Multi-Story Residential Wood Framing

April 11th, 2012

Mid-rise wood framed walls, floors and roofs is increasing in popularity.  5 story wood framed housing construction is being used on top of multi-level non-combustible platforms, resulting in hybrid structures of 7 stories total+/-.

Rand Soellner AIA/NCARB, HOME ARCHITECTS TM recently took an online course from McGraw-Hill (Architectural Record magazine) entitled: Multi-Story Wood Construction.  The subtitle is: “A cost-effective and sustainable solution for today’s changing housing market.”  Karin Tetlow was the author.

Multi-Story Residential Wood Framing

What was remarkable about this course was the fact that residential wood construction has typically been thought to be limited to 2 to 3 stories.  The point of this course is that with certain creative and legal code applications, this limit can be expanded.  For instance, the IBC (International Building Code) classifies construction into 5 types.  Types I & II are typically non-combustible, such as for high-rise steel and concrete buildings.  Type III permits wood and non-combustible materials and Type IV and V are allowed to use wood and other combustibles, per regulations.

Code Issues for Wood Framed Multi-Level Buildings

Multi-level residential wood construction typically will be within Type III and Type V.  Type IV is thicker timber construction, which is also part of Rand Soellner’s typical designs.  Each Type of construction has a sub-type A and B which relates to degrees of fire-resistance.  A is more demanding.  When projects get into larger sizes, Type IIIA is often used these days, which calls for substantial fire-proofing of the wood and utilization of Fire Treated Wood for structural load bearing elements such as 2-hour rated exterior bearing walls.

Often, a cast-in-place concrete parking garage of multi-levels provide a totally fireproof concrete “podium” with a thick top concrete slab offering at least a 3 hour horizontal fire separation, which allows the wood framed structure on top of it to be considered as a separate building for the purposes of area calculations, fire walls, number of stories allowed per code and construction type (which has much to do with the materials).

There is much more having to do with open space around such hybrid commercial buildings, fire sprinklers and creative detailing for gypsum board fire rating of walls and floors between tenants and levels and components.

World’s Largest Shake Table Test of Wood Framing

However, one of the most interesting items for the purposed of this website, is the fact that wood framing up to 6 stories, without any other platform, podium or other construction type was tested on the World’s largest seismic test “shake table” in Japan.  Some people might have expected such a thing as 6-story tall wood framed walls, floors and roofs to fall apart like a house of cards.  Not so.

Click here to see this amazing “shake test”—> Earthquake test of mid-rise wood framing .

multi-story residential wood framing

E-Defense NEID facility in Japan

This huge shake table is located in Miki City, Japan at the “E-Defense” “NIED” (National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention.)

David Rosowsky, Engineer, Texas A & M University, and John van de Lindt, Engineer, of Colorado State University administered the engineering, prefabrication, shipping and re-construction of the test structure, which on the YouTube video link (above) appears to be perhaps 54′ tall (6 stories) x perhaps 50′+/- wide x 36′+/-.

Engineer Rosowsky stated that “the detailing that we’ve incorporated into the structure is not difficult, it’s not especially expensive; it’s just an engineered system.  And we can certainly put this into all of our structures built in high seismic regions and expect that these structures will perform well in earthquakes and that lives can be saved.”

The Shake table is a huge apparatus that has enormous pistons supporting it, that can move the table in multiple directions at the same time (up, down, sideways), to properly simulate a real earthquake.  For this particular test, the scale was a 7.5 earthquake.  This is a once in 2,500 year predicted event.  Engineer John van de Lindt said that this is an extremely violent earthquake that is Much Stronger than what we design for in the United States at this time.

Keys Holding Together Multi-Story Wood Structures

The Simpson company, who fabricates steel assemblies for reinforcing homes and other wood structures, provided the “Hold Down” attachment clips that are bolted to the sides of “studpacks” on each wall level, in addition to the vertical threaded rods that are combined together to yield the effect of one, long, continuous steel rod, “holding down” the wood structure from the top floor, all the way down and into its foundation.  This is the key element that holds wood frame buildings together during an earthquake event, according to Engineer van de Lindt.  “This prevents the over-turning of the entire building,” he said.  Additional wood framed shear walls were also involved, using wood studs and what appeared to be plywood or OSB (Oriented Strand Board).

The test results revealed that there was no significant structural damage to the building and only minor damage to the interior gypsum board finishes.  This led the engineers to conclude that perhaps even 8 story tall wood framed structures might be possible, if properly braced.

Click here to go to Home Architect—> Contact Us .

The above testing was funded by the US National Science Foundation’s Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation.

Your Next House Should Have These Earthquake Resistive Features

The reason that Rand Soellner and his company, Home Architect, PLLC is posting this article is to help his clients and other people who are planning new homes to please consider installation of wood shear walls and steel hold-downs per manufacturer’s and engineer’s guidelines, to help your new house resist earthquakes no matter where they might be located.  For instance, one of Soellner’s projects was in a characteristically minor earthquake zone in Virginia, which did not legally require ANY earthquake provisions whatsoever.  However, Soellner did provide his normal hold-downs and lateral shear walls, as he believes this is prudent.  This home, like many of Soellner’s had 2 main levels, and some of his projects feature 3 levels of wood framing.  Shortly thereafter, that area of Virginia experienced a 5.9 earthquake.  This only goes to show you that you can’t be too careful.  An ounce of prevention can keep away a pound of cure and keep you and your loved ones literally Alive.  Be safe, not sorry: hire a real architect to design your next custom house.

