Holley / December 1, 2021 by S. Joshua Brincko

Holley Myers. No, not Holly Meyers. Take the first “e” out of Meyers and slip it into the end of Holly and you get Holley Myers:) Glad we got that settled.

There’s thousands of decisions that go into the design of a house. To get each and every one of those decisions made will take another few additional decisions, monitoring, and attention. Holley oversees that. As we work with clients to design their homes, we recommend certain things in a certain order as part of our process. Holley tracks all of that and manages what we need to do next in our process. She’s our guide… sort of like a human map. In fact, she is a self-proclaimed “map nerd,” and one of her favorite work tasks is compiling a bunch of map data for the properties we work on.

As we first start with a new client, Holley is there to set it up. As we go through the steps of designing the project, Holley tracks the time and decisions that get made. As we reach out to builders for bids, Holley tracks their progress and records their numbers. When we go through all the steps of the permit process, Holley checks in on the building dept to get them moving and makes sure we have updated correspondence from the city reviewers at all times. She also helps us to do the bookkeeping, get surveyors going, track the invoicing, comes up with new ideas for efficient processes, and she keeps all of us in line…to the maximum extent possible.

Holley is extremely organized, learns how to quickly do things she has never done before, and she has an intuition to know what happens before it happens. She is truly amazing, and we are honored to have her.

Where did she come from? She’s a Seattle-area native and is my wife’s (Heather Brincko) longest and best friend. They went to middle school, high school, and college together. Together, they have done just about everything.

She loves playing soccer, photography, the Sounders, her kids, and her husband - not sure what order:) She also has her own photography business doing family portraits. Despite all Holley does, she still manages to help her community by being the president of her homeowner association. I think I already said this, but she is TRULY AMAZING! How does she do it and do it so well?!

We look forward to designing many more great projects with Holley and always endeavor to behave ourselves to make her job easier!!

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

How Much Does a Home Addition Cost (Seattle 2021)? / November 19, 2021 by Josh Brincko

***amended for 2023 figures, most builders of full home projects tend to charge around $400 per square foot for entry level construction quality and $600 and up for high end quality. Smaller projects tend to have less economy of scale and can cost more.***

In my practice, we design about 100 residential projects per year, and when it’s time to get the project built, we usually reach out to several builders for construction estimates before we finalize the drawings, get structural engineering, and get building permits. This enables us to get a ballpark sense of what the project might cost to build before spending too much time (client’s money) on the details. In doing so, we often get a range of pricing back from builders, but no matter how many times we advise on what we think it’s going to cost, clients often do not want to believe it (they often think their situation is simpler than everyone else).

We get no financial incentive on the cost of construction as architects. We just design the house per the clients’ requests, advise them on decisions, and create drawings and documents to communicate the goals to the builder. Complexity is mainly what affects cost. Complexity comes in two ways: design complexity and construction complexity. When a client is on a budget, we design a very straightforward solution, so a builder can do simple, repetitive work using inexpensive, familiar materials (a rectangle with painted siding, shingles, carpet, and drywall).

Despite the simplicity of design, the complexity might be more related to the property itself. Is the property on a steep slope? When you dig, can the dirt be dispersed on site, or do you need to pay to truck it elsewhere? Can a concrete truck drive right next to the area of work, or is a big pump truck necessary? Is there anywhere for the builders to park, or will they need to cart tools and materials long distances every day? Is there a place for delivery trucks to easily drop lumber and other materials, or does a crew need to carefully coordinate the material delivery with a crew of laborers to quickly get the truck unloaded and material sorted and stacked while the delivery truck is holding up traffic? Is there space inside and outside the house for builders to spread out materials? Is there complicated demolition that requires parts of the existing house to be temporarily supported during construction? Is the soil mushy and require really deep concrete footings or steel pilings? Is the new addition above an existing part of the house that must be retrofitted and largely rebuilt to meet current codes for structural requirements, energy performance, redoing the whole roof, redoing all the siding, plumbing upgrades, and electrical upgrades?

