cursing architects, flored, cats, fans, scarfs, hooks, viewscapes, carpentry, solar

cursing the architects...

The architects sent a note asking (tongue in cheek [I hope...]) if we were cursing them yet. Not at all! The house has been easy living, literally instantly comfortable (I'm sure because of their good design). The clerestory windows are great, art unto themselves framing the trees and skies beyond in addition to letting in light. Everything seems right-sized. We had a dinner party last night, and all (usage of the space) went according to plan, the wide dining room allowing us plenty of room to bus the table and take care of our guests. And the peninsula did what the bride hoped it would do: Keep the hordes at bay with folks only congregating at the lee side.

biggest surprise (so far)?

How quiet the house is. I'm talking crazy, way-out-in-the-country-married-to-your-first-cousin quiet. Yes, we are experiencing a bit of the bookends of residential noise having just moved from downtown and, before that, living in an 1800s house with single pane windows (and no insulation), but it's so quiet here I can hear my blood flow at night. All that insulation (and sealing) and double-pane windowing seems to have really sealed the house off, and this is a good thing. Been sleeping like a baby (without the whole pooping-in-your-pants bit). It's truly amazing.

flored

The folks at flor really really liked our Eileen Gray rug, so they asked for a nice photo that they can use in their lookbook. After waiting for the proper intersection of light, cat placement, and cat positioning (i.e., not grooming his crotch), we hit sun-cat-flor gold last Friday morning:

Gorgeous!

does the cat approve?

Speaking of the cat, you might be wondering: How is he enjoying the place? Since it was before we had read the book that warned architects about clients that include cats in their program, we included the furry beast in the program, asking for windows he could look longingly out of, places to sun, and a place to poop.

An except from our "prospectus" from way back when we were courting architects the second time around. The cat's favorite architect, Shigeru Ban, is famous for using cardboard (aka glorified scratching posts).

When we were designing the house (and then seeing it built), I wondered about the thermal loading from the morning sun spilling inside the ample living room windows, but seeing how happy that old cat is makes it all worth it.

(yes, his peepee is white...)

Sun-drunk and catatonic.

Oh for Gawd's sake, have you no shame!!!

As Schindler himself said: "Modern architecture lies down flat on the ground like a kitten who suns itself."

We often find the cat looking (longingly) out the windows, watching the world go by. And sometimes he's where he really shouldn't be...

Looks like you have more room for Schindler books up here...

our biggest fans

Speaking of bookshelves, we have them in better decorating shape. I went up to storage last weekend with the mission of finding (1) my antique fan collection and (2) the mixer. I found the fans after looking through half the boxes and found the mixer in literally the last box I looked in, the box in the far bottom corner. Free tip: If you are putting stuff in storage, keep the things you are likely to want sooner rather than later in your new house toward the front (and mark those boxes!).

There are so many fans that I had to go into panorama mode on the phone to capture them all:

I know, I know: Not exactly minimal. I'm calling it "controlled maximalism" where stuff is "centralized" in restricted areas and presented as either multiples of the same thing with variation (for example: fans, books) or a number of items from the same color family. We're doing this in the kitchen as well:

Multiples with variation.

Stuff from the same(ish) color family.

The experiments are continuing. Progress reports forthcoming...

found the scarves

There they are!

on the hook

We waited until we moved in before we decided where various hooks and fixtures (toilet paper holders, towel hooks, etc.) would go. This procrastination gave us the ability to see how we use the space and explore options before installing hardware (the bride, being an engineer, wants stuff installed where it makes the most utilitarian sense whereas I'm also concerned about aesthetics. It's a delicate negotiation).

We decided we needed hooks in several places. Then the question became: What kind of hooks? We went with sticks by Umbra. Umbra makes a lot of cool modernish/inspired stuff this side of affordable.

Below is a hook for a hand towel in the master bath that matches the toilet paper holder. Neoplastic, baybee! You can also see what we are going to upgrade the switches and plugs to...

drainage

Have had several good dowsings the past week or so, so we've had a front row seat to drainage off the roof and site. So far, it all looks good with the gravel over yonder doing exactly what I hoped it would do: Capture runoff and direct it toward the front of the lot. Worked like a charm.

Added bonus: The rains have caused cute little mushrooms (that tastefully match the house...) to momentarily sprout out of the mulch.

Along those lines, the Aggie Zoysia (drought tolerant) is doing quite well in the back yard. I'm sure the rainfall has helped immensely. My plan is to not mow it and see how high it gets. If it doesn't get too high, the plan is to never mow it. 

