Hewn and Hammered

Flesher + Foster Architecture: Pacific Grove remodel

Daniel Gregory's article, excerpted Sunset magazine (visit the site for the full article and a photo tour & more):

There it sat — a forlorn and decaying stucco-and-shingle house with a sagging roof and disintegrating entry porch. That’s what Polly Moore saw on her hunt for a home in Pacific Grove, California.

But Moore sensed potential: The house had good bones, a great location on Monterey Bay, and most intriguing of all — the 1914 structure was designed by Julia Morgan, the architect of San Simeon’s Hearst Castle. With the help of architect Gretchen Flesher, Moore and her husband, Stuart Builder, looked past the disrepair to find a one-of-a-kind Craftsman-style treasure well worth restoring.

Bringing back the home’s original beauty, however, required a long list of projects: building a new entry porch; strengthening the roof; resheathing the exterior; replacing the 90-year-old plumbing and electrical systems; and updating the bathrooms.

Flesher + Foster, the firm hired to do the majority of the work on this project, has a long history of historically-accurate remodels and even some conservation work. Unfortunately - and for no good reason - their website doesn't do more than give a quick slideshow of a few of their more impressive projects. Too bad!

photograph by Thomas J. Story, from Sunset magazine

new windows not all they're cracked up to be

The Sacramento Bee, full of ads for new homes, window replacements and other signifiers of the area's sprawling suburbs, recently ran this article urging homeowners to keep old windows and work with existing ventilation. Visit the Bee itself to read the whole story.

Matthew Piner's handsomely restored Victorian blends old-world charm and state-of-the-art energy efficiency. The 1903 home, which sits on Capitol Avenue among the so-called M Street mansions, has its original double-hung windows with subtle imperfections such as wavy glass, spirals and bull's-eyes. Instead of ripping out and replacing the windows, Piner weatherstripped them with bronze springs so they would seal tightly, boosting efficiency.

"There's an epidemic of replacing windows going on in Sacramento," said Kathleen Green, a preservationist and member of the Sacramento Old City Association. The group will host a round table Saturday to highlight fruitful energy-saving fixes that preserve a home's distinct and historic features.

Green said replacing old windows with vinyl ones may not reap energy savings and could decrease the value of an older dwelling.

Piner, an architect and owner of Piner Works Design Build Group, said many Sacramento Victorians and bungalows were built with ventilation to take advantage of the Delta breeze.

In his home, transom windows above doors, a feature of many old homes that predate air conditioning, offer an escape hatch for warm air and help air movement.

bungalow remodels - in pictures

As regular readers know, I'm a Flickr junkie - and I proselytize regularly about what a good idea resource it is. The past month brings many dozens of new remodel projects (note that I can only search by tags, and only 1/20th of the photos on Flickr are tagged, so a little browsing may find you plenty more) to the photo-sharing site:

• Dawn & Jeremy Peterson continue to restore their classic Portland, OR bungalow; the progress is documented both on their site Bungalowcious and Flickr. Check out the awesome medicine cabinet, hex tile, laundry chute and the rest of their in-progress bathroom remodel.
• Brokenbungalow, aka Steve & family, are on track to finish their current restoration project - which should be done in "20 or 30 years." He's recently documented a new roof installation, the addition of many new windows, and alterations to the second floor.
• Forman Lizee's beautiful brick Birmingham bungalow (say that ten times fast!) continues to get even prettier, inside and out.
• Gizmodyne sets the bar for both extensive restorations and photographic documentation: he's done the outside, the kitchen, bath, living & dining rooms, a guest bedroom, a hallway and a den - if he keeps this up he's going to start adding rooms soon.

alt.home.repair

With most folks Usenet access now coming through Google Groups, I guess it's easier to refer to these things as the latter than the former. Either way, check out alt.home.repair - it's a tremendously busy group, with thousands of visitors asking questions - and getting good advice - on everything from the best way to prime flashing and gutters to discussion of direct-vent gas appliances, drain installation, pointing mortar and plenty more. In addition to our own forums (above), this is a great place to get advice and share your knowledge on almost any old-house related topic.

Heritage Salvage, Petaluma CA

Selling reclaimed materials (mostly wood, from slabs to milled boards and all sorts of bits and pieces of trim) and billing themselves as a "salvage boutique," Heritage Salvage certainly knows how to market themselves to Marin County. In addition to the expected salvaged materials and fixtures, they carry a pretty wide range of furniture built from salvaged materials, from modern pieces to those more specifically Mission.

kitchen flooring roundup

I recently installed bamboo planks in my newly-remodeled kitchen. Part of me wishes I had done a bit more research - both on the material, which is very soft and was seriously scuffed by the appliance installers (thank you, Home Depot), and because the installer did a poor job of fitting the planks up against each other, many of which are now seriously gapped. That said, it is a very attractive and inexpensive material, and comes in much harder varieties, and the substandard installation is no fault of the material.

• In this short video, HGTV's Angela Chee gives a run-down of various new materials available for kitchen flooring, touching on varieties of hardwood, tile, bamboo and laminates.
• An article on the same HGTV Kitchen Design site gives a tutorial on cork floor installation, with a number of photographs; this is something that almost anyone can do themselves. The material is very soft but also inexpensive. One blogger shares her experience.
• Forbo produces Marmoleum in sheets and click-together tiles of various sizes. This is not an inexpensive product, but it is renewable - or at least the materials it's made from are - and the manufacturing process is relatively eco-friendly; it's also a very long-lived material, and comes in an enormous array of colors. This blogger records their own decision to go with Marmoleum, and how they chose colors from the myriad choices available on the retail market; a group of folks on the Berkeley Parents Network boards chime in with their experiences with the product.

