What Do You Need To Know About Home Remodeling Services?

July 6th, 2010

Choices In Home Remodeling Services

If you choose to use home remodeling services when you take on a Home Remodeling Project, then there is a good possibility you will be employing  Architects, Structural Engineers, and/or General Contractors.

If your Home Remodeling Project is going to involve a significant amount of money, then you will want to properly screen all Home Remodeling Services that you may consider.

Unfortunately, there are some home remodeling services that you should run screaming from if you ever come in contact with them.  The problem is, it’s hard to tell who the stinkers are.  

How To Screen Home Remodeling Services

So talk to others in the industry.  Talk to other home remodelers.  Talk to other material suppliers.  Get a lot of information and organize it to help you  make a final decision.  

Remember that many building juristictions require licensed contractors that are registered with state and/or local screening organizations.  It doesn’t do you any good to find a contractor you want to use that’s not licensed with your local building juristiction.

I have some forms available for those who own my ebook, The Home  Remodeling Handbook.  These forms are used to plan your home remodeling project and interview/screen possible Architects, Structural Engineers, and General Contractors.

Remember, if you choose to use Home Remodeling Services for your major Home Remodeling Project, then you must do your homework to ensure the professionals you employ are licensed and as good as you need these providers to be.

Until next time – Happy Home Remodeling!

B.J. Humphrey    HomeRemodelingHandbook.com

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Home Remodeling Project: Add A Bay Window

June 30th, 2010

The Basics On How To Add A Bay Window

If you would like to add a bay window to your home, then there are a few things you need to know.   The primary issues stand around having adequate clearance and structural support for the new bay window and the additional load from people, storage, or other architectural and decorative elements. 

As long as there is a sound structure to build from with adequate clearance for installation of the new bay window, it can usually get done.   The criticality of access cannot be underestimated.  For instance, if you have to pay to remove a tree that’s in the way and is stopping you from being able to add a bay window, then your costs of construction may go up significantly. 

A typical installation may include a cantilevered support or bracing to reinforce the new bay window structure.  If there are easy attachment points for the additional structure, then you may have a reasonable cost of construction.  If on the other hand you have an existing structure that needs to be repaired before you can add the new structure, then your Home Remodeling Project schedule will be longer and your costs will be higher.

Overall Home Remodeling Project Design Plan To Add A Bay Window

We usually get a few of these each year and are handled differently depending on who comes to us for the structural design.  Sometimes an experienced General Contractor or Architect comes to us on behalf of their client with a basic plan to add a  bay window.  Other times a Home Owner comes to us with a concept of what they want to do.  Either way someone has to verify what’s there, it’s condition, and identify any obstructions to construction.

After a design and construction plan have been put together and approved by your Structural Engineer and/or Architect, you can apply for a Building Permit to add a bay window.

Until next time – Happy Home Remodeling!

B.J. Humphrey    HomeRemodelingHandbook.com

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Your Home Remodeling Cost Estimate

June 17th, 2010

Why Your Home Remodeling Cost Estimate Is So Critical

For any of you have ever managed a Home Remodeling Project, you know how critical your Home Remodeling Cost Estimate is to the overall success of your Home Remodeling Project.   If you haven’t been through at least one major Home Remodeling Project, then you may not yet know how critical budget planning is.

If you want to have clarity with regard to all things cost on your Home Remodeling Project, then you need to plan every detail and manage to the detail.  If other words, if you make a change in any aspect of your Home Remodeling Project, there will most likely be an effect on your Home Remodeling Cost Estimate.

How To Build Your Home Remodeling Cost Estimate

When you set out to do your Home Remodeling Project, you have an idea of what you want to do.  When your Architect and Structural Engineer have completed their initial jobs to complete a design, you will be able to go for bids and submit for a Building Permit.   You can solicit bids from General Contractors or get Subcontractors to bid the aspects of the job you want to sub-out (and you manage the whole Home Remodeling Project). 

If you choose to manage the entire Home Remodeling Project, you will need to gather exhaustive information on every cost detail including the finishing and decorating to complete the total cost of the entire project.  This can be a lot if you have never managed a large Home Remodeling Project before.  

