Archology

When you’re designing a house (or a small commercial building), one of the biggest choices you can make is selecting what faces the elements. These are the features that protect the interior from rain and wind and sun. I’ve covered types of siding before, and some day I’ll cover roofing materials, but today I want to talk about windows. Although I will say quickly, that if you find that your roof is leaking or just not holding out against the elements then you need to sort out a roof replacement immediately. If you came to this article in the hopes that I would cover roofing at the same time, then I can only apologize. What I can offer you in the meantime though are these tips for hiring a commercial roofing company if you need to consider one as soon as possible, instead of waiting for me to write the article. You have a better chance of them potentially telling you about whether roofing foam is the best option for your roof repair too, as although I have a lot of knowledge in the area, I’m not sure if this is my forte. So it’s probably best to make alternative arrangements now before its too late. Anyway, back to windows. Windows are probably some of the most important (and potentially expensive) choices you’ll make when designing your house. It’s also one of the first places people can look to cut when the costs exceed budget because it is so easy to downgrade and instantly save thousands of dollars. I’m going to tell you the same thing I tell all my clients, make a decision during the design process and stick with it. Downgrading during construction will not make you happier and might not even save you as much money as you’d think (especially if this was a bid project, after all, he’s no longer got any competition so why wouldn’t the contractor eat a little of your savings for himself. Not all contractor’s would do that, but most change orders during construction cost more than if you got a price upfront.)

I’ve seen it time and again, an elderly couple building a giant mansion on 4 acres of land because they have the money to do it. There’s nothing wrong with spending your money how you want, but you’re getting quantity over quality. The most common reason for this is they want space for all the kids and their grandkids over holiday visits, but what they often don’t consider is that they will be paying for all this space both upfront and year-round. There may be better ways to accomplish their goals and limit the associated costs and maintenance headaches that follow. Whatever happened to searching around for realtors such as these William Pitt homes for sale and others while trying to bridge quantity and quality together, therefore getting the most for your money. Ensuring that you get the most out of your money is essential, which is why a lot of people do decide to build their own property. However, when there are luxurious builds available in capital cities like London, from space station for example, it might be worth considering looking at them beforehand. However, if people want to build their own homes, then they should do that!

So, you’re an empty nester now. The kids are all off to college and you’re planning out the rest of your life. Think about that giant 4-5 bedroom house you live in now. Does it make sense anymore for you and your spouse and your pets? Probably not. There are two ways to approach aging in a large building, the first is to go multigenerational (becoming very popular with the college kids who can’t find a job) or trade-in for something smaller and longer-term if you were to look about at different real estate agencies such as Reali or others to try and sell your current home in place for the other. If you have a close-knit family or you expect to live with your kids as you age, then staying put can make sense, you just have to do some remodeling to make it a little more multi-family friendly and accessible. Call an architect about adding to an apartment or redesigning the bathrooms. If you want to live your life without your children, however, think about trading down to a smaller place.

It used to be, when working with an architect, that being able to visualize your plans was an important part of the clients job.  Architects typically draw in two dimensions, plans, elevations, sometimes sections during the schematic phase, and this can lead an owner to select design decisions that won’t look good in three dimensions.  Elevations are lies (in fact, if I had my way, I would stop drawing them all together, but the building inspectors do require them) and many people lack the ability to envision their future space.  There are several methods to deal with this, previously you were stuck with selecting an architect you trusted to see it for you and give you sage advice, but if you wanted to really own your building design, you were stuck without a skill that many people simply haven’t developed (most people don’t really need a good spacial awareness or ability to envision the 3d from a 2d, it takes practice and if you don’t do it, you don’t learn it.)

Architect’s have a lot of training in a lot of areas, but there are certain times we need to hire specialists.  For most residential projects, we can handle the entire thing, but when you start doing commercial, mixed use, or institutional buildings, we need to call on our engineers.  The most commonly used consultants are civil, structural, and mechanical engineers.

There are lots of systems out there to build a structure to resist and hurricane and lots of options to maximize the energy efficiency of your walls. An insulated concrete formwork structure does both at the same time, which makes it very popular in hurricane prone regions for ecologically or operating cost conscious clients. The basic idea is to construct a building by laying up foam blocks and formwork that will stay in place, placing rebar into the empty void, and then pouring concrete to fill the void. If you’ve ever seen a wood structure in a high wind zone while it’s under construction, you’ve seen the severe amount of strapping and connectors and steel required to make the structure rigid enough to keep from being torn apart under high winds. The concrete structure, while not quite the bunker I describe above, is inherently rigid and impact resistant while also being mold and termite resistant due to the lack of food for either one. An added positive, with the thickness of the walls and the continuous insulation both inside and out provide a great amount of insulation and thermal mass to maintain comfort year round.

There are several materials other than wood you can use to build a structure, one of the most common is steel. Steel products are particularly versatile and can be applied in a variety of ways including fencing, gateways and even artwork; you can get more information on applications of things like sucker rods online. Steel is used very commonly in construction, and there are basically three types of steel used in the construction of a building, light gauge cold formed steel studs and joists, bar joists, and steel beams. It you are interested in getting steel for a construction project, then it might be a good idea to check out these steel i beam sizes to give you a better idea of what you should be looking for. These are most commonly used in commercial and institutions not so much because they are stronger and can handle more load, but because they are non-flammable and more dimensionally stable. Steel can also be used as part of sheet piling, and sheet piling contractors commonly use steel for for retaining walls, land reclamation and underground structures. Buildings that plan to be around for a hundred years can afford the upfront costs as the maintenance requirements of steel building materials are almost nil if they are properly protected from rusting. For masonry and timber, you may need a joist hanger.

When selecting an architect, more important than their degrees or even who they have worked for is this:  have they done a similar type of job to this before and what was their level of involvement.  Most licensed architects have worked on several types of jobs in their careers, but you should always ask for examples of projects similar to your own.  Some architects go to huge firms and get pigeonholed into one type of project and become an expert on say interior design or residential work, but have no clue how to get the permits required for a restaraunt.  While an architect trying to break into a field may offer you a fantastic rate, their lack of experience may cause delays and problems down the line and you’ll have to decide if you think their commitment to your project is high enough to keep it from being a problem or if you are about to pay for their learning experience.

So you want to build a home near the ocean. My first advice, hire an architect or engineer immediately. Ignoring the fact that the lot probably cost a fortune and design fees are a minimal percentage of your total outlays, most jurisdictions require a design professional to verify construction near the water meets the lateral force design standards (often referred to as the wind codes.) The strapping and shear walls and other details I’ll talk about in some later post(s), but today I want to talk about impact-rated window units. These are window units that have been tested to withstand debris thrown at them and the wind and water pressure variations in a hurricane. On the left is a picture of a window in the first part of the test. The test involves securing a window to a framework and firing a 2×4 out of a cannon at it. This, of course, damages the window, but shouldn’t break it completely. It is required to still be air and watertight and survive a large number of pressure cycles (where the air on one side of the window is over and then under pressured) while being sprayed with water without the window rupturing or water getting through. I have watched windows being tested (by an independent third party, not the manufacturer for obvious reasons) and it looks a little like the window is breathing as it bows in and out under the change in pressure. So what makes these windows so strong?