The feather grasses are doing well as well. We've only lost one so far. Still thanking the brilliance of the builder for using PVC instead of the cardboard I suggested (I feared getting the PVC level with the concrete, but the builder and sub did it perfectly). The PVC keeps the moisture from wicking into the bordering concrete and thus keeps it with the plant.

The grass in the driveway is starting to come in. At the moment, it looks like me trying to grow a beard (i.e., a post nuclear war radioactive patch party). We'll have to be patient here, but at least there's some green.

hot tub

Got the hot tub out of storage and placed behind the master. The grey wood panels just about match the grey on the house. Love how the tub is not visible from inside the house.

I generally find hot tubs ugly, but I think this actually doesn't look too bad here. Simple geomteric design (that is, the darn thing's round) in a complimentary color. I think it works.

viewscapes

While decorating, I'm taking into consideration how stuff looks from afar. You can use stuff from afar to guide people around the house. You peak their interest, and they will go investigate. I also like having some unexpected things in the house, things you wouldn't expect to see in a modern house. Surprise (and hopefully delight) is good.

An old German telephone.

Peeking in the powder.

Looking toward the master suite. With (nearly) everything being white, the art really pops.

Test placement in the first landing of the stairwell. I love to walk alleys and found this painted piece of plywood a number of years ago in an alley set out for bulk trash pickup. Whoever painted it is talented, but not talented enough to draw/paint hands (something that's really hard to do). Nevertheless, I love it for its simultaneous success and failure. A parable of life...

future carpentry

Had our carpenter, Dan (who's also a friend; he built the Eileen Gray table for us), stop by to discuss doing a bit of work, namely the shelves in the bathrooms (ate through that entire budget with the cabinets...) and the built-in desk in the guest room. We're going to do what the architects suggest as far as placement but will go with hickory rather than MDF painted white [muffled gasps from the architectural galley...]. We needed to monkey with shelf heights in the guest bathroom since a shelf as designed would go right through a switch plate. Simple planks with no visible support.

We're also going with a simple hickory plank for the desk pulled about two inches off the back wall to allow wires to drop to the plugs below. In other words, there will be a two-inch gap along the entire back of the desktop. I suppose there are a number of reasons why this is unwise, but screw it: It's our house. "Neoplasticism over logic!" I often yell from our back door (fortunately the neighbors' haven't called the police yet...). Dan and I talked about the strength of the desktop and its ability to withstand some yahoo standing on it, a kid jumping off it, and (perhaps...) rambunctious lovemaking. We'll leave the desktop thin to serve as a visual pause button; Dan says it will bend, not break, if perpetrators are clueless(ly drunk).

Dan is also going to make some modifications to the bookcases downstairs to hide the LEDs and accent horizontality.

solar

Had a solar dude come out and scope the garage roof for panels. He had a cool little reflective device that told him the solarability (my word) for the full year. We can get 2.5 kilowatts on the roof with no tree trimming, and (pleasant surprise, surprise) 5 kilowatts if a branch gets trimmed back on a nearby tree. The issue with that branch is that although it is over our property (and therefore we can legally chop it down), it is attached to the neighbor's tree. The solar dude, to his credit, suggested we talk to the neighbor before hacking on the tree and weigh neighbor relations heavily in any decision to extend solar service. I think the neighbor will be fine (he already gave us the unsolicited green light to trim a lower branch), but we'll give him veto power over trimming that more prominent branch.

Waiting on the cost before talking to the neighbor. No sense in bringing it up if we don't need to.

coda

That's it for this week. There's a lot of other things going on, but that's all we have photos and energy to write about this week. Until next time!

(envelope please) and the architect is...

According to our manifesto, we shouldn’t be revealing our architects until the bitter end since they still have a role until we get a certificate of occupancy from the city. But 95 97 percent of their work is done, and what they have done thus far has been absolutely fabulous. Unless they pull a Dallas Cowboys and blow it all in the final minutes, we feel confidant that we know these dudes. Furthermore, we’ve already heartily recommended them to friends and inquiring minds from the interwebs. At least two referrals have led to projects with (as far as we know) similarly happy customers.

Drum roll please: Architect 2d is Nick Mehl and The Usonian Expert is Jay Bolsega (insert exhuberant trumpets with a smattering fade of clarinets [and Flamenco guitar]). 

