Siting Your Home - An Architect's Tutorial

There's a lot of 'ground' to cover when talking about choosing the ideal location to place your home and given just how individual each site is it would make for a very long video.  So, I've outlined my process in more detail here to help guide you from purchase point to design concept.  I'd love to hear from you, let me know if this helped in any way and as always you can send your questions to eric@thirtybyforty.com

YOUR SITE

This is where it all begins.  More often than not, the site is a strong generator of building form and orientation, as well as material and color for my buildings, so this step is a critical one.  The site is the genius loci for your project, wine makers call it terroir and understand that the site is the key to the ultimate flavor of wine.  The site is really important to me and it should be to you too.  It can be the raw land you’ve purchased, an empty building lot in a subdivision, the street on which you bought a row house, or even the floor of a warehouse you purchased.

b_siteananalysis_2

Sites vary widely in their scale and reach but they all share some basic characteristics.  The site will have topography, it will have utilities and if it’s remote enough and doesn’t have utilities then you’ll need to plan how you’ll get things like power, phone, cable, water supply and how you’ll address things like sewage disposal.  Sites will all have access points and boundaries.  Depending on your particular situation it may have streams, forest, a significant tree, an orchard, lawn, a glacial erratic, wetlands, a lake or pond, even other structures and roadways.

More broadly, your site exists within a cultural context and a set of local building traditions.  If you’ve lived near your site for a long time, you’re probably aware of these.  If you’re new to the area observe your surroundings, read a little about the history of your area.  I always take clues from industrial or agrarian structures, which derive maximum benefit from minimal expenditure.  These structures plainly exhibit local know-how because their limited budgets require it.  Their choice of materials reflect local building norms and practice and while many may be in a state of disrepair, look more deeply for the origins of these selections.

DOCUMENT EVERYTHING

siteimpression

It’s important to document as much of this information as you can, within reason.  I begin by walking the site without anything in my hands.  This allows me to focus on important site features (and avoid tripping) without distraction.  I make mental notes of things that stand out, where the sun is, where the wind is coming from, views, sounds.  If the site is urban, this will entail walking the neighborhood, think of your site as everything within a 5-10 minute stroll.  If possible, visit the site at different times of the day, and at least once in the morning and once in the evening.  You’ll come away from these site walks knowing a lot more about the site and surrounding area than you had before.  Take photographs from a variety of vantage points.  This records the site pre-intervention and serves as a nostalgic record (think before-after photos).  Additionally, your building permit process or design review board may require them and you’ll reference them at various times during design as a source of inspiration.  Document all of this in a sketchbook, on your tablet, with a voice recorder, whatever way you choose.  I usually quickly sketch my impressions in a diagram, which is my way of visually hardwiring this information.  I find it easier to recall when I have to generate it by hand.

If your site has varied topography, sits on a hillside, near a stream or if it will be subject to stringent review by a design review or zoning board, you’ll probably need a survey.  There are basic surveys and there are boundary surveys.  The type you will require will depend on your specific situation, but more often than not you’ll only require a basic survey.  A boundary survey will be required when your deed doesn’t specifically outline the property lines or if there is some questionable division of your lot.  This isn’t a normal situation, but if you purchase this type of lot it will require deed research by a law clerk to determine historical land transfers, which, isn’t cheap.

If you do require a survey, contact a local professional land surveyor and ask how much a basic survey would cost.  Local surveyors are a great resource to tap and meeting one on your site can provide insights into lot history, neighbors, contractors and potential pitfalls regarding the local permitting process.   Be sure to pick their brains, their local knowledge is often invaluable.

TIP: if you’re looking to save money have the surveyor provide you with 2’ contour only in and around the area you’re considering building.  You can walk the site together and with some surveyor’s flagging map out an area together.  They can help you determine other site features you may have overlooked and decide whether you’ll need to locate them on the plan or not.

SURVEY BASICS

• Reference Point

• Property Lines

• Other Structures

• Flood Elevation

• Driveways

• Utilities

• Contour/Topography

• Significant Trees

• Other Significant Features

• Setbacks

REFERENCE POINT

Always have your surveyor set an elevation benchmark or reference point.  This is usually in the form of a nail set with orange flagging somewhere on site and tied back to their plan and noted as E.R.P. (Elevation Reference Point).

PROPERTY LINES

Have them locate the property lines per your deed.

OTHER STRUCTURES

Sheds, nearby houses, garages, barns, silos.

