Garage Conversion

In many homes the garage takes up some of the most valuable real estate on the property. Often the garage is the first thing you see when you drive up and it is connected right into the heart of the house just off the kitchen. That may make sense in some cases, but just as often the garage (if you could see through the walls) has the best views on the property and blocks the view from the rest of the house.

When we are asked to add a family room or another large space to any home the first place I look is the existing garage. In most cases, a garage conversion will cost less than building a new structure since the walls, roof, and foundation are already in place. That is not to say that there are no challenges. If we need to include plumbing in the new space (as in a master bedroom suite) we must find a way to connect the waste line to the existing septic outlet. Luckily, by code there must be a change in level between the garage and the house. That usually gives us room to add ‘sleepers’ (2x6’s or larger boards) to the concrete floor as a nailing surface for the finished floor. That gives us room for pipes, heat ducts, wires etc.

If you still need a garage, luckily one of the least expensive structures to build is a garage. It is rare that we cannot find a better location for a new garage to take the place of the one that has become a living room, family room or bedroom suite. Sometimes the best solution is to have a freestanding carriage house design with a connector to the main house.

The next time you drive up to a garage, think about how great it would look transformed into a new family room, master suite or living room.

Basement Gym

Basements can be dark, windowless caverns that are only visited when the boiler is acting up or a box needs storing. They can also be a treasure trove of underutilized inexpensive space for creative homeowners.

While we have utilized those areas in many ways for our clients, few conversions are as well suited for the basement as a home gym. Some of the best reasons to use that subsurface space are obvious including the fact that it is basically free raw space.

Others include:

1. It is close-just a short walk down from the first floor.

2. Easy to sound proof-at least two walls can be 10 inch thick concrete (foundations).

3. Basements are inexpensive to heat and cool-even in the steamiest summer they remain comfortable.

A home gym does not necessarily need a lot of space, but it needs to be laid out efficiently to accommodate the users and their equipment. Lighting is important since most basement windows are small or within a recessed area (unless the basement is a ‘walk out’). By mirroring the workout space, like a commercial gym, not only can the users work on perfect form, a greater sense of volume can be achieved.

The optimum basement gym can include a bathroom with shower, changing room and sauna or steam room, but often we simply provide a large well-lit, comfortable space. If a bathroom is included in the design, the location of the septic outlet will determine if a pump is required.

After a good workout, it might be time to think of the many other uses for a basement including a home theater, wine cellar, or recreation room.

Contractors

I love visiting job sites. The structured chaos of running bulldozers, swinging boards and dripping mortar is invigorating. Each crafts person is working toward their own ends yet participating in a collective goal, not unlike the master builders of medieval cathedrals. Although our drawings guide the final outcome, the contractor choreographs the work being done on the project. Nothing lets me sleep easier than talented, experienced, professional contractors running my jobs.

It is common to hear horror stories at cocktail parties about the construction project that has gone wrong. While I would not deny that these catastrophes do happen, my experiences could not be more different. I have been involved with countless construction projects and nine hundred and ninety nine out of a thousand projects have been a success because there was a dedicated construction company running the job. Interestingly enough we have had great success with both very small construction companies as well as large ones. About half of our projects use fixed bid contracts and half of our clients prefer using a construction manager. Again, we have had great outcomes either way.

Contractors have an almost impossible job as the nexus between the architect, the owner, craftspeople and suppliers. They must balance high quality, cost, and usually a tight schedule while at the same time dealing with forces beyond their control which impact the job such as weather, design changes, and basic human interaction.

Occasionally we do require contractors to redo a part of a project that was built incorrectly. Most often the contractor is on top of the issue before we even have a chance to know there was a problem.

Mistakes and oversights happen with all human endeavors. The contractors I work with are quick to fix any problems better than new and have been known to return to their projects years later to make minor adjustments and become personal friends with the people whose homes they have built.

Cutting Costs on Construction Projects -5 Ways to Stretch Your Construction Dollars

When designing a home or addition, part of the fun for the owner is imagining the project finished without any compromises. When bids come in from the contractors, many home owners are eager to look at ways to reduce the price without loosing space or the character of the project. As the architects, our job is to help bring the price down as far as possible without loosing the qualities that the owners loved in the first place. It must be understood that some money saving choices could diminish the long term durability or energy efficiency of a home or addition. The following are 5 ways to either design the most cost effective project from the start or adjust a design once the bids come in:

1. Keep it simple: Generally the simpler the overall details and structure of a home, the less expensive it is to build-the exception are extremely precise modern details.

2. Consider cost effective materials both on the exterior and interior of the home. There can be a $20/square foot or more difference between higher priced flooring materials and lower priced choices. The same is true of exterior materials. Before making those choices be aware of the trade offs, sometimes they are minimal.

3. Keep built-in cabinetry to a minimum. In the long run those elements can be added, but in the short run they are expensive. You may need to buy more furniture to take the place of cabinetry.

