Blog

UP ON THE ROOF

Los Angeles County is big. In fact, it’s four times the area of the entire State of Rhode Island. Nonetheless, anyone familiar with our area knows that land here does not grow on trees. We are, after all, over 10 million residents. Land is scarce. It's most...

SECOND-STORY DECKS

Sometimes adding a deck to the second story of a home is just the right thing to do. There are, to be sure, a few compelling reasons for this step. For example, houses built on steep slopes. Second story decks, in fact , are sometimes the only possible decks....

FRENCH DOORS

We’ve posted a lot of material about decks. Designing, building, extending, and remodeling them. Furthermore, we’ve discussed the merits of various building materials. In brief; there’s very little ground we haven’t covered in our posts. We’ve probably noted the...

DECKSTENSIONS

There are two ways a homeowner ends up with a deck that’s not spacious enough. One is by purchasing a home with an existing deck. The buyer may even know up front the deck's too small, but likes the house. Then, there are the homeowners who add decks to their...

DECKONOMICS 101

As we noted in a post last year, the addition of a deck to a home bodes well for the property’s resale value. Estimates of Return On Investment for adding a deck are in the 65%-80% range, nationally. Since the use value of a deck is partly a function of climate,...

MADE IN THE SHADE

In a typical year, our Los Angeles area gets new fewer than 284 sunny days. That’s pretty cool. But the sun itself has a tendency to heat things up. It heats up LA to temperatures above 90 degrees on one in three days in August. The sun’s rays, moreover, are pretty...

DECKS ON DEMAND DOT CALM

A great many clients of ours lead very active, full lives. Two-paycheck households, career ambitions, children, civic involvement and so forth. Leisure hours (such as may be!) are, therefore, for leisure. Some people consider dabbling in home improvement projects...

2019 EXTERIOR DESIGN COMPETITION

If you know in your heart you’re a great architectural designer, then we want to know you. If, moreover, you’re looking for an outstanding opportunity to advance your career, then you want to know us. But this is business. We’re not asking you to make a leap of...

DECK REMODELING: PART TWO

In Part One of this discussion of deck remodeling we looked at the “why” and the “how” of these projects. We noted that restoration and repair of worn or broken deck elements are often what turns a homeowner’s thoughts to remodeling. A deck, after all, is a part of...

DECK REMODELING: PART ONE

Decks are fair game for remodeling projects, like any element of a home or yard. Time passes, the sun and rain take their toll. So does use. Even when a deck is in perfect condition, homeowners can’t help thinking of improvements and upgrades. We all love our homes,...

Recent Posts