FLOOD ELEVATION

If you’ll be living in a flood plan, you’ll need this for insurance and the bank will require it for loans.

DRIVEWAYS

Existing, other access points.

UTILITIES

Power (overhead/buried), propane tanks, gas lines, cable, water, sewer.

CONTOUR

In surveyor-speak, this refers to the exact elevation and slope of the land.  Contour lines on a map connect points of similar elevation.  These lines are set at a specific interval depending on the scale of the map.  Many topographic navigation maps use a 20’ interval, with each line representing a 20’ difference in elevation from the adjacent line.  The closer the lines are together on the map, the steeper the site is and conversely, the farther apart the more flat the site is.  For your purposes, a 2’ interval should be sufficient.  If you’re very concerned with how closely your building will adhere to your site contour you may wish to have a 1’ interval mapped, but this will be twice as expensive as the 2’ option.

SIGNIFICANT TREES

If preserving trees are important to you, have him pick up the trees within that zone that are greater than 16” in diameter.

OTHER SIGNIFICANT FEATURES

Water bodies, fencing, stone walls, etc.

SETBACKS

If there are setbacks from waterlines, wetlands, easements or restricted areas ask them to locate those on the plan as well.  Always request a CAD file and PDF of their work.  This will help save on survey costs, which can add up quickly.  Survey costs in Maine as of publication date range between $3500-5000 for a basic survey around a building site with 2’ contours indicated, tied to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD).

TIP: Google Earth is a great tool to see your site in context at a variety of scales. You may even find historical views and maps of your site as a layer within Google Earth.  Print out the most current view of your site and use it to document your findings, it’s a great way to conduct a no-cost site analysis and see your site from a different perspective.

A few other items to consider at this stage:

1) Deed: secure a copy of your deed if you haven’t already and review it to be sure there are no restrictions listed that would prevent you from doing what you’re proposing.  Pay particular attention to easements (number of structures allowed, utilities, view, access, etc.).  You’re legally bound to this document even if the town doesn’t have jurisdiction to enforce it.

2) Septic system: if your site doesn’t have access to a municipal sewer system you’ll need to hire a soils scientist to design a subsurface wastewater disposal system.  Basically a septic system.

3) Power: contact your local utility to verify the process and more importantly, the timeline, for getting power to your site.  If it’s far from the grid expect to pay between $10-$20 per foot to construct overhead primary power line.  Buried power line, as you’d expect, is more expensive and depends on site conditions (bedrock, streams, etc.)

site analysis

DIAGRAM

Once you’ve compiled as much of the information above, add it to your SITE file folder. You'll use all of this information to diagram the site.  It need not be particularly good looking or graceful, it only needs to be useful.  This synthesis of information usually quite quickly highlights areas of the site to be developed and suggests areas to explore.  It may even result in design concepts.  The diagram at left led me to a design concept for the house which I proposed for this site based on the idea of a camera lens.  The gradation of light and view along with the existing site textures set in motion a particular thought process that led to this and other concepts for this property.  My video describes a more fluid way of looking at all of these technicalities together but in the end, the goal is to get to a diagram that clearly describes the limitations of the site which at the same time graphically represents the possibilities of the site.

As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts and questions about your site, please feel free to contact me.  Please subscribe to my YouTube channel  if you'd like to keep up with future workshops.

3 Keys to Working With Your Contractor

Renovating, constructing or remodeling your home is always a stressful time.  You’re hemorrhaging money, there’s a seemingly endless volley of questions, and you may be living in amongst dust and debris, doing dishes in the bathroom sink. Early on, you absorb these inconveniences as part of the process but as deadlines come and go, It’s easy to let yourself project your frustrations on to the one entity who is responsible for you things not being complete.  Unfortunately, as an Architect, I’ve seen much good will sour between Owner and Contractor during the final weeks of a project when stress levels are greatest. If you take the time up front to follow a few basic rules you can trade stress and anxiety for confidence knowing that things are organized and running smoothly. Honestly, you owe it to yourself considering the staggering amount of money you’ll be investing in your home.  You really should enjoy it as much as you possibly can.