What you probably do not know: building codes do NOT always require earthquake precautions, even though you may reside in a location that can experience light to moderate earthquakes.  And, there is No guarantee from your local building department that the massive rock plates on which our continent sit, might decide to slip more than local recorded geologic history (only the last 100 to 200 years?) in your region of the USA or World may have noted (the last 100 to 200 years of relatively light seismic activity is No guarantee that a severe earthquake could not occur tomorrow and a couple of hundred years is only the blink of an eye in geological action terms: for instance, the last time the Yellowstone mega-volcano erupted was about 70,000 years ago, but that’s no guarantee that it won’t blow again tomorrow).  If you live in a mountainous region south of historic glaciers, there is a reason those mountain are there: hint: seismic activity: translation: earthquakes!  So, regardless of the lack of building code requirements, you would do well to help your new home protect itself by having your architect install at least some precautionary good design practice details to resist at least some seismic action.

Rand Soellner, AIA/NCARB: 1-828-269-9046

tags: custom, wood framing, cashiers, chicago, atlanta, los angeles, canada, buenos aires, russia, aspen, boulder, jackson hole

link to:
US Science Foundation Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation .

 

 

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DIY Home Project Story

March 28th, 2012

Make Sure You Know What You are Doing
& the Scope of What You are Getting Into,
& Always Get Licensed Professional Help,

before you begin any home project.

© Copyright 2012 Rand Soellner

DIY Home Project Story: Jane & John

The Savvy & Tough Young Couple Gets Ready to Conquer the DIY Market

There is at least one DIY show (Do It Yourself) on TV that has the same theme, week after week, and it is the only truly honest show of its kind.  The theme is: a nice young couple (let’s call them Jane and John Jones) buy a run-down house and they cross their arms, adopt a tough expression and put their backs together and pose for the camera at the beginning of their endeavor.
Jane and John said: “We’re going to spend $5,000 and add 2 bedrooms and a new fireplace and totally renovate and expand the kitchen and also add a new master bath, and we’ll be done in 3 weeks.  And we will sell the renovated house 24 hours later for $100,000 profit!”

Those of us with any experience in architecture, construction and real estate know what is coming.

(click here to go to Home Architects Contact form–> Contact Us )

Starting the DIY Project

A dilapidated "fixer-upper" of the sort that "house flippers" love to buy at a discount, repair and improve, then hopefully sell for a profit.

Jane & John Jones throw on their old CalTech sweatshirts and bluejeans and neat white Nike running shoes and commence working and shortly discover that construction is hard, sweaty, dirty work.  And expensive.  They soon realize how much they do Not know about construction, including roofing, plumbing, electrical, carpentry, cabinetry, tile, heavy framing, installing walls, doors, windows, and a host of other items.  So, Jane & John end up hiring “Sid the Contractor” (or Sam or Ben…) and then Sid the contractor does the tasks requested, but he actually needs to be paid!  So there goes several thousand more dollars out of John and Jane’s meager project budget, and while the real contractors are tearing things apart, they discover severe termite damage, foundation cracks, damaged and improper plumbing, mold, rotten roofing and more problems.

Jane & John got angry at the contractor, but he simply shrugged his shoulders and told them: “Hey, neither you nor I knew anything about what was under the surface of the walls, roofs and foundations.  You didn’t pay me to conduct an analysis, you just said: “Get to work,” and I did exactly what you asked me to do.  The fact that these problems were hiding here to bite you in the butt have nothing to do with me.  This is your house.  You own it; you are fixing it; that’s on you.”

These are real-world eventualities that require planning and budgeting for unseen circumstances (called contingencies) and most naïve lay people (aka: Jane & John Jones) don’t plan on such things, as a matter of fact, most citizens like Jane & John actually think that they are going to get the least expensive labor and material prices in the history of the Universe just for their project because they are special and people will want to give them super deals because they are “tough negotiators.”

Realities of Construction Costs

Image courtesy of Wills Builders.

Well, the reality is that even though many contractors have not been terribly busy lately, when Sid the contractor (and others like him) do work they do need to make a profit, so that they can feed their families and their employees and subcontractors, so, no, most people will not be experiencing huge discounts, nor will contractors be “eating” existing problems hiding there in existing homes, fixing them for free, just so people like Jane & John will like them.  “Like-Schmike,” said Sid the Contractor, “I need to make some money so I can pay my own bills and bring home a pizza to my wife and kids tonight.”
Contractors these days will give you reasonable prices, yes, but not for free and not at a rate that makes the builder lose money.  He simply cannot afford to.  Every job has to make money or he and his people do not eat.  They have no magic slush fund that will absorb the mistakes and oversights of inexperienced DIY’ers like John & Jane.

