What to Look Forward to in 2019

The Year Ahead!

Another year is winding down and we’re beginning to think a little bit about the year ahead. We’ve got plan updates and price changes, a new super energy efficient house coming under construction this Spring, and seasonal/quarterly house plan giveaways in the works for 2019 so it promises to be a full one at THE small HOUSE CATALOG. Hope you’ll stick with us throughout!

Plan Updates and Pricing Changes

Shawn has begun the process of making extensive updates to all of the plans currently for sale on THE small HOUSE CATALOG website. These changes include fully updating plans to current IRC specifications, cleaning up plans generally for great flow and including electrical plans as a part of all plans (something that previously is an add on service with a price tag of $150.00). Along with those changes will come updated pricing to the plans, with all house plans rising to $99.99. At this time, we are intending to keep tiny house plans at their $29.99 price tag. Look for these changes to unroll throughout the next few months. In addition to the plans being updated and including the electrical plans, we are planning to allow all subscribers to the site to enjoy special pricing for the first full month that a new plan is released (in other words, for the first month, subscribers pay only $49.99 for the current release).

New Energy Efficient House Build Getting Underway

We have spent about a year working on a house plan for a very restricted building envelope on a lot here in our home town of Point Roberts. It’s been challenging to say the least, but at last we have a plan that is functional and ready to be submitted for permitting. We plan to incorporate as many energy efficient processes as possible, aiming for near (or better!) Passive House Standards. Lots of planning and work still to do on this project, but please look for some updates about the build in the year to come. We look forward to sharing.

Seasonal Giveaways!

For fun last year, we hosted a couple of house plan giveaways once a quarter. To enter, we asked interested people to leave a comment on our facebook page or on the blog page and then chose random winners after a few days for comments to accumulate. This was a great experience! For one thing, we loved hearing from followers and learning what people wanted to do and where they wanted to do it. For another, it’s nice to host a giveaway now and again, who doesn’t love winning something?!!? Please look forward to these giveaways throughout 2019 with the first giveaway appearing to ring in the year on January 1, 2019. Thereafter, we’ll host one on April Fool’s Day (no kidding), July 1st and Labor Day.

Thank You!

We’d also like to take a moment to say thank you to all of you who’ve been there along the way - supporting our small business with purchases and increasing our spirits with friendly notes, pictures of homes under construction and other encouraging interactions. It makes our work meaningful, so THANK YOU! We hope your holiday season is warm and wonderful and that 2019 brings good things.

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Don't Forget the Gingerbread House!

2016’s gingerbread house project - with houses!

Building Basics…The Importance of Models

If anyone out there thinks you can’t learn a lot by playing, it’s time to disabuse oneself of the notion! Even engineering firms and architectural firms create full blown models of the buildings they are considering constructing. Why? Partly for the visual, but also to discern potential engineering issues, costs, and material requirements. If you’re thinking of building your own house someday, feeling festive or perhaps have kids and friends who want to learn a bit about basic building techniques and the engineering behind the skills, try building a gingerbread house!

Sugar and Spice and Engineer Nicely!

Here’s what I recommend and why. If you recall building gingerbread houses as a kid, as I have been recently, you might remember that we often pasted our baked dough to the outside of some sort of frame. My memory is a little hazy but I feel like we might have used modified milk cartons or small boxes. The big question is why. It’s a teaching point, actually. If you attempted to just sugar paste your walls in place with nothing inside and then go straight to throwing on the roofing members, no matter how sticky your sugar glue or how tasty your gingerbread, you are probably going to experience some engineering problems as you carry on.

Gluing the roofing timbers right on top of an inappropriately supported frame could cause a host of lateral engineering nightmares, including outward thrust and racking of your building. Your cookie masterpiece will eventually be a pile of crumbles, just as it would if you attempted to build a “real” building this way. Load needs to be transferred in a way that provides structural integrity by carrying weight all the way to the foundation. Either use an interior frame of some sort of get really gucci and consider it solved by using load bearing interior walls, shear wall panels (for the sake of holiday ease, use an appropriate cookie equivalent of well glued 2 foot unbroken panels in the corners…too many windows in your walls might require an engineer’s stamp in your jurisdiction). Don’t forget that a Glu-Lam like potential is always there in the world of cookie construction. If you need a bigger timber but don’t have it on hand, scab it together with more icing and cookie! Suddenly you’ll have so much more support for spanning greater distances appropriately. The IRCC (International Residential Cookie Code) may have helpful tables available if you can get your hands on one.

 

Dinosaurs! Me with my side of the three-sided gingerbread “house” I built with friends for this year’s holiday get together. What theme would you use to build?!

 

Candy Canes - An Overlooked Method of Load Transfer

Times have changed as building sciences have gotten more sophisticated. But not all of the methods of the past are outdated…sometimes it’s just so hard to find good material (really strong dimensional timber at reasonable prices - or at all) and we come up with new ways to solve problems. Nowadays, load bearing walls and other ways of transferring load do the work that standing beams or pillars used to do…When you are supporting your cookie structure…rather than lolly columns or partitioning your home using walls where you might not want them, consider the candy cane (or the Lolly-Pop, ho ho ho!). They have myriad benefits. They’re ubiquitous. They’re inexpensive. They are striped in jolly colors and fit into nearly every gingerbread decorating scheme. You can used the curved ones or the straight ones, and they even come in different circumferences and lengths. Make sure to put a few in the corners of your building and perhaps position a few carefully under the ridge beam, or wherever point loads might be a concern. If any candy can solve a structural problem, the candy cane is your go to!

Don’t Forget about Snow Load!

I don’t know about you or your kids if you have them but when I was a kid, gluing the gingerbread together was merely the preamble to the real fun of loading the roof with tons of sugar frosting and gum drops and other candy decorations. Sounds a lot like snow load to my adult ears. Another great teaching point. How to be able to load that roof with decorations (think Minnesota snow load!) and not end up with an unsightly sagging roof or more lateral troubles. Be sure to include strong structural cookie components when building the roof. I imagine the equivalent of some long rectangular gingerbread pieces here, maybe looking vaguely reminiscent of 2 x 12 lumber. You might be able to size those rafters down a bit if perhaps you are a candy and frosting minimalist (the gingerbread equivalent of a Palm Springs location?). So give this a bit of thought with your building crew. It might be worth some discussion over a hot chocolate or two. Support the roof so it can handle all the weight you might add to it. All that icing sugar and bulk bin candy (I mean snow and ice!!) can really add up in terms of weight.

A Properly Built Home Will Last For Years to Come!

Build for the ages! A properly built home, whether of cookies, candy and sugar or the less tasty materials from lumber yards, should be built to stand the test of time. If you’re feeling like the whole idea of building a huge gingerbread home is overwhelming or too grand, don’t forget that you can start small. The joys you receive from your home will carry on for many many seasons to come, so see what you learn and enjoy the process!

Happy Holidays!!!!

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Book Review: A Carpenter's Life: As Told by Houses by Larry Haun

I just finished a book written by a highly skilled builder (who sadly is no longer with us) named Larry Haun. It’s called, simply, A Carpenter’s Life as Told By Houses. From the perspective of a builder, seasoned or new to the craft, there’s plenty to be gleaned from his commentary on method and various structure. For gardeners, those that love the planet and worry about our use of its resources and small house/sustainable living fans, there’s also much to keep the reader engaged.

