The Minimum Size to a Attic's Access

Attic access panels serve as a significant security and convenience feature in the home. These openings not only allow electrical and mechanical contractors to get equipment and wiring, but in addition they provide for simple storage access for the homeowner. The International Residential Code dictates the minimum size for attic access openings in the USA.

Minimum Opening Size

The 2012 International Residential Code requires an attic access opening for attics with an area greater than 30 square feet and a vertical height in excess of 30 inches. The rough framed opening must measure at least 22. If the opening is situated at a wall, it must be at least 22 inches wide and 30 inches high.

Attics With Mechanical Gear

Attics containing mechanical equipment, such as an air conditioner, require itself opening irrespective of the size of the attic. This opening must provide clear access of at least 20 by 30 inches; it must be large enough to permit removal of the biggest piece of equipment in the attic.

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The Right Size for Raised Beds

The simple structure of a raised garden bed allows you to grow your own produce in places where the soil is poor. A raised bed may use the square gardening process when constructed properly and to the ideal size. The goal is to maximize the space available for developing a garden and make it easy to access all sections of this raised bed for garden maintenance.

Garden Perimeter

The idea behind a raised garden is an accessible space that’s full of high-quality dirt. Raised beds with a width of 4 ft are the right size for the typical individual to reach across at least fifty of their garden in one side. There is never a requirement to step into the garden with this width. The length may vary from 2 to 8 feet long, depending on the area accessible and needs to your garden.

Garden Height

Raised gardens require the inclusion of high-quality gardening ground because they’re often constructed in places where the ground is inferior for gardening. The thickness is important since you need the garden heavy enough for adequate root development. Build the increased bed with sides which are at least 8 to 10 inches tall to provide the plants room to grow. Vegetable beds should be 12 to 18 inches deep for good root development.

Construction Materials

Raised garden beds can be constructed from several types of wood. Using 10- to 12-inch-wide planks make it easy to accomplish the recommended height, but aren’t always readily accessible. It could be a lot easier to find 2-by-8-inch planks or 6-inch broad landscaping timber. This size timber requires stacking to acquire the ideal height for the increased bed. Avoid using treated timber, since the chemicals may leech into the ground and contaminate the food grown.

Factors

Map out the area to your garden and take measurements so you realize the distance available for your raised garden. You may opt to develop several raised beds using varying lengths to acquire the most gardening space for your requirements. Planning allows you to calculate the total amount of wood required for the ideal size raised bed.

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How to Calculate the Roof Area Utilizing the Building Square Footage & the Pitch of the Roof

So you are considering reroofing the home yourself and need a quote for how much roofing stuff you’ll want, but you do not need to go climbing around with a tape measure and frighten your partner half to death. You are in luck, since mathematics can rescue you from pulling out that ladder and tape measure.

Straight to the reply

Divide your roof pitch by 12. Roof pitch is provided as the amount of inches in height shift over the space of one foot. Dividing by 12 provides the ratio of inches in climb per space. For example, a normal roof pitch is very likely to be about 4. So for a pitch angle of 4, divide by 12 and receive 1/3.

Square the outcome of Step 1. So keeping our roof pitch of 4 this provides us 1/9.

Add 1, then take the square root. Adding 1 provides us 1 + 1/9 = 10/9, then taking the square root gives us about 1.0541.

Multiply from the square footage of a single floor of your property. So continuing our example, if you have got a 2 story home with a complete square footage of 2,700 square feet, with each floor with 1,350 square feet, then multiply 1,350 from 1.0541 to receive 1,423 square feet. That means you’d need 1,423 square feet of roofing.

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'Houses + Origins' Shows an Architect's Procedure

Houses + Origins, published in July 2012 by Images Publishing, is the first monograph in the work of WA Design, David Stark Wilson’s firm in Berkeley, California, but it’s not Wilson’s very first publication. That honour goes to the 2003 name Structures of Utility, a collection of black and white photographs which Wilson shot in California and other parts of the West, documenting the region’s natural beauty and rural architecture. Not surprisingly, but hardly intentionally, those photos and the trips that allowed them influenced his residential layouts.