Craftsman Kitchen Remodels VI

Pretty pictures of pretty kitchens, and a disappointment too:

• The Rowley kitchen remodel, including a nice combination of contemporary fixtures and materials in a decidedly classic Mission / Craftsman home - before & after;
• a breautiful, refinished built-in in Vancouver; a view of the kitchen itself - modern and a good fit for the rest of the house;
• an enormous pot-drawer and a very nice bit of custom cabinetry with a very warm, attractive finish on the wood;
• I've never been a fan of the blindingly-white hospital style kitchen, but this is attractive, especially with the perfect hardware;
• this Maryland / DC contractor shows off a few attractive kitchens, some of which mix contemporary appliances and lighting with some very pretty wood;
• here's one that didn't quite work. Purportedly in an historic bungalow in a neighborhood of historic bungalows, the kitchen is certainly Victorian - anti-Arts & Crafts in every way - and mixes a very, very contemporary glass mosaic tile with faux-antique cabinetry that looks like it's been purposely grimed. Not sure what to make of that, but I hope it works with the rest of the house. It's a little scary.

remodeling: getting the most for your dollar

Reader and regular contributor Joel McDonald - a real estate professional who frequently writes on issues important to those considering buying, remodeling or restoring an older home - submits the following:

Most people, faced with the prospect of having to spruce up their home before selling it, have to face down the nagging thought of "Why didn't we do this for ourselves?" It's with a bit of regret that a homeowner will realize that work is needed, but you can't go back and change the past. Starting from where you are, the question becomes, "How can we get the most return from the investment of repairs and remodeling?" There isn't an exact formula, of course, but you'll be spending money trying to make prospective buyers, rather than yourself, happy – at least happy enough that they will want to pay you more than you have to spend on the work. The satisfaction that you will get from turning over a home in top condition counts for a good part of the bargain as well. 

Be Careful in Deciding What Needs to Be Done

Just because you never liked that mirror over the guest bathroom sink, it doesn't mean that now is the time to replace it. It may be the someone else's favorite kind. We're talking here about the kinds of things you have gotten used to over the years, and might not even see any more -- broken shingles, worn carpet, the window that sticks, cabinets that need refacing. Some of these are things that, like seeing a child grow, change so slowly we don't realize it day-to-day. In other cases something breaks and "I'll get it fixed later" never happens and you adapt, work around it, and forget about it. In order to present an inviting and pleasant appearance you have to look at your home with studied, focused attention. Make a list.

Get the Best Prices on Things You Have to Buy for the Project

This one's a no-brainer, but it's so obvious that many people overlook it. Don't just enter into a fog of "It's a big project and it will cost a lot." To maximize your return, do some careful shopping for the the best prices you can find. If you are able, even in a stretch, to do some of the work yourself, do it. Depending on what needs to be done, if you take your time and shop carefully you can take advantage of good sales and discounts at home improvement stores and local suppliers. Look for discontinued and going-out-of-season items to find deals on things that will have appeal from a buyer's perspective and still be inexpensive.

Carpet It

If you have old, worn carpeting, that gives a bad impression. New carpets can add significant appeal and value to your home. We're not talking here about the possibility of finding beautiful wood flooring hidden under the carpet – that can happen, and it's a different set of choices with a different set of economic payback possibilities. Just on the subject of what to do about old carpet, though, it can be more than just a shopping chore, and more rewarding with a little effort. To really go on the low-cost end of doing the upgrade, you can get remnants and end pieces from an outlet store, and piece them together at installation. If you can do a proper installation yourself, that's all to the good, but it takes skill and experience to do a good job. If you get a professional carpet installer to install it, you can expect the seams to be invisible and the result will look as good as any other new carpet. 

Paint It

When it comes to getting the biggest return for your remodeling investment dollar, paint is in the superstar category. Shop discount stores for reasonably-priced paint. As for your color choices, keep it clean and simple. White, the old standby, is often the best choice because it represents a good "default" selection for many buyers. For buyers who have a clear sense of their own color preferences, the white background is no impediment to them and they will be able to "see" the room in their favorite colors. One thing you can be sure of: if you decide to use distinctively different colors to appeal to your own artful sensibilities, then the buyer's preferences will be wildly different. It's a rule of nature.

Replace or Upgrade Appliances

If you have to replace appliances such as the refrigerator, washer, dryer, dishwasher and so on, look for scratch and dent bargains. There are always lots of appliances with minor scratches, and you can select the ones that have the damage on a side facing a wall or next to another appliance, where it won't be a problem. The price reduction can be dramatic, and in many cases you can get it for even less that the tagged price, if you ask. These are things that store managers want off their property and out of sight.

Another consideration on appliances is that if they are in working order they might not have to be replaced at all. Even if they are a little outdated, as long as they work, you don't have to replace them just to sell the house. Houses are often sold without appliances, after all: replacing or updating appliances is an upgrade that should pay you back right away in the price of the house, so you have to do it at a pretty low cost or you can skip it. In the in-between, hard-to-decide zone of whether it's worth it or not, you may consider finding appliances at secondhand stores.