There is so much that goes into a home addition that affects the cost of construction if you are not building on a simple, large, flat property with an existing house that was not recently/properly built. If any of the factors listed above are involved, it could easily double or triple the cost of typical construction. Projects in the Seattle area almost always have many of those factors, so the construction cost in Seattle is “through the roof.” The size of small projects doesn’t really have that much of an impact on the construction cost. Small projects carry all of the same steps and burdens as large projects, so they end up being really expensive. For example, if you need to update your electrical panel on a total house rebuild or on a small 1-room addition, the cost is the same on each project example to update the electrical panel regardless of the size of the project. There are many scenarios like this in construction where size plays a minor role in cost, and a big project might be marginally different from a small project. The diagrams below outline an example of a simple and a complicated project, and they illustrate the common construction cost estimates we typically see from builders.

CLICK ON IMAGE TO SEE FULL VIEW:

CLICK ON IMAGE TO SEE FULL VIEW:

Mistakes To Avoid When Working With An Architect / November 1, 2021 by S. Joshua Brincko

If you are working with an architect, this is your guide to help prevent problems with your working relationship. I personally service about 100 clients per year, I have been working in the profession since the 90’s, and I have had 4 previous clients who got upset with me. I’m no expert in what to do when things go wrong, but I do have a good track record on how to keep things good. So where do things go wrong? In my experience, here’s what I’ve encountered:

