GERALD FORSBURG ASSOCIATES - GERALD FORSBURG ASSOCIATES - The Next Generation in Traditional Design.

2015 SVBA Home & Garden Show

4/13/2015

Photo Credit: Gerald Forsburg Associates

I LOVE trade shows - at least our local Spring Home & Garden Show! By this, I mean, I love actually setting up and doing them. Many businesses feel it a necessary evil. And many architects and professional designers believe in word-of-mouth referrals only. But, I see it as a time to get out and meet the trades and the community, as well as to simply watch and listen to the feedback.

Many folks walk through and do not even glance at some exhibits. While others stop dead in their tracks, studying every detail. Some continue on, but it's those few that "get it", and stop and talk about my greatest passion - beautiful design - that make it all worth while.

The first great compliment was one passer by who said, "Wow. You work is so simple, not in a plain way, but in a beautiful way." We discussed this a bit and I explained that it's not about how much you add to a house, or even what dollar amount you put on it, but that good design is more about knowing what to leave out. Successful art is about knowing when to stop. The same goes for successfully designed homes. That doesn't happen immediately. There are many sketches that end up in the trash, and even the ideas that move forward need to be refined, and refined again before they are "finished".

Another great compliment we received at the Home Show was that folks simply enjoyed seeing some real beauty.

Of course, our clients' happiness is the greatest motivator, but being received in the community as a "purveyor of beautiful design" is also a great feeling!

One of the biggest challenges is letting folks know that quality design need not be expensive. Each of our clients has a budget and a list of wants. We design within the budget, and help to refine the list of wants to meet the budget. It's a great pleasure when a homeowner understands quality is more valuable than quantity. In reality, building is a numbers game. You can get an average designed 3,500 square foot home for $350,000 (or roughly $100 per square foot), or you can get a BEAUTIFUL 2,000 s.f. home for the same budget. The difference is the quality of materials and details. Really want to bump it up a notch? Pare back to a 1,500 square foot, very well designed home. In addition to the benefit of a well-designed home, you will save thousands in heating, cooling and maintenance in the years to come. Of course, there are those that decide to, and are able to increase their budgets when they realize just what is available to them. But our goal is not to increase budget - just to design beautiful places to live.

Another well-appointed home design tip: Traditional Materials NEVER go out of style! Be wary of the accolades of "maintenance free" and extended warranties on products. The life span of natural materials such as stone and wood are well tested in the natural elements - not just in some controlled factory environment. And never underestimate the value of a quality paint. Many of today's paints have much better formulas than those of years past. (Incidentally, our booth was painted using Farrow and Ball paints - these run about $100/gallon! The quality of the paint, and the ratio of the pigment in the paint, is unprecedented. The bonuses are ZERO VOC; easy clean up, as it is a water-based paint; and quick drying times - we touched up our booth several times and the paint was dry to the touch in about 10 minutes! We have a trade account if you want to order some, and may be stocking it in the near future.)

Trade shows are all about presenting the best of what you do, including your sales pitch... so one final note: we design beautiful structures and spaces for beautiful living. Whether it be a home, addition, renovation, garden, or even a fence (yes, we've designed a few fences), we can design it for you. Don't need design? Of course not. Design is not a need - it's a way of living.

Thanks to all who stopped by to look and chat! Hope to see you next year, if not before.

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What Happened to the Proposed Mount Jackson Family Dollar?

4/22/2014

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Wikimedia Photo Credit: Michael Rivera

In December of last year, I posted about our small town and it's open arms to the Family Dollar Corporation. I expressed our concerns over the project, which can be read in our December blog post.

While I, Gerald Forsburg, expressed concern over the design, I also presented the Town Council and Planning Commission with solid public information showing that the Family Dollar Corporation was not a financially sound business, and warned that if the building were to be constructed, it would likely be sitting vacant within a year.

The Council did not want to hear it, stating that "a National Brand would not be expanding if it was not feasible", and that they could not operate on "hearsay", even though every major news outlet at the time was reporting what was considered "Hearsay". Of course, the underlying statement was "what could you possibly know about a National Chain?"

Recently, I have had many inquiries about what happened to the Family Dollar Store. I can't say with certainty whether Family Dollar has scrapped all plans to build in Mount Jackson or not (though one can only hope for the best), but what I can report is that the Associated Press reported earlier this month that Family Dollar is cutting jobs and closing 370 stores nationwide because "they were not financially solid"! Forbes reported on it too. (Really?!)

Had the project moved forward when it was planned, Mount Jackson would surely be sitting with not only a poorly designed 8,000 square foot building, but a vacant one 8,000 square foot building (we already have a vacant and historic 10,000 square foot building in the middle of town...) (Check out this blog: 10 Reasons for Family Dollar - great pics of now defunct Family Dollar Stores.)

