Archology

Fairly often, I have clients who come into the office looking for tips on finding a contractor, and the first thing I tell them is, look for someone you can peaceably disagree with. There are things that are good indications that the contractor is a good one, for example reviews or if they have received help from the Success Group International, but generally I suggest that they are after thoughts. Construction is a field where I can guarantee you, something will go wrong. Oftentimes, many somethings, especially in remodelling and renovation work. The amount stuff goes wrong sometimes reflects on the skills of the architect, engineer, or contractor, but often is due to unknowable things, bad luck, or even indecisive owners. So, when things go wrong, you need someone who you can work with to make it right and the personality fit is far more important than most other details, including price. So if you’re looking for building contractors make sure you do you research into as many companies as possible, for instance check out Essex Homes Charlotte here! But still, how do you pick the person?

I’ve covered active solar before; photovoltaic panels that convert the sun into electricity, with the help of solar inverters like those from SolarEdge. It is an easy option if you’ve got a good south facing roof, but what if you don’t have an unobstructed view of the south or your lot doesn’t allow you to get a lot of roof exposure that direction. Might I suggest using passive solar to help heat your house then. Passive solar can actually be helped by trees blocking the sun (as long as they’re deciduous and won’t block the sun in the winte) and if the roof can’t face south, pretty sure you have a good sized wall facing that way. Passive solar takes a bit more of a design focus earlier in the process as most of the features involve structural changes that are tough to do after the fact, but a sun room addition can easily take advantage of similar conditions if your existing house isn’t set up for it, just give a qualified professional a call and have them come look at what you can do.

A simple post today, but a critical one for many customers. There are so many options in siding out there, how do you pick the right one? The first thing I tell them is to ignore what you want your house to look like. This sounds ridiculous, but unless you want a stucco look, just about any option can acheive it with the same true criteria that separates them, cost, maintenance, and longevity.

That is totally the wrong question, the better question is, how often do I want to tear out my walls to upgrade my insulation? Pretty sure the answer is never, and if that’s the case, then you should put at much insulation into your walls as is humanly possible while you’re building. There are a few ways to maximize your insulation capacity in a standard wood-framed wall.

Previously, I did a little post about lumber, the cheapest and lowest quality control option in for structure.  Moving up the ladder a bit, there are engineered wood products which have several advantages over traditional lumber, but generally cost more.  Engineered products are typically stronger, more dimensionally stable, and less prone to warping and twisting and most houses generally have at least a few engineered components.  In general, they cost in line with a steel beam, material wise, but are often much easier to install being either lighter or capable of being put together in place.

Selecting an architect is one of the most telling choices in the life of a project, and the criteria vary depending on the type of project you’re doing.  If you’re hiring an architect only because the law requires you to, price is probably your primary criteria.  If you’re hiring an architect to work on  your personal home, trust and communication is probably key.  If you’re hiring someone to do a large complicated job, experience is often the most important factor you should look at.  Notice the one issue I did not mention is size, and this is because with the advent of modern CAD and BIM software, any firm can conceivably tackle just about any project, having a firm of 20 people is not an advantage if the project only takes 2-3.

So, you’re designing a new house or addition and you’re on a tight budget.  Does this mean you’re stuck building the same bland box as everyone else, maximizing your space and minimizing your detail and whimsy?  I’d argue, no, you just have to be careful.  Everyone has enough in their budget for at least one unique feature and here’s why.  Spending the money to do one unusual, unique, inventive, or beautiful thing will not cost you more in design fees (or at least it shouldn’t, trust me, we get bored of doing boring boxes, we’d love the challenge of doing something unique on every project) and it doesn’t have to cost you more in construction costs, but when the time comes to sell, having that feature will help you stand out from a crowd and be memorable.