So many outcomes in life are the result of good communication, let’s start there…

1) Open Communication

From the outset of your project clearly define and discuss your expectations for communication.  Set up a pre-construction meeting, preferably at the building site.  Use this time to hand off the final drawing set and specifications, you do have drawings and specifications right?  Setup a meeting schedule and discuss your preferred immediate contact method: email, twitter, cell?  Try to stress that this be reserved for only the most immediate of questions, ones that would hold up progress if they weren’t answered immediately.  You don’t want to be a stumbling block, but equally you can’t be expected to answer the hundreds of potential questions that could arise in day’s work.  On projects where I’m observing the construction process I schedule a weekly meeting which I usually request to be on Wednesdays.  This allows the Contractor time to mobilize on Monday; work through issues on Tuesday and by Wednesday there’s typically a backlog of questions to be answered.  I expect to get sporadic questions throughout the week that are simple to answer and may allow work to progress with minimal time disruption on my part or the Contractor’s, but calls every half hour I strongly discourage.  Establishing this workflow early on enables everyone to be more efficient in accomplishing his or her tasks.

Insist that all communication to and from subcontractors go through the General Contractor, and remember, you must abide by this rule as well.  It’s easy to have a casual conversation with a subcontractor, but never allow this to be confused with supervision or direction.  That is the sole responsibility of the Contractor; it’s not a role you should assume as this often results in costly additions to the project.  This reinforces accountability on the Contractor’s part and ensures nothing gets lost in translation between you and someone on a subcontractor’s crew who has no authority to make decisions or may not understand the financial underpinnings of your project.

2) Well defined, clear expectations

The easiest way to be sure your Contractor is delivering what YOU want and equally what HE thought YOU wanted (and ultimately priced), is to have a set of drawings, schedules and specs.  This doesn’t have to mean spending tens of thousands on an architect, although I think that’s a good investment too and, by the way, one that you can finance inside of your mortgage.  It does mean that you spend more time up front thinking about all aspects of your projects.  Because I know what a daunting part of the process this can be I’ve developed a checklist to help you.  There’s more than you might initially think.  It’s often the reason people feel so overwhelmed during construction, they haven’t ever considered the quantity of materials that go into making a house.  Grout color, cabinet hardware, door knobs, hinges, glass type, paint, flooring, fasteners, insulation, roofing, siding, these are just a few of things to think about.  Remember that your vision of your home has evolved over time, in your headspace, and it’s nearly impossible for your Contractor to completely understand what you were thinking unless it’s translated somehow onto paper.  That’s the easiest way of letting them know exactly what you want.

bunkhouse plans

Plans.  This is where most people start and finish when thinking about building a new home.  “What does the plan look like?”  We’ve all looked at plans before, but have you ever looked at plan and then walked through a house built from that plan?  It’s quite a different experience right?  Plans, diagrams really, monochromatic lines on paper abstractly representing walls, cabinetry, doors, windows, and plumbing fixtures.   While the floor plan remains the most accessible of all drawings there’s so much more to constructing a house than merely drawing and fine-tuning a floor plan. Think of a floor plan as your rhythm section, it sets the beat and establishes order.  But without a lead guitar, rhythm guitar, a bass…what do you have?  The supporting instruments are all of the other documents that describe how the house will look.  You’re probably familiar with elevations too, which are the flattened views of the exterior walls.  There are undoubtedly parts of your living environment that you don’t even notice…take like lights for example you need lights, right, but there’s a huge difference between your vision of the hand-blown Italian glass pendant you’ve always wanted and the recessed can lights your Contractor was thinking you’d want. Look around you and know that your Contractor will do this with every item in your home.  He’ll choose one thing to price and install and if it’s not expressly called out you won’t any recourse but to say, “Thanks…I think?”

Bunkhouse Overview

This applies to plumbing fixtures, flooring, and hardware for your doors, every surface, counters, and appliances, even fasteners.  What’s great is that all of these things fit neatly into their own categories in the specifications.  Contractors are trained to look for them and read specifications.  If you hand your Contractor a set of drawings, schedules and specifications, you’ll set yourself apart immediately as an informed consumer.  This nets better pricing, fewer conflicts and a better final product, because it’s directly translates your ideas into something your Contractor can easily understand, price and construct. You’ll sleep better too.

Your specifications or schedules don’t have to be extremely detailed; they can even be as simple as a one-page list.  But, if you don’t have any you risk a huge gulf between your vision (nice finishes, fine detailing, good windows) and your Contractor’s vision (which will be based solely on economy).

