I recently hired a small business marketing consultant to help me focus my marketing efforts and to fine tune my “message” in a soon to be unveiled website. One of her recommendations was that I should focus energy on upgrading my “green” skills and marketing sustainable design services. Oddly, I’d spoken about my business with [...]
I know NOTHING about construction, but I DO know that I need more storage space. With that in mind, I keep looking up at the entrance to my attic, which is in the upstairs hallway. I have used a ladder to have a look, and see what appear to be rafters everywhere! In doing some [...]
I came across the following ad on Craigslist recently and while I didn’t offer my services to them it seemed worth writing about in a blog about residential architecture. It touches on a number of issues that I’ve written about in the past. In particular my article on writing the project program for a remodel [...]
Hello Rick,
In terms of truss construction, what is the most cost effective design for a garage with loft including a shed dormer?
Answer
That’s a pretty open ended question with lots of answers dependent on the specific conditions. For the purpose of this answer, as the architect I’ll make the following assumptions:
This is a monthly-ish reminder about a significant feature of the blog, which I hope you will find useful. There is an “Ask the Architect” page where you can post a question. I’ll do my best to answer your question in this blog (as well as on the “Get Satisfaction” website). Go ahead, try [...]
It’s a global economy and a small world.� Katherina Saunders, owner of Ella’s Kitchen Company LTD in the UK found me on Twitter.� I visited her website to see who was following me and found all of this cool kitchen stuff.� OK, I know it’s a tiny bit off of my beaten path but I [...]
I live in Edmonds and my property is zoned RS-8. I have a couple of questions. I have a shop that is about 330 square feet and it is actually classified as a garage. I would like to convert it into a Mother In-Law Apartment. It has gas and and electricity already. I am wondering [...]
Steeply sloping lots pose serious design challenges for Seattle architects. This is the 2nd article in a series where I describe how we dealt with those challenges on a home I designed on SW Manning Street in West Seattle.
Let’s recap. The lot slopes steeply down from the street (front to back) and the [...]
A lot of my work as an architect is within the City of Seattle. Almost every home I’ve designed the last few years has been affected by Seattle’s steep slope critical area regulations. Designing a home for a steeply sloping site is a lot more complex than simply working up a floor plan [...]