Money. This is the main stressor for most people. I had a client who got upset because we wanted them to pay us on time. We charge hourly for our time, and we send a bill at the end of each month for the time we spend working on our client’s behalf (within an estimated amount discussed ahead of time). After about 8 months of working together, this client paid their first 4 invoices about 2 months late. After the next 4 months, they didn’t pay their final four invoices despite many many many reminders we gave them. Once it got close to the 3 month late period, we let them know we would no longer do any further work until we were paid, and we also issued late fees according to our agreed terms. The client was happy with our work and continued to ask us to do more work - they just quit paying. We kept reminding them to pay, but they would not answer any money questions. They would only communicate with project-related questions. So, we next warned them that we would have our attorney file a lien against their property if they didn’t at least respond with a plan to pay us. They still didn’t respond with a plan. Then we started the process with the attorney, and we showed the client the lien paperwork with a notice that we would file it at the end of the week. They responded immediately, and they were mad to say the least. They owed us for our work and our attorney’s fees (according to the terms of our agreement). I consulted with mentors and other professionals to look at the situation before proceeding, and they all agreed that we should file the lien. Then the client eventually paid us, but they would not pay for the legal fees that we encountered due to their non-communication. So, we had to file the lien to recover those legal and lien fees we incurred. That was the last thing we wanted to do, and we even gave the client payment options such as a payment plan, an ownership share in their development project, and a few other options. They just didn’t respond. Silence. There was nothing for us to do but to file the lien since there’s time limits for that sort of thing. So what’s the moral of the story? Be communicative! If there’s an issue, talk to one another, so you can both plan accordingly. We were well under budget on this project and the client was happy with the work, so it was rather confusing that the client would wait so long to pay us since they actually expected to pay much more than we ever billed them.
Money. Another time, a client was upset because we billed them for our time that they asked us to spend. They claimed they didn’t want that work done yet, but they emailed us (in writing) that they wanted the work done. In this situation, the client requested two weeks earlier NOT to do that specific work. Then after two weeks passed, they emailed us again asking us to do that work. It’s in writing. First it says hold off. Then next it says to do it. I even followed up with an email that said, “ok we will get started on that work for you.” The client still didn’t want to pay for the work they requested because they claimed we didn’t listen to their initial request. We claimed that we did listen to the initial request (which is why we did not work on their project for 2 weeks), and we also did listen to the second request to continue with the work. They said that second request was meant to be just an FYI for when they authorize the work to proceed. I asked why their email said to update the drawings with a long list of requests, and why they didn’t oppose my followup email that said we would get started. They just said we didn’t listen. I asked several mentors and professionals to look over the correspondence, and they all agreed it looked like a clear authorization to proceed. The client got really nasty and started with name-calling. I just responded by offering to get a 3rd party mediator to review the situation since that is what our contract says. This irritated the client even more. I think this worried them since it would have been obvious to a 3rd party that they were incorrect. So what’s the moral of the story? Be clear! I don’t know what I could have done to be more clear, but communication is definitely key. This is why I followup EVERY call and email with a quick note about what I’m going to do before I do it. I was actually way under budget on this project too, and the client was happy with the work. It’s rather weird that a client would act this way, but I sense they just ran out of money.
Money. Noticing a pattern? People get concerned about money. I had a client that asked us to do some work over the phone. It was a very small project that would only require a few hours of work. Usually we send out a contract for signature before we start working. In this case, the client needed our quick help, so she emailed us the existing plans of the house, told us what to do over the phone, and we explained how much it would cost before we spent a couple hours on the small project. We got the limited amount of work done and emailed it to her with our bill. She didn’t pay it, but then she asked us to do even more substantial work. We decided to send over the contract for her to sign before we continued working (like we normally do). Once we sent it, she said, “I never signed this, and I never asked you to do the previous work. So it’s not authorized, and I’m not paying you.” I said, “why did you tell me to do the work over the phone and email me the drawings of the existing house? And why did you ask us to do more work after we did the initial work (and say it looks great)? And why did you ask us to do more work after you got our first bill?” She just didn’t have an answer and ghosted us. She was using the fact that we didn’t sign a contract yet to believe that she didn’t need to pay us for the work that she requested verbally and via email. In the end, we did convince her to pay what she owed, but it was not easy. So what’s the moral of the story? Sign the contract before starting any work. It’s unfortunate that this type of thing happens once out of 1000 projects, but it affects all projects thereafter. As the saying goes: one bad apple ruins it for all.
Money (again)! If it isn’t clear by now, people get stressed about money. We all do. In this circumstance, we designed an addition for someone, and we got through the very preliminary steps to enable us to have something drawn for builders to look at to give us rough estimates to build the project. As an architect, I don’t have control over what things will cost. Only a builder can agree to build something for a certain price. I can only guide people in the right direction to keep their project reasonable and hopefully in the right ballpark based on my previous experience with something similar. In this instance, I told the client that the addition they wanted us to design would generally be at least $300 per square foot to build. They were ok with that. The problem is that before you start designing a project, there isn’t a specific size or solution yet. You need to design it to know how big it is and how much it might cost. You can’t put the cart before the horse. You need to design something to know what it might cost. The key is to do as little designing as possible to get to a point where you have some basic drawings to invite builders to offer rough pricing. In this case, the client kept adding and adding and changing despite our plea to tone it down because they were already on a tight budget. They were also on a tight lot where the design solution was very tough to fit on the property within the zoning codes. Again, we needed to design something, so we could see if it would need tweaked to fit properly on the property. Once we designed it, we could then see if there’s any specific items that we would need to make smaller to get other things to fit within setbacks from property lines. After making these tweaks, the client would then make more changes, and this process went on for many months. Each time they asked for a change, we emailed them, “I suggest we not make any further changes to the drawings until we first get preliminary pricing from a builder to know if we are on budget or not since these subtle design changes do not have significant construction cost impacts, but they do cost more to design each time you request them. Let’s first get an idea of construction cost, and then let’s dial in the design accordingly just in case the construction cost necessitates the scope being reduced significantly.” Despite our repeated warnings, he did not heed our advice and kept asking for more and more design tweaks. Eventually we got to a point where we could get pricing, and some of the builders’ estimates were way over budget and others were just slightly over budget. That is normal actually. In discussions with the builder who was pretty close to the desired budget, we figured out what we could change about the project to keep it on budget. This required us to tweak the drawings again, as expected (and as explained to the client about 20 previous times). This angered the client, and he got really sassy with us. I think it was more of a case of realizing he was wrong despite all the verbal and written warnings we gave him that we predicted this would happen. So what’s the moral of the story? Listen to your architect! We do this same process over and over and over again. We know what will happen next before it happens. We know when it makes sense to take a risk. We know when we need to pause the process to check with others in the industry for further guidance. At the end of this one, the client was treating me and my staff really nasty, so I told him we cannot associate with people that behave like that. I set him up with everything we did for him, so a new builder and new architect could easily pickup where we left off. I said I would be happy to answer any questions that may come up and advise throughout the duration as he works with another firm. I don’t know what we could have done any differently here. Sometimes people just cannot get out of their own way despite the highly experienced advice that is offered to them.