Remodeling Makes a Difference

In getting a home ready for sale, what you want to achieve is an inviting and pleasant appearance, where buyers can imagine themselves living with everything in perfect order. Distractions, entering from the realm of broken, dirty or worn things in the home, impinge on this dream-home experience. That can cost you the sale. You want to create this experience for the buyer, though, without spending too much. The prices you pay won't impress anyone, so spending more than you need to can be a particularly bad choice when the main reason for doing it is return on investment. Keep it simple, shop carefully and don't overdo it. The money you make will be the result of not only careful choices in what needs to be done, but also of finding smart ways to do it.

Article provided by Colorado's Automated Homefinder – a Louisville real estate company.

Creative Commons-licensed image by Tall Chris

remodeling causes stress - oh, really?

This is certainly old news to anyone who has attempted, completed or is mired in the middle of a home remodel - especially if it's your own house, and certainly if you are attempting to live there through the project:

There’s no doubt that a remodeling, addition or new construction job brings stress to the homeowners. Just ask me. Last spring we added a new upstairs bedroom and a downstairs entryway and mudroom, losing our attic space, emptying our garage and losing a bay in the process. Where to put the stuff and how to find it again were just two of the stresses encountered. We chose to hire a project manager, so hiring of all the subs was his problem, but we stressed and sweated over every decision. In fact, most veterans of a remodeling project will tell you that the two key qualities you need to survive a home project are the ability to make decisions and spend money — fast.

read the whole thing at bobvila.com

minimizing mold in your home

Dean Dowd runs a blog devoted solely to remodeling issues at Calfinder.com. Calfinder is probably the only one of a class of sites - those that purport to find you a handyman, contractor or skilled craftsperson near you for a particular project - that actually work well, due to the extensive screening process & database that they are continually updating and finessing.

Thanks to Dean for having one of his staff write this article - specifically for Hewn & Hammered - on identifying, treating and preventing housemold mold:

Whether you are planning a bathroom remodel or have just completed one, it’s important to remember that the work doesn’t stop there. Because even the most spotless home contains some degree of mold, homeowners must stay vigilant at recognizing the signs of excessive mold growth. Mold is a substance that creeps up on old and new homes alike. When mold begins to multiply indoors, the outcome can affect your health as well as the health of your home. This includes damage to building materials, household goods, and furniture. Breathing mold in or coming into physical contact with mold can result in various health symptoms, including allergies, asthma, infection, irritation, and even toxic effects.

What is mold?

Recognizing mold begins with an understanding of what the substance is and where it comes from. Mold is a type of fungus that floats in the air and rests upon surfaces. There is no way to avoid mold altogether, as small particles of mold are found everywhere in indoor and outdoor air.

Molds thrive in areas with high moisture and humidity, such as neighborhoods in fog banks or in specific rooms of the house, such as the basement or shower. Moisture can result in a variety of ways, from faulty pipes or building leaks to poor ventilation and regular use of a humidifier. Mold spores spread via water particles and act like seeds in search of the right conditions to spread.

To grow and multiply, mold needs 3 things:

• moisture for growth
• space for growth
• nutrients for growth, such as wood or sheetrock

When should you worry?

Now that you know the basic character of mold, what should you do about it? If you can easily see and smell your mold, you may have an issue that needs fixing. Mold stains look fuzzy, cottony, or leathery and can appear in various colors. Since it normally appears where there’s moisture, check for mold in areas exposed to water. Mold has a pungent musty smell. The good news is that visible indoor mold can usually be cleaned off hard surfaces.

Some forms of mold produce chemicals called mycotoxins. These can result in more serious health effects. Sampling the air for mold cannot be done visually and would require professional testing.

What should I do about it?

Simply cleaning mold as soon as it appears can prevent it from becoming a problem. Check for mold between bathroom tiles and even in the folds of your shower curtain. Wear rubber gloves and goggles and use a regular cleaning detergent or commercial mold remover to wash it off. Afterwards, throw away the rag or sponge you used to do the clean-up and dry the area thoroughly. Wet surfaces in the home should be dried completely within 24 hrs.

Prevention is an important precaution to take to keep the nasty mold spores away. Some simple ways to prevent mold include the following:

• regularly open windows to ventilate the house
• immediately clean small and large spills
• maintain a 30-60 percent humidity level
• avoid carpeting in basements and carpets
• add mold inhibitors to paint
• replace carpets or other water-absorbent materials after soaking
• quickly investigate and address underlying problems, such as leaks

If you’re worried about having a mold variety with mycotoxins, hire a professional to extract a sample and test it for dangerous substances. Attempting this alone can increase your risk of exposure.

Want more information? Here are some helpful links about mold:

• Florida Department of Health: Indoor Mold and Health
• Center for Disease Control and Prevention: Mold
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Mold Resources

Creative Commons-licensed photo courtesy of Flickr user Angelo Juan Ramos

Lavello Sinks - big, beautiful, stainless - and affordable

I'm in the process of remodeling my own kitchen, and found an enormous variety of prices for very similar items. Some sinks - European brands, mostly - were ridiculously expensive, when the exact same sink (in this case, an enormous 36" stainless steel apron-fron) was 1/2 the price or less from an American vendor. I took a closer look - the metal looked the same, it was the same weight and construction, and was probably built at the same factory by the same people!

