From the NAHB: New Home Sales Release

A little good news for this Monday morning. The National Association of Home Builders October 21st new home sales release for the month of September.

Mud Rooms & Halls

The concept of a “mud room” varies from one geographic location to another. Warmer, dryer climates will not require the same amenities as cooler, damper climates.  Household needs not only vary from one to another, but as families transition through life stages.  An empty nesters needs will  be different from a household with teenagers which will be different than a family with younger children.  That being said, the first step should be a review of the needs of the household as it relates to the locale. 

After reviewing what is expected of the mud room, consider the amount of available space  While every home, regardless of size, should accommodate the transition from  outdoor to indoor the space needs to be kept in proportion with the overall size of the home.  A small home may only have room for hooks and a shelf in the laundry area while an estate can feature the full function mud room.  Or, if your remodeling, you need to consider the available space and cost vs. value.

The following is a question/answer segment for the Washington Examiner

Q. Can you “repurpose” a back hall or laundry?  A. Chances are if you are looking at an existing home that the space you are considering is already a mud hall.  In this case your first step would be the same as if you were designing a new home, determine what you expect from the space.  Is it more storage? A place for the dog? Better separation from the primary living area? Or?  Next consider the available space.  Reconfiguring available cabinets and closets while updating floor, wall, and counter tops may satisfy the owners’ needs.  If more space is needed can walls be moved or volume added to the home?  In some circumstances as little as 24″ (the depth of a bench or countertop) addition can make the difference.  An adjacent room may have the extra footage to sacrifice or infill under an existing eave outside the home may do the trick.  When designing a new home this becomes a feature of the design process.

Q. Coolest and latest features?  A. Simply considering that there is a need for the space is pretty cool.  And priority should be given to satisfying the basic requirements including:

Storage, which can feature cubbies, bench, lockers, hooks, shelves, shoe racks, cabinets, closets, whatever fits the owners design sense and needs.  Is  the owner one who likes everything behind a door and hidden from view or open and accessible.  Family of eight or empty nesters?  Car keys, cell phones, brief cases or back packs and ipods.

 Durability and ease of cleaning.  Finish selections play the biggest part in satisfying this requirement.  Hard surfaces such as tile are popular but laminates are making a comeback.  Higher end laminates can offer comparable durability without grout lines to worry about.  I’m also seeing more stained concrete floors and countertops.  A cool feature if you’re in a very wet climate is to use a sloped floor to accommodate a floor drain. It’s easy when using concrete floor finish.  Creating a wainscot with the hard surface will protect the walls.  With cabinet finishes, avoiding highly “polished” surfaces will help preserve the new look. Again, laminates seem to offer some good durability and ease of cleaning.  Painting can be an option, but look for durability and ease of repair options. If you prefer natural woods you might consider more rustic finishes that will hide the scuffs and scrapes from daily use.

 Access and natural light.  Of coarse locating the mud hall so that it becomes the families most convenient access is important.  The mud room will fail its most important task if the family crosses through the house to get to it.  And personally I prefer that every room have a natural light source.  This does not necessarily mean that it needs its own window.  A re-lit, or indoor window, can allow an adjacent room to share its window.

Other considerations:

Families with pets often create a space for food and water bowls or litter boxes as well as storage for pet supplies.  Pet washing stations are popular with pet owners who have larger homes.  Sometimes something as simple as a wash tub with counter space is enough, but I have designed homes with “dog wash stations”.  These include a raised platform with shower drain and hand held shower nozzle with steps to help the dog up.  That same project featured direct outdoor access to a covered kennel area.  These folks really loved their dogs. 

Big into sports?  When designing mud rooms for high mountain homes we often will work in storage for winter wear and ski gear.  Some families have aspiring football, hockey or soccer players.  While the traditional locker may work for these needs, you should consider extra ventilation.

Cell phones and MP3 players, hand held video games, or other traveling electronics may need a place to land in the mud hall.  If space allows consider a laptop docking station with small desk for collecting bills, catalogs and miscellaneous “junk drawer” items.

Other features which have been included in a mud room include potting bench, sewing table, crafting area, gift wrapping station or canning kitchen.  As much as I believe in the “Not so big house” design approach, there comes a point when you ask one room to serve to many functions.  Potting plants and sewing are probably not compatible?

In regards to creating personal space for each family member.  First question, is it really necessary?  And then, how many family members are we talking about and what are their individual needs.  A three year olds needs will  be different from a high school football player, which will be different from a working adult.  Is this a family of three or thirteen? Beyond baskets, cubbies, and lockers…not much new in the world storage.  But a well thought out wall of cabinets can provide storage for most family needs.

New House Plan: Willamette 30-788

                                                                                      (click image to view plan details)
                   

Willamette 30-788
                   

Craftsman detailing graces the front facade of this Northwest-inspired cottage home plan. Four informal gathering spaces flow together at the rear, if you count the covered patio. From the kitchen, you can keep an eye on everything. The deluxe owners’ suite boasts a private bathroom and a large walk-in closet with a hutch and a bench.
                   

Hurricane Earl Prep Tips for Your Home

Will he or won’t he?  With Hurricane Earl threatening the nation’s Eastern Seaboard this Labor Day, there are steps homeowners can take to weatherproof their homes that won’t break the bank.

