Home Maintenance & Improvement

A home is many things: shelter, a place to create family memories, a comfort zone, an investment. Regardless of the reasons for owning a home, it makes sense to maintain its value so that it can be enjoyed for years.

Day-to-day living causes an inevitable aging process for any home. But an active maintenance regimen, focusing on a few key systems and finishes, can stem or slow that process. And for products, systems and finishes that no longer benefit from maintenance, investing in replacements and upgrades can refresh a room or curb appeal, provide greater convenience and comfort, and perhaps even lower future maintenance costs.

The thought of staying on top of everything in a home, however, can seem daunting. But actually, it comes down to common sense, a bit of diligence, and a short list of critical products and systems, including:

• Heating and cooling. It's a simple thing, but changing the furnace filter every three months goes a long way to maintaining the proper operation of a home's entire air distribution system. A clean filter keeps dust, moisture, and other allergens out of the ductwork to keep the indoor air fresh and healthy. In addition, professionally clean the ducts and carpets every 2-3 years. A properly maintained heating, cooling, and air distribution system can last 15 years or more. Within that time, new technologies will have been established to improve energy efficiency and comfort at a level that likely justifies replacing the equipment.

• Drainage. Rainwater runoff, among other sources of water, must be directed away from the structure to avoid potentially serious problems. Maintaining a home's drainage and runoff system, however, will mitigate that potential. For instance, gutters should be cleaned out and repaired, as necessary, once the leaves have all dropped in the fall and again in the early spring; downspouts should be fitted with extensions or splash blocks to direct or disperse runoff away from the house. In addition, make sure dirt against the house (called "backfill") is kept sloping away from the structure and that plantings do not grow or root closer than 18 inches from the foundation. A common replacement for aging and leaky gutters and downspouts are seamless systems and those that are designed to keep debris out of the trough.

• Roofing and siding. A new home's exterior finishes, mainly its roofing and siding materials, are designed to last for at least 20 years. That being said, any cracks, voids, or other damage to these finishes during their design life can lead to leaks and related moisture problems.

Visually inspect the roof and sidewalls of the house at least annually for the first five years, and then every six months after that. And, of course, make any repairs immediately. Replacement roofing and siding is a common upgrade, creating a fresh look for the home's exterior and providing an improved barrier against the elements.

There are other maintenance tasks that can further help protect the investment of owning a home and, perhaps more important, sustain or upgrade its comforts and conveniences of a house. The key is to properly maintain a home's materials and systems until they reach the end of their usable life, at which time they should be replaced to not only restore (and usually improve) the performance of the original, but also refresh the look and feel of an existing home.

Seattle Architect helps Choose House Colors

We often get calls from clients needing help choosing paint colors. This can be very challenging for people who have never done this before. On most of our architectural projects we help the client choose paint colors, so we have a lot of experience with this. If you need help choosing paint colors, contact Seattle Architects.

Seattle Architecture Services

Architecture services offered by design firms can be confusing and hard to compare from one firm to the next. I recently spoke with a potential client who was comparing our pricing to another firm. We were higher, but when I looked at their services, it was for a basic permit set of drawings, which is not enough information for the typical homeowner to construct a project. Our proposal was for full services. When we compared apples to apples, we were almost the same cost. So, when comparing architecture services, it's important to understand what you are getting. For more information visit Seattle Architects and read more.

Hiring an architect

Need help hiring an architect? Here are some tips.

Green Design

Green design is not just something you do because it's hip or the 'in thing to do'. It's something we do because it's the right thing to do. All good architects have always incorporated certain green design principals into design, like using materials efficiently, siting the home correctly, and providing appropriate shading and day lighting. Today there are many more things to be concerned about like the embedded energy in a product. It's much more complicated today because there is a lot more information to sort through. And there is a lot more hype too, so it's important to wade through the hype to get to the facts. To learn more about green design visit seattle architects.

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.