3) Minimize changes

Pondhouse Construction

It’s human nature to tweak, revise, rethink, re-imagine and change your mind.  I totally support this, (within reason), I actually encourage it especially during the early design phases.  It’s liberating to let go of preconceptions, old ideas, and embrace fresh thoughts this is the dreaming phase.   When your ideas still only exist on paper the cost to move walls, add baths, make a room 2’ wider is far lower than during construction. Here again, this supports the case for having a set of drawings and schedules and specifications.  You can clearly see how the furniture in your new living room might fit (and here's the key) before the foundation is cast and walls are constructed.  Undoubtedly you'll arrive after the framing is in place and say to yourself, "Wow, this space is different (insert larger/smaller) than I thought it would be..."  This experience inevitably leads to thoughts of redesigning, enlarging, and retooling.  Try to resist this urge.  The scale of buildings changes throughout construction and it's all based on points of reference.  When the foundation has been poured you'll be left thinking you've made a tiny house, no matter the size.  This is because you're comparing it to larger context of the surrounding site, whether it's other structures, forest, or a sweeping mountain view.  After the house is framed, often times rooms look larger than you imagined.  After the house has been sheet-rocked you'll again face this shift in scale...too small.  If you react at each one of these points your new home will now look renovated, your pockets will be empty and your Contractor will probably have another boat.  Changes along the way always cost more.

One more important thing to recognize about changes during construction is that the true cost can often be elusive when the pressure of budgets and construction schedules are in play.  The siding change you made to 'save' money may actually cost you more in the end after the restocking fee (because it was already ordered) and the added labor to install the less expensive siding is factored in.  There are so many variables that go into the building of a house that it's often hard for a Contractor to quantify how cost shifting is to be accounted for in the budget.  The net result?  Nine times out of ten, it's easier for the Contractor to recalculate and levy an up-charge for the simple reason that its costing them more time and effort to re-calibrate the process already set in motion.

Be confident in your design decisions as you follow construction, rely on the planning decisions you made early in the process and most of all...enjoy the process, most of us only build a home once.

Video Review: Decking

A follow-up to my previous post on wood decking. Remember, try and source local materials (within 500 miles) whenever possible.  These products tend to consume fewer resources (less fossil fuels to transport), they support local economies and they're generally better suited to your local climate. A quick call to your local lumberyard should net you current pricing on each of these options. In my experience a ranked list from most affordable to most expensive would look like this:

• P/Treated Southern Yellow Pine
• Eastern White STK
• Atlantic White Cedar
• Douglas Fir
• Western Red Cedar
• Port Orford
• Redwood
• Tropical Hardwoods - Ipe, Mahogany, Teak...

Check out Wood, Steel + Glas' site for more information on Atlantic White Cedar, they're a great resource and happily send samples.  As always, I'd love to hear from you with your comments or questions.

Material Review : Wood Decking

DESIGN

Pond house deck

Most of my projects utilize decks as transition elements between the inside finished floor of the house and the ground level surrounding the house.  While I try to keep the floor as close to the adjacent grade and topography I usually aim for about 1'-0" +/- and depending on the slope of the site in places it may be 1'-6" or more.  Keeping close to the 1'-0" dimension at transition elements allows for a 4" step down to the deck surface and an ~8" step to grade from the deck, which could also utilize a stone step element or other site feature to bridge the gap.  This offset to finished floor from grade also allows for drainage around the house and ensures snow build-up doesn't become a problem. One thing to keep in mind when planning your transition deck elements is to try to keep the top of the deck surface within 30" of the adjacent topography.  Anything higher than this will require a 42" high guardrail or wall by code (and for safety!)

As transition elements, decks can engage the site in a way the house can't.  If they're freestanding and not connected to the house (which I recommend whenever possible) they can be set at almost any height without the same concerns one has with setting the building floor too low.  Keeping decks as separate elements has the added benefit of not puncturing holes in the siding or foundation or all the worry of flashing details.

Generally, I prefer to keep decks as simple as possible: regular, rectangular forms, no chamfered corners or multi-level every-trick-in-the-bag affairs.  Regularized, rectangular forms accommodate seating groups well and they make economical use of framing materials.  The key to integrating your deck into the architecture of your home is to reference the interior and exterior spaces with the geometry of the deck.  Try to wrap these elements around a building corner which engages the architecture and feels deliberate.

Try to connect interior and exterior floor planes with decks, generally large glazed exterior walls are natural locations to connect interior and exterior spaces.  My advice with any design element is to make the gesture large, singular and with purpose. Note how the Pond House deck is a long singular gesture, almost wharf-like.   It follows the geometry of the house, wraps the corner and connects the interior and exterior spaces.  It transitions from land to water and while it's more than 30" above the adjacent topography the cable rail guard virtually disappears.

