Fall 1999 Remodeling Tips   Select an Issue Spring 2002 Winter 2002 Fall 2001 Summer 2001 Spring 2001 Winter 2001 Fall 2000 Summer 2000 Spring 2000 Winter 2000 Fall 1999 Summer 1999 Spring 1999 Winter 1999 Fall 1998 Summer 1998 Spring 1998 Winter 1998 Fall 1997 Summer 1997 Spring 1997 Winter 1997 Call Now For Spring Remodeling Projects How Do You House a New Priest? Furniture Trends for the Millenium Architectural Styles: Twentieth Century Architecture Home Improvement: Treasures in the Attic Making Attic Living Comfortable Dream Home Advisor Call Now For Spring Remodeling Projects The children are back in school and the holidays are rapidly approaching. Who is thinking about remodeling projects at this time of year? Well, if you have a project in mind for the spring, you should be in touch with us now! Traditionally, people begin to take action for their spring projects after the first of the year. This year industry wide demand for the services of high quality remodelers has been so great that people have had to wait much longer than they anticipated to have their project built. This pace shows no sign of letting up, so if you were planning to call us for an addition in the spring, call now! By calling us this fall, we will be able to design your project and get it into our spring construction schedule so you can enjoy your new space next summer.   To Top How Do You House a New Priest? Last spring Coastal Builders was contacted with this dilemma. The Church of the Resurrection in Ellicott City was in need of another priest since the parish had grown so large, but there was nowhere for him to live. The parish rectory was already fully occupied and each priest needed a private bedroom, bathroom, and study. Since the rectory was not originally built as a rectory, but as a home, everyone did not have private access to their own bath and study areas. Monsignor McGovern also wanted to have a guest room for visiting priests, who at that time had nowhere to stay when visiting the parish. Several options for an addition to the rectory were explored, but we finally settled on building an addition over the existing garage. Knowing the budget for the project, we were able to design the project and come up with a solution that met both the physical requirements and the budgetary constraints. We removed the roof from the garage area that was also over the kitchen and laundry areas behind the garage. We then built the new space above the garage, kitchen, and laundry areas. The rectory now has private bed, bath, and study space for each priest as well as a guest room for visitors. This "over the garage" addition is a good solution for the lack of a good place to build an addition due to a small or oddly shaped lot. All else being equal. over the garage additions are normally less costly than traditional side or rear additions with their own foundations. We build several of these additions each year, so we are well acquainted with the necessary steps to minimize the impact on the living area while we do our work. Perhaps a similar design would be a good solution for you! “Dear John, I am grateful to you and Richard Campbell for your assistance with the parish need in providing residence for an additional associate pastor. Your advice on location of the addition over the garage blended with the structure and was a less expensive project than others had proposed. You have an excellent project manager and mechanic in Jeff Miller. All of the trades were prompt and did excellent work. Jeff arranged for all the inspections and for the moving of utilities. I thank you for working with me through the consultation process with the parish council and the facilities management division of the Archdiocese. Msgr. James O. McGovern, Pastor”   To Top Furniture Trends for the Millenium With all the talk of the Millennium on radio and television, many of us are wondering what kinds of changes the twenty-first century will bring to our lifestyle. What will our future homes look like and how will they function? In what directions will style and fashion trends lead? Forward-looking designers in the home furnishings industry aren’t waiting to find out, they are already there. Planning well in advance, they can forecast what homeowners will be selecting for their homes even before the products become available in the marketplace. 1999 has put a big emphasis on casual and comfortable design. Large scale furniture loosely covered with soft-handed fabrics emphasize the lived-in look. Textured fabrics, such as Chenille, in plaids, stripes and solids are all the rage. Pleasant neutral brown is the most popular color, with accents of sunshine yellow, maize and copper brightening up the palette. Cherry veneers on casegoods lend an elegance to the casual atmosphere. Thoroughly out-of-fashion now are the jewel tones of Hunter Green and Burgundy Red. For the year 2000 and beyond, Debra Caywood, Merchandising Manager for C.R. Laine, forecasts a moving away from the oversized furniture back to a more traditional scale, with a new focus on shape. Watch for exposed wood, fine detailing (such as the shape of the exposed feet) and embellishments, including jewelry hardware. The trend will