You really do need to shop around, and don't let your contractor suggest an expensive item when you can find the exact same thing for a fraction of the price. I found my beautiful sink from Matt Roberts' Lavello Sinks and really couldn't be happier with the sink or the service. Matt is a commercial contractor and property manager who found a great source for sinks that would otherwise go for $1500; he realized that there was a huge need for affordable but good quality stainless sinks, and I'm sure that his business will thrive. His prices are far better than anything else I've found elsewhere, and the shipping was super-fast and very affordable. If every transaction and interaction I had to engage with over the course of this remodel was as pleasant, painless (and, again, affordable) as my interaction with Matt, it sure would make the whole process a lot easier!

Once my kitchen is done - I'm thinking we're about eight weeks away - I'll post pictures of the sink installation and the finished project. Until then, if you're looking for a pretty and modern stainless sink that works very well with an historic kitchen, check him out, and tell him I sent you!

recent Craftsman kitchen remodels on Flickr

My constant urging to check Flickr out for design ideas is probably getting pretty old at this point - sorry about that. Here are three attractive working kitchens, wholly or partially documented in photographs on Flickr:

• custom kitchen by William Pepper
• full-on kitchen remodel with some really beautiful tile
• this kitchen remodel included a mix of modern & classic cabinetry, and some really wild mosaic tile
• KittyBitty's new kitchen includes this backsplash, attractive cabinetry, and a wall-full of appliances
• this warm kitchen includes some neat wide plank flooring
• using the sink as a barrier between two levels of countertop was a unique idea

Home repairs: should you do them yourself, or get help?

reader Scott Gray sends in the following:

Tackling home repairs and improvements begins with making a very personal decision. Are you capable of doing the job, or do you need help? How much help do you need? Maybe another experienced do-it-yourselfer can provide assistance, or perhaps you can take a course at your a local college or night school and learn how to do the work. Or maybe not. Professional help is expensive, but in some cases, you have no choice but to suck it up and call a repairperson.

These are the things to consider:

• Most repair work and maintenance jobs are a matter of understanding how things work and having the right tools to fix them.
• Anyone can learn basic painting, plumbing, masonry, electrical or construction work, but for complex tasks, consider the specialized knowledge, testing equipment, and tools that might be needed. If it's a radio, television, photographic equipment, camera, computer, or the oil burner in your furnace that's on the fritz, you should call a qualified repairperson. Even if you have the courage to try and do the work, the cost of the testing equipment and specialized tools are probably prohibitive. If you want to rewire the house, there are safety issues involved and you really should consult a professional.
• How accessible is the item to be repaired? If it's something that is built into the house and you have to tear the wall apart to get at it, you had better know exactly what you are going to do when you get there; otherwise call a professional right away. It's probably less expensive in the long run.

Home Repairs – How to Get Started
Can you really save money after laying down what seems like a fortune for tools and materials? Yes, you can.

• Find a safe, protected work area, such as the garage, the basement, or an insulated and well-lit shed. You need to store tools and supplies and keep them dry and safe; and you need a place to saw, sand, and basically make a mess that won't interfere with the daily lives of those who share your home.
• Begin by stocking your work area and tool kit with the basics: You need a hammer, various sizes and styles of screwdrivers (at least four or five), an adjustable wrench, a crosscut saw, a measuring tape, two or three sizes of paint brushes, spackle paste or fill, duct tape, silicone caulking, penetrating oil and machine oil, glue, sandpaper, electrical tape, masking tape, and an assortment of screws, anchors, nails, washers, and o-rings. And that's just the start. You will need to add other items as repair jobs and home improvement projects crop up.
• Start with the easy stuff: replace the socket on that flickering lamp; paint a small room, replace the washer and the o-ring on that dripping tap; put together an easy-to-assemble doll house. Once you master simple repair tasks, you will have the confidence to try more complex jobs.

The Sky is the Limit

• As you become familiar with hand tools and simple home repairs and improvements, you will develop a taste for more complex do-it-yourself projects and hunger after speed and efficiency. You'll realize that it's easy to improve the resale value of your home by adding a deck, but first, you need to add power tools to your tool arsenal. And you can afford them now because you no longer throw out things that don't work and don't have to pay for professional repairs.
• Check out Bosch cordless drills for drilling holes and driving in screws, and do some comparison shopping like reading reviews and reports on models by Hitachi, Makita, Delta, DeWalt, Ridgid, Ryobi, etc.
• Don't think about adding crown molding to your house without investing in a sliding miter saw, and again, check major brands and read reviews before you buy.

For almost every hand tool there is a power tool, and you will love them all. And before you know it, you'll be able to assemble a doll house in no time at all.

Scott Gray is currently a home improvement handyman enthusiast and freelance writer who enjoys providing tips to consumers who are in the market for hand and power tools like compound miter saws.

photo by Andrew Johnson

Lead-based paint and real estate: how does it affect you?

Reader and regular contributor Joel McDonald - a real estate professional who frequently writes on issues important to those considering buying, remodeling or restoring an older home - submits the following:

Even though lead-based paint has been outlawed for a long time, it is still a very real issue for both homeowners and real estate agents. In 1992, the Housing and Community Development Act made it so that seller of real estate had to disclose potential lead-based paint hazards to the purchaser at the time of sale.  Lead was used as a paint additive for nearly 125 years before it was linked to health problems around 1978.  That year, it was determined that lead would not be added to paint as an additive any longer. Any home that was built prior to 1978 could potentially have a lead-based paint problem.

