How to Measure the Area of Your House

One of the most confusing and misleading metrics in the home building and home selling business is area - the "size" of a house.

The problem is that there's no adopted standard - everyone measures it differently. There has been a move in the last few years to create a universal standard like the one architects use (specified in AIA contracts), but it isn't mandatory, and isn't yet widely used.

Many state boards of real estate specify a process to measure house area, but it's a recommendation, not a requirement.  So "house area" means different things to different people. 

The one thing that is always true is that area is never measured from the inside of the walls - the area of a house always includes all wall thicknesses interior and exterior.

How To Choose the Right Outdoor Decking Material

The materials and finishes that you use on the interior of your home requires cleaning and occasional maintenance; you dust, you vacuum, you mop-n-glo to keep them looking good and long lasting. Without too much effort you can stay ahead of the wear and tear from your kids and pets.

Materials on the outside, however take a daily beating from the sun, wind, rain, temperature changes, and other environmental elements (in addition to your kids and dogs). Those materials need a great deal more care and maintenance but that can be reduced somewhat by selecting the proper materials to suit your goals.

Outdoor decks are subject to a great deal of abuse – the deck surface is especially susceptible to sun and rain. Wood is the most popular surface for decks, but it’s also the quickest to wear out.

Fortunately there are a variety of deck surface products available that allow you to choose between appearance, cost, and the effort needed to keep your deck looking great for many years.

5 Tips For Better Bedroom Design

You'd think designing a decent bedroom in a new home isn't worth much attention or thought; after all, what's simpler than a bedroom?

Door, bed, dresser, window, closet.  Done.

That's probably why bedroom layouts so often don't work well - they don't rank very high on The Architect's List of Fun Things to Design.

But if one of your goals for your new home is good design and better living in less space, you'll want to take a second look at the bedrooms in your design.  Pay a little more attention to these often-neglected spaces and you'll find  they can be a lot better...and maybe even a little smaller.

The March Madness Guide to Spring Home Improvement

I don’t know what I was thinking back in March.

Maybe it was the longer, warmer days; maybe it was the tulips poking up through the mulch.

Spring was coming quickly and I jumped at the chance to get outside and start on a long list of spring clean-up projects. Painting, weeding, cleaning out the garage – I attacked them all with gusto every weekend for the whole month.

I had total focus on my DIY list…and completely overlooked the entire “March Madness” NCAA basketball tournament. Forgot to fill out my brackets. Missed my team making it almost all the way to the final four.

Sigh. At least the house looked great.

How To Choose A Home Builder - And Not Get Burned

Tell me again - how much extra for the engineer?

It’s the question every client asks at some point during the design process: “What builders do you recommend?”

Many people who are considering building a new home worry more about choosing a builder before they think about the Architect, the house design, decorating, a property to build on, or anything else.

Why? Because ultimately, the builder is the one responsible for getting it done right; the guy you’ll be writing the really big checks to.

And because your choice of a builder can make or break your project.

The 5 Essentials No Home Should Be Without

1) A Hot Shower

Undeniably, indisputably number one. Where is the first place you go after, say, 45 days on the International Space Station? Or two months trapped in a mine?

And besides, it's the only thing left standing after the tornado.