be for a cleaner, dressier, more tailored look. Chenille will still be very strong, but is evolving into a flatter, more refined and lustrous appearance that will often be difficult to recognize as chenille. A new emphasis on sheen will again bring to popularity silks, satins, and even chintz. Fabric collages on chairs and sofas will be hot, using multiple patterns and textures in creative ways. Quilted looks will be important, especially for plain fabrics, accented with jewelry. Decorative contrasting welts fashioned from small patterned fabrics will add interest to textured plain upholstery. A second trend is for a mid century country cottage look. Vintage floral patterns in washed fabrics lend the homey, "faded" atmosphere of Grandmother’s house. Exposed wood frames in medium brown tones, black stain or in weathered country colors will reintroduce oak and ash to the scene, which have been superseded by the satiny look of cherry the last few years. A new decorative metal finish slated to appear is zinc, a gray metal that is not shiny. As prints begin to gain ground, new colors will emerge, including washed tones of sapphire blue, lacquer red, celadon and purple. Neutrals will remain popular in woven textures, but the direction will be away from taupe and off-white towards the cooler tones of gray, white and black. Taking a cue from the apparel industry, furniture fabrics will often include menswear, especially wool-suiting looks in herringbone, glenplaid, tweed and pinstripes. As you can tell from this preview of what is to come, the year 2000 promises many new and exciting directions for your home furnishings. It’s a wonderful time right now to be dreaming and planning for the future. Enjoy!   To Top Architectural Styles: Twentieth Century Architecture At the turn of the century, visionary architects began to take house design in daring new directions, away from historical traditions. American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, developed what came to be known as the Prairie style, characterized by a two story house with a low-pitched, hipped roof and widely overhanging eaves. Typically, it includes a one-story porch with massive, square porch supports. Decorative emphasis is placed on horizontal lines, mirroring Wright’s belief that a building should appear to grow naturally from it’s surroundings. During this same period the Greene brothers, California architects, promoted the Craftsman style. It spread in popularity through magazines describing what were called Bungalows. This style features low-pitched gabled roofs with wide, unenclosed overhanging eaves and exposed roof rafters. The roofs of the large one-story porches are supported by tapered square columns which frequently extend to ground level. In the ‘30s Ludwig Mies van der Rohe from Germany and Le Corbusier from France based their designs on new technology and materials. Architects influenced by their International style, designed homes with flat roofs, cantilevered projections, metal casement windows set flush with the outer wall, large floor to ceiling plate glass windows, exterior wall surfaces devoid of ornament and usually of white painted stucco. Le Corbusier’s idea that a house is a "machine for living", emphasizing function over decoration, greatly influenced American housing in the decades to come. Ranch style architecture, the dominant style in the ‘50s and ‘60s, was loosely based on Spanish Colonial design, but modified by Craftsman and Prairie style influences. Rambling, asymmetrical one-story buildings with low-pitched roofs are typical. Large picture windows are frequently placed in living areas, while ribbon windows are found in bedrooms. A multi-story modification is the Split-Level, which added a second story to the home, and then intercepted it at mid-height by a one story wing. The Contemporary style featured long, low buildings with no decorative detailing and exteriors clad in various combinations of wood, brick or stone. It was popular in the ‘60s and ‘70s for architect-designed homes. The flat-roofed variety resembles the International style, but without stucco, whereas the gabled version shows influences from Craftsman and Prairie styles, with exposed roof beams and heavy piers supporting the gables. From the ‘60s to the present, the Shed style has evolved. Its distinctive feature is the multi-directional sloping "shed" roof, as if several geometric shapes are colliding with one another. Board siding is most often applied, but brick veneer is also used. Little or no roof overhang, recessed entrances, and small windows add to the simple geometric appearance. Although many other types of homes have been introduced in the twentieth century, none have been so widely accepted as those discussed above.   