Well, needless to say, the nice young couple (Jane & John) doesn’t look so nice anymore (hair frayed, sweatshirts soiled, sweat rings around the armpits, dark circles under their eyes, Nikes gashed and stained ) and in 6 months instead of 3 weeks, their renovation project drags to a rough close, with a several unfinished edges.  Instead of spending $5,000 they have spent $80,000.  They believe that they can simply tack on that extra money to the asking price.

(click here to go to residential design project index–> Project Index )

Listen to the Real Estate Brokers

The real estate brokers checking out the improved house advise that they sell the house for a lower price than Jane & John want to recoup for their now inflated investment. “Oh, but we gotta have $250,000!” shouted Jane, we have personal goals!”  And she believes that the louder she shouts this, the more it will happen.

The property is put up for sale, as a FSBO (For Sale By Owner), with Jane & John thinking that they can sell it themselves and save the realtor’s fee.  Hah!  How smart!  Why doesn’t everyone do it this way?  “And we will get the extra money we need!,” said Jane, “Hey, why don’t we ask even more?  Thinking that she can simply ask for whatever she wants and she will get it.  ” That will give us some extra profit so that we can buy two more future fixer-uppers!”  Knowing that they are the smartest “flippers” in the World, Jane & John go out for a nice, big, expensive steak and lobster dinner at the local Red Lobster and leave a $40 tip.  “Hey,” said John, “we can afford it!  We’re selling a house tomorrow!”  On the way home, they pull through the local BMW dealership and begin picking out Beemers of their favorite colors.  John looks at the “900″ series, knowing that he will be a great flipper success story and that he needs the proper image in which to swagger around from flip to flip project, barking orders at armies of  “Sids.”

The Open House

diy home project storyOn open house day, Jane & John are holding cups of Starbuck’s carmel latte cha-chas and have big smiles, welcoming in about 10 to 20 people to see their handiwork.  Jane & John tingle with excitement, already spending their profits in their minds on jewelry, new cars (2 or 3), and of course, on their next fixer-upper a few miles away.  The interested crowd wanders through the renovated house, thinking at first, that things look much improved. “Oooo, wood flooring,” they gush, as they walk through the living room.   John smirks and whispers to Jane “Actually it’s Pergo…”  They clink their Styrofoam cups together and take healthy swigs, washing down their self-satisfaction.

Then the would-be buyers notice that the master shower has been placed outside of the master suite and down the hall, into an old closet.  Jane & John had complained that they didn’t want to spend money on an architect to help them organize things better, because, “no one would notice.”  The crowd of onlookers scowl at this closet shower, and also notice that there are no faucet handles on the 2nd bathroom tub yet.

And the kitchen counters were changed out with a plastic material, that Jane personally preferred, although their renovated house is located in a community known for granite as being the norm for nicer residential properties, as counseled by the realtor who sold them this house.  But Jane & John felt that their own personal tastes would guide them well; after all, they know what people like: exactly what They like!  Of course!

And Jane & John decided on keeping a non-load-bearing partition that separated the dining room on the entry side of the house, away from the Kitchen and away from the living room.
There is no “great room”, perhaps not even a “good” room, said Sally, one of the would-be buyers to her friend, Amanda.
They and the other house shoppers file out, and in only about 15 minutes.

No offers are made.

The sound of crickets is heard.

Jane & John pitch their leftover Starbuck lattes into a trashcan and adopt grim expressions.  This did not go the way they had imagined…

Time Goes By

Weeks and then months drag by.  Mortgage payments are made each month, further diminishing hoped-for profits.  No one is even looking at Jane and John’s renovated house, and now the home has been on the market for 4 weeks.
6 weeks.
12 weeks.
36 weeks.

An Offer

Finally, there is an offer!  There was a message from a Betty & Joe, on Jane & John’s answering machine asking them to call to hear their offer.  “Hallelujah!”  shouted John, jabbing the air with karate punches, eager to hear how much money they were going to make on their first shrewd “flip.” He grabbed Jane around her waist and pulled her up off her feet, both of them smiling widely.

Jane hurriedly punched in the phone number for the buyers.  She asked for Betty & Joe.  It was Joe on the phone.  Joe quickly informed Jane that their offer was for $25,000 Less than Jane & John had Originally paid for the house, before they dumped their inexpertise and questionable choices into it.  Jane’s smile slid down her face.  Jane quickly whispered the low offer amount to John, while covering the receiver.  John shook his head violently.  In a shaking voice, Jane told Joe that his offer was an insult and that no, they would not accept that, and hung up on him.  John stared down at the floor.

4 weeks later, Jane & John panicked and called Joe & Betty, the other couple who had made the lowball offer.  Betty answered.  John hastily said that they had been thinking about their offer and that they will accept that, just to stop the financial bleeding, but that the buyers will have to pay them extra for their mortgage payments they have had to make while they waited for an offer.

Betty sharply reminded John how rude his wife had been to her husband and then Betty hung up on John.  John and Jane, tears in their eyes, wondered what to do.