Larry Haun was born in 1931 and grew up in rural western Nebraska. He offers many interesting reflections on growing up in an uninsulated wood framed house out on the plains (think COLD and WINDY!) and takes the reader on a journey through recent era architecture that is quite illuminating. While a lot of us are familiar with at least a few building techniques, including styles as far apart as straw bale and regular light frame construction, few of us have hands on experience with “soddy” buildings, pit houses, quonset huts, or genuine adobe. Getting a look into what these building styles offer and how they are created is one great reason to read this book. Larry’s gentle style and rambling story telling fashion will probably keep you hooked. The erudition in this volume is experiential and shared in frank fashion. I enjoyed it and was surprised by how non-dry it was.

I was also impressed by the range of Mr. Haun’s experience. How many people do you know who can claim experience building a pit house with friends of the family on the Nebraska plains, quonset huts on Greenland during the Korean War, adobe houses with friends in New Mexico, and was also a part of the huge transition during the Southern California building boom that commenced in the middle of the 20th century. Larry speaks with precision about all the little changes that were involved in the move from customized building that took a crew about a year to accomplish (the kind of building I’ve had some experience with) and the streamlined, subcontractor-centric version that has come to be the norm. Larry details little time saving tool developments in layout, marking and structure that people of a certain age (like me and many others) wouldn’t even think about, having never known the “old way.” A single case in point was his mention of the folding rule. I’ve come to know the folding rule because Shawn uses one at times, especially in areas where he needs to get measurements in between spaces where a tape might not offer enough precision. Imagine my surprise when Mr. Haun mentioned, casually, that the amount of time saved by a builder using the newly introduced retractable tapes vs. the old folding rules added up not just to a minute or two of saved time, but hours over the course of a job. I’d never thought of it in those terms. And there are other interesting insights made by this person of much experience, one more surprise being his emphasis of how much better even basic buildings are today than they were when he grew up on the Plains. His love of insulation, air sealing and concurrent use of least toxic materials in buildings evidences his understanding of houses as a whole, rather than bits and pieces, and reminds the reader that a house is meant to be built for humans and not just for profit.

Along the way, there are numerous rambles and diversions that I suppose might drive you nuts if you were expecting a cut and dry treatise on particular building methods. But this book is as much a ramble as an introduction to styles; while Haun has written much more precisely about technique and method in other books and DVD’s this book is ruminative, sometimes a little sad, always thoughtfully engaged and evidently grateful in perspective. You get a great feel for the author and I ended the book feeling like if I’d lived in the same town as he, we might have been friends. At least, I like to think so! I also had the sense of a younger person listening to an older person speak and garnering the gifts of perspective that come with that. The book is full of casual insights that are of great interest to the reader but were just a part of growing up for Mr. Haun. For example, he shares an incredible story of his mother standing up to the “local chapter” of the KKK in his tiny town in Nebraska (the family was Catholic and hence incurred the wrath of this backwards group). But the other aspect of interest in this related story was the firmness with which Haun could at once note the horrible aspects of the group’s behavior while also noting that their town was so small that it was easy to tell the klansmen by their shoes, though they saw fit to hide their faces. I suppose he learned this skill of a firm opinion bolstered by wide perspective from his mother, who arrived next day at the local cafe where the perpetrators were dining and hit them with a newspaper and issue a stern warning not to mess with her family again. Thankfully, not many people have this experience nowadays, but it’s worth noting how an this impressed itself upon the author as a child and led him to grow up into a proper human, knowing right from wrong.

I should not give the impression, either, that the book is all about diversions. While there’s social commentary in varying forms (especially concerning our depressingly casual disregard for the planet and all of us living things upon it) throughout, the book really does illuminate the basics of myriad building styles and some of the associated drawbacks and benefits to them. For example, the table of contents includes the soddy, the straw bale, the dugout, quonset, pre-cut and tract house. There are a few others in there as well and builders of even the most basic knowledge level will appreciate the comments about building technique included that indicate a full understanding of the process from foundation work to flooring choices.

Mr. Haun has had first hand experience with all of it. His meditative commentary reveals a truly well experienced person…who grew up in hardscrabble times on the unforgiving Nebraska Plains (pre-electrification and grocery store!), and traveled, in his days, to Mexico, the Philippines, Greenland and Canada (during his war time service) ending up in Southern California before making his way up the coast to Coos Bay, OR where he retired into work for Habitat for Humanity and the pursuit of good gardening with his grandchildren. Does he have interesting insights? You bet!

I loved this book. There’s something, truly, to appeal to everyone. I enjoyed the non pedantic presentation of building facts, history and just general observation of human behavior. I enjoyed feeling a harmony with the author as he talked about why he admired small houses and simplicity rather than the giant mega mansions that we unfortunately see too many of (and at great cost). I enjoyed his memories of family, tales of life on the range (really!) and his first hand accounts of the incredible changes that were already mostly accomplished by the time I was born. There’s a lot to learn about much more than building in this book, and I’m glad the author chose to share.

If you get a chance to read this one, I highly recommend it. It should leave you with a smile. And an appreciation for insulated houses!

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How About that Old Time Architecture?! Thoughts on Ancestral Puebloan Architecture in Mesa Verde, CO

Time’s Tide…The Spectrum of Architecture at Mesa Verde

We are recently returned from a wonderful fall trip that took us to several National Parks in Utah, California and Colorado. A highlight of the trip was a long anticipated visit to Southern Colorado to see Mesa Verde National Park, a site showcasing not only the breathtaking geology of the Colorado Plateau, but the incredible preserved architecture of the Ancestral Puebloans, descendants of whom today still live throughout the Southwest and are represented by Hopi, Zuni, Acoma and others.

Anyone who has been to archaeological sites in the Four Corners region know how breathtaking and humbling it can be to see so much evidence of advanced culture spread out before them. It was my first time, and I came as a visitor with a strong interest in building and architecture and with no especial background in archaeology (except for a well developed sense of curiosity and wonder). I spent quite a bit of time at the sites imagining (and marveling over) the construction and development of the clearly advanced building skills that housed people in a generally harsh climate. I noted changes in technology that allowed for more functional heating (the introduction of a draft chamber to help the fires heat more effectively, for example), for the construction of watering systems (reservoirs and catchment systems) that allowing more controlled agriculture. Even the incorporation of window and door headers allowing for stacked construction could be seen very clearly, as though on a timeline of progress writ large. Seeing architecture go from the invisible history of nomadic life to tangible archaeological history represented by stone ruins proving settled life was simply incredible.

Using Local Materials in Architecture - The Oldest Rule

Mesa Verde is probably best known for the many examples of cliff dwellings that are well preserved there. The buildings are in difficult to reach areas and thanks to that, at least in part, were well preserved over the years as they escaped the eyes of would be vandals and do not appear to have been consistently re-inhabited after the last of the Ancestral Puebloans left (for reasons still not fully understood but at least partly relating to population and climatic changes). The cliff dwellings are absolutely breathtaking to behold (bring binoculars, they will afford you wonderful viewing whether or not you are able to get in on the Ranger led tours which fill quickly and are only available seasonally). There are numerous other examples of earlier architecture in the area, ranging from pit houses to partially above ground dwellings as well as evidence of advanced water collection systems and a well developed society with religious and community dwellings (again, some of the significance and meaning behind these structures remains obscure) evident in abundance. How exciting it was to walk in the early morning quiet among all of this. We traveled during the off season and the cold clear mornings were wonderful for exploring without the push and shove of crowds. A walk through the Far View Sites and other points of interest (the self guided Petroglyph Point interpretive trail is my highest recommendation!) exemplified to us all sorts of architecture from various eras of habitation. Everything from pit houses to multi-storey square towers built into cliff walls with hand and footholds carved in to the rock for access and egress could be witnessed first hand in a relatively small park area. Not only this, guided walking and driving tours made it possible to learn a bit about all the subtle changes in architecture that came in between “covered pits” and three storey buildings with kitchens, storage areas and areas perhaps exclusively meant for communal gatherings.