To Top Home Improvement: Treasures in the Attic Not only may those old dusty boxes contain long-deceased Uncle Harry’s hidden fortune, the space around them may be a gem of cost-effective home expansion. Is the attic worth converting? Structure Does your attic look like a "spider web" of triangles? Attic conversion is not likely to be economical with such "trussed systems." Room Size Does half your attic floor space have at least 7’6" clearance? Collar ties (horizontal beams) can often be raised for more headroom. If that is insufficient, you may increase headroom by using dormers or gables. Are you counting on rooms greater than the minimum bedroom size, 7’ wide in one direction with 70 sq. ft. total? Ceiling areas below 5’ high are not counted. Ventilation/Light/Air Can every sleeping room have at least 8 sq. ft. of window or 8% of the area, whichever is greater? Are there possibilities for fire code required "second exits?" Roof windows or skylights may not qualify. Floor Support Are the girders and joists sufficiently strong and well supported to hold up the load you will be adding? Anything less than 2x8’s set 16" on center will probably need reinforcement. Roof Framing Are rafters sufficiently deep to accommodate the necessary insulation, with room for ventilation between insulation and the roof deck? Plumbing/Heating/Electrical Are systems of water supply and waste disposal adequate to handle additional demands? Access Is there a convenient route for a stairway to the attic? Consider both down stairs and upstairs space! Normal requirements are 3’ x 10’ for a straight staircase. For your final "go" / "no go" decision, consult your contractor.   To Top Making Attic Living Comfortable Without considering comfort during an attic renovation, you may merely be transforming your attic from a low-cost into high-cost unlivable, wasted space. Normally, the unfinished attic provides a barrier between the living areas of a house and the merciless heat of a hot sun or the raw penetration of chilling winds. This barrier must be maintained in a renovated attic. For comfort, an adequate amount of insulation in necessary. Don’t skimp on the amounts recommended by the Department of Energy. Not only will you conserve energy, but your new rooms will be better able to maintain an even, comfortable temperature. Equally important is the proper installation of the insulation. A vapor barrier on the living area side of the insulation must be installed to prevent the absorption of moisture from the room. Ventilation through adequate air channels between the insulation and the roof decking must be provided to prevent condensation of water from outside on the insulation and to move hot air up and out of the house. Properly installed, insulation will maintain its effectiveness for many years. Heating and cooling systems are sized to meet the needs at the time they are installed. Frequently adding attic living space demands additional heating or cooling capabilities. A suggestion at this point is to add "zoned climate control," where the attic environment is maintained by an entirely separate system. Not only does this provide the opportunity to use new, energy efficient units, but the climate can also be maintained to meet the needs or tastes of the individuals using the attic. Separate systems also provide a life-saving back-up if the other system were to fail during excessively hot or cold weather.   To Top Dream Home Advisor You’ve dreamed about it for months, and finally you are ready to take the plunge. But every time you pick up the phone, you get the jitters. This is your first time ever dealing with a contractor and you’re not sure how to begin. There are questions you should be asking, but you aren’t sure what they are. Relax. "Situations like this come up all the time," says Ginger Cook, of Dream Home Advisor. Cook, who teaches classes at Johnson County Community College in Shawnee Mission, Kansas, is a homebuilding and remodeling consumer guide. Her purpose is to bridge the communication gap between contractor and customers through education. Cook likes to meet with people before the remodeling or building process begins. She puts them at ease and gives them tips for making the process go smoothly. Contractors appreciate Cook’s efforts. Her favorite quote from a grateful contractor, "Sometimes customers don’t realize we want to enjoy the process, also. We want headaches kept to a minimum." Some of her tips for good customer/contractor communication: 1. Do your homework ahead of time by checking out books and magazines or surfing the net for ideas. Know your priorities and how much you are willing to spend. 2. Interview your contractor and make sure you are comfortable with his or her communication style. Is this someone you will enjoy working with? 3. Ask for references and when you call them, have your list of questions ready. 4. Get everything in writing so you know exactly what you are getting (or not getting) for your money. Make sure any changes are also documented. 5. Carry a beeper during working hours so your contractor can reach you at all times. 6. Use a polaroid camera to take shots of areas you wish to discuss with your contractor during meetings. 7. Be realistic in your expectations. Try to find a common ground with your contractor when problems arise. 8. Avoid frequent and unnecessary phone calls to your contractor. Cook’s final work of advice always is, have fun. "Try to give yourself enough time to do the research and really think it through," she emphasizes. "The more prepared you are, the more positive your experience will be." © 2003 Coastal Builders, Inc.