Category: Traditional Architecture

Conventional wall moldings are sized based on taste. There are some guidelines that will help keep your moldings in scale with one another to give it a classically”balanced” look. Most homes feature at least baseboard and window and door casings, while others have as many as four moldings on a single wall, with the inclusion of crown and chair rail. Selecting the right size may greatly impact the visual impact of your own trim. Baseboard Baseboard molding runs across the base of the wall, against the floor. Typical baseboard moldings possess a detail cut across the upper edge, with a cove, or quarter round molding at the bottom edge. Many baseboards have been 1/2 to 1 inch thick and 3 to 8 inches tall. Quantify baseboard size by its relationship to crown and casing. Baseboard is typically taller than casing is wide, and about as tall as the crownmolding. The…

In some cases, a homeowner that is having a new home constructed may have reservations about the pitch of the roof that is shown on the construction plans. The plans demonstrate opposing rafters growing to a summit at the ridge since they’ll be installed by the contractor. A pair of numbers nearby indicate the pitch, like 4 and 12. To figure a different pitch, or any roof pitch, use a method that’s used by contractors and roof framers. After figuring a pitch, ask the contractor to put in a mock rafter assembly with two opposing rafters. Measure the length of two adjoining exterior walls from end to end. With few exceptions, rafters attach at the top of opposing longer walls and climb to the ridge at the middle point of the wall. Notice the length of the shorter outside wall. Divide the length of the shorter wall in half. The…

Using sod, instead of seed or sprigs, to set a lawn area allows you to create a lawn nearly immediately, reduce mud, mud and erosion, and guarantee that the new lawn is essentially weed free. To ensure that you purchase enough sod to totally cover the prepared website, you have to measure the website correctly and convert your dimensions to sod pallets. Many sod pallets have 50 square yards of sod, but check with your sod supplier in case the sum of sod per binder varies. Divide, on your mind or by drawing on paper, the lawn’s planned landscaping place into simple geometric shapes like rectangles, triangles and circles. If the planned sod region is already rotating there isn’t any need to split it into smaller shapes. Measure each of the split sections of the planned sod place, in the feet. Assess the length and the width of any rectangle,…

Leonardo da Vinci once said that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Simplicity in style calms us somehow inspires us, not only in architecture but also in other forms of design. Apple, as an instance, has refined its products on the years into such a gorgeous simplicity that the goods are very collectibles based on their style. However, what does simplicity mean? Or even better, what does simplicity not imply? Simplicity is not to be confused with simpleness. I am not advocating for nursery rhymes over symphonies, “Sing a Song of Sixpence” over Beethoven’s Ninth. No, simplicity is rather different from simpleness. Simplicity is effortless composition, an orderliness with lyrical attributes — such as in a great painting that has just enough brushstrokes to convey the idea, in which the painter uses just the ideal amount of color, which makes it impossible to envision another stroke or another color without destroying…

Every profession has its own set of specialized tools. As an architect, here are a few I couldn’t live without. Pllc, Jody Brown Architecture A flat surface with a movable parallel bar, used when drafting by hand. Jody Brown Architecture, pllc Lightweight, semitransparent paper used to quickly sketch out ideas. Affectionately known as “trace” or “garbage,” and less affectionately known as “bumwad.” Jody Brown Architecture, pllc Used to fasten tracing paper to the drawing board. I typically store some of them on the elbow of my sweater. Jody Brown Architecture, pllc Sure, it is a pencil and a sharpener, but it is so much better than that. I stole these from my father 20 decades ago. Jody Brown Architecture, pllc Used to draw circles and poke small holes in the newspaper. Jody Brown Architecture, pllc Used in combination with the parallel bar on the drafting table to draw straight lines…

The options for roof layout aren’t limited to the two most common ones: pitched (gable, hip) or horizontal. Other shapes and expressions are possible, and if done creatively the roof can be the most striking aspect of a house’s exterior. This ideabook assembles four homes with dramatic roofs, dissecting what pushes them outside creating strong images. Charles Rose Architects Inc.. In this waterfront house in Gloucester, Massachusetts, architect Charles Rose describes the roof as with a sail-like quality. The house is like a boomerang in plan, and also the roof reaches its high point where the two wings fulfill, the remote point in this picture. But as could be seen, at this end the roof turns to turn into wall-like, acting like a terminus for the terraces. Charles Rose Architects Inc.. Another view of this turned-down end indicates the way the roof and wall construction contains the distance of this…