penciljazz

LVL Lumber : Laminated Veneer Lumber

pencilman — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 19:32:49 +0000

LVL Lumber is used in many places throughout a house as beams and headers. I will not explain how and where in this blog. It is my job to use them correctly when I design your house. The following is a good description of an LVL and what to expect for appearance and characteristics if your house requires them.

Thickness up to 3 1/2″, depths up to 24″

GP Lam LVL is available in thicknesses of 1-3/4″ and 3-1/2″.
Choose from standard depths of 9-1/4″, 9-1/2″, 11-1/4″, 11-7/8″, 14″, 16″, and 18″.
20″, 22″, and 24″ depths are available by special order.
Multiple pieces of GP Lam LVL can be assembled for greater thicknesses that can carry even heavier loads across even longer spans.

Lengths up to 60′

GP Lam LVL comes in standard lengths of 24′, 28′, 32′, 36′, 40′, 44′ and 48′.
Lengths to 60′ are available by special order.

GP Lam LVL outperforms conventional lumber

High design values for bending, stiffness and shear strength
High strength-to-weight ratio - more than 50 stronger than solid sawn products
Resists shrinking, warping, splitting and checking
FiberGuard® sealant for protection from moisture damage
Ordinary nail assembly - installs as easily as ordinary lumber
No defects to cut out and less waste on the job

The link to the manufacturer:

http://www.gp.com/build/product.aspx?pid=1392

Energy Conservation : The First Step

pencilman — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 18:24:38 +0000

It is my opinion that the most cost efficient and practical clean energy puchase for you here in my region is to put a photovoltaic solar panel on the south roof, and wire that electricity back to the power company for credit. This is called a “grid-tied PV solar” system. I know the best installer in the state for this job.

Wind is a terrific source of energy, but not as much in the case of wooded lots. You’d need at least a 150 foot tower, (tough to get approved lakeside) and a study of the wind patterns over the course of the year above your land. Then there is the problem of icing. Geothermal might not ammortize well for you. It can only offset your heating needs by an unpredictable percentage and does nothing for offsetting electricity.

Energy conservation is the best strategy that offers, by far, the greatest cost savings and positive environmental impact and the lightest investment. Conservation will ensure that you get the most for your money when purchasing a clean energy supplimentary system. One cannot always accomodate for this entire checklist, but it is best to try to do most of them.

Energy Conservation Strategy Checklist

·    flourescent light bulbs througout the house
·    low comsumption appliances approved by Energy-Star or better.
·    an exterior wall insulated to a continuous R-25 or better
·    roof and attic combined insulation of R-35 or better
·    insulate well around receptacles, doors, windows, and plumbing exits
·    insulation around rim joists and sometimes the ceiling of the basement
·    install an insulating blanket around your water heating tank and hot water pipes
·    do not exceed 10 or 12 percent of glass area to floor area in your house
·    75 percent of the glass should face the sun some time during the day
·    when possible, install rigid foam insulation underground against the foundation wall
·    purchase the heating furnace with the highest efficiency rating
·    install insulated cellular shades or insulated curtains at most windows and close them at night
·    always shut off all lights and fans that are not being directly used at the time.
·    don’t let appliances or standby lights stay on all night when not being used
·    if you are a little hot, take off some clothes and get over it
·    if you are a little cold, wear a sweater or get some exercise
·    when you can get away without an electrical appliance, don’t buy it

Roof Rafter Vent: Maximum Circulation

pencilman — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:51:36 +0000

This is a clever, state of the art, solution for venting the roof rafters. It is a whole system carefully thought out and tested and well worth installing. The beauty of this idea is that it doubles as excellent insulation that will save you thousands in heating or air conditioning costs. It provides cross ventilation between rafters and around openings and seals that air from the rest of the rafter bays until it reaches the ridge vent. In addition, the components are made from recycled material. The best ideas are so simple. The website needs work, but all the information is there if you read it through. It is a much better idea than the flimsy foam solution most architects are using right now. Here is the link to Tom’s website, and a few photos of the products involved in the system.

Click Here : Corwin Industries Roof Rafter Ventilation & Insulation System

Metal Shingle Roofing: Forever?

pencilman — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 02:41:25 +0000

Please do not mistake this for a recommendation because I haven’t tried the following roofing product. However, it does appear at first glance to be an interesting solution to some situations. It looks a little bit plastic to me, but I might get used to it if it’s longevity added value to my home and peace of mind. I bet it’s tested for hurricanes and the snow slides off well. The point here is that you can have metal and have shingles at the same time.

Interlock Roofing

Termite Shields: Ant Infestation Prevention

pencilman — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:27:19 +0000

I will admit, it is curiously difficult to find a building materials supplier in Maine who has any idea what a Termit Shield looks like, or a builder who ever installs them. Mainers are under the impression that they are unecessary due to the impression that termites seldom appear in Maine. Well that will change as they migrate north with population growth. However, we already have a severe problem in Maine with ants infesting homes and eating the wood frame of the house. What is traditionally called a “termite shield” will also work for ants. If you do not install one in your house, you are making a serious mistake. I found two companies online who supply termite shields. Print them and bring them to your builder or supplier and tell them you want these on your home. They are installed by laying them along the top of the foundation wall, under the sills. Here are links to their PDF brochures.

http://penciljazz.com/blogpdf/Flamco_termiteshield.pdf

http://penciljazz.com/blogpdf/Union_termiteshield.pdf

Solar Energy System: How it Works

pencilman — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 21:08:52 +0000

Without going deeply into the electronic technical details, here is a diagram of the way the system components are hooked up. Ask your favorite solar system installer for his recommendations on particular manufacturers. The basic setup is really quite simple.

