ADAPT Modular Shelving

Why place your furniture based on the irregular shape of your room?

When instead, you could alter your furniture to fit the irregular shape of your room?

 Check out ADAPT Modular Shelving

Again, I cite this as the reason that we accept designers being douchey. (Not necessarily this guy, but just the general population including me, as a rule.)  Douchey people that bring us cool stuff like this are allowed to continue in their douchitude.

I mean, you could accomplish this with a jigsaw and some 2x4's and some 3/4" shelving.  But that assumes that you're handy, then you couldn't take it with you to the next apartment.

Dreaming of a Renovation?

As an architect, the sad news I often have to give to clients involves money.  No one likes to think about how much things will cost when they're dreaming of new renovation to their home, but its an unfortunate reality. 

But most homeowner's don't have a realistic measure of what things will cost when they are dreaming away, and that makes the sticker shock of contractor's price all the more painful.  Especially when it comes to what Architects call "MEP" work.  Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing... it's the stuff that makes your house WORK, but its behind the walls or cabinets or in the basement so it doesn't get much attention in the dreaming phase.

To that end, here's a brief synopsis of where your dollars will go when it comes to the real MEP nuts and bolts of a renovation. 

In order of costs, high to low...

P is for Plumbing- 

Moving plumbing fixtures, anything that requires water, hot and/or cold, and waste lines (where the water goes once you've mixed it with the dirty stuff) is probably the most expensive.  This is for several reasons:  Pipes are rigid and have to be connected at specific angles and pitches, so the work of getting them through a wall, floor, or tight space is tricky.  Plumbers are one of the highest per hour laborers, and justifiably so, because even the most experienced has to deal with a good bit of trial and error on connections. 

Plumbing fixtures themselves are expensive, and copper and cast iron aren't exactly cheap metals for pipe.  More and more municipalities are allowing PVC piping for various purposes, and some are even allowing flexible piping such as PEX. 

Another thing to consider here is that waste lines are significantly bigger, harder to move, and more prone to problems with age.  And of the big wet plumbing fixtures, your toilet and your shower or tub are going to be the most costly to move because the wasteline has to go straight through the floor, so you're often having to rip out flooring or the ceiling below.

M is for Mechanical-

 Mechanical, which pretty much covers everything that delivers heat and cooling to your home can vary widely based on the system you're working with and the space that you've got to work with.  If your heating system is supplied with hot water or steam, such as to radiators or radiant flooring, you're veering more toward the plumbing end of things and running into the same issues as above.  If your heating system is with electricity such as electric baseboard heating or electric radiant flooring systems, you veer towards the Electric costs below. 

But a lot of people have forced air systems, which can supply both heating and cooling in one package, delivered through ductwork.  Ducts are BIG honkin things, and getting them through all the cavities and walls to the location you need presents many of the same challenges as plumbing.  However, ductwork is easier to work with and you can often use flexible ductwork when you get near the end of a "run". (A "run" is the path from the heating/cooling unit, most likely in your basement, to the actual diffuser or grill that pushes the air into the room).

E is for Electric- 

Wires are tiny.  And they're easily cut and spliced together.  With the exception of some appliances that need a lot of electricity, such as a refrigerator, or a microwave, (anything that makes things hot or cold, generally) a new supply outlet can often just be connected to an existing without going the whole way to your panel in the basement.  Electricity is pretty easy to work with, even for the DIY home renovator, with some precautions. 

We would caution though that the costs skyrocket when you get to moving the panels or breakers that are the first electrical items that distribute power from the municipality power lines coming into your home.  Don't move them if you don't have to.  (And don't do it yourself, most likely.)

In-Wall Sink- COVET!!!!

Oh, if we were only redoing our tiny tiny tiny basement bathroom now... we had an offer of a medicine cabinet this weekend, and then I just stumbled on this thing online today:

According to the ReStore blog, (a Philadelphia architectural salvage clearinghouse store), it was made by Angelo Colonna of Philadelphia.  I can't find any more info on him or the sink online, but how sweet is that?  And they're selling it for only $300. 

