Josh’s Hit List and Shit List / March 1, 2024 by S. Joshua Brincko

From time to time, as an architect, I encounter products and services that are exceptional: exceptionally good and exceptionally bad. If you think about all the things you must buy to create a building, there are tons. Literally tons. Here’s my list of the “hits” and, well, the “shits.” I’ll continue to update this page when I get new hits and new shits.

THE HIT LIST

A1PNW Concrete: Tommy and Ruben and team totally rule. They build concrete walls with perfection. They are fair and easy to work with. Nothing is difficult with them.

Carstar Collision Clinic: This doesn’t have anything to do with architecture, but they are just so go that they need to be mentioned here. If you need body work on your car, they make this hassle into not-a-hassle! Bruce and his team are amazing.

Digital Reprographics: This company goes above and beyond. They are the lowest drama company I have ever dealt with. Everything is always, “OK, no problem!” And then it gets done (properly every time). They print and deliver drawings with no hassle. They even check our page numbers and let us know if we forget something. When all our computers and hard drives got stolen from our office, they went into work and emailed us every single file that we ever sent them…. and they did this on CHRISTMAS EVE!!! Thanks Clint!

Dunn Lumber: their lumber is slightly more expensive than other lumber yards, BUT their product and service is exceptionally better. The lumber is straight. Near perfect. Wood warps over time, and this makes the labor of installing it expensive if you have to build around a “moving target.” They source lumber from mills that actually properly kiln dry their material, so the carpenters don’t need to waste time building with curvy wood. They also do a great job of recommending the products you need and most importantly, they are very professional when putting together quotes and keeping them updated as quantities and needs change. Their delivery arrangement is also top notch. $40 will drop any size delivery at your job site, and they will pick up no-hassle returns at the same time.

Brondell: this company makes a great aftermarket toilet seat that turns any toilet into a bidet. You can convert any toilet to a bidet, and this will help you to save toilet paper, save water, and to stay clean. Their products work really well, they are easy to install, and they come in a wide variety of options. You can get fancy with heated water, or you can keep it simple with the basics. No toilet should be without one of these.

Grohe: these faucets are nice. Many other brands are nice too, but what separates this brand from others is their service. When I’ve had problems, they just send a new one. No questions asked.

Josh Architects: These guys are good. I’m talking like “chocolate sauce on chocolate ice cream with chocolate chips” type of good!

SSF: Swenson Say Faget engineers has been repeatedly a great structural engineering firm to work with. We do work with many great engineers, but we have done the most with SSF. When Karl and his team are available to take on a project, they never disappoint. Owen and Wade, yea, you guys are good too!

THE SHIT LIST

Electrolux: this was originally a vacuum cleaner company, and their original vacuums were heavy steel masterpieces. Today, they have gotten into kitchen appliances, and there is nothing special about them. They break faster than other appliances in my experience, and their customer service is the worst I have ever encountered. Never buy their products. Ever.

Miele: I want to like their products. They are nice, but when something goes wrong, they are not helpful at all. Their plastic knobs on a stove broke, and they wanted to charge $350 for them. EACH!!! No thank you.

The Building Department: You might be wondering which one? Well, every single one of them. Every government agency somehow seems to be inefficient, unprofessional, and have very poor customer service. It is exactly what we expect, but this is wrong. We should not have to expect this from our governments.

If you’d like to learn more about our design process, visit www.josharch.com/process, and if you’d like to get us started on your project with a feasibility report, please visit www.josharch.com/help

What Is High End? / February 1, 2024 by S. Joshua Brincko

You hear people talking about high-end finishes all the time. But what exactly is high end?

Let’s start by discussing what is not high end. If you would like to build some thing as cheap as possible, the finishes of your home will be mostly carpeting, drywall, thin painted trim work, laminate counters with 4” backsplash on press board cabinets, tub inserts, small and bulky white vinyl windows, and vinyl or hardie siding with thin roof shingles. This is as cheap as it gets. It is essentially a plastic house on the outside and drywall on the inside. These sort of homes are currently $350 or more per square foot in the Seattle area.

