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Posts Tagged ‘process’

Some Great Recent Work

Posted in Design Projects, tagged Accessory Dwelling Units, Berkeley, bright colors, cabinets, color, details, Emeryville, energy efficiency, framing, Limeplaster, process, skylight, small buildings on December 1, 2025| Leave a Comment »

We have been busy with all sorts of great projects the last few months. Here are a few snapshots.

Mudroom Bench – Very similar to one we did 10 years ago, but customized to perfectly fit the new space: narrower on one wall than the other. The lid is solid ash and the rest is painted. I need to get some photos of the blue interior. Thanks to Kelly Best and McBride Construction for the excellent craftsmanship.

Copper induction range with battery and walnut knobs (Berkeley company!)

SANCO₂ heat pump hot water heater (tank inside, heatpump outside) that doubles as house heating system (Harvest System)

ADU slab..getting ready for the concrete pour

The slab was poured and beautiful saw cut control joints added. Now the structural framing is underway. The tolerances are very tight in these small living spaces. Every inch matters. I was delighted to discover that the concrete work and framing has resulted in walls that match my drawings to the 1/16 inch.

Framing Underway (Oscar of McBride Construction hard at work)

A small addition at the back of a small Berkeley house (we moved the storage, laundry and water heater to the middle and put the kitchen, dining nook, half bath, and reading nook at the back of the house by the yard. I like the deep eave over the door and windows and the pretty fir rafter tails

We added a skylight in the middle of the house…a lot of bang for the skylight buck. To right of skylight is laundry, pantry, and mechanical space and to the left is the kitchen and then the back yard.

Finally did a photoshoot at a recently finished Accessory Dwelling Unit in the Berkeley Hills. Below you will see the photographer, Lenny Gonzalez, and the photoshoot models Eowyn & John.

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Berkeley Hills Accessory Dwelling Unit Getting Close!

Posted in Design Projects, tagged accessory dwelling unit, ADU, Berkeley, color, Lime Plaster, process, small buildings on June 4, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Here are a few exterior shots of the integral color plaster walls. Action shots of the plastering team at work courtesy of Michael Scott.

The tiny house with its venerable mother house adjacent

Interior and detail shots will hopefully be forthcoming, (hard to get photos in such a small space with ongoing work and protection in place) but the exterior is really looking good.

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ADU Underway Up The Hill

Posted in Design Projects, tagged accessory dwelling unit, ADU, Berkeley, eaves, housing, process, small buildings, wood, WUI on January 22, 2025| Leave a Comment »

The owner took these photos for me of our little ADU taking shape. In the first photo you can see our 4×6 rafter tails with a curve. These will get gyp sheathing above with non flammable (Hardiboard & Boral) material on the outside. No venting. (Roof sheathing is kept above the dewpoint with rigid insulation on top.) The lower eaves that are less visible will be enclosed completely. The last photo is john rabbeting one of the exposed fir beams for the interior.

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More Photos from our Island Project

Posted in Design Projects, tagged framing, kitchen, process, vaulted ceilings on April 3, 2024| Leave a Comment »

The clients sent me these photos from their recent visit to the project.

Im excited about the vaulted ceiling and the transition to the flat ceiling beyond. High south facing windows to the left are still covered in plywood

This photo is looking back towards the entry (Defined by four 6×6 fir posts) and the kitchen (vaulted ceiling)

Another shot of the kitchen (high windows covered)

The view to the south is hard to beat!

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Steel

Posted in Design Projects, tagged houses, Islanders, metal, process, remodel, steel, structure on March 26, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Justin Prevadoros, the builder for our Galiano Island project, sent this great photo of his crew testing the steel beam that will span the living room and support a dual purpose hearth & bench.

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Diamond Post in Ash

Posted in Design Projects, tagged ash, details, kitchen, process, wood on March 15, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Weve done a few of these in fir for interior and exterior, but this is the first one in ash. It will support a sitting area at the end of a kitchen island. Ill post photos after it is installed.

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A New Foundation and Walls

Posted in Design Projects, tagged Berkeley, foundation, houses, process, victorian on October 20, 2023| Leave a Comment »

It feels good to see this house sitting on a solid foundation after 100+ years.

It will have a new Accessory Dwelling Unit and improved workshop below along with new windows and siding throughout when all is finished.

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Photos of a Steel Stair & Iron Railing Hand forged by Shawn Lovell for a 2016 Berkeley project

Posted in Design Projects, tagged Berkeley, blacksmith, botanical, collaboration, craftswoman, details, hand forged, iron, patterns, process, stair, steel staris, whimsy on June 17, 2021| Leave a Comment »

I never managed to get any photos of this project….but it was a tiny addition and rearrangement of the south end of a house on two levels to better connect to the yard and maximize the south light. The centerpiece was a stair with botanical railing and thick wood treads. The blacksmith, Shawn Lovell recently gave me some progress photos that she took. Thanks Shawn! I’ll take a photo of the organic handrail she made for our place and post that next.

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Snapshots of a recent ADU in West Berkeley

Posted in Design Projects, tagged accessory dwelling unit, ADU, Berkeley, details, green, lighting design, process, small buildings on June 15, 2021| Leave a Comment »

First here is a 3d model we built as a schematic design tool. A few things changed and not all the details are there, but you can get a sense of the overall layout.

This one was a rebuild of an existing garage. (We had to rebuild it to meet the energy standards for habitable space, but we had to keep it the same as the garage in footprint, height, and roofline. ) The owners wanted to keep it simple…and kind of traditional. We think it turned out well.

The heating is a Fujitsu minisplit, the insulation is beyond code including slab edge insulation, lighting is all LED, high efficacy, & high CRI. A spot HRV keeps the air fresh even when the owners are out of town.

Big doors to the patio open wide on a nice day

We kept a flat ceiling and a traditional attic for simplicity

A wall of cabinets on the property line side…120 Volt LED track lighting

McBride construction planned ahead and added flat blocks for mounting all the exterior electrical and plumbing

Very durable solid oak counter and painted cabinets and shelving

Kitchenette – induction cooktop with a toaster oven and microwave covers most cooking needs..and a remote fan in the ceiling

The electrical panel got a little roof and side screens

My helper, Éowyn, enjoying the cool tiled shower

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Concrete Windowsills

Posted in Design Projects, tagged Berkeley, green building, process, small buildings, Strawbale on May 10, 2021| Leave a Comment »

I’ll just share the McBride Construction Photos of the sandy colored concrete sills on the strawbale:

www.instagram.com/p/COfuDyWH_s_/

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Strawbale interior – first coat of plaster today!

Posted in Design Projects, tagged Berkeley, curves, process, small buildings, Strawbale on April 8, 2021| Leave a Comment »

The builder (John McBride) sent these photos of the interior plaster, the deep windows, and the interior all cleaned up, ready for plastering.

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First Coat of Lime Plaster on the Strawbale Exterior Walls

Posted in Design Projects, Information, tagged green building, Limeplaster, process, small buildings, Strawbale on April 3, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Hydraulic lime plaster is similar to cement stucco, but with lime rather than portland cement. It is more flexible and more vapor permeable than cement stucco, but it takes more skill and curing time. It also requires warmer temperatures. While making portland cement requires a lot of energy and the chemical reaction releases large quantities of CO₂ into the atmosphere, Manufacturing lime takes energy, but when lime plaster carbonates (hardens) much of the CO₂ released during the manufacture is reabsorbed. (From Essential Natural Plasters, Henry & Therrien) According to Strawbale Building Details (Published by CASBA – California Strawbale Building Association)The strawbales themselves sequester 26 pounds of carbon each, preventing the formation of 95 pounds of CO₂)