Suddenly their phone rang.  It was Joe.  Outraged at the audacity of Jane & John’s suggestion regarding paying for their back mortgage payments, Joe declared that they would buy Jane & John’s house, but that their offer was now even lower than before:  $40,000 less than Jane & John had paid for their unique fixer-upper, and nothing else, and that the offer was good for 60 minutes or they will walk, this time, for good.  With no real estate broker to insulate the hot tempers between buyer and seller, or to negotiate in good faith, Jane and John lost a bundle.

The Final Deal

Jane & John shed more tears and sold their house at a huge loss, disillusioned that everybody in the World didn’t love their choice of salmon-colored house paint with which John had coated the exterior of the house, as well as her floral foil wallpaper with which Jane had wrapped the interior.  Also, the would-be buyers did not appreciate that Jane & John hadn’t bothered to clean up the front yard (as recommended by the initial real estate broker who had sold them this unique fixer-upper in the first place).

Learning from Jane & John’s Mistakes: 5 Important Things

WE DO NOT WANT THE ABOVE TO HAPPEN TO YOU!  We want your story to be a happen one.

Okay: what can we learn from this tale of woe and renovations?

1.    ENGAGE A REAL ESTATE BROKER: hire a real estate broker first.  They are

diy project story

Merry Soellner, Real Estate Broker.

worth their weight in gold.  Follow their advice and get your property listed immediately when it is ready, for a reasonable price so that it will move quickly.  A real estate broker lists your property on the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) and that is the most powerful tool that they have.  If you do not have your property listed with a broker, it will Not be on the MLS and you may never find a buyer.  Other brokers often sell each other’s listings gladly, because the buyers can come from any of them.  You widen your net, rather than shrinking it.  Also, you do Not want to directly communicate buyer-to-seller!  This is an emotional and financially-charged situation, with tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars on the table, and cooler heads prevail.  Only your broker should directly negotiate with the other broker, fielding the offers and counter offers.  And listen to your real estate broker’s advice concerning a realistic price for a renovated house BEFORE you invest in renovating or even buying the “fixer-upper.”  If you want to sell swiftly, your broker may very well recommend that you sell the renovated home for slightly less than other actual Comparable actual recent sales in that neighborhood.  They will conduct a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) for you, if you ask, and this should guide you in what might be realistic in terms of an actual sales price.  Do NOT let your enthusiasm for your eagerness to be a success cloud your judgment on the first (or any) real estate deal.  And do Not over-invest in things that you might happen to prefer but will not bring you another cent.

2.    HAVE THE “FIXER-UPPER” HOME INSPECTED BY A STATE-LICENSED HOME INSPECTOR: before you buy the wonderful home that is going to make you so much money, make sure that it is not a money-trap.  A professional home inspector will take several hours to crawl all around this house, taking notes, checking thousands of points on checklists of all sorts of possible issues, taking moisture readings, taking laser temperatures of heating and air-conditioning grilles and vents, checking the operation of plumbing and electrical items, take digital photos and provide you with a detailed annotated report, often over 35+ pages long, describing their findings and informing you of these situations before you buy.

3.    HIRE A REAL, LICENSED ARCHITECT: if you are doing anything

Rand Soellner Architect

Rand Soellner Architect designs new custom houses and renovations all over the USA and the World.

substantial, engage an architect.  You would be amazed and how much help they can be, even for minimally budgeted projects.  They can help you identify non-load bearing walls and other elements that can be changed out easily or not and direct your energies accordingly.  Also, architects have build-in creativity to arrive at creative solutions that could not only look great, but help save you money.  They will also guide you in the right direction to help you make improvements that sell.  Only a licensed, real architect is qualified to help you understand all of your options.

4.    HIRE A LICENSED CONTRACTOR: not Bob and 2 guys in a pickup truck.  You could be left holding the bag (and the house) unless you have your improvements constructed properly and in compliance with building codes.

5.    HAVE REALISTIC BUDGETS, SCOPE OF IMPROVEMENTS, TIME SCHEDULE AND PROFIT MARGINS: use the 4 people above as your brain trust to help you obtain realistic information upon which to base sound judgments. Do not begin your project until you have firm numbers for everything, with specific time schedules.  Create an Excel spreadsheet and live by it from Day 1, to monitor & manage your costs and time.

(Click here to see reasons for an architect to design your house –> Reasons for Architect )

tags: custom residential, cashiers real estate for sale, highlands, hendersonville, las vegas, aspen, telluride, boulder, chicago, new york, asheville

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A Story About Custom House Design

March 20th, 2012

This is a story about Ann and Roger Baxter and their desire to have their custom dream house designed and built on their beautiful land in Bowerton,  Indiappalacchia, USA.  Names and locations have been changed to protect the privacy of people.

Ann and Roger are in their late 50s and are planning for retirement.  They have planned well.  They have had their ups and downs, but have come out okay.  Especially now that the economy is starting to return to an even keel, the Baxters feel that they should plan to have a wonderful place in which to live on that country land that they purchased several years ago.