I don't know if it works or what the limitations are, but somebody who's doing a bathroom, (or wetbar) renovation needs to get over to ReStore ASAP and scoop this puppy up.  To pull this thing out of the wall whilst making a dirty martini would elevate the drink's status to Franklin Mortgage and Investment Company heights, even if you were using six month old vermouth and Banker's club Gin.

Plus, ReStore accommodated my friends' band and let them shoot their video there.   The song/video is by Turning Violet Violet. And the cinemetography was shot by our bud Murphy who's going to be our new roommate for a month before he moves out to Colorado with his family.



(He doesn't have a full time gig out there yet, so if we have any readers from the Rocky Mountain State who are in need of some kick ass video work, let us know...)  And hell, you all could buy the sink too.  Shipping and Handling not included.

Earthtainer- What I would do if I had Sunlight

I read this article on Friday from Slate which outlined the author's experience with the Earthtainer III.

Sure, it sounds like a horrible sequel to an already middling movie combining Eco-friendly principles with high adventure and adrenaline packed action*.  But no, its just a tomato growing system that anyone can use.

But best of all, its not for sale.

Ray Newstead, the quintessential full frontal nerdity champion, who is an executive for some semiconductor company, figured out how to build the ultimate self watering tomato pot out of basic Rubbermaid storage tubs and readily available hardware.  He even spent years testing his own specially mixed growing medium for perfect tomatoes. 

Ray Newstead

And he put the instructions for how he did it online.  For free.

Here you go:

The Earthtainer III

I don't have enough sunlight anywhere in my yard to try this.  But one of you readers must.  I want to hear how it goes.

*AKA, The Day After Tommorow

Earth Day and Good Friday

A brief link to this article from Philly.com talking about the popularity of the reusable bag on Earth Day.

The best quote?:

Not every reusable bag is environmentally equal. A nonwoven polypropylene bag, for example, would have to be used just 11 times to make up for the negative effects of a plastic bag used one time, according to a British Environment Agency study that compared bags. A cotton bag, however, would have to be used 131 times.

Why would a cotton bag have to be used so much?  Because the energy that goes into its production is significantly higher... check this article from Daily Mail and the quote: 

Using a thin plastic bag - made from a plastic called high-density polyethylene (HDPE) - equates to generating 1.57kg of carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas that scientist believe leads to global warming according to the report. A cotton bag would have to be re-used 171 times to emit the same level of CO2.
Cotton bags typically made in China have a greater environmental impact because of the water and fertiliser required in their production, as well as their transportation and greater weight.

As with most things marketed to us for sale as "Green", its actually a load of crap.   Buy less, consume less. 


Also, Earth Day shouldn't be allowed to overlap with Good Friday.  Jesus totally loved his creation, but that's just putting the cart before the horse.

Verge Garden- Part 6: Planting

I'm not going to bore you with the details of how to plant things.  If you came to this blog looking for that, you're bound to be sorely disappointed.  Instead, I'll just show you the more or less finished product with a breakdownof what went into each bed.  Here's the planted Garden:

 

Each portion has a perennial ground cover in the center surrounded by four perennial herbs that will release a pleasing aroma when stepped upon.  As previously mentioned in yesterday's post, the garden beds resemble a cat burial ground more than anything else.  Hopefully the "burial" mounds will settle in time and look a little less like a Stephen King plot device.

Mazus Reptans Alba surrounded by Nutmeg Thyme.

Antennaria Dioica surrounded by Pennyroyal

Mazus Reptans Alba surrounded by Lawn Chamomile

Sedum Spurium Red Carpet surrounded by Roman Chamomile

Sedum Spurium Tricolor Surrounded by Orange Zest Thyme and Mother of Thyme

Veronica Repens surrounded by Creeping Oregano.

Verge Garden- Part 5: Planting Beds

Now that all the plants were purchased, the Verge Garden strip could finally be built.  I decided to go with the more thoughtful and considerate option B plan.  No Poison Ivy and half the work and cost.