In summary, the problems listed here are all the outliers. 4 times out of about 1000 projects. That’s not bad and problems should be expected. We have been very diligent about being very clear communicators since that is the root of all these problems. It does take 2 to communicate properly though, and people can have different communication styles. Since we do take our own communicating seriously, we always try to ensure our client communicates with us clearly too, so we can avoid problems. That has been very successful in the past 20 years.

Billable Work / October 1, 2021 by Josh Brincko

Like many professionals, architects charge hourly for the services they provide. I bill this way also. It is a fair way of billing since people pay for the time spend working for them and don’t pay for a guess I made on how long I thought it might take before I even started the project... even though I’ve become a pretty good guesser from doing this so long.

There is no loser… both parties win since they both get exactly what needed to be done.

This makes some people uncomfortable sometimes because they assume it means they are giving the professional an open checkbook, and they assume the professional will be dishonest and bill for too many hours. In reality, this is not possible since I give my clients an estimate of what I expect something to take. I also give them a commentary on each step of the work as the project moves along, so they are apprised of the work I am about to do before I do it. I am also so busy that I don’t have time to do unnecessary work on any projects and over-bill them. I work for about 100 clients a year, and for the 15 years I’ve been in business, I can only think of about 4 or 5 people that have ever been unhappy with my billing. In those situations, it was apparent that I was working with dishonest, unethical clients since I use the same process and protocols with every client. These people were of poor character to put it politely.

All that said, the hourly billing protects both the client and the professional. In bidding situations, the bidder will obviously over-estimate to protect themselves, and this means the client will inevitably be the loser. I do not think this is fair.

Most days, I work from 6am to 6pm and also many nights and weekends although I only bill about 2 to 4 hours per day. I wish my clients could see how much work I put into their projects that they end up not paying for. Why do I do it, and what am I actually doing the rest of the time? My wife has asked me, “what are you doing all day if you only bill for a couple hours?”… and here’s what I have said:

“Well, she told us to put the project on hold because she lost her job, but builders are still calling me with questions to provide their bids… so I want to keep the project moving for her to get it ready for when she is employed and ready again.”

“The building department is being so unreasonable and acting out of line, and I feel bad charging someone for the extra time I’m spending to deal with the stupidity of these $#@%ing bureaucrats.”

“This builder $#&@ed up and ordered the wrong material, so I am trying to figure out a way to make the wrong material still work, so my client can still get what they want, so it doesn’t mess up the schedule, and so the builder won’t have to buy new materials. I’m trying to make it a win-win-win for everyone.”

“My client told me they don’t want this, but I know they actually do want this… so I just need to do it and show them why it’s the best solution because it’s the right thing to do, and they don’t know better, yet. But they will.”

“The building department changed the code, so I’m reading it to see if it impacts any of my projects.”

“The building department is supposed to call later about a particular issue, so I’m reading the code to memorize the parts they will likely discuss to be ready to rebuke everything they say. I already know the stuff, but I want to spit it out verbatim better than they can.”

These are things that I guess he could bill for, but in some instances it is work that will not directly be used for a specific project. In all instances, it just makes him a better architect. I’ve seen clients argue over an hour of work he billed here and there, and I wish they could see the dozens or even hundreds of hours he spent that they didn’t pay for.

I’m an Architect. Here’s 6 Things I love: / September 1, 2021 by S. Joshua Brincko

