AsktheBuilder.com Issue #1233 (I think)

May 21, 2023

Dear ,

Are you a brand new subscriber? Well, well, well. I'm so glad you're here!

What's in This Issue

You're about to discover:

• Architects and Your Project
• Mike and Mary Anne

Let's get started.

Architects & You

I have several architects who read this newsletter. Art is one and I was lucky enough to meet him in person. I've also worked with several different architects in my 50-year building career.

What follows are years of observations mixed with a pinch of speculation. I also offer up some advice if you know someone who's thinking of choosing architecture as a fulfilling career.

I attended the University of Cincinnati many moons ago. I walked to school each day as my childhood home was but 1/2 mile from the northwest corner of the campus. 

In the satellite photo below, the yellow oval is the UC campus, the red arrow points to the DAA building and the magenta arrow points to my house. Look closely at the edge of the woods behind my home and you may see my old fire barrel.

The first building I'd pass each day going to class was the DAA building - the college of Design, Art, & Architecture.

Allow that to sink in. Future architects rubbed shoulders most of the day with future artists. Instead of creating things using canvas, acrylic Bob Ross paints, or charcoal and soft-lead pencils, etc., architects created their masterpieces using concrete, brick, 2x4s, plaster, oak trim, and a myriad of other building materials.

Do a psychodemographic profile of the average architect and my guess is it will come back that they're artists plain and simple. There's nothing wrong with this at all.

That might mean that form trumps function for many of them. In my world, function should always be the primary target. You want your living space to work well, and if it looks well too, that's a bonus.

That's coming from a man that ate lunch for 20+ years sitting on overturned empty drywall mud buckets.

Blown Budgets

Countless times I'd see the ashen faces of a husband and wife when I'd sit across from them at their dining room table discussing my bid based on plans drawn by an architect.

That look of shock and dismay is unmistakeable when you deliver the shocking news that their dream project might not happen because it costs too much.

In the vast number of cases, all of the bids were a minimum of 30% over the stated budget of the homeowners. Perhaps this has happened to you. It's no fun having written a check for thousands of dollars to an architect for plans that might be scraped or scaled back. 

Perhaps the moniker my kids used for me started here. I was a dream crusher delivering bad news sitting at those dining room tables.

I never could quite understand how this happened time and time again. How was it the architects didn't follow up with the homeowners to find out the final cost of the jobs and then keep a realistic running record of the range of square-foot costs for room additions and custom homes?

It's one thing to be 5% off. It's quite another to be 35% high.

Double-Checking

It didn't take me long early in my career to discover I had to pour over plans to uncover future problems. One that I missed cost me and my bricklayer, although I should have put up more of a stink.

I was building this room addition. If you want the same whitewashed look - it's REAL whitewash not crap thinned paint - CLICK HERE.

Do you see those brick arches over the garage doors? They originally were 1 foot lower. My bricklayer and I put them in exactly as the plans showed. But once installed, it became apparent a taller minivan would scrape against the brick as it was too low.

The architect made the mistake but was unwilling to own up to it stating, "Well, as you were building it, you should have seen it was too low and called me."

My reply was, "Well, when you were drawing it you should have seen it would never work unless you only owned a Corvette, an  XKE Jag, or an MG."

All too often you place your trust in places where it doesn't belong. You need to double-check things on your plans including room sizes, mechanical-room spaces, etc. Don't hope things will just work out.

If you need help checking plans for things like this, I offer that service.

Field Training

Do you know a young person that wants to be an architect? Or, maybe you're thinking of starting a new career.

My best advice is to work with a rough framing crew for a minimum of six months. Perhaps the best experience you could get is to work for a remodeling contractor that builds room additions.

This field experience will expose you to many of the realities and challenges contractors deal with on a daily basis. You'll see how hard it is to get footings perfectly level. Build east of the Mississippi and you'll probably get a great introduction to building in mud.

I feel that architecture programs should be co-op and last at least five years, maybe six. Students should spend a minimum of 60% of their co-op time in the field building things. The other 40% can be spent doing scut work in the office of an architect.

Do you have an architecture story to share? Are you an architect with a different perspective? Yes, I know there are plenty of builders that don't follow your plans and scale things off drawings.

Pouring a Concrete Patio

Several days ago the concrete patio at my son's house was poured. We're going to cover it with real clay paving brick soon. I'll be creating quite a few long-form videos of that process diving deep into the process.

Watch these 15-second videos to see what we did to wake up all the neighbors at 6:50 AM a few days ago. Men and their toys.

Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel Mary Anne would have been proud to be there!

Wait until you see what the Power Buggy can do. HOLY TOMATO!

Did you discover something new reading in this issue? Perhaps you can reciprocate and purchase a mocha-chip ice cream cone for me.

That's enough for a Sunday morning.

Peace out.

Tim Carter

Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com

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