Moral of the story: Small Towns especially need to do their homework, maybe even listen to those who are giving them free advice. The stores likely to close will be in smaller towns, and the last thing small towns need are large vacant structures. A vacant structure in a large city can go unnoticed, but be sold rather quickly to the next national chain; not so in a small town, and they are much harder to sell.

Small Towns need to focus on improving their Historic Downtown cores. That's where the value is in a small town. It's not in hoping a National Chain Store will swoop in to provide jobs and gross amounts of expensive improvements. That's where locals and visitors alike want to be, and don't begrudgingly spend a dollar. Locals, especially, want to spend money to support the people they know - the people they go to church with, pass in the library, and live near. And the more we can keep every dollar "local", the better we do as a community. Supporting locally owned businesses means local Prosperity, local decision making, community well-being and product diversity. But we need to have local businesses. To do that, we need leaders who understand slow-growth and smart-growth dynamics and economics. Slow growth means a stronger economic viability that is more resilient than what can be provided by larger National Chains (think: "the bigger they are, the harder they fall.") Locally-owned businesses are also more likely to be more responsible within the community - they have more on the line than just their bottom line - they have their reputation among peers.

Photo Credit: Most Fun: Corning, New York

Wouldn't it be great if Mount Jackson was named "Best Small Town", "Most Fun Small Town", or even "Most Beautiful Small Town"?!

In just a few short years, with proper planning and incentives for locally-owned small businesses, we too could be on the Virginia is for Lovers "Best Small Towns" site! Mount Jackson has the bones for it. We don't need to change anything - just improve on what's already here.

(My personal prediction is that the Nation will likely see the chain go bankrupt in the next year or two, if not sooner, unless they change their business model drastically and quickly, and even then it may be too late.)

*I do wish the owner of the property, a local family, the best of luck selling it. It's a wonderful location and has much potential.

**Update - Local sources report that the Mount Jackson Family Dollar is still "coming to town". (Ugh.) Closing on the property is expected in May, with construction expected shortly after that.

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The Business of Design - Part I

3/28/2014

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Creative Commons License photo credit: hoshi7

One of the things that Architecture school does not teach successfully is the "Business of Design".

I wanted to take a minute to focus on some great essentials for those seeking to start a Design Firm, or even improve their existing firm.

For starters, I highly recommend this new little book by Keith Granet entitled "The Business of Design". The Book is geared toward Interior Design firms, but has valuable information for those in architecture and really anyone interested in starting any sort of creatively-centered company.

There are so many things that go into running a successful office, whether small or large, but the number one thing to remember is that Efficiency is your greatest Ally. How can you be efficient? Systems!

Streamline everything so that you can focus on the creative parts you love. We all have our weaknesses (see my post from a few weeks ago on Secrets to Success in Architecture and Every Other Profession). Systems will help to overcome those weaknesses in order to free us up to do what we're best at, and really what we want to be doing. Do NOT neglect this part of the process for if and when you do get busy, your life will be far more difficult than it has to be.

Design firms primarily manage Projects. Therefore, you need to get a system in place for managing all the information that is going to go into each project.

In our techno-centered world, it is important that information is found fast. Set up project folders on your Computer, keeping the mindset of "less is more" - meaning, the fewer clicks it takes to get to the information you need, the better. This will help immensly when you are sitting with a client and need to find something; or for your employees to find something fast. I've worked in plenty of disorganized firms where it felt like the majority of my day was spent finding a particular CAD drawing rather than actually working on the project - as an hourly employee, that time adds up in a disorganized firm. (Oh, and don't expect your employees to organize you - you need ONE person (or in larger firms, a small team) whose responsibility is be the gatekeeper, overseeing the organization and making certain it's being implemented or else it all falls apart.) Remember, if you don't value the system or efficiency, those working for you won't either.

So what about all the physical paper generated in projects? The absolute best thing I have found to use over the years, are three ring binders. They do not have to be fancy or expensive! They DO have to be thick. Usually 3" spines is minimum. Some projects may require multiple binders. Placing the project name on the spine is important, so you may wish to get the "View Binders" with a handy pocket down the spine of the binder. I also prefer the D Rings to help mitigate the bulkiness of material samples that often get added.

The other invaluable basic necessity, for a small firm especially, is the ability to print large format of some kind. Large firms can afford the fancy, large plotters and all the rest. For a small firm, and one just starting out, it is usually more efficient to have a few inexpensive printers for in-house printing. Larger formats can be emailed out to a local print shop, saving you tons of time and money. But you will still want to see printed materials in-house. Since a 24" x 36" sized sheet is the majority of what will get printed, it is helpful to have an in-house printer that can print a true half-sized sheet (i.e. 12" x 18"). This means that if you have 1/4" scaled drawings, you can at least review them at 1/8" scale in-hose and they will still be legible and scalable.