Nick didn’t ping our architectural radar until a friend at work solicited recommendations from an interior designer (former architect) across-the-street neighbor. After gawking at Nick's website and blog (and liking what we saw and read), we interviewed him. Amazingly, he met our entire want list and appeared (and turned out to be) easy to work with. After opening up a shared office with several others architects, Nick brought in Jay to collaborate on the project. Jay’s been fun to work with as well, and, given his interest in architectural history, a blast to talk with (it’s hard to get us separated once we get going...). His Usonian Expertness is clearly on display with the house.

Shortly after meeting Nick, he and four other architects (including Jay), already sharing storefront, pooled resources into a firm called Element 5 Architecture, so our project went from a Nick Mehl Architecture project to an Element 5 Architecture project. 

We cannot say enough good things about Nick; he’s really been perfect for us. He’s a great listener, he's attentive to aesthetic and programmatic needs, he’s super easy to work with, and perhaps most importantly (especially after earlier nightmares...) right as rain on costs. And equally arguably most importantly, we absolutely love the house he and Jay designed for us, its more hidden treasures slowly revealing themselves to us as it gets built.

Although he’s designed Modern for us and others, Nick is versatile. One of the houses we toured on the Cool Homes Tour was a green home in more of the Arts and Crafts vein (we had a wipe-the-dribble-from-the-corners-of-our-mouths lovefest about Nick with the owners after we revealed we were fixin' to start building a house with him).

After being absolutely heartbroken (and somewhat bitter) after our first experience with an architect, it feels like a miracle to have wound up with ones as great as Nick and Jay. 

week 23: punching and sealing

Not a lot happened over the past week except continued punching out of the MEP (mechanical-electrical-plumbing) and a start to the sealing, a pre-cursor to insulation. The architect and builder had a hoe-down at the house over trim, and work continues on landscape planning (subject of a later post).

hunching and punching

The electrical, mechanical, and framing subs have been out to the house to iron out the last few details before insulation goes in and drywall goes up. The changes at the house are subtle ("Wait a minute: That wasn't here last week!"), but they are there. In preparation for the insulation, we did a little vacuuming and blowing in the outer walls to clean 'em up. Not convinced the sub would do that...

That can to the back got installed. It's to light up art on the wall in the master bedroom. 

Finally got the third thermostat installed!

The city inspectors wanted a header over this opening to the ERV (energy recovery ventilator). They got it. 

Three of these were added by the HVAC sub. They will provide access to the zone controllers.

Also done, but not shown, is the addition of a 240 line to the garage for a future electric car (part of the original bid set but not installed until now [glad I noticed that last weekend!]) and a finish-out of the roof penetration in the laundry. There are still a few punch-outs to address, but we're down to the dregs. Even the Columbo "Just one more thing..." syndrome has dried up. 

sealing

The insulation sub has been on-site and has started sealing around windows, in corners and seams, and in penetrations. In large part it's to seal the house from air penetration, but it's also to delay the spread of fire in the house if there's ever (let's hope not) a fire.

Foam and Fill Fireblock

Filled in the header holes for the old location of the electrical service.

Filling between the boards (guess the ladder wasn't tall enough?)

Foam sculpture. Looks like Circus Peanuts. Doesn't taste like Circus Peanuts.

fit and trim

The builder and sub haven't done trim with the look we want to achieve, so this is fraught with danger for all involved. Ideally, this is what we're looking for:

This detail, at least how it's done by Build LLC, involves first installing z-metal that holds the drywall, then installing the drywall, and then installing the baseboard. The builder is concerned that this allows little to no room for error and that the risk of having a gap of varying height is high (and that would not be good). There are also cost considerations. That z-metal is 'spensive. Although we have a healthy line budget to deal with this detail, it still may not be enough.

After hearing the builder's concerns, the architect has proposed that the baseboard be installed first but with a quarter-inch notch cut at the very top of the board (see below). Then the drywall would be installed to set on top of the board. The builder seems happier with this bottom-up approach, so he and the sub are going to install a mock-up to see how it works and looks. It won't be as deep of a reveal as shown above (3/8 inches tall, half an inch deep), but it will still be a single plane detail that perhaps looks even more refined.

Looking forward to checking out the mock-up.

Accidentally drawn to scale.

week 22: stucco done (and more fun to come)!

Big stuff on the outside, details on the inside. It's week 22!

stucco done!

The last coat of stucco is complete, and it looks great! We didn't go with baby-butt smooth stucco (= mucho bucks), but the level of smoothness we went with (teenager-butt smooth) looks pretty slick. The quality of the framing is shining through right now: sooper-dooper flat! We don't see anything that makes us go "hmmmm...."