The Hazards of Lead-Based Paint
The presence of lead-based paint in a home environment can lead to lead poisoning.  Children under the age of six run the greatest risk of developing lead poisoning from lead-based paint because young, growing bodies absorb many of the minerals that they come into contact with, whether it is much needed calcium or very dangerous lead.  Continuously high levels of lead in the body can lead to brain damage, behavior problems, hearing problems, and damage to the nervous system.  These problems can occur in both adults and children, and additionally in children, normal growth can be impaired.

Any home built prior to 1978 that has cracked, peeling, or chipping paint should be treated as a potential hazard and should be repaired immediately. If paint containing lead was used around the window or door frames in the home, the process of opening and closing these items may be creating a surprisingly large amount of dust containing lead. This dust is potentially hazardous and can be difficult to get rid of.  Vacuuming, sweeping, and dusting can cause the lead dust to reenter the air and dust will be kicked up every time you take a step within the home. The dust can also be tracked outside where it will contaminate the soil around the home.

Does Your Home Have a Lead-Based Paint Problem?
In order to discover whether your home has a lead-based paint problem, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends that every home built prior to 1978 receive a paint inspection conducted by a trained professional. A paint inspection will let the homeowner know the lead content of every painted surface in the home and will uncover any areas or sources of serious lead exposure.

Although there are kits available commercially that allow the homeowner to conduct the testing on their own, the EPA recommends an inspection conducted by a professional inspector to uncover any dangerous areas that may be overlooked by the untrained eye. Some states have very specific rules and regulations dealing with the discovery and remedy of a lead-based paint issue, and the professional inspectors will be able to advise the homeowner of these rules and let them know the next step in the process of removing lead-based paint from their home.

Article contributed by Colorado's Fort Collins real estate service, Automated Homefinder.

image courtesy of the Environmental Protection Agency

Craftsman Kitchen Remodels III

Fourth in our series on kitchen remodels (and about the 25th article on the subject; previous episodes here), this time we're taking a look at Southern California. High-end kitchens from the area's best contractors, relatively inexpensive DIY projects and various steps in between:

• La Jolla's IS Architecture remodeled this 1914 Craftsman bungalow; the project included "a complicated pier foundation and seismic retrofit." Check out the before & after pictures of the kitchen & bath. They are also responsible for this very pretty coastal Craftsman and its blindingly-white kitchen in La Jolla and a very pretty wood-grain kitchen in this Spanish Revival ranch house in Rancho Santa Fe.
• Qualified Remodeler magazine's 2007 Chrysalis Awards - the 14th year these awards have been given to residential and commercial modelers across the country - include a number of great Southern California remodels. A lot of the remodels are pretty hideous, in my own opinion - cabinets that clash with the style of the house, ridiculous French and English country cottage motifs that are inconsistent with the house and neighborhood, things like that. I understand that designers have to do what owners want, but there's no reason to submit that kind of work for an award. It's not all overdone, glitzy and ridiculous, though; for example, the winner of the 2007 Best Whole House Remodel under $200,000 award, Moving Mountains Design in Pasadena, did a pretty good job.
• Stefan Hammerschmidt remodeled his 1924 Venice bungalow, including a spare and functional kitchen. Check out the marble counters and the beautiful stove & giant range hood. Read more about it at the LA Times' great remodel-focused blog, Pardon Our Dust, by Kathy Price-Robinson. Another recent column looks at "the best-looking DIY kitchen (they've) seen yet." Now, why can't some big fancy magazine or newspaper hire me to blog for them?
• PaysonDenney Architects' website is a bit difficult to navigate, but the kitchen they produced for another Venice home (scroll down for photos) - right on that community's Sherman Canal - is worth seeing. I only wish the photos were a bit bigger!
• Nest Architecture built this "Rustic Canyon Retreat" for two Los Angeles clients; the kitchen, with its butcher block island and all-around windows, is bright & airy.

photo via Pardon Our Dust

McMansions bring tensions to old neighborhoods

A good article by Kytja Weir in last week's Charlotte Observer, on the constant butting of heads between historic preservationists who look at a neighborhood as an organic whole and selfish me-firsters who want the freedom to do whatever they want with their own property, damn the neighbors and everyone else. Gee, can you tell which camp I fit into? An excerpt:

Tim Griffin, the association president, had invited builders, architects and others, trying to inspire his neighbors about how to renovate their homes without changing the feel of the newly popular neighborhood.

"I'm just so adamant about no more McMansions," he said.

But he knows his neighborhood has no power to restrict renovations. "We're not a homeowners' association. We're not a historic district. So the next best thing is to educate."

The neighborhood of small homes, many dating from the 1930s, is starting to feel a tension already experienced in Charlotte's older neighborhoods around uptown such as Dilworth, Myers Park, Elizabeth, Plaza-Midwood and Wesley Heights as people with bigger tastes move in.

Today Americans seek more space than their parents. In new developments bigger homes can be built without hindrances.