Notice the tiny slider windows with bulky white frames, white corner trim boards, the belly band across the middle, and thin shingles. There is a lot more wall than window area, and it is all hardie lap siding with nothing special. This home is nothing but beige drywall in the inside. This is the cheapest house you can build.

For mid-range quality, you can expect most of the same as above, but swap out some of the trim for thicker material (maybe stained instead of painted), some non-carpet floors here and there, granite countertops, some wall tile, thinner fiberglass black windows, and maybe some isolated accent walls on the interior and exterior that are of a bit nicer material. It is essentially a plastic house on the outside and drywall on the inside with better windows and a few natural accent materials for interest here and there. These kinds of homes are currently $400 to $600 per square foot in the Seattle area.

Notice the window frames are black and thinner than the previous example. They are also bigger, so there’s more window area compared to wall area. But, the space between the windows is ideally supposed to look like a thin structural column - not a bulky wall covered in hardie panel and cedar siding. The facade does have a bit of variation, but notice how the cedar siding is arbitrarily flush with the hardie panel siding to the right. This is a nice home, but the concept was bastardized from what was intended to make it more affordable to build.

A high-end house uses nicer, natural materials. Real stone, real wood, and exposed steel, concrete, and/or wood structure. There is not much drywall exposed. Instead, it is either covered with a nicer material or, better yet, the finish materials are an integrated part of the actual structure of the building. The exterior fits into the natural environment with its use of natural materials, and the windows are larger with thinner frames and either no trim or very well conceived trim that integrates with the architectural elements of the building. A high-end home also has more advanced systems for heating, ventilation, structural framing, home automation, insulation, and waterproofing. These kind of homes are usually around $1000 per square foot or more. Most homes you see in magazines cost over $1000 per square foot.

Notice the structure is exposed. It is not covered with siding. The glass abuts all the way to the structure, and the window frames are essentially non-existent. There is barely any use of drywall on the interior since the actual structure is exposed and glass spans between that structure. Also, notice how the exterior materials continue to the inside. This home has more window area than wall area, and this is very expensive to build.

Early in the design process, we help advise our clients on construction cost, and much of this is factored into the types of finishes desired. The same floor plan can be later developed to be high end in any style, or it could be kept simple and cheaper. The cost is all in the details.

Exceptional Trees / January 1, 2024 by S. Joshua Brincko

Trees are beautiful. They provide shade, they suck up groundwater to prevent basement flooding, they look pretty, and their roots hold hills together. They do provide a lot of benefits.

They also cause problems when they are too close to buildings. Their roots ruin foundations, the leaves clog gutters and sewers, their acidity ruins roofs, and they cause damage or injury when branches fall. For this reason, it is best to keep trees away from buildings and high use areas and to prune any nearby trees before they become problematic.

In many cities, you are not allowed to just cut down a tree or even prune it. There’s often rules about where trees are allowed to be cut down, how many are allowed to be cut down, and what size trees are allowed to be cut down. Many land use codes refer to large trees as “exceptional,” “significant,” or “protected.” These are trees that have strict limitations for removal due to their size. The size is commonly measured by the diameter of the trunk at “breast height,” which is 4.5’ above the ground. Different species have different thresholds of trunk diameter that cause them to be considered exceptional. Typically, if a tree is considered exceptional (or whatever special term your city uses), you simply cannot cut it down, AND you can’t even build or disturb the soil within a certain distance of it.

If a tree is classified as exceptional, most cities will require you to hire an arborist to document the species and size of the tree, and that arborist will be required to write a report to describe how it must be protected during construction with fences, excavation methods, and other techniques. Additionally, their report also prescribes the “dripline” which is the outer ring of its canopy. Generally, the roots stretch out as far as the branches, so the dripline distinguishes the land that often cannot be disturbed. In some cities, the dripline is divided into an “inner root zone” and an “outer root zone.” The inner root zone is an area that absolutely cannot be disturbed, and an outer root zone is an area that might be allowed to have certain minimal disturbance with special monitoring and expert oversight from a certified arborist.