What all of this evidence pointed to, from a building perspective alone, was the required sensitivity to locally available materials (limited use of wood, lots of stone) and awareness of seasonal changes (south facing structures to pick up heat and light as well as borrow heat from cliffside and earthen thermal mass, cliff overhangs also provided shelter from rainfall). Elevation, even, was obviously and not so obviously taken into consideration. High, hard to access dwellings surely provided safety, but much of the Ancestral Puebloans food was grown directly overhead the cliff dwellings, where rain was more plentiful and temperatures more favorable to dryland agriculture. No grocery stores for a quick fill in, and crop failures would have been catastrophic rather than something to perhaps make our favorite foods more pricey than we’d like. Truly, Mesa Verde National Park is a fascinating, humbling and gratitude inducing place to visit!

Lessons from the Past with Pressing Implications

It seems to me that the lesson I most took away from the visit, in terms of architecture (as opposed to archaeology or cultural history, about which I know just the interesting bits I learned at the park) is that all of us humans build what we need with what we have, at least to start. As those two basic ingredients are met, we add new things…perhaps we add in safety (sounds better than defense), proximity to other members of our family, group, clan, tribe etc. Then might come things that reflect our commitment to things beyond the basics…pursuit of artistic crafts, development of technology, and spirituality become evidenced in the record. First, basic needs are met and then the layering begins as we augment and make our housing more homelike. We do have the option to go bananas (and some might say that we have, with our in house movie theaters, climbing walls, etc.) but it may not be our best choice of material usage.

It’s interesting to note, as well, as you almost instantly will if you visit any site that has clearly been abandoned and not taken over by new folks, that our housing depends on our landscape from start to finish, once to get us off the ground by providing raw material for construction and throughout the life process to keep us in food, beauty, accessibility, and other provisions. It’s not clear what combination of factors forced the abandonment of Mesa Verde by the Ancestral Puebloans, but in our current era of changing climate and the things that may or may not come along with that in terms of agricultural viability, water availability and the safety that comes from just implicitly understanding what to expect in terms of weather, it’s an interesting point of comparison.

What would cause you to leave your home? I gave this a lot of thought at Mesa Verde looking at the beautiful and durable architecture that wasn’t enough to stave off abandonment when more pressing issues came a knocking…I have given this further thought reading of the horrible wildfires that have caused such displacement and destruction in California, especially the most recent Camp Fire still claiming lives and livelihoods in Northern California. In seeing archaeology in person, evidence of our long history on this planet, I found it humbling to be reminded that change can occur (suddenly or otherwise) and our well laid plans, despite forethought, artistry and consummate skill, cannot protect us from every event. It made me wonder what steps I could take to keep sustainability in mind during all of our building processes. I know I can’t foresee every event, but surely the lessons left by ancestral humans from every background have teaching power still. It’s good and proper to be inspired!

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So You Want to Build Your Own House But...

Do You Have What it Takes to Build Your Own House?

At this point in our lives, almost incredibly, Shawn and I have built four houses together, plus a tiny house on wheels and a pretty gucci garage that we lump together and call a “house” worth of work. It had to start somewhere, and people sometimes ask us about our beginnings, since we aren’t contractors but love to build.

We started our “building career” by building a tiny chicken house in our backyard. BTW, that chicken house failed “inspection” by the young girl we were buying our chickens from. She took a look at it and with the worldly wisdom of an eight year old with lots of chicken raising experience pronounced it too small for comfortable chicken habitation. It’s the only building inspection we’ve ever flunked! We re-built it. True story. We also built a couple of small and mid sized outbuildings before thinking that we could absolutely build a house. A carpenter gave us a tutorial on one of the outbuildings and we’d learned plenty about remodeling, framing and basic structure while bringing our first house up to standards.

If anyone were to ask what I think made us succeed in our building endeavors, I’d list the following. We are self motivated and autodidactic, not afraid to ask lots of questions, largely humble, fairly patient, will go back and fix our mistakes even when it’s irritating to do so, and are willing to read plenty from the library or online to increase our knowledge. This particular cocktail of traits, I think, have been valuable assets in becoming successful at building. Add into that the mix our love of hard work, being outside and being self directed and it’s a good recipe.

A small collection of decent tools will also help whether purchased, borrowed or rented. It’s easy to get caught up in the marketing, but attention to detail makes you a good builder, not owning every tool under the sun. Our first two and a half homes were hand spiked…we didn’t get a pneumatic nailer till the Island House build. That isn’t to suggest that some tools won’t make your life easier, only to say, don’t feel you need a house sized budget for tool purchases in order to build.

What Does “I’m Building My Own House” Mean to You?

What else should you consider before undertaking a build? Well, consider how you define the process to start. To elucidate…after we built for the first time, we met lots of people who had done the same, to varying degrees. By this I mean that we met some people for whom “building their own home” meant hiring a GC and paying all the bills…no more and no less. This approach doesn’t eliminate the stresses or thrills of the build, so if that’s your definition, don’t be shy about it. Hiring a construction firm, a GC or even undertaking to be your own GC are all viable approaches to building and might be your best bet, especially if you aren’t technical, confident or flush with time. This approach also works well if you’ve got more money than time. A crew will work efficiently and effectively and will sometimes also make allowances for people who want, for example, a home framed and closed in for them and to take over the finishing work. There’s a rainbow of options out there. So if you are a skilled tile worker or want to do your own painting, flooring, or what have you…you can opt to just take on this part of the job and will still have put some sweat and hard work into building your own home.

I think this is fairly obvious, but I mention it because sometimes people approach home building as though only skilled tradespeople or absolute DIYers can build homes. It was an astonishing insight to me when, halfway through our first ever build, it occurred to me that Shawn and I were just doing the thing that humans have been doing since the beginning of our times…providing ourselves shelter against the elements. A cave or a sod home, a pitched tent or a 5,000 square foot palace…these are all iterations of our need to have shelter from the storms, built with varying degrees of skill. The reason this little thought was so empowering to me, though, is that it enabled me to see that the desire to build, the ability to build, is something all humans have. We can hone our works by learning specialized skills or following the requirements for our areas, but the ability and need to provide ourselves with shelter is already there..

Which leads me to wind up this casually thoughtful blog post…what you need most to build your own house, however hands on about it you choose to be, is the impetus and motivation. It takes some money, but not necessarily a colossal budget. You can (and really should) allow your budget of money, time, materials and skill to help shape your project. Allowing this to happen will go a ways toward ensuring a build without crazy stress on your shoulders (because building also has this aspect to it). If you can conceive of the project from start to finish from there you can get a bead on costs and projected time to completion.

The Answer is Always Yes

There’s no one size fits all answer to whether or not you can build your own house. The answer is always yes in the sense that there’s a way for any project to be done. At one end of the spectrum, money will suffice to do the whole thing without lifting a finger. At the other end of the spectrum, if you can find a place to build, you can take as long as you need with some consideration and do all the work yourself for the least amount of money. It’s a choose your own adventure sort of thing and if the bug stays with you long enough, you’ll probably chart your home building path sooner or later!