 Kiplinger’s Personal Finance offers six pieces of essential hurricane-preparation advice, including: 

• Brace your garage door to prevent more-extensive damage. “A lot of people believe that the roof is the most vulnerable part of the house,” says Ray Stone, vice-president of catastrophe operations for Travelers Insurance. “But it’s not. It’s the garage door.” Most garage doors are not reinforced, and when the wind gets into the garage, it creates a positive push at the same time that the wind swirling above the structure creates a negative pull. That push-pull combination can cause the roof to fly off. See the National Weather Service information sheet to learn about kits that you can buy at home-improvement stores to brace your garage doors.
   
• Secure your windows and doors. Broken windows can let in wind and rain, and they can also increase the pressure under the roof. Storm shutters provide the best protection, but boarding up windows when a storm is on the way can help, too. Don’t bother taping your windows, though. “Putting masking tape on the windows literally does nothing,” says Stone. Make sure doors have several locking mechanisms so they don’t fly open; deadbolts are best. And it’s important to secure windows and doors at all sides of the home — not just the one facing the body of water where hurricanes could form — because hurricanes can swirl in any direction. See the Institute for Business & Home Safety’s DisasterSafety.org for details about how to make your windows and doors more secure.
   
• Take inventory. “The last thing you want to be doing after you’ve been affected by a hurricane is to try to remember everything you had in the house,” says Stone. “Having an inventory will make the process of getting through the claim and getting back to normal so much easier.” The Insurance Information Institute’s KnowYourStuff.org is a great place to get started. Keep the inventory in a safe place away from your home.

Completed House from Castro Construction

Associated Designs is pleased to profile another fine home by Castro Construction. Built in Eugene Oregon the photographs below highlight the attention to detail and quality construction. The plans on this house come from Alan Mascord Design. To view photos of Associated Designs plan, the Allenspark, also built by Castro Construction; click here.

to view additional photos click here

Associated Designs gets “Greener”

While we will miss the sentimental value of our good old blueprint machine, the fact is it was not very friendly when it came to the environment. The chemically treated paper was not recyclable and the ammonia based development process was smelly.

With the addition of a new large format digital printer we now print on paper that is 100% recyclable. We are even starting with recycled paper which uses 30% post consumer fiber, is SFI (sustainable forestry initiative) certified and is acid free. The new printer is also a copier and scanner, so if you need copies up to 36″ wide and 500′ long we can do that. We can also scan and create electronic files of your plans.

In addition to greening up our printing process we are working on switching to a digital plan development process, which will substantially reduce paper consumption within our office. Most of our clients now are reviewing the early preliminary plans via email. (It’s still a good idea to review the final stages of the design development using large format, scaled prints.)

Also, a number of the companies that are involved in the plan development are joining the “paperless” process. Engineers, truss manufactures, lumber yards, and a ever expanding number of contractors and trades people are now receiving plans electronically.

We welcome any ideas as to how we can continue to work toward being the most environmentally friendly design firm we can be.

Pacifica 30-683 Showcased On Portland Street of Dreams

           

We are excited and honored to have our Pacifica 30-686 (aka The Summit) design featured on this year’s Portland Oregon Street of Dreams. Built by Westlake Development on Mt. Scott in Portland Oregon, this house plan captured the amazing views that the hillside building lot had to offer.

Westlake’s Gerald Rowlett said the feedback from visitors of this years’ tour was very positive. Comments heard from visitors were ”I could see myself living in this house”, “A home I could kick my feet up in”, and “comfortable, livable home”.  People really appreciated the way the home captured the view also saying how much they loved tub in the owners’ suite, “I’d never leave that bathtub”, said one person.

The front entrance was serene and inviting, featuring 3 waterfalls that flowed beneath the walkway to a pond nestled between the garage and porch area. Pro Landscaping of Oregon won the Realtors choice “Best Landscaping” for this years tour!

It’s a Buyer’s Market!

Now’s the time to buy a home! The attached link is a great article provided by Lane County Home Builders Association.

We’re here to help you get started!

It’s a Buyer’s Market from the Lane County Home Builders Association

Associated Designs Donates to HBA Tour Home

The Home Builders Association of Lane County has constructed the Tazewell 30-477 house plan to showcase on the Tour of Homes held July 26th through August 3rd. Associated Designs has donated design services for the HBA PAC house for 9 years. This year’s HBA PAC house will highlight the use of green building techniques.

To view an article on construction of this years PAC house from On the Level, the June 2008 Newsletter of the Home Builders Association of Lane County click: hba-home-article.pdf

To view plan details of the Tazewell 30-477 click here. To view photos of this house’s progress, view comments.

The Ins And Outs of Hiring Building Contractors

By Craig Thornburrow

If you are considering a large construction project, whether it be a brand new home or an addition to a home that you already have, hiring building contractors is something that you may have to look into. Hiring building contractors is not the simplest thing to do, but it certainly is not complicated. As a matter of fact, if you know just what you are looking for then the hiring process should be rather simple. To help you in your endeavors to get your project done right and by the right people, read on for a few things that you should take into consideration when looking into building contractors.
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