This really puts a burden on construction since additional setbacks from exceptional trees paired with other limitations like setbacks from property lines, setbacks from steep slopes, limitations to the percentage of land allowed to be developed, and other limiting factors really makes it a challenge to build. With so many factors limiting development, land gets harder and harder to build on, it becomes less valuable while causing other available land to become increasingly more expensive, and consequently less housing gets built which contributes to the ongoing housing shortage and overpriced homes.

As a homeowner with trees on your property, you really need to be diligent about this. If a tree is getting larger and larger each year, at some point it might be considered “exceptional,” and you won’t be allowed to remove it even though it will literally start to destroy your home (and maybe even you). It is best to remove these beasts before they become a problem. Small problems are easier to solve than big ones (cheaper to remove smaller trees too). As a tree gets bigger and bigger, at some point cutting it down would cause it to fall on your home, and that causes tree crews to expensively dismantle it limb by limb to avoid costly damage. It would have been much cheaper to remove that tree when it was a little twig. Or better yet, it would have been best to just plant it far from your home in the first place.

In Seattle, there is new legislation that categorizes all trees into tier 1-4. Tier 1 trees have historic historic significance and cannot be altered. Tier 2 trees are any with trunks 24” in diameter or greater (and additional smaller trees on a special list). Tier 3 trees have trunks 12” to 24” that aren’t on the special list from Tier 2. Tier 4 includes all trees with trunks 6” to 12” that are not on the special list. When removing or pruning trees that are Tier 1-4, there are special reporting requirements and permit fees depending on the situation. More detail is provided at https://www.seattle.gov/DPD/Publications/CAM/Tip242B.pdf

The moral of the story is to remove your potentially problematic trees before their trunks become 6”, or you will have a hard time (and expensive time) dealing with them once they have matured. The other main point is to be very thoughtful about where you plant trees. Remember that they grow up to become monsters that will damage your property if planted too close to your home.

Josh Architects Named as top 10 Industrial Architects in Seattle! / December 1, 2023 by Josh Brincko

Click the link at SeattleArchitects.org to read about our project with 2 Bar Spirits

Impacting Others / November 20, 2023 by Josh Brincko

While assisting a nonprofit with the design of a shelter for battered women and children, I was using my wife's fancy camera that she uses in her photography business. The camera has a lot of advanced features that I can barely use, and it looks impressive with its interchangeable lenses. As I was taking photos, I noticed a teenage kid eyeing the camera. He was pretty rough looking, and it was a little unnerving that he was looking at the camera so intensely. If I wasn't inside of this housing facility, I would have definitely felt worried that I might be robbed.

After noticing the kid for a few minutes repeatedly checking out my camera, I asked him if he wanted to take some photos for me to "help me do my job easier." He looked a bit shocked and very excited at the same time. He eagerly said "yes!" I stood between him and the exit door, and handed him the camera (just in case he tried to run off with it, I could prevent him from leaving). I put the strap around his neck, and said, "as long as you don't drop it, you won't hurt it, so have fun." I showed him a few buttons to push, and then I instructed him to follow behind me and shoot pictures of the things I was measuring. I offered him a few bits of insight on how he might frame the photos, so they would be more helpful for me.

When I was done, I offered to pay him for his time, but he turned me down. It was obvious that simply using the camera was enough payment. He thanked me and replied, "that was really cool. I'd like to get a camera like that one day." I told him he was really good at it, and he probably would end up with a nice camera if he worked at it.

A few years later, I ran into the director of the housing program, and she told me something that changed my life. She said, "do you remember the boy that helped you with the photos awhile back?" I said, "no, not really, sorry." She explained him a bit further, and eventually she jogged my memory a little. She reminded me that I let one of the teenage kids that lived in the shelter use my expensive camera. She said that he never really had a father figure in his life, and that small gesture had a big impact on him. She explained how it ignited a passion in him and changed him from a fairly disobedient kid to someone who had purpose and meaning in his life. She said he was pursuing an education in photography and hopes to be a photographer some day. She thanked me for my kindness, and I left with a feeling of sadness.