This new monograph’s name spells out the continuing impact of natural features on Wilson’s architecture. Houses + Origins collects 10 jobs — nine homes and a single office building — three of which I have written about earlier: the Berkeley Courtyard House, the Tahoe Ridge House along with the Willits Compound. This ideabook appears within the pages of this book’s very first chapter, which documents that the Berkeley Courtyard House, talking it specifically and in the larger context of this monograph.

WA Design Architects

The cover features the Berkeley Courtyard House, its own central space with pools against a narrow canyon with its bed of plain water. The publication “shows the impact of seeing things in a wider context,” says architecture author Stephen Crafti about the rear cover. “The homes featured in the publication, designed by Wilson in conjunction with architect Chris Parlette, show the significance of understanding that the word ‘context.'”

However, since the cover illustrates, inspiration can be remote, removed from a job’s immediate context.

WA Design Architects

Each project is recorded in a similar vein, starting with an outside photo on a two-page disperse.

WA Design Architects

The large photo is followed by a two-page spread with the project description and an altitude or construction section. This one–just two punch links the photo (final product) with the drawing (process). In the instance of this Berkeley Courtyard House, the construction section is most important, because it shows the space between the 2 regions of the house and how the angled roofs correspond with one another.

WA Design Architects

Spreads split between photos of the house and the natural inspiration are interspersed among other photos and drawings. Here, a photo of the entrance sits across in the photo of fall leaves on the ground. The dappled impact of this multihued leaves is linked to the perforated wall next to the front door and the light routine it casts throughout it.

WA Design Architects

One of the most refreshing parts of the novel are where Wilson documents the siting of the homes. Small photos of the property as faced by the architect and the client sit atop a site program. The photos illustrate the effort and consideration in determining where the homes were found, decisions which impacted the shape, orientation, openings and other aspects of the websites.

The land for the Berkeley Courtyard House needed a house on it until fire destroyed it in 1991. The tiered hillside and remote perspectives toward San Francisco Bay made several things clear, especially orientation.

WA Design Architects

Each project includes floor plans attracted continuously and clearly labeled and keyed. Photographs can also be numbered and described in captions, although regrettably the locations of these photos are not included on the programs. This could have helped orient men and women that are not well versed in reading floor plans. Yes, most people who buy architectural monographs are architects, however, ones on residential buildings have a crossover appeal to a wider audience that’s undeniable. Extra effort, like keying photos to programs, would have aided in that regard.

WA Design Architects

People acquainted with WA Design’s homes will observe much of the same in these pages. But the novel shows multiple images together, as seen here, to enable comparisons and allow readers to draw them. Small photos on the left (click photo to view whole view) show the dining room and the kitchen (top) and a couple of the home’s stairs (underside), while a large, full-bleed photo on the right page extends to the leftside, making the movement throughout the courtyard to the north wing.

WA Design Architects

Another disperse makes clear the connection between the entrance (left) and the living room (right). Again, this can be an advantage of novels: You can see views of multiple graphics relative to one another.

WA Design Architects

This disperse puts photos of this Berkeley Courtyard House’s exterior spaces along the top. The bottom row comprises close-ups of landscape features. These details show that Wilson’s thinking about landscape is not solely concerning inspiration for architectural form; it extends to the implanted landscape around the house. Colors and textures are juxtaposed against the various substances that form the walls, the pools and other capabilities.

WA Design Architects

Last is just another spread showing a design and its own inspiration. Wilson’s captions read: “Zinc shingles and the autumn foliage of ginkgo trees” (left) and “A epidermis of glacial gloss on Sierra granite, Tuolumne Meadows, California” (right).

The factor flat/glossy and rough/muted nature of this granite contrasts with the regular routine of these zinc panels. And the juxtaposition of trees from the zinc is similar to the 2 variants in granite. Whether the granite was an inspiration for Wilson with this house or not, these spreads highlight the presence of nature in the imagination, which can be equally as important as its presence on earth.