MATERIALS

There general categories of natural wood decking are: Pressure treated lumber, Cedars + Redwood, and Tropical Hardwoods.  Let's start with the most common of all decking materials...

Pressure treated wood

PT, the colloquial term, is made from Southern Yellow Pine and is soaked in chemicals under pressure to preserve it, this lends a green tint to the fresh wood, which over time weathers to a muddy brown. The chemical formulations used to treat wood have changed over time as manufacturers discover which ones are carcinogens and choose a new 'greener' formula. Beyond the toxic nature of the preservatives in PT wood, pine is generally considererd dimensionally unstable and is prone to warping and cracking...doesn't sound great if it's a surface you or your children will walk on with bare feet, right? Many people choose PT wood because it's inexpensive and readily available in all of the big box stores, but I would urge you, if you're able, to steer away from this as an option even if it means making your deck smaller and use one of the following materials.

Cedars + Redwood

wood decking various types

These woods are naturally rot and decay resistant, their resins and tannins protect them even without finish and they weather to a soft, silvery gray if left untreated (which I recommend).  These woods have the added benefit of being easy to cut and fasten, they're lightweight and they look very tailored. Because they're softwoods they will dent and scratch with time but equally they're soft underfoot.  Typically these woods are graded by appearance, clearer grades being more expensive.  Buy the best grade you can afford, and each lumberyard has different terminology related to each grade.  Do be afraid to ask and look at their stock, they're there to help.  A vertical grain board will be more dimensionally stable and look better than a plainsawn board. The Western Red Cedar Association has an excellent guide to selecting cedar for decking, you can find it here.

Here at 30X40 Design Workshop I try to use local products whenever possible.  Local is generally accepted to mean any location within 500 miles, which ensures that the product has low embodied energy (the total energy cost associated with getting the product to market) and doesn't negate the 'green' aspect of choosing a natural product in the first place.  The local products I have access to are Eastern White Cedar STK 1x6 decking and Atlantic White Cedar decking.  The Eastern White Cedars are known for being knotty but the STK grade assures you receive only small tight knots.  This also limits the board lengths to about 8', which is totally workable with both 16" + 24" framing modules that you'll be fastening the decking to.  I've used Western Red Cedar and Port Orford Cedar in quite a few projects and while neither material is local, I still prefer them to pressure treated.  If you request FSC certified wood you can be assured you'll receive wood that was sustainably harvested.

Douglas Fir Decking

Another softwood that bears mentioning is Douglas Fir.  It will typically be less expensive than Western Red, Port Orford, and the Atlantic White, but with similar characteristics.  Fir doesn't have the same rot resistance as the cedars, but it looks great and if you're able to finish it with a penetrating oil sealer it will last.  It has the added benefit of being slightly harder than redwood and cedar.  Use this if you've used fir in other areas of your project, it can help tie things together.

Tropical Hardwoods

These woods are even more durable and rot resistant than the Cedars + Redwoods.  However, they have two downsides that I would consider fairly substantial.  First, harvesting practices of tropical hardwoods are extremely variable and, because they often come from developing nations, are often environmentally devastating.  The embodied energy of these materials is subsequently very high, traveling from rainforest by truck > rail > port > port > rail > truck > lumberyard, not to mention the carbon sink you remove from clearing rainforest. Secondly, because the materials are so dense they're difficult to work with, they dull tools and require pre-drilling of holes prior to fastening.  There are too may species to mention by name, but you've probably heard of some of the most popular, Mahogany, Teak, and the very popular Ipe (say: ee-pay) or Ironwood.  True to its name Ipe is solid, strong and looks beautiful.  It weathers to a soft gray and can be brought back to its original color by lightly power-washing.  Again, I've used this material on projects (Pond House above) and can attest to its durability, strength and beauty, but it comes at a cost...both environmental and financial. Request FSC certified if your conscience suggests it and while you'll pay more for the chain of custody certification you'll know while sipping your G&T on your deck that you didn't clear cut a developing nation to make it possible.

Size/Thickness

Most decking I use is 5/4x6  (the actual dimensions are 1"x5 1/2", as they surface the boards removing 1/4" of total thickness and 1/2" of width).  Not all projects call for this size, but generally wider boards=lower labor costs to install and fewer fasteners.  Each material can be sourced in differing widths or even set on their sides down to about 2" in width.  With the softwoods you won't want to go less than 5/4 thickness as the material can feel spongy underfoot...remember it's a softwood.  The 4" wide boards can look very boat-like and tailored sI have a soft spot for that look.