It is a panoramic ridgeline composed of 15 acres from the road down into the valley below.  Granite mountains are visible in a layered view, one offset behind the other, well into the blue haze in the distance.  Tall pine trees grace the sloping land, always green and gorgeous.  Boulders the size of houses dot the hillsides.  Turkey and deer graze on the fertile forest floor.  What a place in which to enjoy their well-deserved later years!

ONLINE PLAN SEARCHING

Ann was looking online and found a few “home design” companies that had several different premade sets of “plans.”  Roger liked to save a buck, so he thought that was the way to go.  He noticed that these were companies not indicating any licensed professionals on staff, like an architect.  “Well, “he figured, “What does it matter?”
So Ann bought a premade design, over the Internet, using her MasterCard, then waited.  Several days later, a cardboard tube arrived and inside she found the drawings.  She pulled them out with great anticipation.  She unrolled them and spread them out on the kitchen island counter with a big smile.  She started looking at the large, to-scale blueprints.  Gradually, her smile began to fade.  She immediately noticed several things that were not to her liking.  For instance, the kitchen did not have any windows, and was pushed off to the side, was not as large as she wanted, and was not close enough to the main Living Room area.

And the Master Bedroom faced the front (or entry) side of the house, which was not what she wanted at all, and the Master Bathroom faced a neighbor’s lot, and the garage was rather cramped.  Roger thought that it would be a tight fit there for both of their cars and that they would surely “ding” each other’s doors.  And the elevations, now more visible at this larger scale, looked rather cheap and did not have all the stone that Roger had wanted, and none of the timber beams he wanted in his retirement house, or roof gable features.  And the basement was an actual full basement with no windows.  Roger had wanted a walkout basement with a rear facing patio and wall of windows and doors.  The design they were looking at was not created for land with a slope as great as on their acreage.

SOMETIMES A DEAL IS NOT WHAT IT SEEMS

Ann sat back and sighed.  “Well, I guess I just wasted some of our money on a design that we don’t really like…”
Roger drank a sip of his coffee, set his cup down next to the unrolled blueprints, and started to realize that perhaps ready-made designs were not what he had believed.
He said to Ann: “I guess we will not be able to find the exact home design we want in a premade configuration that satisfies all of our wishes.”
“Hmmmphf,” grumped Ann, crossing her arms and taking a sip of her iced tea.  Water condensed on the outside of her tall glass and trickled down onto the blueprints.  She didn’t really care.  She realized that her purchase was worthless.

What Ann & Roger just experienced is what many shoppers of existing plans experience: they have a very difficult time finding the exact design that meets their requirements, their land topography and their desires.

Roger thought for a few moments, then said: “Maybe we need to think about finding an architect to design a house meeting our specific needs and tuned to our property.”

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(click here to go to Home Architects Contact form–> Contact Us )

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TOMMORROW’S ANOTHER DAY

So, Ann got online again the next day, a Saturday, and looked again.  Instead of simply typing “Home Designs” into her browser, she typed in: “Home Architects.”
The first choice of the organic search options (after paid-for ads which she quite rightly ignored) listed: www.HomeArchitects.com .

This looked promising; the #1 listing of an architect who designs houses.  Ann clicked on the Google listing and up came the website… HomeArchitects.com
And lo and behold, it was the company of a residential architect.  Not just “residential designers,” but an actual licensed architect who specialized in the design of houses.   Ann looked at the homepage and was pleased to see that this company created custom residential designs, tuned to client lifestyles and client sites.

Still in his bathrobe and slippers, Roger shuffled up behind Ann, nuzzled her neck, then slurped on his ever-present cup of coffee.  “Watcha got there?’ he asked, looking over her shoulder at the residential architecture.

“Well” said Ann, “This appears to be what you asked for: the website of a company that has a licensed real architect who creates custom houses for his clients.”  She and Roger looked for about a half an hour on this website, clicking from page to page, enjoying various topics of interest to them, like how they could save hundreds of dollars each year by allowing this architect to specify more efficient insulation levels and higher efficiency lighting.  They realized that this was a very large website, totally focused on what they were seeking: professionals designing houses for custom client needs.  They realized that the website had over 400 pages of informative content, covering just about anything they might want to know about the programming, design and construction of houses.

Ann clicked the “Contact Us” menu choice at the top of the tool bar on the right side of every page of this website and up popped a simple, short form.  Ann typed in what she was looking for and clicked Send.  She sat back, expecting she would probably receive an answer maybe in a few days, maybe never. But suddenly her phone rang.  She picked it up and answered: “Hello?”

She was greatly surprised to discover that it was the architect whom she had just sent a form to.  And on a Saturday morning!

Roger looked at the website as Ann talked to the architect, a fellow named Rand Soellner.  Roger saw that this architect claimed to be available to his clients from 9AM through 9PM, 365 days a year.
“I guess he does what he says he will do,” said Roger.

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(click here to go to residential design project index–> Project Index )

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THE REAL DEAL

Needless to say, Roger and Ann Baxter engaged the residential architect to create their custom house, which he did, and they were very pleased and proud of the design.  It was built on their property and fit it perfectly.  The large glass doors and windows captured their views; and closets and other solid elements blocked other people’s ability to see within their house from surrounding roads and neighboring properties.  There was a very efficient use of space, with artistic results, suiting their requests.