I suggest the first time through a major Home Remodeling Project that you have a Job Captain (who is usually either your Architect or your General Contractor) manage the construction.  This way when you are available to be on site you can learn more about the methods and requirements for each aspect without hindering progress when you can’t be there. 

The Importance of Having A Contingency In Your Home Remodeling Cost Estimate

If you are remodeling an existing home that you may or may not have the history on, you had better include a portion of the Total Home Remodeling Cost Estimate as a Contingency.  What this means is there will be discoveries along the way (especially on some older homes with orignal construction problems/shortcuts).  When these discoveries happen as inevitably these do occur, if you have included some money to handle the most likely candidates for surprises, then you don’t have to be in a pinch.

One of these happens all of the time.  We design a plan for a Home Remodeling Project which assumes this and that.  Well, we won’t learn what’s actually behind the wall until demolition begins.  When it does, we get to see if there is another beam or column in there or one will have to be added (for instance).  This is a classic example.

Remember, if you are going into a Home Remodeling Project, spend as much time as it takes to nail down all of  the design details and thus the cost details of your vision.  Once you have this information, estimate the total costs, add a contingency, and give your Home Remodeling Cost Estimate at least one more review with your Architect, Structural Engineer, and General Contractor.

Until next time – Happy Home Remodeling!

B.J. Humphrey    HomeRemodelingHandbook.com

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Home Remodeling Design Options For Your Home Remodeling Project

June 3rd, 2010

Home Remodeling Design Options

There are many home remodeling design options if you are considering a home remodeling project.   If you are doing a small home remodeling project, then you may be able to put together your own drawings for engineering approval.

But if you are doing a medium or large scale home remodeling project, it is great to have some help with your home remodeling design.  Sometimes a General Contractor, or Structural Engineer, will put together drawings for a small or medium sized home remodeling project.

For many medium and large home remodeling projects, you would be wise to enlist the help of an Architect to define your home remodeling design options and details after a design concept is defined.

I know clients who have gone directly to drafting folks to put their ideas on paper before meeting with an Architect or General Contractor.  This is not typical because of the extra cost, but it can make putting together a final concept from which to build the final details of the design much easier. 

Communicating your ideas effectively is very important to mananging costs when working with an Architect and/or General Contractor.  Typically your Structural Engineer will get involved when there is a final home remodeling design to evaluate for soundness of structural design. 

For difficult designs, you should get your Structural Engineer involved much sooner.  An example of this type of home remodeling design would be for a Historical Home Remodeling Project.

Until next time – Happy Home Remodeling!

B.J. Humphrey     HomeRemodelingHandbook.com

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Residential Shear Wall Design for Your Home Remodeling Project

May 24th, 2010

Here in Colorado we address residential shear wall design to handle some serious winds.  This usually covers most seismic design issues (most of Colorado is Zone 1),  unless it’s a special structure or it is in a particularly susceptible location. 

Now if you’re in California for instance, you would normally center residential shear wall design on seismic issues and this would normally cover most of the wind issues with a few noted exceptions.

When designing from the International Building Code, there are prescriptive sections of the code which designate certain accepted building methods including basic shear wall design.  

Unless you are building a residential building that is outside of the prescriptive Code, the design specifications in the prescriptive Code (IBC) are usually adequate for your Home Remodeling Project.

However, if you are building a Home Remodeling Project that is outside of the prescriptive Code (e.g. International Building Code here in Colorado), then you will be required to have some some wind load calculations completed to ensure that the design strength of shear wall construction in the prescriptive Code is still adequate. 

If the prescriptive code doesn’t provide enough protection from wind loads for your particular structure, then your Structural Engineer will usually specify additional shear wall requirements in the design plan for your building permit.

For larger residential structures with significant wind loads, we always review the wind load calculations.  We have to be sure there is enough strength built into the structure to handle the wind load design standard for the location.

If you hire a good Architect, Structural Engineer, and General Contractor, the design professionals will cover the requirements for shear walls for your Home Remodeling Project.  For most standard single family residential structures, the prescriptive Code covers residential shear wall design requirements pretty well.

Until next time – Happy Home Remodeling!

 B.J. Humphrey    HomeRemodelingHandbook.com

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Structural Steel Pipe Columns in Home Remodeling Projects

May 20th, 2010

Why Use Structural Steel Pipe Columns For Your Home Remodeling Project?