More describing the system concept.

Appliances: The Green Test

pencilman — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 19:32:28 +0000

Okay, it is difficult to achieve total green-ness in all appliances. The realistic goal is simple - minimum consumption of energy, adequate performance, and maximum longevity. The best buy is often different every year. I can’t keep up any more. But the folks who assemble this website, make an effort to give everyone a nice starting point.

EvergyStar Appliance List

If you find it here on EnergyStar.Gov, it is probably a good candidate for at least two out of three tests. It is up to you to research the reviews and statistics for the products individually and make the purchse that agrees with you. You could check it out on Consumer Reports, or Epinions.com.

Consumer Reports

Epinions.com

Construction Cost: The Underlying Factors

pencilman — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 14:55:57 +0000

The fastest way to determine the cost of construction on a new home is to ask a local general contractor for the latest average cost per square foot of finish floor area. It won’t be accurate, but it is a good starting point. Two years ago, in my region, the answer was $150 per SF for a small, medium quality home, and an average of about $300 to $500 per SF for somewhat larger homes which tended to call for higher quaility as well. It has risen substantially since then, and it will be different in every region depending upon the availability of certain materials, how much shipping is required, the geological conditions on the land, the cost of living for the builders, and a variety of other factors. Also, one cannot calculate the cost of construction purely based upon the square footage of the floor area. That number is very easily shattered by a simple change such as complicated site preparation, fancy floors, or high end windows, or greater attention to insulation or heating techniques that require state of the art components.

Instead of relying upon square footage to tell me if I have exceeded your budget, I have to make regular overall assessments as I proceed with the planning. Then if you say “granite countertops” and “touch sensitive sink faucet fixtures” then I am going to look around for something else to slice off of the house to make that affordable. It’s a balancing act. If you are wealthy, this topic will seldom arise because luxury will trump cost in most cases. But most people have a limited budget. My obsession has always been to meet that budget the best I can. Then again, many people don’t build the house until 2 years after I design it. When that happens, some bets are off. There is never a better time to build a house than right now. Waiting always costs more. I don’t like to seem pessimistic, but I have never seen prices go down in the 30 years I have been in architecture. They slow down, but they don’t go down.

Lighting Fixtures: The Installed Type

pencilman — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 14:13:14 +0000

I don’t get involved much in interior decorating, so I don’t care what kind of table lamps you buy. My job does involve including on the plans for the contractors what kind of installed lighting fixtures will require electrical boxes, mountings, and installed fixtures. There are a staggering number of good website catalogs for shopping for lighting fixture styles. You can shop for them now and specify them for the plan, or we can specify only the type of fixture on the plan, and you shop locally when you are ready to attached them. For the architectural planning, I need to know the locations of the fixtures, and whether they are recessed, flush, semi-flush, wall-mounted, tracks, pendents, sconces, or chandeliers.

Here are some nice lighting catalogs for you. Have fun shopping.

http://www.lightinguniverse.com/

http://lightingbygregory.com/index.html

http://www.lampsplus.com/

http://www.kichler.com/

http://lightingfixtures.com/index.asp

In all cases, I recommend using flourescent or LED bulbs in the lights, but not flourescent fixtures, which tend to be stark and commercial in appearence. Remember, if you want to use LED bulbs, which last forever, and hardly burn any electricity, you will want to add a few extra fixtures here and there to compensate for the lower brightness of LED lighting.

Stairs: A Strategy

pencilman — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 10:00:25 +0000

Homes between 500 SF and 2500 SF are designed to a large degree around the stairs. The reason for this is that the stairs tend to dictate much of the circulation pattern in the floor plan, on both floors. If I place the stairs in the wrong place, it seems impossible to find a room plan that works well. A lot of space can be wasted if it is placed poorly.

A linear stair case on a 9 foot climb extends about 11 feet, but it requires a landing which extends that to 14 feet. Then it requires a 14 foot hallway to walk from the top of one flight to the bottom of the next. This hallway is the wasted space. So this 8ft x 14ft space uses 112 square feet.

The switchback stair case, or the switchback with a winder, will only require 84 square feet, saving 28 SF over the Linear stair. You still need the landings, but you don’t need the hallway. There are three walls to the switchback stair that can all be in rooms being useful. If you add the winder at the turn, the switchback will only require 76 SF. These are best used in very small homes when every inch counts.

A “spiral” staircase is usually a grand and decorative object built on the site with extra craftsmanship. Most people use the word “spiral” to refer to a “circular” staircase, and could also be called a helix, which is usually prefabricated in a metal shop and then shipped and installed on the site. The national building codes do not permit a metal “circular” staircase to be a primary staircase, unless it is 36 inches wide and the railing ballasters are no greater than 4 inches apart. This is large and rare.

In larger homes, when space is not an issue, any staircase style can usually be designed to fit well.