But the desire for more space creates a tension in some older neighborhoods, built for the needs of the past. Neighbors there find themselves walking a line between preserving the past and maintaining property rights, promoting growth yet controlling how it takes shape.

Eco-Friendly remodel in Austin TX on This Old House

The Healthy House Institute has an interesting article on a recent series of eight episodes of This Old House devoted to the "greening" of a 1926 Craftsman bungalow in Austin, Texas:

Taking on its first-ever project in Austin, Texas, This Old House shares strategies and solutions for transforming a historic house into a low maintenance, healthy, and comfortable eco-friendly home.

The renovation of a 1926 Craftsman-style bungalow for newly married homeowners Michele Grieshaber and Michael Klug will be “green” in nature, while making room for a growing family — including Michael’s two young sons, Sam and David — with the addition of two bedrooms and a modest full bath on a new second floor.

By using technologies that conserve energy and water, and opting for durable and sustainable materials, This Old House is taking an outdated house and giving it an energy-efficient future, while showing that “green” does not have to be experimental, or expensive.

Since this ground-up remodel included low-maintenance, low-water xeriscaping, that became one episode all by itself;  another was dedicated solely to the planning process - something worthy of extra attention whenever you're working with new and unorthodox materials and techniques. The episode also generated plenty of materials for articles on subjects as varied as lighting and remodeling with and for families with children on the TOH website.

photograph by Kenny Braun for This Old House

Rich Baumhofer & Cindy Bechtel's Curtis Park firehouse, part II

Yesterday, HGTV ran an episode of their reZONED program on Richard Baumhofer & Cindy Bechtel's beautiful Curtis Park home in a remodeled and restored firehouse, which we originally wrote about this week last year. Marybeth Bizjak has more on the house in her September 2006 article in Sacramento Magazine. Later in the article, Rich notes his favorite northern California salvage yards - which happen to be mine, too - Ohmega Salvage and Urban Ore, both in Berkeley:

Vision. Some people have it; some don’t.

Rich Baumhofer and Cindy Bechtel fall squarely into the “have vision” category. When the couple stumbled upon a dilapidated old house in Curtis Park, they could see it had major potential.

Their friends told them they were crazy to consider buying the structure, which had been built in 1917 as a fire station and later converted to a private home. But buy it they did, setting out to restore its “firehouse charm.”

They succeeded so spectacularly that HGTV will feature their house on an upcoming episode of “reZONED,” a show about people who turn commercial spaces into one-of-a-kind homes.

“My intention was to rebuild in the spirit of the original firehouse,” says Baumhofer, a builder and general contractor who has worked on many old houses. He kept the shell of the Craftsman-style building intact while gutting the inside to create a spacious, family-friendly home.

   

Congratulations to both Rich and Cindy - it's nice when the rest of the world acknowledges all your hard work. And thanks, too, for sharing your home with all of us!

Squak Mountain Stone: recycled fibrous-concrete countertops

There are several different commercial formulations of concrete on the market for countertops, flooring and other interior architectural uses. Some are aerated or mixed by varying but mostly-similar techniques, some are molded or installed in different ways, and some are aerated, or treated with dyes or special sealants. But one in particular is as attractive as real stone, is made in a range of mineral shades and has a natural texture from inclusions such as recycled paper, glass and coal fly-ash.

Squak Mountain Stone's fibrous-cement material is beautiful and just as visually appealing as real stone - but it's a truly environmentally-friendly countertop that makes great (re)use of some otherwise-ignored ingredients. It is available both in slabs and as tiles, and the maker is happy to work with clients on custom applications and mixtures. In that respect, it's even more appealing than real or manufactured stone!

According to developer and owner Ameé Quiriconi, the ingredients list reads like a how-to book for those interested in establishing a truly green, environmentally-friendly business:

• Fly-ash is generated at a Washington-state coal-fired electrical generation facility. It's collected and bagged for sale in Seattle.
• The mixed waste paper comes from a small home-based document destruction business staffed by four young women with developmental disabilities (with the help of a job coach and the women's parents.)This business is located in Issaquah, WA.
• The recycled glass is mainly waste from local window manufacturers that is collected and processed by a local glass recycling company.

We've put together a whole Flickr album of high-res images showing the product in use - if you are planning a kitchen or bath remodel, you really should take a look at this material before you finalize your countertop material plans.

It is available from retailers up and down the west coast, including Green Sacramento, Ecohome Improvement in Berkeley, Greenspace in Santa Cruz, Eco Design Resources in San Carlos as well as EcoSpaces in Telluride, Colorado.

a modern Craftsman kitchen

Taunton publishes lots and lots of good books devoted to historic architecture in general and the Arts & Crafts movement specifically. I was happy but not surprised, then, to pick up a few back issues of The Inspired House, an (unfortunately out of print?) at a local used bookshop.

The magazine seems to have halted publication mid-2006, but mining their online archive yielded lots of good stuff, including this article by Debra Judge Silber on a very modern yet classically attractive Craftsman kitchen remodel in a 1915 historic foursquare:

When they found their brick foursquare in the mid-1980s, Ed and Kathy Friedman couldn’t believe their luck. They’d spent 10 years building a collection of Arts and Crafts furniture and decorative objects, and here was the perfect home in which to display it. The 1915 foursquare, with its built-in benches and bookcases, was as well preserved as if it had been locked in a time capsule.