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New house plan released: Plan No. 64 - The Loft House

Plan No. 64 - The Loft House

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What If I Can't Build What I Want On My Lot?

Does The Addition Add Up?

My previous blog entry revisited ADU structures that might be desired by a property owner to provide more space for family members, rental income or any other number of reasons. I suggested doing some footwork to make sure that a fully autonomous structure was valid in one’s location. Now I want to examine what steps you might take if you find that the detached structure you wanted to build isn’t allowable for some reason.

Different Goals, Different Solutions

First of all, your response will depend a lot on what your goals are. If you want more space to allow for a craft space, a workshop, room for guests or kids or other family members, perhaps a simple addition would be adequate. Additions have their own set of compliance issues, but they are typically at least somewhat less than building a whole new detached structure and might solve all your needs with less fuss. Tasteful additions that meet your aesthetic and other requirements should be easy enough to obtain.

Can an Addition Increase Your Bottom Line?

What if your real wish in considering an ADU is to achieve potential rental income? I’ll dedicate much more space to this issue since most of what drives people to invest in ADU’s is the desire for additional income. Can you have an addition or remodel fulfill that need? The town just north of us has a lot of homes featuring “suites” that are of the same structure, but separate in terms of having their own kitchen, bath, entrance, etc. Despite there not being a separate dwelling unit on the site, these homes are essentially two units and one is fully rented out.

An addition could potentially meet this demand while also meeting zoning or building department requirements that prohibit a fully detached unit. That’s something to look into and verify, because the opposite could also be true. An addition meant to serve as a rental will have its own set of issues to conform to, but those might be easier to meet.

When doing due diligence, some things to consider would again be fire safety and compliance, parking or driveway issues (provision of parking for a guest or tenant), connection or splitting of utilities should be investigated, and your building department might even have things to say about which way the main entrance to the unit faces (seriously, you should look into that…it could be the case). Rules vary by jurisdiction (some locations don’t even have building codes!) so they should be explored fully prior to beginning a project (ideally before you even start getting your heart set or your finances structured on a particular renovation!). You might also want to check with zoning to be sure a rental is feasible and allowed. If you belong to a neighborhood association that would also be a group to contact to be sure you keep good relations with your neighbors!

A home renovation, build, addition or side yard cottage are all things that people undertake or consider at different times and for differing reasons. Being clear on what you want to accomplish and knowing how flexible you are, personally, for achieving your goals can help you ask the right questions in advance and make your building process more straightforward and less stressful. Do some homework and consider your options. Remaining open to flexible solutions can help you avoid the sense that building departments and others with lots of rules and regulations exist solely (or mostly) to thwart your desires!

Privacy Please

Most of us are pretty creative and imaginative, and you can create an addition or remodel that supports your wishes in terms of outcomes while also satisfying aesthetic considerations. Privacy is an issue that needs a bit more investigation. If you are thinking of using an addition to your home to generate income, that will involve some consideration on your part . Just off the top of my head, if I were to build a rental space into my home, I’d seek to find ways to mimic full autonomy, by creating separate pathways, entrances and outdoor spaces and perhaps use natural or manmade screening devices, etc. that would allow both tenant and homeowner to keep their privacy intact as much as possible. I would also consider ways to more fully soundproof a home or the addition, at the very least, in order to keep noise transfer between units to a minimum. Much can be achieved with extra insulation (acoustic panels could be a great investment) and creative landscape work and while perhaps an additional expense, should pay back in terms of comfort for many years to come.

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Things to Research Before Planning on an ADU

Doing Your Homework Saves Headaches Down the Road

People decide to expand their homes in all sorts of ways and for all sorts of reasons. These reasons can really change over time as trends and current realities influence one another and us with some fluidity. A short time ago I offered some ideas about ADU’s and DADU’s (Accessory Dwelling Units and Detached Accessory Dwelling Units). ADU and DADU projects can offer a number of resource options, from providing extra room for family to providing a potential source of rental income.

Building a whole new house on the same lot as your home comes with certain restrictions and requirements, and you should familiarize yourself with these things as much as possible before undertaking the project. I thought I’d share some potential areas to explore in advance.

This won’t be an exhaustive list of circumstances to be sure - any number of unique situations can (and do) crop up in a given location but here are some issues that we’ve heard people contend with unexpectedly or that have given them pause for thought.

Fire Safety First

If you are living on a small urban lot or other population dense area it is highly likely that your building code will require you to maintain distance between your primary structure and the new ADU that allows for fire codes to be met and discourages the ability of a house fire to spread easily from house to house. If your setbacks only allow a build in a narrow area of your side yard or backyard, you will want to be certain that the ADU you are designing will not cross those setbacks or, if it does, that you can mitigate for proximity by incorporating fireproof materials into your building in a manner that satisfies the code. This might include nixing windows on one side or using rated fire materials on certain exterior walls of the building. This can be straightforward or complex to achieve - but in my opinion, all problems are easier to troubleshoot ahead of time than half way through the design or permitting process. Some research with your local building departments can be very helpful when it comes to design and feasibility.

Your local fire code may also have things to say regarding parking and emergency crew access to your home(s) so it would be worth finding out if your adding a structure to your property will in any way affect parking, driveway or turnaround requirements with them as well.

Mind The Gap…But Not Too Much!

Another big thing to concern yourself with in terms of adding a structure to your lot is that your proposal be mindful of all required setbacks…these setbacks are sometimes obvious, as in maintaining proper distances from property lines. But you might also want to check in with your local building department to verify whether there are specific rules in terms of allowable distance from the existing house on your property. In our county, for example, ADU’s are required to be within a particular distance (10 feet) from the main home, and there are other potentially restrictive requirements must be met as well before permitting. That’s something else to check out with your local jurisdiction.

It would also be advisable to verify with all utility providers that the proposed structure can be fully serviced and will not interfere with existing service provisions. Knowing which side of the house you’d like the utilities to enter and exit would be helpful to have in mind ahead of time - or finding out if connections need to be made at a standardized location (eg: east wall, front wall or same side as existing dwelling, etc) per your utility’s policies. Calling your water, sewer and electric or gas utilities could potentially save you a headache down the road and help you with your design and layout process.

Stay in the Zone

Some building departments are completely separate from their counterparts in zoning. The rules of both must be satisfied. These hands sometimes don’t shake as seamlessly as you’d expect. Be sure to find out ahead of time if you are meeting local zoning requirements when undertaking a design. For example…a building department might find nothing structurally problematic with your 22 foot high ADU submission, but your local zoning department might only allow a 17 foot high structure in a given neighborhood. That could be the case even if the main dwelling is 25 feet high! This is just an example, but what I mean to say is: Assume nothing. Check with everyone and you will be properly educated about the process and can make your experience much less likely to elicit stress.

So there it is in a non exhaustive nutshell. Most of what you want to determine ahead of time for a backyard cottage, mother in law suite, ADU or DADU overlaps with the footwork you’d need to do to obtain a building permit on an empty lot. But if you’ve never built from scratch, that might be new territory. And what is certainly potentially new territory for any addition to a single lot is that the rules are likely at least a bit different than for a brand new build. Rather than being scared off, take the time to ask questions from the right departments. It can be incredibly helpful.