Book: Houses + Origins (Graphics Publishing, 2012)

Tour WA Design jobs:
Berkeley Courtyard House
Tahoe Ridge House
Willits Compound

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The Typical Size of a California King Bedspread

California king mattresses are several inches longer than conventional king-size mattresses and therefore require bedspreads with various dimensions. California king mattresses measure 72 by 84 inches, with the corresponding bedspread typically measuring 114 by 120 inches. Alternate sizes can be found, however. Selecting the proper size bedspread for your bed mainly comes down to the depth of your mattress, which fluctuates according to manufacturer and fashion.

Depth Perception

Most mattresses, irrespective of length and width, have a depth ranging from 9 to 12 inches. Pillow-top mattresses using thick memory foam toppers may be anywhere from 16 inches to 22 inches deep, so bedspreads and comforters also need extra inches for proper coverage. Several Cal-king bedspreads offered retail outlets now quantify up to 120 by 125 inches. Calculate the inches from the ground to the peak of the mattress — and topper pad if applicable — to get the most accurate indicator of which size bedspread to purchase.

Top Heavy

If you choose a comforter or duvet instead of a bedspread, the suitable size for a California King mattress is considerably smaller. This is since comforters typically sit on top of the bed with only slight overhang. Cal-King comforters normally measure from 102 by 86 inches to 102 by 94 inches. The more filling in the comforter, the less overhang you get — so choose wisely.

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Architect Lingo Decoded for the Normal Homeowner

As with any profession, structure has its own jargon — phrases even the most seasoned layperson may not know. Here are a few translations. And believe me, there could be a whole lot more.

Randall Mars Architects

“Program.” This is a word architects like to throw around a whole lot. This means a wish list — basically a written (or scribbled, drawn, recorded or other) description of what you would like and what you need and what you’re prepared to cover.

So whenever your architect says, “What is your schedule?” Send them a link for your ideabook revealing each of the items you love.

Jeanette Lunde

Parti.” No not “party.” It is short for “parti pris,” French for “to make a decision.” In archispeak it signifies the big idea behind the design of this job. While an architect may not verbalize the parti for youpersonally, rest assured that he or she has one.

The next time you sit down with your own architect for a design review, inquire, “What is the parti for the job?” Your architect will definitely get blown off by this.

Bud Dietrich, AIA

Architects typically use four different terms to break down the design phase of a job. All these are:
Conceptual design: loose, maybe freehand, sketches of a design strategy
Schematic design: more exact sketches of a favorite design
Layout advancement: selecting materials, integrating systems and describing elements
Construction drawings: the drawings that completely describe what’s needed to buildRather than getting lost in the weeds as soon as it comes to those stages, just consider these as a preliminary set of drawings or the final set of drawings. Everything up to building drawings is preliminary design, while the building drawings represent the final design.

Bud Dietrich, AIA

While groups like the American Institute of Architects provide a particular definition for the term construction management, it’s often one of the least understood. While a homeowner may want the architect to control or oversee the construction of the job, architects are barred from doing this because of insurance and legal issues.

But the architect has a significant role to play throughout construction. Most importantly, when issues crop up, as they inevitably do, the architect will help to keep the job on track by recommending solutions consistent with the design that everybody has invested so much effort in to produce.

LandscapeLens

“Structure.” A lot of architectural terms have multiple meanings. “Construction” is just one. When it can refer to the elements (beams, joists, columns, rafters, footings) that hold up a building, it may also refer to how a space is coordinated.

Certainly this stems from when a building’s construction was basically tied to spatial organization. But new materials and technologies have made it possible to completely separate space and structure from one another, as architects like Mies van der Rohe did.

Ciulla Design

“Spatial organization.” As a term like “spatial organization” is a little dense, it really just means the way the chambers (or spaces) in a building are arranged. If your architect tells you, “The spatial organization is en package,” ask him or her to describe what this means like you’re a 5-year-old.