Except for the kitchen. Remodeled in the ’50s, the boxy room had plastic tiles running halfway around it and white metal cabinets backed awkwardly against the walls. Not just outdated, it was completely at odds with the purposeful beauty of the rest of the house.

Visit their site for the full article. Floorplan by Martha Garstang Hill, whose illustrations and architectural drawings adorn many Taunton books.

a new picket fence from scratch

Reader and compulsive rehabber Matt Wyczalkowski writes in with another recent project. This time, as part of a general yard upgrade, Matt built a beautiful Craftsman-style picket fence from scratch. A Flickr photoset documents the project from start to finish. Matt, any time you want to come visit Sacramento, I have plenty of jobs I need done...

"cannibalizing my Craftsman bungalow" on alt.home.repair

from the Usenet group alt.home.repair:

I have a modest 90yr. old Craftsman bungalow that I have owned for over 15 years. I recently bit the bullet and took the time (months!) and  money (you don't even want to know) to have the old composite shingle  siding removed to expose the original redwood clapboard. My
painter/restorer filled every nail hole, scraped every nook and cranny,  carefully and conservatively sanded off every layer, repaired every  corner of old window frame, etc. and finally completed a new coat of  paint that does my little place justice. It is constructed of solid old  growth redwood and feels like it will go another 90 years, no worries.

Until today. My roofers came out today. This is a company I have used before - they re-roofed my detached garage a few yers back. I don't have any leaks, but I'm trying to be proactive and not wait for trouble, so I signed up for a new 30 year shingle. After about two hours of banging I decided to go out and have a look at progress. I was stunned to see two workers in the process of nailing up a dinky piece of pine in the place where my front fascia used to be. This was a 12
ft. long 2x8 that completed 1/2 of my front roofline - nice and wide with an angled rafter end tail. Gasping, I asked "What have you done with my redwood "Oh, there was some dry rot on the end" Well, I had known about that - my painter had informed me and we felt that during
the re-roof would be the time to address it, repair and repaint. The involved area was about 1-2" deep along about 6" of the rafter tail.

For this they removed the WHOLE thing. Just ripped it off - and were nailing up a piece of typical modern day lumber - in other words, too small in two dimensions. A 2x8 doesn't measure 2x8 these days, but my old one did. Can you imagine how inadequate that was? I felt like someone had cut off my foot - being a preservationist is not easy. They looked at me like I was cockeyed, I was trying not to shoot anyone. :)

My contract specifically notes that the owner is to be informed immediately if any latent damage is discovered, requiring any wood work. What happened!?! They acted as though they were doing me a favor - "Oh, we thought you'd want to go with the lowest cost option" Ack!
Removing an irreplaceable lengtht of redwood is an option?! Gawd, if they'd only asked me first.

Read the full article and folks' advice for fixing this enormous cock-up.

houseblog updates

A few new houseblogs with interesting and / or useful content:

• Breathing Treatment: notes on landscaping, electrical updates, water-permeable paving and more
• 201 Oregano: the construction of the Grant family home
• 1921 Highland Park Craftsman Bungalow: a collection of home-improvement projects
• Life in the Prairie Box: paint stripping, wood refinishing, paint and other labors

3 easy-to-install green insulation options

GreenHomeGuide, one of the best general information sites for folks trying to maintain, restore or remodel their home in an environmentally conscious way, has a great article on three safe and renewable insulation products.

If you’ve ever struggled with huge, unwieldy bats of fiberglass insulation or forced your way through a crawlspace, wrestling with a hose and trying to blow fluffy white fibers into every corner — all the while wondering what those toxic chemicals and shards of fiberglass are doing to your body — you’ll be relieved to know that there are green alternatives. Here are three of our favorites for do-it-yourselfers.

Rest & Restoration: Volunteer Vacations at Historic Sites in Need of Some TLC

Jamie Donahoe at the Heritage Conservation Network sends us the following note on their hands-on building conservation workshops. A number of photographs from recent workshops are available in a special Flickr set. Thanks, Jamie!

If you had driven by the Francis Mill in Waynesville, North Carolina in July 2003, you might have stopped to take a photo of the picturesque but dilapidated structure nestled in Francis Cove. If you were to pass by the mill this summer, you would see a structure that’s neat and square, strong and weathertight. The difference: volunteers who joined a series of summertime hands-on building conservation workshops organized by Heritage Conservation Network in partnership with the Francis Mill Preservation Society.

HCN, a Boulder, Colorado-based non-profit dedicated to the conservation of the world’s architectural heritage, specializes in recruiting volunteers to assist with hands-on preservation projects in association with local preservation partners. Volunteers spend a week or more at the site, working under the guidance of a technical expert.

Back in 2003, with the mill in danger of imminent collapse, Tanna Timbes, great granddaughter of the man who built it and founder of the FMPS, contacted HCN and asked for assistance in saving it. Over the course of three workshops at Francis Mill, a total of 48 volunteers contributed more than 3,700 hours of labor, and that made all the difference.

HCN volunteers are not necessarily experienced preservationists, with only half having experience in the field. Instruction and supervision are provided by the technical expert leading the hands-on work, and participants – of all ages – quickly find themselves replastering walls,
documenting decorative paintings, shaping adobe bricks, chiseling mortises and tenons, or chipping out old cement mortar to replace it with lime mortar. The focus is on the use of traditional techniques and materials – the prescription for keeping historic buildings sound for many generations to use and appreciate.