4. Explore the trade-offs of lower priced windows and doors. For exterior doors and windows the savings may not always justify the change. Make certain that the alternatives are durable, attractive, and energy efficient before making those changes.

5. Review choices for the mechanical system. There are many ways to heat and cool a home. Not all systems are designed equal, but the cost differential between the most expensive and the least expensive is substantial.

Bonus idea: Add a porch. Few additions to a home add as much beauty, functionality, and pleasure as a porch and for a fraction of the cost of interior space.

We help our clients make these choices quite frequently. In my experience, an informed client is a happy client-make sure you know the trade-offs and look at as many samples of alternatives as possible.

FineHome Source

Once again we had a beautiful day, a great crowd of interested visitors, and a tent full of enthusiastic professionals showing their work. This year like last, kids had a blast painting birdhouses while their parents learned the details of geothermal heating and cooling, solar hot water heating and how a Windsor chair is made by hand(I bought two of those).

It is hard to describe the synergy created by over 40 experts and craftspeople in one place talking about what they know best - creating a comfortable, beautiful and efficient home. Whether you were looking for concrete countertops or limestone, they were there. If you want to walk up a beautiful set of stairs, we had some talented stair builders and if you wanted to go straight up to the second floor, there was an elevator manufacturer. We had experts on security, home automation, sound systems, and a company that installs the best whole house generators to keep those things running.

In a sluggish economy we had a great turn out, showing there is always a market for high quality products and service providers with integrity.

I would like to thank everyone who came to visit and everyone who spent their day talking about all the things that make up a fine home.

Jimmy Crisp

Fireplaces

Every autumn as leaves and temperatures fall, I anticipate the first fire in the fireplace. I continue to build fires well through the cool spring nights. Each new fire is a personal test of my log selection and arranging skills-some of which I fail; my father-in-law and I have a running contest to see who's fire will smoke and go out the fastest.

When my home (and his) was built in the late eighteenth century, building fires was serious business. These fireplaces were undoubtedly the center of the families' lives and perhaps sometimes made the difference between life and death. Those farmers cooked in their fireplaces, slept near them and made sure they never went out during the long cold winter.

In the late 1700's Count Rumford (who was born Benjamin Thompson in Woburn, Massachusetts in 1753) wrote about his fireplace innovations which included a high wide firebox as well as widely splayed jambs. These changes greatly increased efficiency and reduced smoking. We often use Rumford designs today, especially when efficiency is paramount. The basic design of the fireplace is still the same after hundreds of years and although Count Rumford made great improvements to the efficiency of fireplaces, most people prefer a deep fireplace that can comfortably hold oversized logs.

Even though a fireplace in the 21st century is physically unnecessary to heat a house, it is the heart of what we consider home. There is a comfort associated with a roaring fire in the fireplace and a thrill to contain the most dangerous element any home can know. We all bring our memories of childhood hearth sitting to the table when we began to design our own fireplace. My daughters' favorite question after playing in the snow is "Can we build a fire and drink hot chocolate?", all she cares about is the comfort and the cocoa.
Modern building codes have encouraged us to become safer and more efficient in our fireplace designs. A house fire caused by a well maintained, well-designed modern fireplace is almost unheard of.

There are many alternatives to a traditional fireplace such as wood stoves, gas inserts and even LCD screens that show a crackling fire. While being very convenient, those alternatives will never compare to the first fire I start in my fireplace each fall.

Laundry Rooms

It is often true that the simple things in life are the ones that make us the most happy. In our homes the unsung and hardly glamorous laundry room serves to keep the engine of our lives running smoothly. Though clean socks may not guarantee happiness, it is a start.

While it is true that a stacked washer-dryer works fine in a closet and clothes can soak in the kitchen sink, a dedicated space centralizes the chores. There are, in fact, many workarounds to a dedicated laundry room but having one is certainly the gold standard of clean clothes. The ideal laundry room can include a fold down ironing board, of course a washer/dryer, a generous sink, storage galore, and, best of all, room to fold, organize, and work.

There are three popular places in a two story home that this cleaning hub ends up: the basement, the main living floor and the second (bedroom) floor. Each location has its pros and cons.

The basement is often the default location if there isn’t room anywhere else. It is isolated and therefore unobtrusive, but is inconvenient for attending to loads of laundry and distributing the finished product.

The first floor is usually in the thick of things and is most convenient for a family that is in the midst of a dozen projects and needs the laundry room for cleaning boots, soaking delicate clothes, and constant loads of laundry that everyone is attending to. A laundry chute can mitigate the need to be constantly running up and down the stairs.

The second floor is where most the laundry is generated and distributed which makes it an ideal location for the laundry room. The main drawback is that it is not the most convenient spot when everyone is downstairs and the clothes need to be moved from the washing machine to the dryer. It can be a short walk to dressers though when those clothes need to be put away.

No two families are the same, and what works perfectly for one rarely is ideal for another and those needs change over time. Speaking as a father of three: a laundry room can be one of those simple pleasures that we all appreciate.