I was sad for two reasons: 1. I was sad that this kid didn't have the basic needs met in his upbringing, so I felt guilty that I was much more fortunate than him. 2. Until that moment, I never realized how big of an impact such a meaningless moment could have on another person. It made me feel like I may have helped or even hurt so many other people without even realizing it. This was just one opportunity that I knew the cause AND effect of my actions.

This encounter made me realize that the smallest things we do can have meaningful consequences on others. As an architect, I interact with a ton of people: other architects, engineers, builders, clients, clients' kids, clients' neighbors, building department staff, material suppliers, etc. At any moment, I have the chance to make a difference in their lives. Additionally, as a soccer coach, I have more opportunities to make a difference as a role model to younger people.

This is a major responsibility, and I hope you will allow this story to help you realize your potential impact and the responsibility that corresponds with your interactions with others. Seize that opportunity by being aware of it.

If you’d like to learn more about our design process, visit www.josharch.com/process, and if you’d like to get us started on your project with a feasibility report, please visit www.josharch.com/help

Respect for Construction Cost / November 1, 2023 by Josh Brincko

As an architect, I have been involved with the construction of over 1000 buildings, and 95% of those have been homes. I have seen successes, failures, and have certainly learned from each of those. I know what works and what doesn’t before it happens, and when someone starts explaining an issue, I already know a solution (as I politely let them finish saying what they want to say) since I’ve already seen the same things over and over.

I can very confidently say I am an expert in my craft. They say it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert in something. I’ve done that over and over, so I must be like a 10th degree black belt in residential design and construction:)

One of the most perplexing things to me is the cost of construction. I have a decent understanding of what things will cost, but the ‘WHY’ is such an interesting topic. WHY do things need to cost what they cost. Here’s what I’ve learned:

Builders have to buy and finance expensive materials. They buy them, and they manage them, and they have to collect a payment from their client for them. They are essentially acting like a bank giving a loan until the client pays them back. They also have to finance the cost of their laborers.
Builders need to buy the correct materials. This may sound easy, but it’s like planning a chess move 10 steps in advance. The builder needs to ensure the materials they purchase will actually properly perform, fit, and be delivered when needed. If the builder is wrong about any of those, the cost impacts are outrageous. You can’t just return most building materials. The builder is stuck with the cost if that happens. Also, if the builder does not order enough, or certain materials get damaged during delivery, storage, or install (or stolen), the builder is on the hook for that too. If they need to order more materials, that could take weeks, and the cost impact of a scheduling debacle is major. This is why builders should be entitled to mark up the cost of the materials they buy. They accept a lot of risk for buying and managing materials.
Builders have to perform labor in terrible environmental conditions. Their work conditions are so terrible that it is not even legally allowed in a conventional work setting. Office buildings are required to have a certain level of light, heat, ventilation, bathrooms, air quality, etc. Builders often have NONE of that. They are subjecting their bodies to very uncomfortable conditions all day and every day, and the work they do is quite dangerous too. If there’s a job that deserves hazard pay, it’s construction. Most people don’t have what it takes to do what builders do every day.
Builders have to work around expensive existing conditions. When installing an expensive light, tub, refrigerator, etc, they are also being installed next to expensive cabinets/countertops, on expensive flooring, and pass through expensive doors, windows, landscaping, etc. At any point, the builder can F those other things up. If they do, you will expect them to pay to fix it. The cost to install a $300 toilet results in the protection of everything around it and under it. The builder is on the hook for the cost of your whole home essentially. Installing a $300 toilet on $5000 of tile with a million dollar home under it that can be wrecked with a simple leak is pretty stressfull.
Builders need expensive tools to do their job. You might use a $2000 laptop with $2000 of software and insurance and such. Builders have that too, AND they also have a bunch of other expensive things like drills, saws, scaffolds, ladders, lasers, trucks, tractors, etc. This list could go on forever, but the point is, your builder has thousands and likely hundreds of thousands of dollars of resources they have purchased to get your job done. They need to maintain, store, protect, insure, and transport all of those items to be able to do your job. The fee they charge you needs to cover those items. And guess what … it is not uncommon that they get stolen despite how well they are locked up. Getting “hit” by thieves once per year is normal.
Just like most businesses, builders need to cover their payroll. They need to find workers, get them to the jobsites, and pay their wages, taxes, and insurance, and they usually do this BEFORE you pay them for the work they did for you. Think about the thousands of dollars a builder likely paid before they started your project, and before you ever paid them. They also probably spent over 100 hours planning and estimating your project before it ever started. This is a lot of overhead expense.