GETTING WHAT THEY WANTED

The kitchen was everything Ann wanted, spacious and tall, with a large island, so that 8 guests and relatives could sit outside the Kitchen, but along the buffet side of the island, chatting with her as she prepared her meals.  And because the architect planned the aisles wider than in most kitchens, little Suzan and Jimmy could help clean up afterward, because there were 2 sinks and lots of space in which to move without bumping into each other.

And the utility bills were half of what they used to be in their previous house, thank to the architect’s energy efficiency specifications and higher levels of insulation.

Roger especially enjoyed the man-sized fireplace and the gas ignition feature, so that he could have wood fires during cold winter nights, and not have to be a Boy Scout to get the wood burning.  And the Summer Kitchen on the Outdoor Living Room had a bar and gas grill, like he had always wanted!

And Ann was delighted to enjoy having three floor to ceiling “shoe stacker” shelving units in the “Hers” side of the Master walk-in closet, to accommodate all of her sneakers, heels and sandals right where she wanted them.

There were large windows over the whirlpool tub, looking off at a private garden view.  And the master shower could fit both Ann and Roger with plenty of room to spare, because they got ready in the mornings at the same time.  No bumping elbows in there!  Lots of other features pleased them and every day they noticed something else that made them happy to have had a design custom made to their every wish.

THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT

One day, years later, it was Roger’s 60th birthday and the house was full of family and friends for a party.  Many relatives remained in the house that night, as the architect had planned for the guest rooms for the adults and a bunk room for the grandkids that Ann and Roger had requested, now, so long ago.  The wind started to blow fiercely outside.  Roger gave that no thought, he knew his house was built to resist high winds.  They heard cracking sounds in the woods outside but gradually fell asleep.

Long about 2AM, Ann felt a subsonic rumble, then the house shook.  Earthquake.   They both rolled out of bed, put on their bathrobes and slippers and opened their exterior glass doors, and listened.  It was dark, and they couldn’t see anything outside, but they heard sirens and burglar alarms from near and far.  The wind had stopped, but this was something else.

“Nothing to do right now,” said Roger, and they went back to bed, imagining that it was a minor tremor.

The next morning, as dawn was breaking, they got out of bed, put on their bathrobes again, and walked out on their Sleeping Porch, outside of their bedroom.  To their astonishment, many of the trees in the woods had fallen over from high winds, and the homes all around them were piles of rubble: total collapse.  And yet their house was intact.  How could this be?

County paramedics were everywhere on the neighboring properties, searching for survivors and those not so lucky.

Then Ann remembered their architect mentioning that residential building codes did not require that houses be built to resist seismic loads below a certain level, or higher winds beyond a certain speed, but that the architect felt it was important to provide some sort of additional capability in this regard, beyond “code minimums”.  Specifically, he had talked about “hold downs”, shear walls and other steel reinforcing and strapping, that their builder had grumbled about installing.  However, Roger had insisted that the architect’s documents be followed.  Ann and Roger walked into their kitchen and found their relatives joining them there, wondrous that they had survived the night, and thankful that they had a house designed that was strong, no matter what minimum code and cost cutting carpenters may have said.

Roger said, “thank heavens we had a real architect design our house…”  He looked appreciatively at the many family members coming into the kitchen from downstairs, swallowed, thinking about what could have happened, then turned around and walked to the bedroom.  He put on his bluejeans, an old Purdue sweatshirt and his running shoes, then walked outside toward the neighbors on the right, the Levy’s.  They were friends and he hoped he could lend a hand in helping the medics find them in the rubble.

Contact real house architects–>  Contact Us

(Click here to see reasons for an architect to design your house –> Reasons for Architect )

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Designing: Dreams, Innovations, Solutions

March 14th, 2012

Actually, this is about more:

Designing Dreams
Designing Innovations
Designing Solutions
Designing Sustainability

and building Relationships, with our commitment and passion for your project.

Designing Dreams

Your dreams for your special house.  We are here to help you make it happen, by designing the house that you want.  Tired of sifting through dozens of floor plans in magazines, trying to imagine yourself living there, then realizing that plan doesn’t work for you and your family?  Time to ask for an architect’s help.  Have him design one just to suit your lifestyle.  Know that you have obtained a design tailored to your needs.  You know because your architect (Rand Soellner, AIA, of the HOME ARCHITECTS TM) first creates a Program that lists all of the things that you want and need for your house.  This is how a professional starts designing: by listening to what you want and documenting that in the Program.

Designing Innovations

Residential architects  will constantly find themselves having to design themselves out of challenging situations, which often results in the creation of innovations.  These innovations solve unique, and sometimes well-known functional needs.  For instance, Rand Soellner, AIA often creates Outdoor Living Rooms for his client designs.  These special outdoor spaces are in fact living spaces with special equipment, furnishings, lengths and widths to accommodate certain amounts of family members and guests at one time, and other requirements.  For instance, many people are quite surprised to find how many people might be sitting down at one time for an extended family holiday meal.  If a a couple had 3 children and each child married and had only 2 more children each, plus 2 older parents, plus just one guest for each main child that would total: 2+2+(3×2)+3=13.  Some of Rand Soellner’s client actually ask for dining space for up to 20 people at one table at one sitting.  Not many people realize how much space this takes to comfortably accommodate this many people, along with the furniture and spacial clearances necessary for easy circulation.  A house can become significantly larger due to these requirements.  Better to have an architect program these requirements into the design rather than try to cram all these people in after the fact and discover that they just don’t fit.