Architects Love: Building exactly what is on the drawings. Of course there’s different ways of building something, but changing what has been designed/approved is terrible. It undermines years worth of thought, research, approvals, etc that the client and architect solidified together. The thing we designed corresponds with codes, budgets, views, waterproofing, aesthetics, client goals, etc. Changing it is like stealing years worth of time from a client. It is essentially taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from a client and giving them something they did not pay for. It is so rewarding when the builder builds it the way it was actually intended.
Architects Love: Non-coplanar surfaces. What does this mean? Coplanar means two surfaces (planes) that align with each other. They are flush with each other. We commonly design different objects that intentionally look different from one another, so we intentionally offset them from one another to accentuate the contrast. All too often, we see builders “flattening” buildings. They take two different siding materials that were supposed to “bump-out” from one another, and they dumb it down and make it flat. Imagine cutting a hole in your button-down shirt and sewing a necktie in its place as a patch of sorts. The tie is flush with the shirt. This is not good, but we see it in buildings ALL the time. It looks so much better when different materials stack on one another rather than to be flat and flush with each other. That would be funny to sew a tie flush with a shirt though! Less funny for a building.
Architects Love: Hatin’ on building departments. To become an architect, you are inevitably highly trained. Building departments commonly will use stall tactics to prevent the issuance of permits for their own benefit to achieve two goals: 1. Generate higher permit fees, and 2. Prevent themselves from doing their job. Of course nobody will admit these things. Building plans reviewers will cite irrelevant codes or policies to stop the process of reviewing drawings (like claiming drywall is a dominant structural component), and this causes the architect to need to intervene to “clarify” and put them back on track (with a lot of arguing to get there). They don’t have interest in making good buildings. They often rely on irrelevant codes to make their own job easier. When people get into a rant about challenges they have had with building departments, architects LOVE to jump in and commiserate with them:)
Architects Love: Clients who trust our judgment. Sometimes clients hire us, and tell us what to do every step of the way because they “know what’s best.” They must have magically maintained a solid GPA through 6 years of architecture school, interned with an architect for several years, passed all the state board exams with the state architectural review board, maintained an architect’s license with continued education, and racked up years of professional experience to be able to advise on every unique construction and design decision on their building. Right… more like they watched a few YouTube videos and HGTV and are now “experts.” This completely undermines the value an architect can add, and it causes clients to lose out on the creativity an architect could provide. Imagine getting a surgery and telling the surgeon how to sanitize their hands, which scalpel to use, how to make the cut, and how to stitch it up. That wouldn’t work. It doesn’t work with the design of buildings either. There’s more specialized knowledge than can be explained (without going through the entire learning experience that an architect goes through). It is so rewarding, and projects succeed immensely when clients instill their trust in the architect.
Architects Love: HGTV. Just kidding. We despise HGTV. This is not real at all. Nothing about it happens in the architecture profession. There’s design time. There’s permitting. Construction costs $300 per square foot or more. The clients don’t leave for a few days and come back to a finished project. The designer doesn’t build the project - real, talented builders do. I got asked to be on HGTV Design Star, but the contract was a joke. No real architect would agree to that. When someone references something they saw on HGTV, I tune out and think of something more productive that will help their project.
Architects Love: Including the architect during construction. The easiest way to guarantee a disaster on your project is to put the decisions of saving time, saving money, specifying the best way to build something, structural safety calculations, and determining code requirements all in the hands of a builder. The architect knows everything about your project and actually has substantial training on all of these factors. It makes a lot of sense to keep the architect on board during the construction to ensure you get the best project for the best price. The architect is the best asset to the builder and client during construction.

My Biggest Regret in Design / August 2, 2021 by Josh Brincko

What is my biggest design regret? Since I’ve now designed several 100’s or likely in the 1000’s of projects, I’ve got a pretty good sense of what works well and what does not. And, I’m not talking about things that are a matter of preference or opinion, but rather, things that are universally better in all applications - things that I know work better. Are you ready for it? What do I regret in past projects I’ve designed? OVERHANGS. Yes, that’s right, overhangs. I regret projects where we did not account for more roof overhangs. I wish I had made them extend out further - bigger IS better.

Overhangs allow for so many benefits:

Rain protection: obviously, with a longer overhang, you can shield the walls, windows, and doors from the rainy weather. With enough wind, the smaller overhangs don’t offer any protection. A large overhang provides adequate protection for the walls, and better yet, it keeps more rain away from your foundation. When water goes underground, it makes the soil wet, and this can cause settling of the foundation if the underground drainage is not adequate. Also, underground water can leak through basement walls.
Sun protection: as I’m writing this in the middle of the summer, I’m noticing how the 8’ long overhangs in my home help to shield the high, summer sun long into the afternoon, and this helps to keep my home cool. Once the early evening comes around, the sun does get low enough that it makes its way under the overhang, and that direct sunlight makes the house really hot (so we shut the shades). Imagine if the overhangs were not there, the sun would bake the house the entire day. In the winter, the sun stays quite low in the sky - even at noon. So, the big overhangs don’t block the sunlight in the time of year when we need it most.
They look freaking awesome: overhangs give a building depth which make them look more interesting. Flat facades are boring. The contrast between a very noticeable horizontal overhang and vertical wall makes a delightful impact on the aesthetic.
They provide a usable “outdoor room”: with a big enough overhang, you can arrange some outdoor furniture below it and enjoy the outdoor environment with just enough protection from the climate to make it comfortable. Below the 8’ overhangs at my house, we have some outdoor couches on our porch. I really enjoy sitting under these overhangs in the rain and even sleeping under them in the warmer months.