The house at this point looks very New Mexico-y to us (we've both lived in the Land of Enchantment in the deep dark past), which is not a bad thing. Paint will likely bring the house from the Earth to the machine aesthetic.

Seeing the house with the stucco complete makes it more "real". The outside is nearly complete! Whoop! Whoop!

stucco about the powder pooper window

a corner of completed stucco

the cantilevered wall next to the (soon-to-be) limestone wall

back outside wall of the master bedroom; those lines are expansion joints

stucco "slag" (the loose stuff that sluffs down the wall when they apply the stucco) about the base of the cantilevered wall.

the back of the house (master suite)

stucco on the cantilevered wall with the reveal at the window

paint?

Now we need to choose paint colors, and pronto! The builder uses Sherman Williams, so we stopped by there yesterday to pick up chips and whatnot. After we choose some colors, the builder will throw up paint so we can see what it looks like. That will be helpful (and buys us more time before making a final decision).

look toward the left, not the right...

limestone

The builder had a chunk of limestone onsite this past week, and it's on the money: Texas Cream. The final pieces will be somewhat sizable, about half the width of the windows above.

cabinets

After a meeting that included two bowls of queso and three margaritas, we finally finalized the cabinet order. I reckon the cabs will go in right after the drywall goes up, so they will be coming soon!

Nope: Our bed won't be in the dining room. Nice try, Cabinet Lady, nice try...

final (we hope) "we wiring"

Due to finishing details on the electrical and responding to inspection deficiencies on the electrical, plumbing, mechanical, and framing (they always find them, I am told), our project is now about 30 days behind schedule. The builder is apologetic, but we've appreciated the extra time to contemplate and install speaker wire and network cables. We were back out there yesterday to run network cable for wifi stations (one in the hallway between the kitchen and dining, one in the back of master bedroom, and one upstairs). We also ran an extra network cable to the TV area in the living room. TVs are getting smarter, so I can see direct network connections coming soon (if not already). Another network cable might allow us to keep the cable box in the pantry and control it remotely (and allow us to serve the telly signal about the house). We also ran network cable in the garage for a couple video cameras.

In all, we ran cable for all the speakers in the house and the garage, network cameras for video cameras, network cables for glass break detectors, and network cable for wifi stations. Including what the electrician's ran for network cables and cable cable, we have 34 returns to the pantry. Not a lot in the grand scheme of things (I've seen insane photos on the interwebs), but a fair amount nonetheless. I think this is all we will do.

the bundle on the right is theirs, the bundle on the left is ours

wood for ceiling and soffit

We had decided on cedar, and then undecided, and then decided on pine, and now have undecided on that. And now there's a new wood in the mix: cypress. We would absolutely love cypress. We saw it on the house below during a home tour, and gasped with joy. The builder says he now has a good source for cypress and will check in on price. Cypress or cedar, that is the question...

this photo from here

landscaping

With the exterior nearly complete, here come the serious discussions on landscaping.  We have a fairly healthy budget for landscaping, but at the same time, we don't think it will cover everything (it's an allowance at this point). First things first, we need to have a master plan for everything. It's always good to have a plan, but it's even more important if you plan to phase stuff in over time (which we may have to do depending on the cost of things). You want to think about the big picture before putting in the little picture stuff now so you don't have to tear stuff out (and waste money) in the future.

We've been working with the architect on finalizing the hardscape features (the most recent version below ["I notice more walls," noticed the builder]). We've also talked about the stage design for the back yard as well as planters.

We've discussed the sidewalk with the builder. We can put in a sidewalk per city code or write the city a ransom check (for twice the cost of putting in the sidewalk). I'm amenable to a sidewalk for the front of the house if we could get a "curb hugger" (a sidewalk that's up against the cube instead of set back two feet), but the builder said that the city will insist on the two foot setback (gives pedestrians more time to dodge careening vehicles, apparently...). A curb hugger, in my mind, would make it easier for passengers to get in and out street-parked cars and look less goofy than one house on our side of the street having a sidewalk.

ready for the runway?

The builder suggested that the architect ought to consider getting professional photographs made of the house when it's done. That's a good sign! And the architect has felt us out about being on a home tour at some point. Sign us up! We've appreciated the many good folks about Austin that have opened up their homes to us (and many, many others) in the past, so we're good to give back.

The neighbor has the best view of the house.

overall...

...things are going great! Little glitches here and there, sure, but the balance weights heavily-heavily o-so-heavily towards "Totally awesome, dude!" Lots to do, but it's all terribly exciting, and getting us closer to our move in.

Fahrvergnügen in the back. Fahrvergnügen in the front.