Artisan Project Mgmt » Archive
To Craig, or not to Craig…
Remodeling a home is tricky business. On one hand, there are few activities which are more intimate than redesigning the space that you live in; we don’t tend to think about it in that way, but the reality is that our use of space, and the way that we occupy and decorate the space says a lot about us. On the other hand, there are certain cold realities that have to be faced by the average family recreating their space; principal among them… budget. Part of the difficulty in taking on a remodeling project is trying to balance those two facets of the job – on one hand, we have the imperative of design and the pent up wants and desires from the months or years of planning leading up … Read entire article »
Filed under: Philosophy
It’s Good to Take Off the Boots
Man, it feels good to take off the steel toed boots at the end of the day – the feet are happy. Just finished a job in Kemah for some clients and good friends of ours. Fixed an overhang over the main entry that was originally roofed flat and was quite poorly made - we were the second crew to fix it in the last seven years. We took it apart and put it back together the way it should have been built in the first place. Sometimes when you get done, there’s nothing dramatic to photograph; it looks pretty much like did before from the outside except for some new paint, roofing and trim. The real change was structural and under the surface – we took what was there and … Read entire article »
Filed under: Philosophy
Holmes, Construction & Design, and Permits
In the short clip I linked to in the featured article, Mike Holmes is asked about construction and how products are put together to create a long-lived product (your house). Holmes talks about the need to use better than minimum materials; water & mold resistant wood and drywall instead of standard grades, and how design has to bring those elements together in a logical manner e.g. avoiding flat roofs in a rainy climate. But he opens with a key element and what is in effect the keystone to solid construction; minimum code. Most major incorporated cities require builders to build to a standard code to insure that construction is safe and meets accepted standards, and have adopted standard code with local amendments. Houston, for example in November of 2010 adopted the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Philosophy
Holmes on Sustainability, Green Building
Mike Holmes on Products, Sustainability Great video, worth a click. Mike Holmes is a Canadian General Contractor that has become a star of the do-it-yourself crowd via Homes and Garden TV’s Holmes on Homes and Holmes Inspections. Some of his charm can be chalked up to the fact that he’s a straight-talking, charming guy, but underneath the charm is a basic and rock solid basic philosophy; do it right or don’t do it at all, and as a contractor, be a man of your word. He’s a model contractor. In this short clip of an interview at the 2011 International Builder’s Show in Orlando, he touches on three points; products and their selection, quality of construction and design, and sustainable green building. He touches on each area briefly, but the points he … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, Philosophy