There are a few such large format printers out there, but the Canon IX6820 Wireless Inkjet Business Printer. You can set up a plot setting to use only the black ink cartridge, but the bonus is that you have a photo-quality printer that can print REALLY great color images! The best thing is that it's only $180 bucks!!! It does run a little slow printing, but it is an inkjet after all.

Of course, you'll need paper to go with it. The best source I've found for 13" x 19" paper is Dataprint. I order it in bulk so I always have it on hand. It's works out to be about $0.10 a sheet. If you need glossy photo paper, then HP's Premium Plus Gloss Photo Paper is pretty good. It runs about $0.036 per sheet.

These sheets can be folded, hole-punched and stuck in the project binders nicely as well.

That's all I have time for today... Tune in next week for some more information to help you run an efficient Creatively focused company! And please feel free to comment, ask questions and share what works for you.

(Comments are moderated and may not appear right away.)

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The Truth About Building Codes

3/26/2014

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Photo of a gutted bathroom by juhansonin/Flickr.

One bad apple spoils the bunch, right? Well, this is how most Building Codes came about - a problem that affected a good majority of the public needed to be addressed industry wide. Now there's a code for it.

Clearly there were not really building codes several hundred years ago when many of the worlds' greatest architectural feats were designed and built, were there? I mean, there aren't even egress windows in the Pyramids! Actually, the earliest recognized building code dates to around 1772 BC, and is known as the Code of Hammurabli, a Baylonian law code. It states as follows:

228. If a builder build a house for some one and complete it, he shall give him a fee of two shekels in money for each sar of surface.

229 If a builder build a house for some one, and does not construct it properly, and the house which he built fall in and kill its owner, then that builder shall be put to death.

230. If it kill the son of the owner the son of that builder shall be put to death.

231. If it kill a slave of the owner, then he shall pay slave for slave to the owner of the house.

232. If it ruin goods, he shall make compensation for all that has been ruined, and inasmuch as he did not construct properly this house which he built and it fell, he shall re-erect the house from his own means.

233. If a builder build a house for some one, even though he has not yet completed it; if then the walls seem toppling, the builder must make the walls solid from his own means.

photo by Hot Meteor/Flickr

Ouch! The earliest known Codes called for death to the BUILDER in certain circumstances.

You'll even find a building code in Deuteronomy which states that parapets (short walls) must be constructed on all houses to prevent people from falling off. Sounds reasonable.

What all these building codes have in common is the health, safety and welfare of the general public.

However, just like a loving parent's duty does not stop at merely providing a roof over a child's head, but hopefully extends to some wider quality of life, building codes also are not the final word in the construction industry. They are merely the start of the conversation.

Building Codes are the MINIMUM acceptable standards for performance.

Does this mean that if your dream house is built "according to code", it will be everything you thought it would and stand the test of time? Perhaps, but probably not really. It's life span may be 25 to 50 years, which is really irresponsible if compared to some of the oldest structures on earth.

The code does not require casing and baseboards, but most owners of traditional homes like these sorts of things. But those are cosmetic," you say. "Codes are about fire and structure and the general construction of the building."

This is our point exactly. Codes are prescriptive measures to ensure the minimal standard of safety. They do not address quality of construction, aesthetics or heightened safety measures.

As an example, do you really want a roof that sags after 10 years because the Code stated that rafters spaced two foot apart with 1/2" plywood was "structurally" sufficient? For a few hundred dollars more, you could simply increase the number of rafters and provide a slightly thicker roof deck.

Another example: 1/2" thick drywall/sheetrock is what's seen in most homes, and is the acceptable minimum standard as outlined in the Residential Building Code. However, 5/8" drywall has many additional benefits.

Photo Credit: NREL.gov

Even when using good quality finger-jointed lumber, there are inconsistencies in framing. The thicker 5/8" drywall smooths over those inconsistencies for a much better and straighter finished wall. In ceilings, the lighter drywall can actually sag over time, especially if joists are two feet apart. Additional benefits to the thicker drywall are that it has more mass and density, thus it is more durable; it absorbs sound better; it provides a better fire rating, giving your loved ones additional time to escape a fire; and slightly better energy quality. (Any time you can put more materials between you and the elements, you're ahead of the energy game.)

So, what's the cost for such an "upgrade" to the homeowner? Would you be surprised if I told you that it was only about $500 more for an entire 2,200 square foot house? This is why many high dollar homes feel better constructed. They are.

Want to take durability and effect a step farther? Try finishing that drywall with a traditional 3 part plaster instead of a flimsy skimcoat. The wall will have an amazing "visual depth", and be rock solid. Like anything, when you're working with a firm foundation, the results are much more durable, and beautiful.

