Friends! We have made some changes to my website to allow me to post articles more easily. I am also developing my Facebook page, which does the same, so I will be discontinuing this blog page as of this page (subject to whim, fate and circumstance, of course).
Please visit blackdogarchitects.com or Facebook and let me know what you think.
Thanks.
Don
215-886-6916
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
New Silver Spring addition
Black Dog is now registered in Maryland and is working out of Silver Spring! Work requirements have led us to get an apartment in DC, and my sister and her family live in Silver Spring, so it was a natrual! And to celebrate (actually, to make my decision for me!) that self same sister and husband (http://www.onthemarkpr.com/) decided to build the addition we have been designing for 7 years! (Insert reminder for clients to plan ahead...).
Their house is a modest post-war house typical to the older Silver Spring neighborhoods. Small, but great neighbors, close to the Metro and parks, good schools, et al. They were lucky in that their corner lot is bigger than most and they already had a one-story family room added on previously. 
With her office overflowing the bedroom, a terrific southern exposure but very poor access to the back yard and a small and isolated kitchen, we decided to remove the back wall and bump out the back, treating it like a sunroom, but with windows locates to it still feels like a living room. A new office "bookends" the sunroom, a wider door opens the old dining to the new family room, and the kitchen wall was removed and the kitchen expanded and updated. A new deck connects it all. Since we are providing a new roof, we took the opportunity to super-insulate the roof, as well as the basement and new walls. Expanding the HVAC system has let us rectify old inefficiencies and properly service that area.
In the family room we removed old run down closets and are putting in a pair of large closets for storage and hiding the TV, with a counter between and the HUGE fish tank as the room's visual axis. Plans also called for relocating the house's front door to recognize the primacy of the new space, but the budget wasn't there. Likewise, we looked long and hard at a new 2nd floor which would have offered a nice master suite and an additional bedroom, but for a small family we couldn't justify the costs. It remains an excellent idea for future owners,though.
Construction starts in a couple of weeks. Stay tuned!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Rooftop decks
Just in time for spring, my South Philly rowhouse renovation is nearing completion. The weather played havoc with the schedule since you don't want to open up a roof with rain expected! One of the last issues is the rooftop deck. We have run into a few issues that are worth exploring.
The first, surprisingly, was to have an arbor or not. In this case the roof orients dead south and August in Philly is tough, so I suggested one. It will also shade the new family room. Some folks just like having umbrellas which will open the sky a bit in those in between months. New new cantileverd umbrellas are a bit more flexible for this.
I had hoped to reduce costs and complexity by using a reinforced vinyl roofing that is common on condo decks (Duradek). The builder (Springfield Construction) also proposed fiberglass, which is also common down the shore. The vinyl proved unexpectedly costly and the problem with both was integrating the arbor posts. With fiberglass you stood a chance of cracking at the posts and the detailing for the vinyl was trickier, although still doable. Now, there are different ways of attaching posts and rails that will work well, but for our layout, these were the issues.
For the decking we are probably going with PT wood, the best quality we can find, since the costs for Trex etc are too high for this budget. This will add a maintenance factor to it, but so does having to clean a synthetic deck. For access, we are considering a substructure with removable 3' square sections. This will give us a nice pattern for the deck as well.
The first, surprisingly, was to have an arbor or not. In this case the roof orients dead south and August in Philly is tough, so I suggested one. It will also shade the new family room. Some folks just like having umbrellas which will open the sky a bit in those in between months. New new cantileverd umbrellas are a bit more flexible for this. 
I had hoped to reduce costs and complexity by using a reinforced vinyl roofing that is common on condo decks (Duradek). The builder (Springfield Construction) also proposed fiberglass, which is also common down the shore. The vinyl proved unexpectedly costly and the problem with both was integrating the arbor posts. With fiberglass you stood a chance of cracking at the posts and the detailing for the vinyl was trickier, although still doable. Now, there are different ways of attaching posts and rails that will work well, but for our layout, these were the issues.
We finally went back to the tried and true rubber roof (EPDM) which has a monolithic application good for water control on flat roofs and a good life expectancy, with a wood deck above. The two remaining issues are decking material, and access to the roof for maintenance.
For the decking we are probably going with PT wood, the best quality we can find, since the costs for Trex etc are too high for this budget. This will add a maintenance factor to it, but so does having to clean a synthetic deck. For access, we are considering a substructure with removable 3' square sections. This will give us a nice pattern for the deck as well. There are a lot of considerations, including safety for children (higher rails, no benches at the side rails) furniture sizes and view, let alone privacy. But the views of sunsets and fireworks, the breezes in summer and a bit of outdoor space in the city are worth it!
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