The relationship between moisture and the walls of your home can be a complicated balance. If your home doesn’t have enough moisture it can result in dryness of your respiratory system, cracked wood, and nose bleeds, whereas too much moisture in your home can harm not only your health but the structure of your house. An overabundance of moisture in the home can bring in unwanted visitors such as mold, termites, and even cockroaches.
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mold can lead to a series of allergic reactions especially if a member of your family is allergy sensitive, to begin with. While the risk of mold in walls and other areas of the home can be scary, prevention is easier than you think. It is important to use air conditioners/ humidifiers, open a window, or turn on an exhaust fan when showering, and using an exhaust hood fan when cooking. And of course, consult an architect about what wall system would work best for your home, chances are we can recommend something that will not only protect your home from dangerous moisture levels but save you money on energy bills.
It is no surprise that amidst a pandemic people are spending much more time in their homes. Overall human beings spend a significant amount of time indoors, meaning the air we breathe is a lot less healthy and could affect our overall well-being later in life. This reason alone is enough to stress the importance of hiring a designer who understands building science- it can make the difference between a healthy home or one that has the potential to make you and your family sick.
There are certain factors that can impact the air we breathe, one of those being a fireplace. This element leaves an opening in your home that can pull dirty air into the home from the fireplace itself or the building envelope. According to the United States, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) microparticles in wood-burning fireplaces can cause bronchitis, asthma, and other respiratory issues in children and the elderly. A safe alternative for this would be using a vented gas fireplace, this eliminates the need for wood and other natural materials along with pushing out the harmful exhaust. Speaking with your architect about a ventilated fireplace in the home design process can make all the difference in the air you will breathe every day.
Nearly every living thing relies on the energy from the sun, and humans are no different, we need sunlight just as much as the succulents on our windowsills. Natural light provides vitamin D – making us calmer, and more productive as a result. By allowing us to feel closer to nature through biophilic design humans can feel happier and healthier as well. Aside from benefiting the human body, sunlight can also benefit your wallet.
Natural light can eliminate the need for artificial light in the home, saving homeowners money on monthly electricity bills. Along with not needing to use artificial lights during the day, we can also rely on natural light to heat our homes during cooler seasons. Saving money on your home is great, but making money on your home is even better. Natural lighting can actually increase the value of your home, opening your windows allows sunlight to fill your whole room and in return gives the appearance of a much larger space. An article by The Ohio State University breaks down different ways light is being harnessed in the home!
An excellent example of a home that utilizes this science is the Keezletown Farmhouse. This home was designed to capture all the coziness that comes with owning a family farm, and in doing so focused on getting the perfect from the comfort of the living room.
As the need for renewable energy rises so does accessibility. The first annual Rocktown Energy Festival is bringing the information you need to go green and live an environmentally sustainable life. This free event will take place on October 2nd at the Harrisonburg Farmers Market and will work to promote clean energy in the Valley. It will not just cover the large-scale efforts to utilize renewable energy but also highlight what individuals can do to make their homes, lives, and families greener.
This event will feature informational speakers, workshops, and sustainable-focused business owners to discuss the benefits of clean energy. The goal is to get members of the valley to explore green energy options and explore the benefits that follow. There will even be a familiar face at this event as our very own Charles Hendricks will be attending to talk about the importance of solar power, and sustainable homes.
We are beyond thrilled to not only be a part of this event but to sponsor in the hopes of educating homeowners on opportunities to save the environment, and save them money.
When designing a home, it is important to ask a lot of questions to figure out the goals of the new project. Why do you want to expand that room, how do you use this area, and even, what kind of car do you drive? Understanding the specific ways things are happening and how the client wants them to happen is at the heart of good design. If you have ever thought about it, you probably realize that a house is the most complicated machine you will ever own. A home has water vapor moving through walls, mechanical systems moving air, vents exhausting fumes and humidity, walls resisting wind, roofs shedding water, and the list goes on. Buildings are complicated for sure, just like the lives they facilitate are complicated.
So when approaching a renovation or addition project it is important to know the client’s values. In order to best design the right solution for them you have to know the goals, problems, challenges, and budget. This is the work that we do as architects, we boil down complicated problems into easy-to-digest decisions. Our work in the early phases is an act of uncovering the story. We develop a narrative of spaces and shapes working with your budget in mind. These parts are woven together into a built form that can be used to create the physical space.
As architects, we help reduce stress and unknowns through our shared experiences and work to enhance livability through design solutions. It is not only our job to understand you but to be able to translate your goals, lifestyle, and hopes into a physical space that will flourish with you. This project renovation in Fluvanna County would not have been possible without the contracting skills of M3 inc.Teamwork withtrusted partners is another key to a successful project.
Over the last year of uncertainty, it has been difficult to figure out what products have changed, what is available, and what the “right” answers are for our clients. As a firm, we have always worked hard to stay informed about changing patterns, products, and best practices in the field and that is hard to do working remote. Reading articles and studying text can only teach so much, so we had to ask ourselves, what could we do to stay on top of things in order to best serve our clients? We started hosting online education sessions each month, inviting product experts to help educate us and others in the industry. We worked at finding a range of sessions that not only benefited our own learning, but a community we built online of industry professionals. One of our “Golden Product Rep” that helped us with a virtual seminar is Steve Norris with American Bath Group. He has a wide range of plumbing products, many that we use in our projects, and delivered some excellent information for us to consider during the design process.
Today, Steve is with us live and in-person – outside of our office with a trailer display of his products. This gives us a chance to put our hands on things, see the differences, and understand how to guide our clients better through the selection process. We have also invited some industry colleagues to join us because we are better as a team than we are working in a silo. During our time spent with the American Bath Group, we had the privilege to learn about cutting-edge materials and products that are being utilized in residential and commercial bathrooms. By far one of the coolest advancements we viewed was shatter-resistant tempered glass.
This demonstration was conducted by our very own interior designer a more professional example of this technology can be viewed here. We were asked to press down on the glass as hard as we could and upon breaking the glass stayed a solid, laminated in place. This technology will not only save your bathroom from disaster but has the possibility to save lives.
Overall we were incredibly thankful that American Bath Group took the time to show us all of the newest material advancements and allow us to not only learn but to grow as a team.