Let’s (over)hang out sometime and talk about overhangs :)

NR3 (SF5000) Zoning In Seattle For Residential Architecture and Construction / July 1, 2021 by S. Joshua Brincko

If you’re confused and not sure where to start for planning a small remodel, or even a large addition, or a totally new construction for your house in Seattle and other areas, you are not a stupid, total idiot:) Even for a seasoned veteran architect in Seattle who specializes in residential architecture, the codes, rules, regulations, policies, etc are very confusing to say the least. If anyone is a stupid idiot, it’s the ones who wrote the codes in such difficult language:) I am here to help, and this post is your guide to help you navigate the thick bureaucracy. (It is also worth noting there is a major difference between the “building code” and “land use code”. This post only dives into the “land use code” to help you understand WHAT/WHERE you are allowed to build on your property and not the “building code” which gets into HOW to build something.)

The land use code classification that is applicable to most single family homes in Seattle is known as NR3 (formerly named SF5000, SF7200 renamed to NR2,and SF9600 renamed to NR1 for larger lots). The “SF” meant: Single Family. The 5000 meant the property is more or less 5000 square feet. The rules are pretty much the same for all these zones except for the bigger lot sizes. The new naming convention of “NR” means “Neighborhood Residential.”

OVERVIEW

The most basic, common concepts in NR zoning are yard setbacks, maximum percentage of lot coverage, floor area ratio, and height limit. Some of the other nuances in the codes are the exceptions to all these rules, tree requirements, and parking requirements. Some projects may also involve various other codes for garages, ADU’s (accessory dwelling units), DADU’s (detached accessory dwelling units), existing nonconforming uses (projects with non-compliant stuff that is “grandfathered in” since it was built before the codes existed), allowable uses (like using your house as a hotel), and ECA’s (properties within environmental critical areas such as steep slopes, shorelines, etc).

In Seattle, I have dealt with zero properties that are straightforward. There is always something weird about each lot such as a part of the existing house that was built too close to the property line, a part of the lot that is considered an ECA because it is too steep, difficulty in determining which side is technically considered the “front,” or a tree the city won’t allow you to remove (which causes the lot to be less than ideal to build on). Because of these anomalies that always seem to pop up, no two projects have ever been the same (and I do about 100 of them each year). The rest of this blog post will dig into each topic separately to attempt to give you some insight into each of the major codes for SF zoning. Although this will give you a basic understanding, please reach out for confirmation since this stuff gets really complicated and must be vetted (we are not liable for your use of the information herein). Also, just because the code says something in “black and white,” the building department may actually interpret it to mean something completely different. And, they are not always correct in what they tell you. I commonly argue with them to show them what the rules actually mean (and not let them bestow their “opinions” on me). There’s usually some compromise, but I’ve never lost an argument with the building department.

HEIGHT LIMIT

Let’s start with the height limit since it’s one of the easiest to understand. The maximum height of a house is permitted to be 30’, and this is measured from the “average ground height” to the top of the highest wall. A sloped roof of a certain angle (4:12) can extend an additional 5’ higher. The average ground height is determined by measuring the height of the ground at the middle of each exterior wall and taking the average of those. For example, if the ground sloped down so the front was 2 feet higher than the ground at the back of the house, and the sides were each 1’ higher than the back of the house, then (2’+1’+1’+0’)/4 = 1’. So in other words, the average ground level is 1’ higher than the back, and 1’ lower than the front. If you measure 30’ up from this imaginary line called “average grade,” the house could be 29’ tall in the front and 31’ tall in the back. The sloped roof can go another 5’ higher, and you’re also allowed to have chimneys, vents, skylights, and dormers of limited sizes within this 5’ bonus area. There’s also exceptions for green roofs and certain features of roof decks. As you can see, it’s not as simple as just saying: you’re house can be 30’ tall.

