Farmhouse Renovations

Most American homes built in the eighteenth or nineteenth centuries were farmhouses.  We were predominantly an agrarian society living on family farms.  Today’s suburbs were once pastures.  Quite a few modern subdivisions include an old farmhouse, which at one time was the only house in sight.

When the farm families grew and their circumstances improved, it was natural to expand the homestead.  It is rare to find an old house today that has not been renovated and added onto over the centuries. Sometimes those changes were in keeping with the original structure, but more often the changes simply met the immediate needs of the family at that time.

When contemplating the renovation of an historic farmhouse, a little detective work is in order.  It helps to understand the evolution of building practices over time that can help reveal a history of the home.  Hand hewn beams in country homes began to be replaced with saw cut rafters in the late 1800s.  The type of nails and other building materials and styles also help to date a home.  An avocado colored refrigerator is a dead giveaway for a kitchen renovation from the 1970’s. 

It is usually not too hard to decide what to keep and what get rid of when renovating an old home.  Very often there are wonderful wide board floors under shag carpets and vinyl tile.  Vinyl siding can protect period clapboard which really only needs a good paint job.  Insulation is rarely adequate in an old home and depending on the type of wall framing, it may be easier to bundle up in winter than bring the home up to modern standards.

Care should be taken while inspecting electrical wiring, chimney flues, and boilers as any problems with those items could cause a fire.  On the other hand sloping floors, hairline cracks in plaster, and creaking stairs are what most of us have come to expect and love in our old homes.

Simple Home

Whether you are designing an iphone or a country home, keeping it simple is harder than it looks.  Instead of relying on flash and dash, a simple design relies on substance, proportion, and details.  Most people cannot tell exactly what is wrong with a home when the proportions are off, but they know a beautiful home when they see it and good proportions are always the key.

In the eighteenth century, nails and bricks, as well as most other elements of a new home were made by hand and therefore became precious. Only the most experienced craftspeople were allowed to use those valuable resources. Mass produced building materials were scarce or non-existent and early American homes were therefore simple by design and necessity.

The wonderful old homes we love, are still around today because the details were well thought out and the materials were simple and of the highest quality.  Today it requires restraint and discipline to design a simple, elegant home.  Driving by most new homes, it seems that the designers have changed the old adage from ‘Less is More’ to ‘More is More’ and have thrown everything at the houses that will stick.  

Simple designs if done correctly can be timeless.  The study of proportions is critical to the success of a design and does not lend itself to formulas and templates. The proportions of each element must work individually and together as a group.  On a façade, windows, doors and architectural details must relate to each other and to the whole.  Although symmetry can be beautiful, it is not required as long as there is balance.  Since a home can be around for hundreds of years, I think it is important to take the time to get the details and proportions right.

Kitchen Renovation

A new kitchen can be one of the most dramatic changes to a home and a homeowner’s lifestyle.  When my wife and I renovated our kitchen, we went from wincing every time we cooked a meal to really loving to spend time there.  The new kitchen is the heart of our home.  It is where our family eats breakfast, does homework, gathers with friends and of course cooks.

The layout of a kitchen is critical to its function.  I apply the chicken rule to all of our kitchen designs.  That is I imagine taking a chicken out of the refrigerator, washing it, preparing it to be cooked, then putting it in the oven to bake.  Since I like vegetables with my baked chicken, that includes preparing them too.   If that process in plan is inconvenient or requires walking all over the kitchen to accomplish, then a redesign is required.  A kitchen should be bright and beautiful and inviting, but it must also be efficient to be successful.

The kitchen should also be integrated into the house.  It should be designed to take advantage of views, light and flow of the house.  If the kitchen is awkward to approach from the rest of the house, the homeowner will pay for that mistake every day.  Ideally the kitchen should be designed so that it is convenient to bring in groceries, serve a dinner, or organize a summer barbeque.  Of course there will be compromises based on the layout of the home or landscape, but those can be minimized with thoughtful design.

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.