HCN has organized workshops at more than a dozen historic sites in the past four years. In Oplotnica, Slovenia, last year, volunteers worked painstakingly to discover the original decorative paint scheme of a 17th century chapel. The workshop, led by one of Slovenia’s foremost conservators, brought nationwide attention not only to the project but also to the need to safeguard Slovenia’s cultural heritage.

HCN will return to Slovenia in 2008, when volunteers will help restore the oldest known vintner’s cottage in the Šmarško-Virštanj wine district; it dates to the 16th century and is in poor condition, much like the Francis Mill was four years ago.

Volunteer opportunities this year include work at a Queen Anne style parsonage in Jonesboro, Illinois; the Old West town of Virginia City, Montana; and colonial and traditional buildings in Ghana. All still have space available and can also accommodate groups looking for a meaningful way to volunteer. Information about these and other opportunities to help build a future for the past can be found on HCN’s website or by calling HCN at +1 303 444 0128.

new materials for kitchen and bath

While most of these lend themselves more to a modern kitchen or bath, it's certainly possible to take advantage of advances in materials science in a more traditional remodel as well. For example, I've seen several new Craftsman kitchens using pre-cast and cast-on-site concrete for countertops, and what looks industrial in a modern setting can look warm and complementary in a classic wooden kitchen. Further, now that dyes and inclusions can be added to concrete to give it a bit more character, it's a much more flexible product than it was when it first became popular as a countertop material several years ago.

Recycled glass and wood, blocks of pressed fibers, resins and other manufactured materials and even more arcane products are being repurposed as countertop, tile, flooring and more. Take a look at a few products and manufacturers I've discovered in the last few months:

tile / glass / stone

• Una Terra sells interesting, unique tiles made all over the world - from Italian specialty glass mosaics to American-made stone, they've got some really neat stuff (as well as high-resolution PDFs so you can see the tile up close, something I wish more vendors offered).
• Marazzi sells porcelain, glass, ceramic and metal-glaz tiles in a small range of basic shades and tones.
• Bisazza is the American vendor for a large Italian glass and porcelain mosaic tilemaker.
• Hakatai are my favorite American tilemakers & sellers. Based in Oregon, they produce hundreds of mosaic tiles in glass and other materials for pools, walls, counters, floors, murals and any other flat surface you can imagine. Well, almost.
• Sonoma Cast Stone sells concrete, kitchen and bath surrounds, tiles & pavers and other items and materials in a wide array of colors.
• Concrete Network is not a seller, but rather a sourcing site for folks looking for a concrete contractor. The website also includes a big gallery of photos of concrete in use - as countertops, fireplace surrounds, flooring, furniture, sinks and more.
• IceStone is made from recycled glass and concrete, and comes in a 24-standard color palette with an infinite number of custom options.

wood

• Ebony & Co sell hardwood, antique / salvaged, old-growth pine and bespoke wooden parquetry floors in a huge range of woods and finishes. They are also one of the few wood floring vendors who sell specific grades to be used in conjunction with underfloor heating installations.
• Bamboo Hardwoods has sold sheets of pressed bamboo lumber for flooring, furniture and other products since 1995. They also have a line of custom bamboo cabinetry for kitchen & bath.
• Teragren sells bamboo flooring, panels designed for cabinetry and furniture, and veneers.
• Windfall Lumber sells "sustainably harvested wood products," including flooring, mouldings, countertops, decking and whole timbers.
• New York City's Habitus sells tile, stone, cement, Japanese stucco, porcelain and more, but what they are known for are their cork products: mosaic tiles, floor and wall panels, fabrics, and more. High resolution PDFs are available for download.
• Treefrog makes and sells exotic wood laminates in interesting patterns and textures
• Plyboo is a flexible plywood made from bamboo, and is often used for cabinetry and furnituremaking.

weird stuff

• Yemm & Hart makes decorative polyethylene sheeting and flooring made from recycled tires, just like the stuff that was under the monkey bars when you were a kid - but colorful, stronger, and it won't break up and track all over the place.
• Lumicor seems all over the news lately. The product is essentially a type of architectural resin which is strong enough to be used as structural material and interesting enough to be decorative. It can be cast thick or thin, and is sometimes used for countertop and tabletop material. It is often cast with various types of fibers embedded, and can be made in an enormous range of colors, textures and opacities. Their portfolio shows several dozen different uses - in homes, retail settings, office space and elsewhere.
• Paperstone is what it sounds like: a solid surface material, great for countertops, made from recycled paper that has been transformed under enormous pressure.
• Richlite is another popular product made from a paper fiber-based composite. It was originally distributed as a surface for commercial kitchens and baths in the 1950s, but is enjoying a resurgence as a domestic surface. It is also used for skateboard parks, of all things! It's generally considered a green alternative to Corian and manufactured granite, as it can very closely resemble those materials.
• Brooklyn's Bettencourt Green Building Supplies sells many of these items, including Richlite, Paperstone, Plyboo bamboo butcherblock, Durapalm coconut flooring, cork, Kirei board, wheatboard and lots more.

Additionally, Green Home Guide, which can usually be counted on for good and unbiased advice on building materials, has a guide to choosing countertop material; they also have a buyers' guide to green flooring materials, which should give you some general budget information.