Is There Any Other Way?

Next week I’ll explore another option (building on an addition) for those wanting to expand their footprint even if it seems preferable or if some local requirements can’t be met in your proposed detached unit.

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New plan release: Skyway Redux ADU

Skyway Redux

Skyway Redux is designed to be used as a one-bedroom, one-bathroom ADU but could also satisfy a variety of needs, including guest cottage, cabin or small home.

Learn more

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Dealing with Burnout on the Building Site

This is how builder’s burnout can feel! But the blue skies are up ahead…

How to Keep Going when the Fire’s Gone Out

I first got the idea for this blog entry three years ago about this time of year. I guess it took me this long to feel ready to put the idea into words and share it with you. The issue I’m thinking about is burnout, and everyone experiences it sometimes. It can be a particular nuisance when you “catch it” on a building site, especially since it often strikes at critical moments. During our San Juan Island build I had a bad case of it as we approached close in, and then it struck again, oddly, toward the finishing stages of our build when you’d think excitement should be the foremost feeling. During the first bout, I was able to get through it because there was no choice. We had to get the roof on, and the rains that return to the Northwest every fall are a significant motivator for physical work, even if the heart isn’t fully in it. The second round of burnout was whisked away almost like magic when a couple of dear friends (also experienced in building their own home and doing building work by trade) came for a visit and reinvigorated us. Like getting over a cold, but faster and with less sniffling!

I don’t know why burnout happens or suddenly lifts. It can feel like a bad mood settling on you. A combination of stress, worry, financial strain, physical and mental exhaustion, the mere reality that you’ve got too much to do…all of those things might play greater or lesser roles in burnout. It can show up at odd times. Why, for example, would you hit a wall when you’re down to the last month or so of work on a project? I recall a couple we met while living in Maine. They were finishing a massive renovation project on their mother’s home and were literally weeks from completion of a long job. We shared being from the west coast and also about to return there. They were a fun couple to meet at what felt like just the right time, and one of this team had hit his limit. He was burned out. He had several pretty important things to do and not too long to do it, and found he was so unmotivated that he’d get dressed and ready to finish the project but would instead sit down and just watch TV. This was causing both he and his fiance some serious concern, but after a week or two he seemed to get over it and finished the work.

How could someone so close to finishing (literally a few weeks worth of work) just be sitting there doing nothing, apparently unable to rouse himself to do something so “simple”? I couldn’t understand that profound burnout at the time, because we’d had such a good time building in Maine, even with the bumps in the road (and there were plenty). In retrospect, however, the project becomes such fun, that now I can’t remember ever feeling burned out there…surely I must have been sometimes, but the mind has smoothed out the wrinkles and we have only fondness for the experience (multi kid moms I’ve talked to say this sounds a lot like what happens in remembering pregnancy/childbirth!). But I think the real issue is that I’d not experienced what he had. I hadn’t gotten burnout till the island project. That building project I still remember much of with inklings of stress and an overall sense that it was just not a fun experience, though it was a successful one in many ways.

How to Process Burnout

So what do you do with burnout if you catch it? First, I think it’s helpful to realize it’s pretty normal. Doing a random search online will reveal the sensation is experienced by just about everyone - regardless of profession. Everyone from social workers to Olympians experiences the sensation. Sometimes work is very hard. Second, I think that fact should be acknowledged. Some of the things we confront are not simple, might be physically or mentally or financially challenging, and concurrently offer no straightforward resolution. The unfortunate reality is that plowing ahead, whether you’re excited or not, is often the only way to solve the problem. Sometimes, the mind isn’t ready to accept that and burnout ensues. Remind yourself that this is going on. You can overcome the sensation by sheer willpower if needed. Burnout, in my opinion, gets worse the longer you stall. Moving ahead in whatever capacity is the way to move beyond it ultimately, as it will provide a sense of relief. Which is my third tip for dealing with burnout. Don’t stop working, not for long, at least. Take a day to physically recuperate if need be. Even if it’s a day of rest that allows you to complete other chores that are different than building related chores. Get caught up on laundry or clean the house up or make some phone calls you’ve needed to. But don’t take too much time off. A little break can reset your clock but too long of one can be like a really deep chair, too hard to get out of. Lastly, be realistic with yourself. Maybe you need some assistance to get yourself through a particular phase of the build. Is the roof work too much for you? Would hiring some assistance for finishing work, framing, drywall or what have you make your job manageable again? Sometimes you’ve got to get out of the weeds, and once you do, the sense of being caught up can, if not rekindle your fire for the project, at least help you feel like you can face it again. Even if this aspect is financially difficult or unplanned for, it could be worth it. Another tip…if you don’t have the financial resources to get assistance, be realistic about that too. You may have to take a long time to get the work done. Acknowledging that can help. In Maine, we ran out of finances right around the time the drywall needed to go in. The recession had just hit and there was no way any additional loan money could be procured. We needed very little to finish the work, but that didn’t matter to any bank. While we initially felt annoyed, we realized in short order that we were just going to have to do the drywall (for three and a half floors) ourselves. It was a job we could handle in small sections. Drywall is cheap…and since it took us forever to do it ourselves the payment could be made out of our income over time. No loan required. But it did take us over a year to complete. Realizing we’d be living in the midst of all that dust took an adjustment period. But there you go. Acceptance. The final aspect of dealing with burnout. Sometimes, you just have to acknowledge that you’re most certainly burned out but that in time, it will resolve. You might feel cruddy for a long time, but eventually it will get better.

Learning From Burnout

Those are my tips. They aren’t exhaustive and perhaps aren’t even particularly helpful. There’s no magic wand. I was surprised by burnout. For the most part, I love everything about the process…the intellect and problem solving involved, the independence of the work, the excitement of learning new things and being in new places, the physical aspects…Recognizing what I was feeling and not being too hard on myself was a useful approach. Being stubborn and knowing that I had to move ahead no matter what kind of mood I was in was also helpful because I never reached the point of no return this way. Friends giving us encouragement and even just visiting gave me oomph when I thought oomph was excised from my existence. Believing that if I just kept at it, it would get better also helped. Having had a case of burnout, I hope that even reading about it will make anyone suffering from it feel a little better.

You’ll make it through!!

PS, Just because you get burnout once, by the way, doesn’t mean you’ll experience it again. We rolled right into another building project and it was actually FUN. We planned it carefully so that it wouldn’t be too expensive or physically demanding, and it was a good experience. So don’t let a bad experience one place make you think you’d never do it again. Just let it make you wiser!

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Labor Day Giveaway! Gulf View Apartment Garage

Enter to win on Labor Day!

Leave a comment below to enter to win a *FREE* copy of this plan. Tell us what you'd do with the plan and where you'd build it!

Pssst...you can enter twice!

It's Labor Day and we're celebrating up and coming young craftspeople. You can do that too by visiting our selected young new woodworker and business owner, Nick Vecchione. Visit Nick's Vecc of the Woods Facebook page and just give him a like and a friendly word of encouragement to enter a second time! We'll be selecting an actual winner straight from Nick's comments!

The Lowdown...

How many plans are we giving away? Three from our blog and one from the Vecc of the Woods Facebook page, so leave your comments fro a chance to win! If you win twice you can choose a plan of your liking from the website!

Winners will be posted on the blog and Facebook on Labor Day.

View floor plan

Hello, World!

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Building with Fire Season in Mind

Smoke from BC wildfires blotting out our typical view of Vancouver from Point Roberts.