Photo Credit: Gerald Forsburg Associates

This kind of attention to detail is, in part, what sets a well-appointed custom designed home apart from a spec house.

You'll often hear, "they sure don't build 'em like that anymore." Well, I'm here to tell you WE do - at least we design houses to a much higher standard of quality, if a client so desires.

Even the most basic home or renovation can benefit from understanding the Codes and "going above and beyond" for better value and quality. I suppose the only thing I recall taking away from my earliest Cub Scout days was the motto of "Always leave things better than you found them." This is how I approach building, especially additions and renovations.

So, how do you get to know what's minimally acceptable? Of course, you can hire a Design Professional, like myself; but you can also go to any local library and check out the book for yourself! I warn you, it's not light bedtime reading.

Happy Building!

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Secrets to Success in Architecture and Every Other Profession

3/17/2014

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When I was in architecture school, I went to work for a time as an administrative assistant in a prominent Washington, DC accounting firm (my logic was that they paid better than architects, which was they still do!).

My responsibilities included sorting the mail and delivering it to the various offices. One of the partners received a monthly magazine entitled, "Bits & Pieces: A Monthly Mixture of Horse Sense and Common Sense About Working with People." (I should probably not include that I also knew the results of one of the partners' fertility test before he or even his wife! Never underestimate the lowest on the totem poll of the office.)

Unfortunately, for the partner who received the monthly "Bits & Pieces" publication, he never received it unread! It was full of one-liners, stories about leadership, and various anecdotes about the business world and life in general.

One story that I have never forgotten rad as follows:

The most successful accountant in the most prestigious accounting firm in the world was about to retire. At the start of each and every workday for the past 40 years, he took a key from his vest pocket, unlocked a drawer on the side of his desk, opened it and looked inside for just an instant, and then closed and locked the drawer. Everyone in the firm had been watching him repeat this same routine for 40 years, and everyone was convinced that the secret to his man’s success was hidden in that drawer. At the very end of his very last day, after the good-bye speeches and the presentation of the gold watch, everyone in the firm watched closely as he packed up his desk, waiting for him to open the drawer and show everyone the secret of his success. But he never opened the drawer. Instead, he took the key out of his vest pocket, placed it on top of the desk, and left the office to enjoy his retirement.

The entire office staff crowded around his desk, and with trembling hands the most senior partner of the firm carefully unlocked the drawer and peered inside, to reveal the secret of this man’s success. He saw that the drawer was empty except for a small, yellowed piece of paper with faded writing. “Read it! Read it,” cried everyone. “Tell us the secret of his success!” The partner stared carefully at the paper and read:

Debits on the Left
Credits on the Right

Now, if you're not an accountant, you might not get the irony right away. Suffice it to say that what the staff were hoping was some deep knowledge about success in accounting was simply the most basic of accounting principles.

Could something so basic be the secret to this man's success?! Oddly, yes!

At the beginning of this man's career, he recognized he had a weakness. He simply could not remember the basic principle that debits went on the left and credits on the right. So, he had to make a choice: quit the profession, or find a way of making sure that he remembered.

In my business of Design, I am required to remember a ton of information on a daily basis, with everything from what to do for a dozen or more projects, and the clients, contractors and sub-contractors that go with those projects, to remembering to take the dog out (though he doesn't let me forget too often). I am but one person, prone to limitation and error like everyone else.

Guess what? I have something to confess. Rather than having one similar "cheat sheet", I have about five, the first three of which I have carried around for about 20 years. And they are located not in a drawer, but in one a Hide-Away Desk Pad.

A table of Softwood Lumber sizes photocopied from an Architectural Standards book years ago(because a 2x4 is NOT really a 2x4 but rather 1 1/2" x 3 1/2" dry.)
A "Decimal to Inches" chart
A "Roof Pitch Angles" chart

More recently (about 5 years ago), I added the following:

Classical Orders terminology
Interior Design Space Standards

At another desk that I use primarily for drawing and watercolors, I have a few more, such as a basic watercolor paint color chart.

After 20 years, I remember the majority of this information, however, I didn't always. I pride myself on not having to know everything, but on knowing WHERE to find everything, and these little sheets simply made it easier and quicker to pinpoint information on a regular basis.

Are such reference sheets required for success? Probably not.

What is required for success is understanding your limitations, making adjustments for them, and then focusing on your strengths.

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About Gerald Forsburg

Maverick Designer, Developer &
Old House Aficionado!
(Well, maybe not quite yet on the developer part.)
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2015 SVBA Home & Garden Show

What Happened to the Proposed Mount Jackson Family Dollar?

The Business of Design - Part I

The Truth About Building Codes

Secrets to Success in Architecture and Every Other Profession

About Gerald Forsburg

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