil or percolation work. Bring that to a consultation and we can tell you quickly whether the site works and what it will take. Call (330) 944-0002 or schedule a consultation. More answers on our FAQ page.
Where to Go Next
Planning your own build
Whether your lot is on the island, on the lake, or on the mainland — these are the resources our clients use before the first conversation.
Start Here
Budget & Planning
Kelleys Island · Lake Erie Shore · Northeast Ohio
Own a lot with a view worth building around?
Bring us the parcel and the problem. We will tell you honestly whether it works, what the site will demand, and how we would approach it — before you commit to anything.
