Lumen ID Custom Wood Switchplates

We've been in contact with Rand Soellner Architects in North Carolina who wants to offer custom wood engraved switchplates to his clients. He designs beautiful rustic wood homes usually in the mountains or other rural areas. We produced this sample for his clients to consider using in their homes (see image on right). We tried a variety of the fonts, but settled on Papyrus, which coincidentally is Rand's font on his letterhead. It just seems to feel right with the casual and natural quality of the wood. For more information visit Lumen ID.

Seattle Basement Remodel

So many homes in Seattle need their basements remodeled. Often remodeling the basement will double the living space of a home. And the space already exists! We're finding in this down economy that smaller projects like basement remodels become more popular since they are more affordable to complete, and it's a quick way to add usable space to a home.

One challenge we find is what to do with all the stuff people have accumulated in the basement. One couple wanted to turn their garage into a room to use as a crafts room and storage. Be careful with this, because in Seattle you usually have to have one legal parking space on you property for a single family residence (2 spaces if you have an ADU - mother-in-law apartment). The legal parking space cannot be in the street or in your front yard setback. Of course you can keep your garage and just fill it with all your stuff! You just can't take away that garage door and make it interior living space.

For more information about Seattle basement remodels visit Seattle Architects.

Remodeling your entire house?

Completing a whole house remodel is a challenging project! We've added an article to our website about remodeling the entire house that walks you through the steps and introduces some ideas to think about as you plan your project. For more information visit Seattle Architects Motionspace Architecture + Design PLLC.

Adding a Second Story Addition to your Home

We've added a new article to our website that helps describe the process of adding a second story addition to your home. We're getting a lot of calls for second story additions in Seattle probably because of the lack of land. Often homes are already built to the setbacks, so going up is the only place to add space to an existing home. It can be expensive, though. Usually we budget at least $200/sf (that's a minimum) for construction cost. For more information visit Seattle Architects Motionspace Architecture + Design PLLC.

Handrail Code Items

Handrail codes have relaxed over the years to allow for a variety of shapes and sizes. Here are some of the relevant code items for the 2006 Seattle Residential Building Code:

• Must be positioned 34"-38" when measured vertically above the front of each tread.
• If installed against a wall, the space between the handrail and the wall may not be less than 1 1/2"
  
• Must extend at least from a point directly above the lowest riser to a point directly above the upper riser (it can extend beyond these points). See next bullet point for exception.
  
• At the bottom tread, a 'starting newel' is allowed over the lowest tread (meaning the handrail may end a little earlier than above the lowest riser).
  
• Handrails must return to wall or to newel post.
• For the actual handrail you have two choices:
  
  Type 1: Handrails with a circular cross section must have a diameter between 1 1/4" - 2". If the handrail is not circular, the perimeter dimension must be at least 4" and not greater than 6 1/4" with a maximum cross section dimension of 2 1/4".
  
  Type 2: Handrails with a perimeter greater than 6 1/4" shall provide a graspable finger recess area on both sides of the profile. The finger recess shall begin within a distance of 3/4" measured vertically from the tallest portion of the profile and achieve a depth of at least 5/16" within 7/8" below the widest portion of the profile. This required depth shall continue for at least 3/8" to a level that is not less than 1 3/4" below the tallest portion of the profile. The minimum width of the handrail above the recess shall be 1 1/4" to a maximum of 2 3/4". Edges shall have a minimum radius of .01".

Railing Code Items

Many people ask about common items like what are the code requirements for a stair railing. Here are some relevant code items from the 2006 Seattle Residential Code.

• The top of the railing needs to be a minimum of 34" measured vertically above the nosing of the stair tread.
  
• The triangular opening formed by a stair tread, riser, and the bottom railing of the guard rail cannot let a 6" sphere pass through.
• The railing should not let a 4" sphere pass through any opening (except as noted above).
  
• The 'pickets' in the railing can be vertical or horizontal, or follow the slope of the stairs (or every which direction as long as the 4" rule is maintained.)
  
• Connections of the railing to the structure should resist 200lb/sf load.
  
• A handrail is required too.

To Bid or Not to Bid

I am often asked the question of whether a time and material contract is better than a fixed price bid (and using a fixed price contract). The decision is different for every client, but for one recent client, putting his project out to bid resulted in big savings. The beauty of the bid is that it introduces competition into the equation. This works especially well when the economy is down since contractors are looking for work. You may even find a contractor who is bidding the job at cost to keep a team that he or she has spent many years assembling intact.

The results of a job put out to bid to several contractors can often be startling. It is not uncommon to find bids varying by thousands and sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars. Sometimes it makes me wonder if they are looking at the same drawings! Many times contractors will say a bid is a waste of time because everyone is using similar subcontractors, and everyone has similar overhead, so everyone should be about the same price. This probably holds more true in a good economy, but my experience on projects put out to bid is that prices vary greatly. A recent project had bids from $270K to around $410K. Another project bid from $325K to $575K. And recently I had a basement remodel bid from $25K to $125K.

It's important to be sure to qualify each contractor. In some situations you'll want to throw out the lowest bid. But if the lowest bidder is qualified to do the job, there may not be any reason NOT to take the lowest bid and benefit from these savings.