Today is a sad day around the Pacific Northwest, and there have been quite a few of them this summer. So much smoke is in the air here in town that the air is brownish grayish and we have the windows sealed up. This is a day that I'm appreciating having air sealed our house so thoroughly though I'd much prefer clear skies, fresh air and the windows open for these last days of summer.

Undeniably, I am gloomy about the smoke filled days we've had lately. I have family living in areas that can be threatened by wildfires, so I worry about them, and the Pacific Northwest has been my home, almost exclusively, for the vast majority of my life. Smoky summers are new these last few years and aside from depressing me, they do rally me to consider my options for our future build, which we intend to be the last for some time. 

Most of us who live in the west or in heavily wooded areas have given at least some thought to what it means to build with a wildfire season in mind. Metal roofing, adequate clearing of trees and brush around building sites, non combustible siding materials where relevant...even sprinkler systems should be given some thought for wildfire season, as dousing the house and landscape immediately surrounding your home is standard protocol when fires are nearing.  In the past, I've mostly thought of these building features as being more appropriate for people living and building in what have always been or are becoming more fire prone. But after three summers in the maritime northwest featuring smoke and blazes nearby, I am thinking about these issues more and more. And today, with unhealthy air (for all groups) throughout my locale, Shawn and I have been giving some thought to proactive ways we can make our home more comfortable for future fire seasons.

One of the things we incorporate into our builds, on account of building envelope tightness, are HRV systems that mechanically exchange air inside with fresh air outside, maintaining clean and healthful indoor air. Occasionally in the winter time our current system, a Life Breath model, brings in people's woodsmoke from fires as we did not opt for a model with a built in HEPA filter. Now that we have summer smoke, far more pervasive and serious, we are going to be sure and incorporate a HEPA filter equipped HRV system in the next house. This will allow us to seal up the house against smoky outdoor conditions if needed while still being able to use the air exchange system for its intended purpose and maintain a more comfortable interior space. 

In the past I've been, frankly, somewhat scornful of people in the Northwest using air conditioners, which have never been something I've needed (to be fair, I live in a very cool part of the Northwest...we are lucky to make it to 80 degrees in a given summer). And while an air conditioning unit is not something I particularly have a use for, there are pretty amazing, energy efficient heat pump models now that perform both heating and cooling duties in a home. This sort of system may or may not be ideal for our next build, in which we are aiming to achieve Passive House certification or an approximation thereof, but I am now convinced of times when even Pacific Northwest homes might truly benefit from an energy efficient form of home cooling. Those living in older, less well insulated homes might find these installs worth the comfort that they offer, in particular on hot summer days when it would be best for your breathing comfort to have the windows closed. 

Other lower tech or lower installation heavy responses to these smoky summer days could at least include a portable HEPA filter for the home. I am not sure how remarkably they would function in terms of forest fire particulate matter overall, but it's possible that some comfort might be derived from having one on hand for the worst of wildfire season. 

Things to keep in mind, though, if you are considering a new build anywhere in the western United States or Canada...

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Weighing the Pros and Cons of Remodeling

Spanish Colonial renovation in Casco Viejo (Panama City), Panama from our trip in January. Almost entire district is under intense restoration. 

One of the fun things we've been doing this summer is working on a remodeling project with some friends. They have a large shed in their yard that's been neglected and leaking for years and together we're transforming it into a creative space.  It's been fun to gather once a week and have a day of chatting, demolishing, reconstructing, considering and seeing something new and exciting come out of the old shell.

It's years since Shawn and I have remodeled anything. While this undertaking is a strictly "for fun" project rather than work, it brings back memories of our previous projects and a chance to compare and contrast them. Our first remodeling project was in a condo and almost doesn't count. We were so green around the gills that one of our most hilarious memories of that project involves doing work on the bathroom plumbing without turning off the water first, thus creating a fully functioning indoor replica of Old Faithful. Our real trial and learning process came on our first home, which turned out to be a rat infested shambles and had to be stripped to the bones before coming back as, in many ways still, our favorite house. 

For anyone with the desire to build from scratch, a remodel may sound like a nightmare and not even be on the consideration list. But what if you are really weighing out the pros and cons of both?  Here are some thoughts...

Remodeling can be a great project to undertake if you are unable to secure a lot loan or building loan, which typically carry higher interest rates and can be difficult to get in the first place. Remodeling can also be an ideal choice if you live in a place where fixer uppers are reasonably priced to start with. When we acquired our first one, it was what we could afford. Houses in the Seattle area, even back at the "turn of the century" were out of our reach and Point Roberts, where we came, had lots of houses with good bones at rock bottom prices (though at the time, they didn't seem so rock bottom to our youthful budget!). We had dreamed of building, but hadn't done our research into the financial prerequisites of the process, so a renovation was ideal for us. Nowadays, even in our little town, the cost for a remodel is more prohibitive given the amount of work that can be required. The cost of labor has gone up a lot as the building trades have become busier all around. If you are doing all the work yourself, out of desire or necessity, as we were, this may not be a hindrance. But if you are working full time and need to hire out most of the work, you might want to keep that in mind. Bear in mind too that if you are not (yet) experienced, things will take longer than you expect. Frankly, we've got a pretty solid background in many aspects of the building process and things STILL take longer than expected!  Remodeling jobs are notorious for uncovering more than you expect to find. While you might start out the demolition work for the day with the intention of having the drywall back up by evening and doing the mudding and patch work the next day, who knows what you'll find when the job gets started!  A leak, a wiring fault, wood that needs shoring up or replacing...these are all typical things that almost anyone tackling renovation work of any scale will tell you they encounter all the time. So keep time and expenses on your list of things to be aware of. 

Another thing to keep in mind...along with remodels not necessarily being cheap to start, you may also encounter additional work and expense in terms of bringing your remodeling project up to speed with current code conditions. This may not be an issue in your particular jurisdiction, as counties, cities and towns all over the country take a variety of approaches to implementing code, so be sure to check into it. You may also want to keep in mind that if you intend to sell the property again at some point, you may be required to obtain required permits, have inspections performed along the way and get a final stamp from your building department showing the job was completed to current requirements. I mention this because in one place the we lived, people wanting to put their house of 20 years on the market keenly rued never getting their final building permit when they undertook their building project.  In order to sell the home, they needed a final inspection on file - and now, they were required to meet not the code of 20 years back, but current code!  You can imagine the language emanating from the mouth of the recipient of that unfortunate bit of information. 

What are the pros of the remodeling undertaking?  I have always liked that the property might have a more settled appearance...such a lot of work goes into excavating a fresh piece of land...clearing, digging, backfilling...it can take a long time for landscaping to get the lived in look of an extant property. If you can get the property at a good price, you might have the option of inheriting a nice lot of piece of land this way...in my experience - we have entered the age where the best is already taken and much of what we are building on today isn't the most choice (in terms of slope, sun, drainage and other factors). So a remodel could really let you buy a nice spot. If you are wanting a certain location, it might be your only option, as well. I'm thinking of urban areas, for example, where there may be no empty lots available. In this case, you might still be able to build from scratch if you were willing to buy a property and demolish it. There's expense involved there, but if budget isn't an issue or your budget covers those factors adequately, it can be a good option to remodeling. 