Fasteners

Ipe square drive screws

I prefer stainless steel screws.  They hold well, they don't require pre drilling (on most woods), they allow you to pull boards for replacement at any time and I think they look great.  Choose your head pattern...personally, I prefer the square drive but many contractors don't like how easy the screws can strip.  Star drive heads don't look as nice but they install quite easily and the added torque resistance keeps them from stripping.  Many of the tropical hardwoods will require pre drilling with a countersink bit to keep the head below the surface level.  Some contractors swear by ring shank stainless steel nails...those work too, good holding power, but around softwoods think about flying hammers and dented wood.  Not my favorite...and the drive depth can vary which can mean you're feeling the nail heads under foot.

Finishing

Don't.  Seriously, let the wood weather naturally...you have other things to maintain don't you?  Choose a wood that silvers and resists rot and decay and you'll be able to relax and enjoy your deck rather than washing, sanding, and sealing.  If you like tedious work or want to preserve the color of your new wood, choose a penetrating oil rather than a film forming protective coating.  Penetrating oils mimic the natural oils in products like cedar and help keep it from warping and cracking while letting the wood breathe and dry after wetting.  Beware, this is an ongoing chore and if you neglect it you'll work even harder to get the new wood look back.

What about plastic decking?

Esthetically, if you care at all how your deck looks or you want to brag about what good taste you have...please don't use plastic decking.  I always argue for the natural over the synthetic and this is a case where some of the materials in these products (like PVC) are harmful to people and the environment.  They may outlast you and require very little maintenance, but in my opinion they're truly a strange beast.  They imitate everything about the natural product you'll wish you'd bought, wood graining, coloration, and size.  Save the plastic for your drain pipes.

Do you have a favorite material I've left out?  I'd love to hear from you...meanwhile, I'm planning to post a price comparison for some of the products I specify regularly.

Material Review : Limestone

Resources for my limestone tile review

As promised, a few of the sources I mentioned in the video...

Stone Source - browse their extensive archive online and call them to requests a small sample(s)...if you need help, drop me a line.  I used Bateig Azul, which is a soft gray, with fine veining.

Stonetech Bulletproof - You must seal limestone, do this immediately after you lay it and before you grout it.  The Bulletproof name says it all...use liberally, it will keep the stone in top shape.

Important Points

1) Samples: free samples are a must when comparing your material palette to the sample.  Limestones range in color from gold/yellows to blue/grays to green/grays to white/grays.  Each limestone can vary in fossilized creature content and veining, this is why samples are critical.

2) Buy gauged stone: which is basically stone sawn to a regularized thickness.  This makes tile setting easier and ensures the surface prep you worked so hard on translates to a level finished surface.

3) Finish: honed is what you're looking for, soft and subtle.  Bush-hammered (I mention 'flamed' in the video, but the better term is bush-hammered) is a rough face, use this carefully as accents in light-duty exposures.

"Limestone is porous and can easily be etched by acidic liquids."

4) Seal: limestone is porous and can easily be etched by acidic liquids (and lots of liquids are acidic...), take the time to seal your honed surfaces properly at regular intervals.

I posted on my Longhouse blog a ways back the process of installing my limestone in my bathrooms.  You can find that here.  As always, if you have questions or comments I'd love to hear from you.

Hello...

In case we haven't met, I'm Eric. Among other things, I'm an architect, an avid mountain hiker and biker, a proud father of two, a husband, guitar player, documentary film fan, a home brewer and New Yorker. For now, I consider myself a Mainer, (although locals would disagree) living just off the coast of Maine on a rather large island, Mount Desert Island, home to Acadia National Park.

Please pardon all of the white space as I'm preparing material for my new blog entitled '30x40'.  I've moved on from the Longhouse blog, started back in 2006/2007 to chronicle the construction of our home. Although I no longer publish posts there, it continues to serve as an online resource documenting the process of an architect creating a modest home on a tight budget.

My plans for this new space are still taking shape. Part of this project is to seek out new opportunities for collaboration, forge new connections to a wider world and to fulfill a promise to myself to continue to reinvent life and remain creatively challenged.  I owe many thanks to Pat Flynn, Chris Guillebeau and Tim Ferriss for the inspiration to commit and do something.  I'm equal parts excited and apprehensive...I'd be honored if you'd stay tuned...