The first step was to scrape off the top layer of sod.  This was incredibly easy and I just piled it all into my large tupperware bin thing that I use for transporting dirt in our Subaru.  (Sigh...yearning for the days of having a truck.)  Unfortunately, I did not anticipate that sod weighs about twice as much as dirt.  So when I tried lifting the mother into the back of the wagon, I think I ripped all the sinews in my inner elbows.*  Unshovel half the dirt back into the bed, dump the first sod load, reshovel and dump the second load.  Oi.

 After scraping off the top layer of sod, I spaced my brick paths evenly along the lot line. Using a trowel, I excavated to the proper level, poured a smidgen of sand down, and started laying bricks.

The further I got down the row, the tighter the space between the edge of the curb and the edge of the concrete sidewalk became.  Fortunately, I had my father's rubber mallet and masonry hammer to fit the tightest bricks into place.  Yet it still was no easy task.  Much swearing and brick chips in the eye were enjoyed.

After getting most of the way done, I realized that the proportions of the planting beds reminded me of a stray cat cemetery.  But, turning lemons into lemonade, I remembered that there are a lot of dead stray cats around our neighborhood (because of the bus route) and realized, hey, what makes better fertilizer than dead stuff?  So, collecting all the roadkill in a two block radius, I piled one into each planting bed, and covered them with 6 inches of soil.**  6 cats that finally have a final resting place.  Amen.

And now we have a beautiful, albeit, slightly morbid Verge Garden Strip, ready for all the groundcover and rock garden plants I purchased.

 

*  Yes, I know, lift with your back, not your arms.

**Just checking to see if you're reading carefully.  It's like those stupid standardized tests where they make you read the passage and then see how many relevant and irrelevant*** details you can remember.

*** Not that dead cats are irrelevant, mind you.  I find dead cats in the city to be extremely relevant, mostly because there's too many strays and I attribute very little value to their life.  So, its the one time I rooting for Septa.

Lost Camera... Again

I went back to the final location where we thought I might have lost our camera... I've checked everywhere else, but this is the second camera we've I've lost in three months.


Unfortunately, it might be under this pile of dirt.

So I just ordered a new one from ebay.  Until next week, all photos courtesy of my sister.

Russell Wholesale Gardens

Yesterday was the annual trip to Russell Wholesale Gardens.  I've linked to it many times before but it bears repeating because this place is amazing.  I was headed there to pick up a few more perrenials and the plants for the Verge Garden.  But you never know what you'll find at Russell's.  Because look at the size of this place:

 And that's just one of the area's you can visit.  It's huge and they have 10 varieties of anything you can imagine.

The difficult thing about Russell's is that it isn't for the newbie gardener.  You arrive, park your car, and go into the trailer and pick up the "Location List."

The Location List has the names of all the plants on offer that year with what aisle you can find them in.  It's much like picking up some furniture at Ikea.  Except instead of Swedish, you theoretically have to know Latin.  The list is hand numbered every year and is prone to mistakes, so you may or may not find what you're looking for.  However, you always stumble on something you weren't expecting and didn't know you needed, such as this Ranunculus.

Furthermore, if you end up finding the specific cultivar in the right aisle... it may look a little less... verdant... than the stuff at the Home Despot.

But that's actually probably better.  Most of the stuff at the big chain gardening centers is "forced", which means to put the plant in artificially warm/moist/sunny conditions to cause it to grow ahead of its appointed time.  Thus the item on the shelf looks pretty, but it's like putting a baby on anabolic steroids.  I've tried that, and trust me, it never ends well.

So, you may come across a pile of Verbascum 'Southern Charm'.  Which is one of my favorites... and it looks like this:

And there's no pretty picture guides, so unless you knew that it will eventually turn into this:

you're not likely to be as excited as I was, for a quart container for only $2.99.

After you fill the wagon, you cart your purchases back to the trailer to checkout...

 And then of course, you remember the Herb greenhouses, of which there are SEVEN...

Varieties of every herb imaginable, stuff I've never seen used in any cookbook or homeopathic quack treatment.  Basils in every color.  Mints for Tea, Mints for Mojitos, Mints for Cats.

 Gazillions of herbs, and they're only $1.40 a piece.  At that price, you are tempted to buy 50 of them.