I have heard some interesting comments from people who wanted to remodel but found that they could build more cheaply and better by starting from scratch. Don't underestimate this as being applicable to your situation. In general, my feeling is that starting from the ground up is almost always better. Not always, but almost always. Here are some simple reasons why.  First and foremost is that you can build a better house - one up to current codes and beyond in terms of energy efficiency, window technology.  Plus, you can design to meet your specific needs rather than attempt to bend an extant property to your wishes...A well designed and built home can last you many many years with no surprises or further uncovering of weird wiring, wonky plumbing or any other disasters in the wings (or walls, as the case may be). Your remodel might include none of those things, but it is easier to build mold resistant structures from the start, for example, than to try and effectively rid of home of it after the fact. While most remodeling programs emphasize uncovering fantastic old moldings, tin ceilings, or nearly mint Douglas Fir strip flooring with amazing inlay during the course of renovations, they perhaps should also focus on revelations like mold issues, moisture damage, wiring faults and slipshod plumbing hacks undertaken by the previous owners. Those are far less exciting, but far more likely to be uncovered than a frescoed ceiling. Take it from me!  Not only did we uncover a particle board subfloor when we pulled up the hideous blue and green shag carpet from our remodel, but we also found that a sink had been leaking from the adjoining room for at least a decade, spreading rot in all directions.  This necessitated not just sealing the particle board with a sturdy primer throughout as we had hoped, but getting roofing demolition shovels from a contractor friend and tearing out every last inch of the miserable stuff. Talk about fun.  It is important to look at a potential project with an eye unbiased enough to assess it for what it is. Looking under the house you are considering is more important than checking out the street view. It may disabuse you of false notions of how wonderful a potential property is, as well. Or let you know how something that looks utterly horrible might really be a good candidate for a remodel. It's amazing how a sow's ear can be turned into a silk purse, and my warnings to the contrary are not meant to say that this can't be the outcome. 

Those are just some random thoughts on the process of remodeling in comparison with building from scratch. I will also be the first to tell you that building or rebuilding anything at all, comes with varying interactions with despair and elation. It's a rewarding but challenging process that teaches much, sometimes gently and sometimes unforgettably. Give your choice some thought, as the right decision is made when you have fully considered your options, needs, wishes and budget. If you cover all those bases, you'll be making the right decision, no matter the bumps in the road.

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New Plan Release: Claire Cottage

Contemporary 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom cottage with shed roof, perfect for full or part time living.

Visit the Claire Cottage plan listing to see floor plan and full details. 

Claire Cottage Plan Preview

Project Details
Site Plan (add your local information)
Foundation Plan
Floor & Shear Wall Plan
Floor Framing Plan
Roof Framing Plan
Electrical Plan
Building Sections
Building Elevations
Full Wall Section Details
Interior Elevations
Construction Details
Window & Door Schedules + Diagrams
Fastener Schedules

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Gardens and Small Houses...Perfect Companions

Think Outside...

...the box. That's a hackneyed phrase to be sure. But in this case it makes sense. Homes are, at their very basic level just boxes or containers for our things and to keep us sheltered from the elements. Many of us want our homes to do more than the basics though, and reflect our personalities, styles, or provide a space to pursue and take care of the things we value most. Having worked on designing small, functional spaces that meet code (not always easy, especially where stairs are involved!) and also satisfy an aesthetic, bringing the outdoors in has been a sturdy ally. Not only that, gardening and the outdoors represent a great love of ours that has only grown through the years, so it's no surprise at all that we should want to look out as much as possible. If you are in the midst of designing a small space (especially, but any space can experience this) you have probably noticed that rooms can feel too narrow, or even when able to accommodate furnishings etc. that are needed, can still seem too small to do so. If you're having that issue, try incorporating windows. Even in very small homes, having an open corridor that looks through the house can lend a strong sense of spaciousness, inviting the eye to go long without interruption - and if in the looking through a window, you can carry on your distance even further, so much the better. 

The Beekeeper's Bungalow was a roughly 760 square foot home with two bedrooms and a turning staircase in the middle. The first floor had a bedroom on it as well, so you can imagine that there wasn't a huge amount of space leftover for the living room. One of the ways that we made the living room space feel more effective, rather than cramped, was to have big windows facing west - looking over a covered porch and garden to the immediate west and taking in an expansive westward view across a large field across the street from us. Our eyes were almost always directed out these windows as you just never knew what might be going on outside. Consequently, less time was directed to the interior and the entire sense of spaciousness was amplified despite the fact that the square footage was not large. Facing east, we employed another eye guiding technique. At the end of the galley kitchen visible from the living room, we installed a full glass door that opened onto the back deck and overlooked a garden path that wound eventually to the back of the lot where a greenhouse and shed were. Thus, again, the eye was guided ever onwards, despite the fact that the entire footprint of the home was just 18 by 32. 

Let the Outdoors Be a Friend Even While You're Inside

I'm a firm believer that getting outdoors is good for us, even when we're inside and it's just coming in through a window. Obviously, not every view to the wider world is superb, and there may be times when this doesn't work as well because the view is just not soothing. In cases like this, the outdoors can still be borrowed from effectively by locating windows higher on the wall but to the same effect...even some sky or trees or the sight of a lamp post coming inside does a lot for expanding a small space. Another option is to try utilizing mirrors in locations where windows are impractical. I have seen some fantastic tricks of the eye played on small spaces thanks to great mirror placement, effectively doubling space and brightening spaces when combined with natural light or bright paint. In a case like this, you aren't bringing the outdoors in, but you're still capitalizing on the idea of expanding space sensorily while keeping your footprint small. These techniques work in new builds and remodels alike. 

Time to Head Out to the Patio

Another great way to make your space larger is to invite the eye to travel to outdoor spaces like patios, decks and porches. Regardless of your foundation style, there's a solution in that mix. Even condos and apartments are made more spacious with decks and balconies, especially as the outdoor space itself is typically paired with a large glass door leading there. I find some of the most satisfying times of year those when I can stop looking outside and fully incorporate it into the home by throwing open the windows (Shawn would interject that here in the Pacific Northwest that only happens about 3 times a year...but that's a different discussion). Anyway, don't forget to consider your outdoor hardscape as part of your strategy for keeping a small space feeling larger. It works! Pergolas are outdoor structures that can still attach to the home (or be freestanding) and they too employ stretching visual and functional space in a way that encourages a sense of spaciousness. One can extend the sense of a living room, kitchen, etc. by including pergolas or pergola like structures in garden/hardscape design.

Next time you are designing and encounter a tricky small space, try emphasizing view corridors and extending into the outdoors via window mirror, deck, patio or pergola placement. Look at your site and figure out how you might include these patio or porch spaces that literally open up the indoors to the outside. Even cool climates benefit from this outdoor living space part of the year! Just the exercise of seeing where your eyes travel in your home is useful for practicing the effect and learning it, and once you're in the habit of looking in this way, you'll see the trick employed everywhere you turn. I think it is especially functional when dealing with small spaces, and who doesn't like to feel like a magician sometimes? 

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The Harm in Cookie Cutter House Plans

When Generic isn't the Better Choice

Driving through a nearby town that has experienced a great deal of population growth in recent years inspired me to write this blog entry in critique of the cookie cutter house mentality. By this I mean development that ignores its surroundings and creates tray after tray of non site specific housing. Often the housing is badly needed, but it's also often badly done, and may serve not to alleviate housing crunches, but just make neighborhoods worse. Perhaps this entry also takes a jab at mass marketed house plans that claim to have one size fits all solutions for house styling. The inspiration came from seeing an attractive older home on a corner lot - one story, probably 12-1400 square feet, not super fancy but well cared for and obviously settled into its neighboring community. Next to it, distressingly, loomed a home fully twice its size, with a footprint nearly the size of the building lot and a full second story to really complete the gigantism effect - functionally dwarfing the neighbor and rendering the neighborhood as a whole imbalanced. 