Sometimes in a Home Remodeling Project you’ll need to use structural steel pipe columns in your Home Addition or Home Remodeling Project.   Structural steel pipe columns are able to support point loads that exceed the standard load capacity of wooden stud packs in a structure. 

When this happens, one of the options can be to use these to transfer loads on upper levels down to the foundation through a stacking of support elements, in this case a stack of structural steel pipe columns.  To make this work directly, you would need the location available on each level to be able to transfer a high point load directly back down to the foundation.

While I won’t be able to go into great detail on the calculations here, suffice it to say that when your approved building plans specify steel pipe columns in the structure, you need to pay great attention to the details specified.   The need for a steel pipe column indicates that a large point load is present in the design so you better get it right!

There are a few different types of structural steel pipe columns that are used that have an earlier history as regular pipe names.  So standard pipe names like scheduled 40, schedule 80, and schedule 120 are known as standard (std.) duty, extra (X) strong, and double extra  (XX) strong respectively.   Always look for the specified details when you notice a steel pipe column in your Home Remodeling Project design drawings.

In the steel manuals the various physical design parameters are found to specify these members.  I recommend using a Structural Engineer with steel design experience to do these types of designs.  I do not recommend trying to do these calculations yourself unless you are just curious. 

No licensed Structural Engineer will approve your plan unless he or she has had a chance to go through the whole design from top to bottom including whatever you have come up with on the need to use structural steel pipe columns and the size prescibed by your calculations.

Remember, if your design has structural steel pipe columns included in the design, there are some significant loads that must be supported and transferred to the foundation.  Pay special attention to these specific design requirements.

Until next time – Happy Home Remodeling!

B.J. Humphrey     HomeRemodelingHandbook.com

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Home Remodeling Project: Adding a Deck to Your Home

May 18th, 2010

The Basics Of Adding A Deck To Your Home

If you are thinking about adding a deck as a Home Remodeling Project (building a deck onto the side of your existing home), there are a few details you really need to nail down.  To have a great result, you’ll need a great design plan and one that’s tailored to your budget and wants/needs.   One of the things I have had so many comments on for previous Home Remodeling Projects (like adding a deck) is the way the deck feels when you walk on it or when many people are on the deck. 

If you are a bit insecure or squemish about significant deflection of a floor when you walk on it, then you will want to overdesign the structure enough that there isn’t a huge deflection when you walk on it or have a group of people on it at the same time.   Sometimes this is  accomplished by doubling or tripling some of the floor joists for medium length spans.  For shorter spans the deflection often is less of an issue. 

The tough one is what to do about longer floor joist spans when there is too high of a calculated deflection, also known as a soft or mushy feel to the deck.  There are a few ways to approach this problem depending on the type of design.  If there is an option, additional piers and supports may be employed.  Of course the doubling or tripling of floor joists can help in some situations. 

Sometimes we have to dig into our bag-o-tricks to do something that’s not typical.  Perhaps there’s a deck design with long spans where additional piers and supports are not an option.   What to do?  Well, sometimes a little steel can be used to stiffen some structural members enough to reduce floor deflection to a level that the client can accept. 

Another thing that often comes up about decks is what kind of foundation you may require.  When you design a deck foundation, the type of foundation will usually be some type concrete pier with a column support mounted on top with some sort of post base.  This is a pretty standard type of structural support for adding a deck that usually includes going deep enough to get to below the frostline.  The deck (not being an enclosed living space/structure) would not have to have piers all the way down to the frostline because some shifting would not necessarily be catastrophic.

Remember, if you are considering adding a deck to your home, then take the time to get your design details in line because even a deck can cost a significant amount of money and warrants taking the time to do it right the first time.

Until next time – Happy Home Remodeling!

B.J. Humphrey   HomeRemodelingHandbook.com

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Do You Need A Structural Engineer For Your Home Remodeling Project?

May 17th, 2010

Do We Have To Hire A Structural Engineer?

OK.  You’re laying out how you would like to modify your current home.  You’re considering all of the architectural details and you start wondering, “Do I need to find a Structural Engineer for my Home Remodeling Project?  Well, as the old consultant saying goes, “That depends.”