SETBACKS

Next, let’s review setbacks. A setback is the distance from a property line where you are not allowed to build (certain things). To be able to determine setbacks from each property line, you first need to know where the property lines are. No, your fence, sidewalk, curb, rockery, driveway, or that thing the old guy showed you once is likely NOT THE PROPERTY LINE. Sorry. It’s probably not. A property line must be determined by a licensed surveyor by taking precise measurements with very technical instruments. Then, they put a surveyor’s pin to mark the location of the property corner (and sometimes these are intentionally not actually on the corner of the property as you may expect).

Once you know WHERE the property lines are, THEN you can determine which is considered the front, side, and rear property lines. This may seem straightforward, but sometimes it is not. This is too complicated to blog about, so let’s talk about this topic on a case-by-case basis. Feel free to reach out since your front door, address location, your actual street address, or your driveway do not technically determine which property line is the front.

LOT DEPTH

When you determine which side is the front and rear property line, you can determine the “lot depth.” This is the distance from the front property line to the rear property line. If you have an alley, the centerline of the alley is treated as the rear property line for this purpose. The rear setback (for a single family residence) is the lesser of 20% of the lot depth or 25’. This rear setback is measured from the center of the alley if you have one. Certain structures like garages, DADU’s, and other items are allowed within the rear setback areas (within certain limitations).

The front setback may be more straightforward and just simply be 20’. If your two adjacent neighbors are closer than 20’ to their front property line, then you can take the average of them. If the neighbor on the left is 16’, and the neighbor on the right is 18’, then your house’s front setback can be 17’. If your neighbor on the left is 16’ and your neighbor on the right is 22’, then you treat the neighbor on the right as 20’, and the 20’ and 16’ average out to 18’. The side setback is pretty simple since it is just 5’ unless it is a corner lot. In that case, the “street side” setback is 10’. Be careful to ensure you properly classify the front property line and street side property line on corner lots. In some cases, these are interchangeable, and in others they are not. It is not easy to clearly see which is the front and which is the street side (and again… no, your front door, or driveway, or address number, or your actual address do not decide which is considered your front property line).

With all of these setbacks, there are so many exceptions to the rules. Certain parts of your home can project into some setbacks like roof overhangs, bay windows, porches, decks, chimneys and some other features. There are limitations for the sizes and heights of these features, so please reach out for help in determining how to take advantage of these “loopholes.”

LOT COVERAGE

The next topic is lot coverage. In SF zoning, you are allowed to cover 35% of your lot with structures. If the lot is less than 5000SF, then you are allowed to cover 15% of the lot plus 1000SF. If your lot abuts an alley, you are allowed to factor 1/2 of the area of the alley into your calculation. Lot coverage is pretty easy to calculate, but the exceptions to the rule do get tricky. For example, decks lower than 36”, solar panels, fences, and the first 36” of roof overhangs do not count against lot coverage, and there are some additional nuances to what counts and what does not.

FLOOR AREA RATIO

Floor Area Ratio (known as FAR) is the last topic we will discuss here. This is a measure of the usable floor space inside a building. So, if you have a 1000sf first floor and 1000sf second floor, then you have 2000sf of floor area used up…sort of. The stair doesn’t count twice, some basements don’t count, certain porches don’t count, and there’s also other exceptions that don’t count against you. In the SF zoning classification, you are allowed to have 50% of the property count against your floor area ratio. So, with a 5000sf property, you are allowed to have an FAR of 2500sf of usable floor area. If you have an alley, you do not get to factor half of the alley into your calculation. This is different than the calculation for lot coverage discussed earlier. This is my current understanding of this new code that was introduced in 2020, BUT I have been told conflicting information by the building department on this alley topic. It does seem that when it matters, the city of Seattle doesn’t let you factor the alley area into you favor for FAR calculations.