The builders we work with take on so much responsibility, so I really hope our society can appreciate what they do for us. They made the place you are in right now. Someone sanded that trim, drywall, and flooring to make it nice and safe for you. After that person finished that work, he or she cleaned their fingernails and popped their blisters … and they did that for you.

Think about that as you click away on your keyboard in your heated and well-ventilated office. This is why builders need to charge what they charge.

Trees And Houses Don’t Mix / October 2, 2023 by S. Joshua Brincko

To set the record straight, I love trees. They provide nice shade, they create nifty shadows, they suck up thousands of gallons of water so it doesn’t need to be sent into sewer systems, they create oxygen, they create homes for animals, they are fun to climb, and they are pretty to look at.

Despite all the benefits, there are drawbacks - especially when they are in close proximity to buildings.

The root systems of trees are very unkind to foundations. They are also capable of destroying underground plumbing. The roots will find their way into nooks and crannies of pipes and foundations and eventually clog and break them. This could be very expensive to repair.

The leaves from trees are also problematic when they fall. They clog sewers, and clogged sewers cause back ups that flood houses. Many people like trees because they are into sustainability, but there is nothing more unsustainable than needing to rebuild something that was already previously built. The leaves also pile up against portions of buildings that can cause rot to occur. Wet leaves not only promote rot, but they create habitats for rodents and other pests that pose a danger to your building (and your health) that result in required replacement.

When trees are nearby a roof, they tend to create excess shade and moisture in that vicinity which will eventually cause moss to grow on the roof. Moss will quickly deteriorate your roofing, and that will lead to leaks. There is nothing sustainable about needing to replace a roof more than completely necessary, or even worse, replacing parts of your house that get damaged by roof leaks.

The moral of the story is to keep your trees in a safe place. By keeping them away from your structure, you will preserve the longevity of your building and therefore be helping our environment.

In the image below, notice how the only portion of that roof that has moss on it is the portion that is below tree branches. Case and point.

Uni-Tasking / September 1, 2023 by S. Joshua Brincko

“Uni-tasking” is the opposite of multi-tasking. We have all heard that you can be more productive when you focus on one thing rather than dividing your attention among several things at a time (like watching Netflix while texting while “working” from home).

Designing buildings is much the same. While it is necessary to have several active projects to keep a business running, we certainly can be most productive if we can focus our undivided attention on one project at a time. Sometimes that means turning off the email and cell phone to prevent interruptions as you work toward a defined goal. All too often, we try to be too accessible to everyone all the time, but that uber-availability could actually be a disservice to others.

Sometimes clients will ask us to just “slip them in” or maybe “we are in no rush, so just work on it when you have spare time.” In their minds, they are being flexible with timing hoping it will cost them less money or something. The truth is that if you set a clear expectation, you can more effectively focus on that goal and have metrics in place to actually achieve it (instead of willy nilly working on something here and there).

To try to work more effectively, I accept the right number and type of projects, I divide their scope into manageable chunks, and I schedule them. I also schedule my production time the same way I schedule my meetings. I also do my emailing at the same part of each day. This enables me to have less interruptions and to have blocked out time to get stuff done.

People often ask me how I manage to get so much done. Planning as much “uni-task time” as possible is my solution. Of course we need to be flexible and be capable of managing unavoidable interruptions when they come at us, but we are in a much better position to be successful if we aren’t already multi-tasking when that happens.

Think about the last time you got overwhelmed. How many things were you doing at the same time? Keep it simple and focus.

If you’d like some tips to get more done in a day, check out this post from a few years ago: www.josharch.com/blog/2016/2/2/how-i-get-so-much-done-in-a-day

Seattle Modern Architect & Artisan