Designing Solutions

It is amazing how many corners an uninitiated would-be “designer” can paint themselves into trying to design a quality house for a real family.  This is why so many people seek out architects to design their houses.  It can be frustrating for a couple to try to create their own design; just try it and see how far you get.  Everything is connected to everything else.  The American Institute of Architects has called home design one of the most complex activities undertaken by architects.   Rand Soellner has designed many complex projects in his life, including many houses.  He agrees with the AIA’s assessment. Soellner said: “You have to understand structural concepts so that your framing allows for the spans you need to allow for the size of spaces your client wants, while incorporating the necessary economies to result in a reasonable cost.  And that is just one factor out of hundreds.”  In addition, there are the added requirements of HVAC (Heating, Ventilating and Air-Conditioning), plumbing, electrical, lighting, furnishings, finishes, foundations, walls (inside, outside and core requirements), water and vapor barriers, roofing, doors, windows, paint and stain, floor and ceiling finishes, site utilities such as sewage, potable water (including wells), site slopes, landscaping, driveways and vehicular circulation, aesthetic views from the street, and to neighboring properties and other considerations.  Architects must design solutions for all of these items and circumstances.

Designing Sustainability

There is a lot of buzz about sustainability these days in architectural circles.  What does it mean?  In the sense of architecture and specifically the design of a house, it means having a design created that uses  components, systems, materials and energy in a manner that can be sustained indefinitely for you and for our culture.  It is irresponsible, in these days of vanishing oil, higher energy prices and technological advances to ignore these aspects in the design of any house.

So what does this mean, specifically?  Well, for one thing, the days of incandescent lighting are over.  By 2014, they will no longer be manufactured in America, by law.  Seeing this coming, starting back several years ago, Rand Soellner Architect began specifying LED (Light Emitting Diode) lamps (light bulb technical term) and CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lamps) for all light fixtures in his projects.  This should result in perhaps 20% savings or more from the use of incandescent lamps (bulbs).   Also, Soellner specifies super insulation R-values in excess of code for only pennies on the dollar more than code minimums, achieving tremendous energy savings, especially for ceilings and attics, which the main source of heat transfer in most houses.  All of these techniques, and many more, result in a much more sustainable lifestyle for Soellner’s clients and for America and the World.  We need to have methods of sipping energy to make its sources last longer, while continuing to enjoy comfortable lifestyles.  Soellner calls this “having your cake and eating it too.”

Building Relationships

The HOME ARCHITECTS TM are all about building positive relationships with their clients to establish enduring interaction for the long term.  Soellner wants you to be comfortable with the decisions you make, knowing that you will have a quality house for decades to come.  Also, Soellner is the only architect on the planet, to our knowledge, that have a 9AM to 9PM access hotline (1-828-269-9046) 365 days a year.  Try it!  What you will find is that Rand Soellner personally answers his phone.  You will not experience the “big firm” standoff scenario that we have all had: an answering machine, then perhaps a secretary or two, then maybe a reluctant e-mail a week later from some subordinate.  Oh no: with Soellner, you receive the attention of the top person, Rand Soellner, AIA/NCARB, himself to talk with you about your project when you call, and he will be the person who personally creates your design and technical documents.  He enjoys creating projects himself and prefers to get things done right the first time, rather than correcting the work of less experienced personnel.

 

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Programming Your New House Design

February 24th, 2012

Rand Soellner Architect programs his Clients’ projects by documenting what you want, along with other information about your project.

Rand was trained in Architectural Programming by a firm in North Central Indiana that partnered with CRS, the Texas architectural company that is said to have invented Architectural Programming, initially for medical and educational facilities.  Soellner’s professors at the University of Florida College of Architecture and their Graduate School of Architecture were also heavily focused on both design and programming.  Rand’s designs now serve Clients all over the USA and the World.  He has a National practice.

The idea of architectural programming is to first research, think about and prepare information about the functional aspects of a particular type of purpose in a particular type of space that the architect will be designing.  This is no different preparing programming for your house than any other type of facility.  In fact, a house can be more complex than many other types of projects, according to the American Institute of Architects.

Programming Your New House Design

programming your house

One of Rand Soellner Architect's custom kitchens for a client project in Sevier County, Tennessee, USA. Wide distances between counters help keep this kitchen functional for several people at one time. Can you find the full-height refrigerator and full-height freezer in this photo? They have cabinet faces are at the far right and far left of the main food preparation space shown.