CONCLUSION

I hope this post was informative and gives you a basic understanding of the SF5000 zoning classification in Seattle to help you determine approximately what you’re allowed to do with your property. I recommend that you do not discuss specifics of your project with the building department unless you first run it by an architect that is VERY experienced in the zoning classification in your area since you may “shoot yourself in the foot” by saying the wrong thing and getting locked into adverse interpretations. We are here to help you figure out the specifics since the rules are tricky and there’s a lot of exceptions to the rule that can be used in your favor. As a disclaimer, the the topics covered here are generalizations that could easily get misinterpreted, and you should consult with an expert architect for specific interpretations.

The Housing Problem Explained / June 1, 2021 by S. Joshua Brincko

Housing prices have risen since a focus on home ownership with the baby boomers became more prevalent in the post war era, so a paradigm to own at any cost, triggered by political incentive to keep people feeling good by keeping interest rates too low, and lending too much money, caused people to buy more house than they could afford. This causes less spending elsewhere in the economy that leads to a downward spiral in overall growth.

Transportation technological developments have made it possible to live further away which diminishes the significance of the agricultural marketplace which was once the biggest industry in the country. Land further away from cities became more valuable, but without much planning or regulation of building, it lead to poorly envisioned suburban development. As people moved further out from economic centers in a time where agriculture diminished, time became a crucial factor in one’s life since transportation speeds did not keep up with urban sprawl. This caused a higher demand to live closer into cities which only drives prices up even higher in a housing market that is already historically and significantly higher than ever.

As time went on, building departments imposed more restriction on development which makes it more difficult to build residential units, and this only contributes to the lack of supply with higher demand than ever. This, paired with homeowners resistance to increased development and congestion in their own backyard, contributed to supporting further government restrictions on buildings that further decreases supply and increased demand. The number of residential units built today compared to the 1960s is merely a fraction of what it was. The government makes it quite difficult to build (unless you are a savvy developer).

Similar to the older trend of taking commerce jobs over agricultural ones, the current trend is to seek white collar jobs in an office over blue collar jobs as a construction worker, and this has further contributed to the lack of available craftsmen - which only increases the price for their limited services. This drives up the cost per square foot for construction, and this makes all homes cost more. With lower interest rates and the current state of ridiculously high housing prices, those who are wealthy enough to afford a house are still buying more house than they can afford, and landlords are also doing the same and passing on their costs to their tenants through higher rents. Again, this slows the economy in spending in other markets outside of housing.

If building departments would more flexible, they would be able to allow all types of development that meet certain criteria, and this would result in more housing and more stable long term housing prices. In markets like San Francisco and Seattle where restrictions are abundant, development is slowed and, consequently, housing prices rise. Developers move elsewhere to do business in areas with less barriers to development which further decreases supply in cities with extreme housing prices, and this only makes the problem worse.

After the Great Recession in 2008, mortgage lenders raised their restrictions on lending, and although it helped to put things in balance, it also made it more challenging or even impossible for new home buyers to get a loan. Without access to funding, many people are out of the market for home ownership, and only the wealthy and those willing to take a major financial risk are able to purchase homes. This leads to competition, bidding wars on home sales, and consequently, even higher home prices.

The system is broken, and I don’t think there’s anything we can do about it individually other than try not to overextend yourself, so you are not house rich and cash poor. We need money for other things. Analysts say that owning a home and renting one still results in the same financial outcome for an individual in the long term.

I think the onset of driverless cars will be the next transportation revolution that makes it possible to live even farther away from city centers and places of work. With telecommuting and work-from-home becoming more common, the idea of the city as we know it will change. Real estate for office spaces will be in lower demand which will open up space for more urban residential units. Vertical farming, GMO’s, farming mechanization, and shift away from agricultural jobs will open up even more space where farms are no longer needed since farming as we know it will become more efficient and automated. These changes being implemented with the ability to live virtually anywhere will enable the vast suburbia to grow more than ever which could balance out real estate prices between urban centers and suburban areas. Our personal interests and way of living will likely change too, so the future is is uncertain even though the direction it is moving is very certain. The changing interests in urban environments and suburbs will likely equalize at some point, and hopefully housing prices become equalized too.

Seattle Modern Architect & Artisan