D’apostrophe design, inc..

“Scale.” A scale is a triangular, ruler-like device architects utilize to determine dimensions, but it frequently refers to the way the dimensions of architectural components relate to one another.

When an architect says something like, “The scale of the building is wrong,” it generally means that the building’s size doesn’t match its environment. When a building has a “good scale,” it means that the bits are sized to correlate together.

RoehrSchmitt Architecture

“Context.” Being in context usually means that the building fits its environment not only in size but in style, proportions, materials, utilize and so forth. A building that may seem out of context to some is typically one that doesn’t fit a few, or some, of these neighboring structures.

The best way to consider about circumstance is that it’s lively. As the built environment varies, the context varies. What may today seem out of context could easily be the standard in a few years.

Smith & Vansant Architects PC

“Details.” Architects are always saying things like, “Let’s work through the details.” This is only because details are significant. Mies van der Rohe is famously quoted as saying “God is in the details.”

Though it could be daunting to work out all the details up front, it’s a whole lot less costly and time consuming to perform out them in the design development and construction drawings stages of a job.

DOWN into Earth Architects

“BIM.” One of the newest terms in the architect’s lexicon, this is short for “Building Information Modeling.” BIM is a method of drawing and designing that relies on creating a three-dimensional design of this job with every component articulated.

Does this strategy to designing reduce errors during building, but it provides clients a better understanding of the undertaking.

Coates Design Architects Seattle

“Juncture.” As Doug Patt describes in How to Architect, “Architecture is the art of placing materials together.” One of those terms we architects use to describe this is “juncture.”

How materials intersect influences the way the building will age and what maintenance issues will arise. For instance, if the juncture between the siding and also a door or window is not properly detailed, a leak causing a variety of headaches may result.

When your architect begins to talk about the juncture between materials, inquire how each will be detailed to lead to a well-crafted house.

Cooper Johnson Smith Architects and Town Planners

“Order.” In classical architecture, the order refers to whether a building is designed as Doric, Ionic, Corinthian or Composite. These design systems were first developed by the ancient Greeks and then used and altered by the early Romans.

In short, each order defined a system of proportion, scale, decoration and use. In today’s world architects modify and utilize a classical order to suit a particular design need. Adherence to strict rules about when and how to use each order has fallen by the wayside.

Inform us : What is your favourite piece of design talk?

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Renovation Detail: The Eyebrow Dormer

Celebrity fun facts collect, and one of my favorites is that Whoopi Goldberg does not have eyebrows. She goes from eye to hairline. It does not hold Whoopi back at all, but eyebrows are important — they break up the forehead and put in curvaceous interest to somebody’s facial structure. So when a home comes along with a large grand roof, sometimes you’ve just got to add an eyebrow dormer.

Eyebrow dormers have a low profile and raise a wave in the plane of a roof’s shingles. Originally made for medieval thatched roof cottages, the eyebrow dormer was created to welcome light and add ventilation. However, eyebrow dormers were made popular in the United States when shingle-style architecture emerged in the mid to late 1800s. Mainly seen in New England, eyebrow dormers were utilized as an enchanting visual apparatus to break up the extended expansive roofline of beachfront shingle-style homes.

Today, eyebrow dormers are found on houses of all shapes and sizes. And while they’re expensive to install and complex to make, if a gifted craftsman is up for the challenge, they will drastically enhance your home’s look.

TEA2 Architects

Centered above the front entry, an eyebrow dormer breaks up the extended expansive roofline on this lakeside shingle-style house.

CG&S Design-Build

An eyebrow window has been cut to the roofline to flood this converted loft with daylight.

Daniel M Martin

Numerous eyebrows produce an undulating wave effect.

Thomas Rex Hardy, AIA

The eyebrow is treated as a separate roof on this pool home, with all the curve coated in weathered copper.