For instance, for a residential kitchen, you would want to have an understanding of how many people will want to use that space simultaneously and doing what.  If you wanted to have more than one person preparing food and more than one person cleaning up after a meal, you might want to seriously consider having more than one sink, as much of food preparation and cleanup require the use of potable water in a sink.  And how about the space required between opposing counter edges?  What is in your kitchen?  3 feet?  That will never work for more than one person, otherwise you are going to be colliding into other people.    And that is just the beginning.  Once you open appliance doors and cabinet drawers, there is going to be even less space in which to move.  Soellner has found that anything less than about 4′-6″ will become a problem in a residential kitchen.  In fact, he has created some kitchens with even more space between the counters, particularly when large families intend to have frequent occasions with many friends and relatives participating.

This is why, when you see one of Rand Soellner’s kitchen plans, you will also notice that all of the appliance doors are shown through their operational swing, as well as other features in the “deployed” position.  It is quite a revelation to most Clients to see how little space is left for human circulation, once all of these doors and drawers are opened, which they will be, as people in the Kitchen use them.

The Kitchen is a magnet for social human activity and Soellner calls it “The Heart of the Home.”  Whether you want people in there or not, that is where they will be.  That’s where the food is and that’s where you are, when you are preparing the food, so they are going to join you there.

But this article is intended to not just focus on Kitchens.  There are many more spaces to most houses and properly programming them is important to establishing the parameters that will result in a design that is functional and satisfying for each Client.

Just listing the spaces to be a Client’s residential project is an important step in Soellner’s programming.  Please click on this link to see more about architectural programming : –> architectural programming

And please click here if you would like to contact Rand Soellner Architect to start programming and designing your house —> Contact Us

Please let us know if you have any questions about residential programming, especially if you are looking for an architect to help you: 1 – 828 – 269 – 9046 .

tags: custom, residential design, atlanta, orlando, cashiers, highlands, aspen, telluride, jackson hole, lake tahoe, carmel, beverly hills, tacoma, chicago, paris, new york

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New 3D House Plans and BIM features

February 17th, 2012

New 3D house plans and BIM (Building Information Modeling) features are soon to be added to Rand Soellner Architect’s workflow.  The firm has conducted an exhaustive analysis of three-dimensional modeling and BIM functionality of various software packages available and is about to make a choice.

In fact, there is a final frontrunner, that won’t be announced until the acquisition is finalized.  The latest version of the software has amazing enhancements adding tremendous functionality to the architectural firm’s offered services.  The firm who makes the software has been in business for about 3 decades and is a born & bred USA company.

The new software includes several amazing features, like near-photo realistic views of the architectural design, actual manufacturer’s catalog items like light fixtures, cabinets, appliances, windows, doors and many other items.

Regarding BIM (Building Information Model data): there is a helpful near-automated bill of materials that can, with some input, create a list of the materials needed in the construction of the project, along with a nearly automated costing (assuming the individual cost inputs were accurate for the location of the project), along with the manufacturer’s ID of the make & model number.

In addition, the 3D Model allows automated extension of the foundation walls down to sloping terrain, which is highly desirable in mountainous topography.  Also, the software allows the architect to show clients built in lighting, and turn the fixtures off or on in the views presented.  Landscaping design is available, including species associated with any given climate throughout the United States, and to see the plantings when new and after several years of growth.

The idea is to give clients, the architect, and the construction contractor, a better understanding of the design so that, hopefully the client’s objectives can be better met.  Also, the architectural and engineering professions are undergoing a “quite evolution” in how they create their work, to be integrated with each other and contractors to result in a more seamless delivery.  This sharing of information is intended to help all members of the design and construction team have few surprises and better adherence to the design intent.  Hand in hand with this, the owners have the added obligation of continuing the services of the team members to allow them to continue to coordinate on the owner’s behalf.

The new software is very expensive and complicated and demanding to use.  Simply sitting down with no architectural knowledge and trying to use it is sort of like a child stepping into the cockpit of an Air Force fighter jet, having the engines started for him or her, then given the command: “okay, Fly!”  So, simply acquiring the software won’t do untrained people much good and is sure to result in aborted attempts and much frustration.  Even for skilled, licensed architects, extensive training is required.  “It’s a lot different from drawing with a pencil,” said Rand Soellner, AIA/NCARB, “Or even than drawing with the typical 2D CAD programs that we’ve been using for the last 20 years.  This requires a high level of organization.  You have to understand what you are drawing, where it is in 3-dimensional space and what it’s properties are.”  And, Soellner added, you have to know what to do when you have a problem.  You can’t just throw your hands up.  You have projects to design and document.  You have to solve the problems and create the wonderful designs and properly document them in an efficient manner.  And Soellner said that the new way of working in 3D can be exhilarating.  “It is exciting and often breathtaking to see what your design looks like, as you literally build it in virtual reality.  We are now designing with the digital equivalents of the building systems the contractor uses to physically build the project.  We assemble the buildings we design now, the way it will be built.”

Rand Soellner can be reached at: 1-828-269-9046 , and Rand@HomeArchitects.com You can also reach the firm through this Contact Us form: –> Contact Us .

This state of the art firm is ready to help you with your residential design needs.

tags: 3D residential design, BIM, custom, cashiers, chicago, atlanta, new orleans, new york, dayton, sedona, aspen, telluride, jackson hole, seattle

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