Architect or Home Designer? Let their work decide.

Most states do not have maximum square footage limitations on custom home designs, stock house plans, plan book houses or home plans. Unfortunately, I live in N.Y.S., and they will not allow me to sell plans over 1500 sq. ft. The NYS education department is quite rude actually. Don't get me wrong, NY has its good points too, just not when it comes to some of their quirky laws.

Therefore, I have turned over all my home plans that are over 1500 sq. ft. to a nice lady in Colorado. She, unlike I, lives in a great State with logical laws. If you plan to build in New York State and want a home that is over 1500 square feet, please contact me directly, and I will provide exceptional alternatives.
If you are looking for a beautifully designed, carefully thought out, natural, green home plan that is 1500 square feet and under to be built in NYS, I am happy to help! Current law is for living space only. Square footage limitations do not include garage or basement areas. I can work seamlessly with you and your contractor if you live out of state as well. I am always looking for a reason to get out of here, especially if my adventures are taking me south.  :)

If you live in a state such as North Carolina or Virgina, We can design your home without square foot limitations. Michigan, for example, has a limit of 3500 square feet. If you have a question about your state law, please let me know where you live, and I will happily look into it for my own knowledge. Let me be clear, I am not an Architect or a Lawyer. I am currently finishing college with over 12 years logged working directly under various Architects. I feel there should be different levels of requirements for residential designers. Maybe a certification to show that you're honest, and you know your stuff.  A "residential only" seal. I have no interest in designing Skyscrapers, Bridges, Shopping malls or Schools. I strongly feel that Architects and structural engineers that do should have multiple review requirements.

I have seen work from some Architects that should never have been given a license to practice! It scares me that they could take on a project with so many lives at stake. Although there are millions of home design elements, what it boils down to is safety, sustainability, environment, energy and health.
I have spent over 15 years designing quality, logical, natural homes that are energy efficient and material, friendly and low in waste. Unlike many Registered Architects, my focus is directly on home plans and house design. I do not get side tracked on larger commercial projects. To be honest, I just do not enjoy them. Don't take me wrong, I am not attacking Registered Architects. I am, however, venting about some of the current laws and miss-conceptions  A lot of registered architects like to slam home designers on the web. I personally don't like to use scare tactics or pass judgment on people I do not  know. To each their own.

Having been on both sides of the spectrum, Registered Architects have asked me for help, and I have had a great deal of guidance from the like. My most respected mentor at New Eneregy Works was not a Registered Architect. He was a "home designer", like me.

I end my rant with this, let previous work and ones business reputation hold more weight than a title.

Wade Fox, AIBD
www.foxdesignstudio.com

AutoCAD, SketchUP and Shaderlight

I spent the last month seriously debating Softplan, and I almost bought it... While browsing the internet for what I consider the most professional looking rendering (as per my taste) I have decided to stay with SketchUP and AutoCAD with a plugin. This is a good time to throw in the fact that all of these programs run on Mac and PC, with Mac being a leap I plan to make here soon.

In my eTravels searching for the "look" I admire most, I found Shaderlight. This is plugin for SketchUP. It is so easy to take a floor plan or elevation from AutoCAD ( $900.00 for LT) throw it into SketchUP  (FREE) and run Shaderlight in SketchUP (FREE) Take a look at the examples of the renderings shared from everyone in posts above and then look at what shaderlight can do with a sketchUP drawing. I was floored, and even more amused when I tried it on one of my previous SketchUP projects. http://www.flickr.com/photos/shaderlight/show/

My main reason was this, Google and AutoCAD are innovative market leaders. They have the money and customer base for development. SketchUP also offers free access to 3d warehouse which saves a ton of time and new ideas roll in everyday. http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/

My final reason is this, we need to stay competitive in today's rough economy. I feel we need our work to stand out from the thousands and thousands of home plan renderings offered on websites like www.coolhouseplans.com. They all look the same, and I find that quite boring. I am in this profession to have fun, and just maybe, make a little money as well.

My final comment, I love to invent, draw my ideas, furniture and other crazy ideas I dream up daily. I do not want to be tied down to an expensive program that only draws house plans. ($3185.00 )

The only flaw in my plan is not being able to kick out a detailed material list.  This was a major factor I considered.  If anyone knows of an alternative, I would appreciate your input.

The Otterbox Defender Iphone case

This blog was intended for reviewing architecture however any design as good as the Otterbox defender deserves a thumbs up. This 4 piece iphone case has a two piece, hard plastic shell that gets wrapped by snug fitting molded rubber housing. The hard inner shell protects the iphone from being crushed while the rubber outer shell protects the phone from shock. The Otterbox Defender case is not too large to fit comfortably in your pocket and gives you an extra secure grip on the sometimes slippery iphone.
Combined with a “face in” screen protective iphone clip and a built in screen protector, my iphone is over six months old still looks brand new. The Otterbox Defender has rubber flaps that snap in place located at all areas needed to operate your iphone. The charging slot, headphone jack and the courtesy switch have rubber covers that snap into place. The built in covers keep the dirt and water out while allowing easy access to your phones accessories. I bought the Otterbox with my iphone six months ago and it has help up great. No problems, no complaints. Highly recommended for the 3g or 3gs.

Building a fish tank into an existing wall

 

Here we show how adding a simple header and cutting a hole in the
wall was able to free a significant amount of space. The original fish
tank & stand restricted the area to a smaller dining table. Building the tank into the wall allowed for storage at the opposite wall & a means to hide the wires, filters and equipment. Picture framing the opening transformed a tank of water into a piece of art.

You can see here how the simple pine picture frame conceals the spaces around the tank with out having to frame the tank in tight space. A single silicon caulk bead allows the trim to look as if the tank was sized for the opening.

Remember that houses and glass move over time and during temperature change. Be sure to size the rough opening for the tank to allow movement. 2 or 3 inches is sufficient.

This is where we started. The base for this tank was custom made, heavy duty and beautiful. We saved this base to be used for a coffee table or future TV stand. 

The finished project. This built in project was a fun and easy job for the most part. I recommend you consult a local professional to size headers for bearing walls and Electrical should be GFI. To make cleaning easier we plan to run water and drainage to the area.

Google

Trying blogger with windows live writer…

I will let you know what I think. Seems easy enough to ad links… home plans link test.. 

The word wrap seems to work well too.. By the way, I love windows 7.. AutoCAD runs great and I have not had a single issue. Switching from edit to preview and source is simple as well.

 

Technorati Tags: windows 7,architect,fds,fox design studio,wade fox,naples

Solar Farm Project

Fox Design Studio is currently working with Fields Construction on the design of several Solar Farms. The proposed Photo Voltaic site will be built in New Jersey, Arizona and in Bath NY. I have included a rendering of a test farm currently being built and run at Fields Construction headquarters where they are testing several various panels / brands for efficiency versus cost and footprint. For more information, please email me at info@foxdesignstudio.com

testing blogging from my iphone!