 Which brings us to the last point about Russell.  Go in there with a budget.  I feel really good about my three trays of plants for $100... that's 15 one quart perennials and about 50 herb pots.  But that was me restraining myself... HARD.

Colorcharts.org

I've referenced colorcharts.org before, but it bears repeating now that we've discovered the cost/quality/time benefits of Behr Premium Plus Paint.

If you (or your daughter Dakota or your son unfortunately named Chad or Ian) simply must have the "Pretty as a Princess" color by Disney* (through Behr paints)...

But you have a coupon for Sherwin Williams or you really like Duron paints,  you can go to colorcharts.org.  Find the paint you want to match...

And then select, "Match this Color", and you'll get a series of different manufacturer's with a quantified score of how close their color is to the pretty pretty pretty target.

 Now, of course, you can always go to the Home Despot and just tell them to match the color.  But if you go to the one near our house, I can tell you they are not only completely unpleasant to deal with, but generally wouldn't know a  high gloss from a good high.  I don't trust em.

*Seriously though, we all know paint color names are funny.  But Disney, no matter how enamored I would ever become with my theoretical progeny, I will never paint a room in "Mickey's Pants", "Princess Power", or "Posies for Pooh".  I would advise my readers to use a matching color from colorcharts just out of principle.

Greenbo Railing Planters

Designers, douchey as we tend to be, do have a purpose in the world.

Coming up with ingenious ideas like this.  So simple, so needed, so sweet.
Greenbo Railing Planter

My cousins have a cabin in Maine that sits 40' above the ocean with nothing but a simple cable railing to obstruct the view.  In some ways, its a shame to put anything in place to obstruct that, but I could also see two simple Greenbo planters off to each side, floating effortlessly, trailing succulents perilously (although not really) in the ocean breeze.

Doors by Trustile

Often times, a door is the unsung hero of the house.  Other than the front door, which people tend to moon over a little more, the interior doors of your house just usually end up being whatever you can get cheapest off the shelf at the Home Despot.

That's why I love the design your door tool from Trustile Doors.

First of all, you can just play on that thing for hours... picking out flat panel, raised panel, 7 panel, ogee trim, bevel trim, rounded top, glazing, resin inserts, whatever.  It allows you to see how much impact a well designed door can have.

On top of that, they just make a quality paint grade MDF door (in addition to the solid wood ones, but solid wood doors should only be used in hunting cabins at the lake or period dramas set in the 1980s or the 1890s.)  And they have specialty art glass from Bendheim and Resin inserts from 3form as part of their standard offerings.

Quote That I Love Right Now

Not a single friend commented on this on my facebook page... so I'll throw it out to complete strangers...

"Then an experience that perhaps no good man can ever have in our world came over him--- a torrent of perfectly unmixed and lawful hatred. The energy of hating, never before felt without some guilt, without some dim knowledge that he was failing fully to distinguish the sinner from the sin, rose into his arms and legs till he felt that they were pillars of burning blood. What was before him appeared no longer a creature of corrupted will. It was corruption itself to which will was attached only as an instrument. Ages ago, it had been a Person: but the ruins of personality now survived in it only as weapons at the disposal of a furious self-exiled negation. It is perhaps difficult to understand why this filled [him] not with horror but with a kind of joy. The joy came from finding at last what hatred was made for. As a boy with an axe rejoices on finding a tree, or a boy with a box of coloured chalks rejoices on finding a pile of perfectly white paper, so he rejoiced in the perfect congruity between his emotion and its object."

I love this quote... obviously, its googlable, but can you identify the novel offhand?

Waveline and Waveline Mini from Island Stone

We're receiving tile samples for the residential project I'm working on today and the one I'm most excited to see in person is from Island Stone.  On the whole, I like their product offerings, but one drawback is that they charge Architects to order samples.  Free samples are a courtesy in the industry and I had half a mind to not use their products because of it.  Its the little things that matter...

But, my client really likes the Waveline glass tile, and the price, at least from our local distributor is a mere $7/SF.  That's cheaper than basic mosaics from the Home Despot.

 So, we'll see if the real thing matches up with the pictures, which look sweet.

They also have a "mini" version which coordinates nicely and might be better for a small accent within a larger field of plain tile...