CG&S Design-Build

The curvaceous lines of the eyebrow dormer offset the sharp summit of the house’s front gable.

Reynolds Architecture- Design & Construction

An eyebrow dormer unites with angled cross balustrades, a cupola and cedar shingles to make an exterior rich with architectural interest.

Asher Associates Architects

Multiple dormer fashions can work superbly together on a home’s exterior. On this particular coastal New Jersey house, an eyebrow and a shed dormer team up.

Asher Associates Architects

Feast your eyes on this superb cathedral ceiling featuring a set of eyebrow dormers.

TEA2 Architects

Centered above the front door, an eyebrow dormer breaks up the wide monotonous roofline on this lakeside home.

Melaragno Design Company, LLC

A eyebrow dormer graces this Arts and Crafts–moved residence and melds beautifully with the home’s knee braces and square feet.

Jeffrey Dungan Architects

Reminiscent of a thatched cabin, this house goes back to its basics.

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Home Design: Living La Vida Linear

The shape of a home’s floor plan comes in many factors: the dimensions and boundaries of a website, distant views, the type(s) of inside spaces desired, etc. With this in mind, no shape is ideal or universally applicable; each is appropriate to a home’s unique circumstances. It could be a box, an L-shape, or in the instance of the following examples, linear. This sort of plan prioritizes viewpoints, solar orientation, and cross-ventilation, in addition to movement along a strong axis.

Ziger/Snead Architects

This long glass box the River House — overlooks a river. As may be seen from this view, the thickness of the house is very shallow: a single area, roughly 20 feet. Seen from the other side …

Ziger/Snead Architects

We can observe how the house acts as a bridge, spanning a valley with entry to the lower level and the river outside. This opinion clearly illustrates the switching screen-glass-screen-glass that happens on the long sides.

Ziger/Snead Architects

Here we see the willingness of the plan and the easy cross-ventilation that occurs with such a shallow depth.

Resolution: 4 Architecture

This two-story rectangular box also orients itself into a body of water. The siting also points the house towards a mature tree overlooking the water, and it extends a deck outward in the house. See inside, next.

Resolution: 4 Architecture

The shallow depth of the house is evident in this view of open living space. Cross breezes are also aided by ceiling fans. Note the wood louvers beyond of the sliding doors, for cutting down on sunlight.

Ian Moore Architects

This linear building appears quite wide from this entry approach, but the shallow depth of the plan is evident from the transparency of the space beyond the bridge. The way the house cantilevers in both ends enriches the amount of the house, which makes it appear to balance with this entry plane that slides beneath the house. See inside, next.

Ian Moore Architects

The main reason behind this plan, besides natural venting (heightened by the pitch of the roof), are the stunning views. A linear strategy makes it possible for every room to catch perspectives.

Webber + Studio, Architects

The linearity of the house is toned down by the variety of the window openings on the two floors and the cluster of trees about centered on the strategy. See inside, next.

Webber + Studio, Architects

The openness of the plan is not only from side to side; it may also be located from floor to ceiling, specifically within this generous living room.

Greico Designers/Builders Dallas

This is another house where a long plan is broken up, this time by the articulation of the outside wall. Alternating between brick, wood, and glass, the overhanging wood roofing ties the different parts together.

Hufft Projects

This previous house can be regarded as a blend of two linear plans; together they form a V-shape. Nevertheless the same considerations apply as in the previous houses, with the extra advantage of cradling outdoor area. Here we can see two long bars radiating from every other. Watch the backyard next.

Hufft Projects

The aptly called Bent/Sliced House suggests an alteration to a long, linear strategy. In its eventual incarnation, the kink in the design goes towards shaping the outside area. Note how the outside dining terrace ends in the bend in strategy. Although this house departs in the strict linearity of the previous examples, it also acts as a transition into my next ideabook, where I look at U-shaped plans.

More: The L-Shaped House
The U-Shaped House
Design Details: Windows That Frame a View
Daring Cantilevers: Architecture Takes Flight
Stunning Corner Windows

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