When the war started Rotarians immediately sprung into action and started feeding people. The train workers did not leave their posts for a full month as they volunteered to help evacuate and Rotarians provided hot meals to the workers. They also were delivering food and heaters to bomb shelters. They had to use small vans because large trucks could not navigate the broken roads. In Kyiv, they worked hard to distribute medicine and supplies to the elderly that could not leave their homes. Many Rotarians started taking in pets that were left behind to the point where their homes appeared to be small zoos. They also worked to set up shelters in schools for those displaced, setting up sleeping and eating areas. Rotarians also started setting up water filter systems as the public water distribution systems are destroyed and wells are contaminated.
The Rotary Clubs in Ukraine have added members since the war started as they continue to recruit others that want to put #serviceaboveself. Their Rotary Club committee members meet daily to be able to have a rapid response to needs. The clubs are purchasing medical vehicles, generators, and fire trucks using Rotary Grant funds.
There are 62 Rotary clubs in Ukraine and membership is growing.
You can sponsor a family relocating to the USA HERE.
Our first house in Elk Rock Meadow has made some great progress since our post about the framing being in progress HERE. The Blue Ridge Mountain Home update shows that the cabinets are set, insulation fills the walls, and the roughed-in HVAC system is installed. These photos from a few weeks ago show an important stage of construction. First, you can see that the house wrap is installed allowing vapor to move through the walls. This particular house wrap has a very high permeability rating which is very important in our climate to maintain durability over a long time. With our multiple vapor drive seasons in this mixed humid climate, we want walls to be able to dry both to the inside and outside. We spend a lot of time thinking through this building science challenge.
This is also the perfect time to check out how the ductwork is installed and just as important, protected. You can see that there is mastic at all joints allowing the air these clients are paying to heat or cool to get to the room it is designed to go to make it more efficient. I was also pleased to find the ductwork sealed to prevent drywall dust from entering the ductwork. This extra step is critical for a healthy and durable HVAC system when the system is turned on post construction.
We were also able to see the insulation installation. This is just as critical as the house wrap in a total building science system. A complete installation fills and fits all gaps and cracks to prevent air leakage.
Finally, it was a great chance to see the cabinet installation in progress. The fit and finish of the cabinetry show the quality and care that Herr and Company put into their projects. Of course. the other items listed above also highlight the quality of construction being provided to these clients.
We are honored to be nominated in the Daily News Record Best of the Valley contest in several categories and humbly ask for your support by casting a vote for Gaines Group Architects. There are many awesome companies on the list and we understand that you will have a hard time deciding who gets your vote. Voting is easy after all, just click this link and go to each of our categories. You can vote every day from May 7 until May 14th in round one. You have all the power to move us on to Round 2!
The categories we have been nominated for Best of the Valley include:
We don’t do home improvements but we plan for them. Without a solid plan in advance of starting your home improvements you are bound to run into unexpected challenges and the details likely will not fall perfectly in place. We work hard to understand materials, building science, structural capacities, and trends to help guide you to just the right solution to meet your goals. We also created this helpful resource tool for people thinking about building a custom home to make it more fun. We work hard to help you achieve your dream home, after all, #designmatters.
We think being the best company to work for might be hard for you to judge since you probably don’t work for us – after all, there are only 12 of us and there are millions and millions of you reading our blog posts. So here are some fun facts about working here. We have 200+ years of combined experience. The average tenure of employees at the firm is over 15 years (this includes Annie that has been here since January) showing people love to stay here. We have fun celebrating each other. We celebrate birthdays, holidays, donut day, and even pizza day. We volunteer together in the community. We like being the best at things, so why not be the best place to work. Last – we create coloring books for our projects, what could be more fun than that?
We think having the best artists, food, and building for a gallery automatically makes us the Best Gallery Space! Come on, it is the Depot after all. I don’t think there is a cooler building in town, of course, I am a little biased about being in love with this building. We put out a massive array of food and drinks for our guests each month. Most important, we have the coolest artists exhibiting in our space which is really the point – to support local artists. Many of our artists have exhibited for the first time in our gallery. We don’t charge a gallery fee, we pay for all the food and drink, and we invite over 1,000 people to attend each month. We also have our own parking lot. So other than being 1/4 mile from court square, I cannot think of a reason why we are not the best Gallery in Rocktown.
Finding just the right site to build your dream house is a chore for sure. This building site for a cabin on the mountain would check a lot of boxes for a lot of people. We are truly lucky to have the opportunity to help with a project like this one.
As we started working through the design goals we learned a lot about what our client wanted to have included in their custom cabin design. The open floorplan will allow for the family to gather and the views are framed by the windows looking out over the decks.
The wrap-around porch and decks create multiple spaces for outdoor gathering and the views are incredible. However, this home had a challenge of high winds that impacted the structural design. The location on top of the mountain has very similar challenges to coastal winds and the decks capture that wind uplift.
We also had a goal of adding solar panels to the roof, so the orientation to capture the views and the roof form to allow for solar was integral and took careful planning.
We worked hard to tie all the pieces and parts together from inside to outside to deliver just the right feel for this project.
However, the main goal of this cabin on the mountain and all the critical details came back to being able to create a place to just relax and enjoy creation from a comfortable and accessible home.