Growing Pains in Housing: Architectural Hostility and Garage-centricity

That newer home was a cookie cutter style home. I don't know how to explain the actual meaning of that word, but everyone seems to know just what it means.  Houses of this style, whether they show up as one offs or whole swaths, seem hostile to me. They move in without regard to their surroundings (human or landscape) and come across as aggressive by being so large and thoughtlessly designed with respect to their neighbors.  This is probably because the plans are generic in the first place, created without a site in mind. Taking the living location away from our planning is a hazardous business with long term aesthetic implications, especially for established neighborhoods. Granted, not every house can look out on a park or a stream. But many of these development style homes don't seem oriented to the outside at all. The house is an island, tightly packed in with other islands identical to it (or looming catastrophically over their neighbors). Garages are emphasized and often built into the structure, which can encourage unsociability as it allows owners to just roll right indoors. Windows seem haphazardly placed in terms of looking out, emphasizing interiors rather than the outside. I have always felt that the balanced appearances of well designed homes, older or modern, are designed to serve not just the occupants, but the community surrounding it. They look outwards and do encourage us to look at the homes with interest as we pass by. Current window layouts often fall into the trap of meeting codes but failing the test overall with misaligned or thoughtlessly asymmetrical window schemes, not looking outward but emphasizing privacy and the interior landscape. This is partly understandable in an age where privacy is at a premium, lots are small, and there are always more and more people per square mile. And yet, there are aesthetic and arguably social drawbacks to this approach. 

In paying attention to our surroundings, be they other homes or natural scenery, we bring the interactional and relational aspect of community back to our design and encourage its existence in "real life." We respect our real surroundings - human and landscape. A home looks better when it considers its surroundings - and this is why thoughtful design at the single home level or more location specific design at the developmental level is so important. Privacy can still be enjoyed along with sociability through the use of interior window treatments. Perhaps to soften all that garage-centricity, we could also start seeing the return of outdoor spaces (porches, decks, patios, gates and gardens could all function in this capacity). I think looking outward in our design could also lessen the frequency of the unfortunate landing of 3500 square foot homes alongside their 1500 square foot neighbors - a hostile architectural event that always seems to render the smaller home dwarfed and the neighborhood as a whole somewhat ludicrous.

Future Forward Design and Development is Site Specific

While my opinion is merely that, it hasn't escaped the attention of numerous cities and towns with historic areas that these neighborhoods are worth protecting. Size limits, character plans and historic committees all can function to protect the existence of these neighborhoods from "character assassination." And while I may sound as though I'm discouraging of all development, I think that population dense housing can and lately more frequently does achieve site specific design that creates beautiful spaces. While developments that aren't thoughtful about their surroundings can feel like holding pens for people offering only gloomy views of other condos/apartments or a busy road, I'm seeing more and more dense housing areas that seek to obey natural rules and be respectful of surroundings. Friends live in a large urban apartment complex built right up on a wetland. The housing gently fans around a huge marsh area in which wooden plank walkways were laid out, providing walking and running trails as well as wildlife viewing. People are out there all the time, and no matter where you are in most of the apartments, you look out at this living, changing space. In spring, the night rings with the sound of frogs that still have a place to live despite all the people around them, migratory birds make stopovers and you are encouraged to look (and go) outside.  So I'm encouraged by newer strains of thinking in city planning, urban and suburban design. And I love that we can be a part of the design process for those who are fortunate enough to build their own homes.

It's a pleasure to see a properly sited home (or development of homes, for that matter) that has considered its surroundings and folded itself into the mix as best as can be done and to know the satisfaction experienced as a result by the home dwellers and those passing or living by. Considering a neighborhood's extant style along with protecting green spaces, wetlands and other natural zones of biological importance during the development phase benefits not only the areas immediately around us, but ourselves as we end up with more soothing, healthy and beautiful places to be a part of. I hope that we will see more and more of this style of growth take place, as being more thoughtful and careful about how we interact with our greater world gives us something great back in return. 

 

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Outward Looking is Forward Looking: The Importance of the Window

Windows Are The Eyes of a Home...

The View is Everywhere we Look! Photo Credit: Harper Collins Publishers

 

The word window has an etymology that expresses looking, as you might imagine...roots include "wind-eye," "eye-hole" and "eye-door." That shouldn't surprise anyone, but we can overlook the importance of windows in our designs, treating them merely as holes in the walls or code satisfiers rather than corridors that work both ways, allowing light inside and allowing us to keep our surroundings in mind. Perhaps it's a logical outcome of our technology based life that we are forgetting to look through our window screens in favor of all the other screens vying for our attention. Don't fall prey to this focus on the interior only when you are designing your home!

In rural landscapes, it goes without saying that bringing the view in is desirable. For those wanting to keep their footprints compact, window placement lends a hand when trying to design a small but elegant and functional space since windows allow expansiveness without increasing square footage.  Many rural homes are designed exclusively with the view in mind, so in some senses, this article is more about less obviously "natural" locations. 

The View is Wherever We Are

Urban and suburban view isn't just about coveted mountain, lake or other "classic" views. While a suburban or urban location might not have quite as much abundant nature around - the view is everywhere, and we shouldn't underestimate this. All properties are view properties. There's plenty to be seen up close and at a distance just by noticing. Many specimen trees are planted in cities and neighborhoods, shops often put out planters or fill window boxes with seasonal colors, little parks are tucked into the tiniest of spots and the sky is always up there somewhere, even in the slot canyons of downtowns. Even a little easement can host some color. Whoever hasn't yet read one of the studies showing our positive and measurable responses to natural surroundings will find them fascinating and abundant.  Try paying attention to your mental landscape next time you spend time in any natural place - park, tree lined street, deep woods or some other place of non built beauty. It takes only a few minutes with some deep breaths and attention for me to feel worry retreat as I walk along a woodland path. With this psychological need and benefit in mind, rural, suburban and urban areas alike are working hard on preserving wetland and green spaces as part of smarter development incorporating ecological awareness. Planning that focuses on conservation and building more efficiently in terms of density is doing something to ensure that beautiful surroundings can still find a place in our ever increasing sprawl. This intentionality in design is something we can take on as well - it's not just for municipal planners. 

All this is a long way of saying that when designing, developers and individuals alike benefit themselves and their surroundings by looking around outside the building site before going to the drawing board or finalizing plans. Remember the value of the outward looking home - windows are for us and help us. Rather than only consulting catalogs emphasizing interiors, remember to walk your site - if you've got time on your hands, luxuriate in being able to assess seasonal changes that you might want to see from inside, maybe even plan your landscaping in advance. Letting our site get a word in edgewise is one of the most important aspects of design; perhaps it is vital to restructuring communities as a whole so that our homes can take care of our surroundings as well as us. Good consideration of the landscape can help us orient ourselves to the wider world and will hopefully favor more sustainable growth. The size of the human population is certain to increase while the world cannot become larger. Every cottage, home, development and new suburb can be a statement - and our eyes, our senses, and our window placement can have a role in making it a good one.  

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