Home Addition - One Project Start to Finish

This is part one of a series of posts that will attempt to tell a story of a project from beginning to end, from concept to completion. It is based on a typical home renovation project in Montgomery County Maryland, but many of the issues convey to most jurisdictions throughout the United States.

PROJECT INCEPTION:

The Big Idea:

All projects start with an idea. It may be a good idea, it may be a bad idea, but you have to start somewhere. Then, by identifying priorities, developing a scope and researching what's allowed by zoning and code we evaluate and refine your ideas. This systematic planning allows you to conserve resources of both time and money and move forward with your project in a defined path with a realistic goal.

Developing a Scope of Work:

You’re sick of sharing the bathroom. The galley kitchen is ridiculously small. A parent or two is moving in and would prefer the privacy and autonomy of an in-law suite. You have absolutely no closet space. You could buy a new house, but….

You like your old neighborhood, you’re near everything you need, your neighbors are nice, the schools are good, and the property values are stable and rising.

These are some of the frustrations and cross currents that lead one to feel that they need to renovate. After you have decided that moving is not an option it is time to hunker down and decide what it is you really don’t like about your house as it is, and list those things. What are your NEEDS? Write them down. Really write them down. This will help you prioritize them.

Necessities, Needs and Wants:

It can be tough to clearly distinguish between necessities, needs and wants, but necessities are things that absolutely must be fixed, often due to health and safety concerns.

We have to fix the leaking roof, the foundation is settling and cracking, the heat isn’t working properly. These are pretty serious NECESSITIES.

We need another bathroom. We need a real master suite. We need a kitchen that works with our lifestyle. We need a family room. We need a place to function as a mudroom. These are all typical NEEDS.

We want a front porch. We want the laundry on the second floor. We want granite countertops. We want a fireplace. We want stainless steel appliances. These are typical WANTS.

These items should all be listed and prioritized and this will later become what we call the architectural program. The program is the first step to actually designing your space, so it's important that it is thought out and well-defined.

What's next?

This diagram shows the Roadmap we will be running through during the course of this blog.

Home Office Renovation Update

“Plans are useless, planning is indispensable.” This quote, or a similar variation, is attributed to President Eisenhower, and refers to his preparations for battle when he was a General. The same can be said of any home renovation project.

A good set of design drawings is vital to the success of the project for a number of reasons. Your home renovation plans will help you acquire building permits, receive accurate bids from contractors and help you understand the size of your future space. No set of plans is perfect though, and as the project moves from design through construction, things change. Your plans must change with them, and it’s for this reason that planning is just as important as the actual construction drawings.

The process of creating your plans will help you and your architect become more familiar with your project. This will pay dividends not only through inspiring new ideas, but by helping all parties involved become more familiar with the project. The more you know about the project, the more things you consider in the planning phase, the fewer, or less disruptive, surprises you’ll encounter when the project begins to be built.

An exciting project we currently have under construction is a large carriage house that is being converted into a home office. We began the project with a site visit and then built a 3D model of the carriage house based on measurements and pictures. Through the planning process we worked closely with the owners to customize the space to fit their needs. As construction began however, the clients recognized new opportunities for the space that had not been considered. Due to the time and effort we spent in planning, we were able to more easily integrate these new ideas into updated construction documents. These ideas included, among other things, additional storage, a skylight and a new exterior door.

See the sliding images on this page for some comparison images showing the original design and what is actually being built.

What's Behind a Coffee Shop?

We were very happy recently to be selected as the architects for a new coffee shop that went into Silver Spring this summer called Mankira Coffee.

Many people would think that a coffee shop is a fairly straightforward endeavor. Simple enough process, grind quality beans, use good equipment, and hire great people and you’re on your way. But you need one very important thing before you can sell your first cup of coffee, a building permit.

The basic building permit is pretty straightforward, typical occupant load, number of restrooms, egress path of travel. Basic life safety issues.

The Health Department can be a little but more nuanced in deciding number and location of sinks, etc.

Our local Water Utility became the most difficult to deal with. WSSC (Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission)

Grease Traps or Interceptors were the big issue. The science of sizing grease traps can be a bit confusing. Though it seems as if it should be scientific. First you need to figure out if your foods will produce FOG (Fats, Oils, and Grease) You will also need to decide if you are using a Volume Based or a Flow Based Interceptor. WSSC 1003.1 gives some direction in this regard for people working in Montgomery County MD.

After dealing with the DPS (Department of Permitting Services, The Health Department, and WSSC, we could finally get down to some architecture.

The fun part of this building type is working a fairly complex operation into a tight space, with a fully visible food prep area and a customer flow that needs to be directed without being constraining. On top of that we needed to incorporate some cool graphics that not only create their brand, but make the space a pleasant place to have a cup of coffee.

DIY Renovation: Can I Remove That Wall?

Can I take this wall down?

 

Reworking the floor plan of your existing house is a great way to complete a renovation or open up some more space in your home. Whether you work with an architect or want to try to DIY,  you will likely come across a wall that you want removed.

So, how exactly can you tell if that wall is safe to take down? Most homeowners will immediately question whether or not the wall is load-bearing, but that's just part of it.

MEPS is a useful acronym for the four primary concerns when removing a wall. Mechanical (ductwork), Electrical (outlets, switches, concealed wiring), Plumbing (water pipes and plumbing vents) and Structure.

 

Mechanical:


This one is pretty obvious. If you have a forced air heating and cooling system is there a vent in the wall? If not check in rooms above and below to try to make sure that there is not a vent in those locations that is being supplied by a concealed duct in the wall you want to remove. If so the vent will have to be relocated. Often times it can simply be moved to the floor, ceiling or adjacent wall but in all cases this involves not only new ductwork but disturbance to areas beyond the wall itself.

Electrical:

Again this is typically fairly obvious in that it is visible, and again these things can typically be moved, and again be aware that there may be concealed wires that are supplying things above or below the wall you want to remove.

What looks like a large header is actually just backing for the plaster wall finish. There was an inch gap between that large piece of wood and the floor joists above, meaning there was no weight bearing on the wall.

Plumbing:

Plumbing can be a little trickier in that pipe can be running through a wall from a related area but the same basic rules apply as with Mechanical and electrical.

Structural:

This is usually the most significant is of the MEPS. It is not always obvious if the wall in question is a bearing wall (aka structural) but there are a few ways to try to determine if the wall is structural. Be sure to consult an architect, engineer or contractor if you aren't sure. 

If the framing either above or below is exposed, this will let you see if the framing members (joist for floors, and rafters for roofs) are resting either on the wall from above or if the wall is resting on a beam or wall below.

If you have hardwood flooring it is typical (though not always the case) for the hardwood to be laid out in a direction perpendicular to the joists which in turn are perpendicular to the bearing walls, so the flooring could give away the fact that the bearing walls are parallel to the flooring

In addition other things to consider especially if it is a wall that completely divides two spaces without any openings are floors and ceilings:

Are the floors and ceilings plumb and level and will they align after the wall comes down? If yes, great, if not you may have to level things out which can get involved.

For the floors, this can get tricky, especially if the floor finish has thickness to it such as hardwood. You may have to remove a good deal of the hardwood and replace it.

Removing a wall can be a quick easy way to radically change the feel of the spaces in a house. With the proper foresight the task can be undertaken in a productive manner with as little disruption as possible.