If you are doing a Kitchen Remodel and aren’t removing any walls or anything like that, then you may only need your Architect on the job, along with his design and drafting resources.  If you are opening up a room and adding an addition, then you’ll probably need a Structural Engineer to review the structure changes and additions. 

The Structural Engineer will calculate the required size of beams and columns as well as any other structural elements.  This is usually required actions because a Structural Engineer will be stamping a submittal set of plans for the building permit application given to the local building authority.

How To Find The Right Structural Engineer

If you hire an Architect, many will have in-place relationships with Structural Engineers who they have used many times before.  This way you will get a certain type of work product from your Structural Engineer that your Architect knows what to do with. 

Sometimes a client like a General Contractor, will call a Structural Engineer into a Home Remodeling Project.  Many times a General Contractor, who has received great service, will call us and get us involved in a Home remodeling Project he has just gotten awarded.  Sometimes they want us to cheapen the cost of the design.  Sometimes they want us to change the design, and sometimes they want us to reduce the cost of the field construction.

If you decide to go forward with a Home Remodeling Project, make sure you nail the choice of your Structural Engineer.  You can depend on your Architect’s existing relationships or you can find your own.  Your General Contractor may also have a strong relationship with one or more qualified, talented Structural Engineers.

Until next time – Happy Home Remodeling!

B.J. Humphrey  HomeRemodelingHandbook.com

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Composite Beams for Your Home Remodeling Project

May 14th, 2010

A while back I alluded to the use of composite beams as an option to avoid having to use steel beams in some Home Remodeling Project Designs.  There are many types of composite beams that can be manufactured for use in Home Remodeling Projects.  One of the types we use frequently is “made-in-place” composite beams. 

Many times we need to stiffen a wooden beam because of more deflection than we want to have in the current design.   One of the ways we do this is to sandwich light gauge steel sheet (e.g. 22 gauge) that has been glued with construction glue between two (2) Microlams (or equivalent).  After it is put together, the framer through nails the layers together so increase rigidity/stiffness.

This type of construction has many advantages in the field, chiefly cost, ease of construction, simplicity, scaleability, and floor height considerations.  It can be built by a couple guys working in the field together (i.e. no crane required like a steel beam, no additional insurance, no crane operator, no field welds/field welder, no field steel fabrication, no etc.).  One of the other main advantages is that mutiple layers can be used to manufacture a more stout composite beam.  

A common application of this composite beam method is when the design requires less deflection than can be achieved with just a standard manufactured lumber member.  Sometimes the only other reasonable options are to go to a deeper (taller) manufactured element (taller Microlam for instance), which has a tendency to make problems for height restrictions, or go to steel construction with all of the accompanying costs and headaches. 

This method has saved our clients’ tens of thousands of dollars over the years and is a great addition to your Home Remodeling Project bag-o-tricks.

Until next time – Happy Home Remodeling!

B.J. Humphrey  HomeRemodelingHandbook.com

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Need An Architect For Your Home Remodeling Project?

May 12th, 2010

How Do You Know If You Need An Architect?

If you want to do a Home Remodeling Project, one of the things you will have to decide is whether or not you need an Architect involved.  There are many reasons to need an Architect on your Home Remodeling Project, and there are a few reasons why you may not need one.   If you are considering doing a Large Home Remodeling Project [read expensive Home Remodeling Project], then you will probably want to employ an Architect. 

The purpose behind hiring an Architect in this situation might be to manage the design, manage the interactions with the local building authorities, and manage the interactions with the General Contractor and Structural Engineer.   If you are simply removing a wall and need a Structural Engineering opinion or detail for your General Contractor to move forward (e.g. something reviewed and stamped by a Structural Engineer for your Building Permit Application), then an Architect may not be required.  

If you don’t have a lot of Home Remodeling experience, then you may want to have an Architect help you organize your Home Remodeling Project and help you define your Home Remodeling Project scope.  Specifically, if you have questions about zoning issues, right-of-ways, or Architectural Design, then employing an Architect may be appropriate for your Home Remodeling Project.

Remember, if you are considering a major Home Remodeling Project, you will probably need an Architect to help you nail down all of the planning, zoning, and design details. 

Until next time – Happy Home Remodeling!

B.J. Humphrey  HomeRemodelingHandbook.com

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