An important part of my life is contributing my experience and skills in order to benefit my family. This is a sample of projects that were undertaken outside of a professional capacity and that are also important to me in a personal way.
Private Residence Family Room Addition
Reconfiguring of family home for long term functionality and flexibility.
- Type: Private Residential, Personal Work
- Date: Spring 2022 - Spring 2023
- Size: 400 sf addition
- Role: Architect
The goal of the project was to increase living area in order to more easily host family gatherings and other guests. A tight site and multiple lot constraints meant every inch needed to be maximized. The project began with an extensive survey of the home in order to verify exact clearances and alignments. Zoning approval by local authorities was required, and coordination with the contractor and owner was carried out to see the vision through. The entire addition can function as either a secondary family room or a ground floor accessible bedroom as needs change over time. Other amenities include a ground floor bathroom, laundry, exterior entry ramp, and patio facing the back yard.
Construction drawings for the addition.
Existing conditions.
Demolition & site preparation for the new construction.
Excavation & construction of the new foundation crawlspace.
Floor & wall framing.
Roof framing & exterior enclosure.
View of the completed addition & patio.
Cat House
Creative solutions to maximize space in a 100 year old single family home.
- Type: Private Residential, Personal Work
- Date: Summer 2020 - Fall 2020
- Size: 20 sf, 2 cats
- Role: Design & Build
In order to make the most out of available space and avoid the mess and inconvenience of cat litter inside, some problem solving was needed. An existing pet door to an elevated exterior ramp was not being utilized, and was a perfect starting point to create a small addition. Planning and design were done keeping the character of the existing home in mind though at a much smaller scale. Every detail was considered for the materials, tools, and resources at the disposal of a do-it-yourselfer, but without cutting corners. The result is an efficient new space for two cats and opened space in the main house for the happy family.
Design & construction drawings.
Construction progress.
Completed exterior view.
Exterior details & happy customer.
Fit for function in all seasons.
Manor Township Farm Historical Buildings Survey
Documentation of family farm buildings for use in maintenance, renovations, and future construction.
- Type: Private Residential, Historical, Personal Work
- Date: Spring 2019 - Fall 2020
- Size: 11 acre farm
- Role: Survey
This project consists of documenting the site of my family farm and various buildings on the property for use in maintenance, renovations, and future construction. Research and documentation of construction was performed for the historic log farm house and wood frame bank barn dating to circa 1850. Work consisted of a full field survey and measured drawing documentation of existing buildings and the property with combination of information from public records. Family property research was done from public records of Pennsylvania and Lancaster County to determine the age of buildings and confirm chain of title information. The ultimate project goal is to create record of farm history for reference by both family and future researchers interested in the architectural history of Lancaster County Pennsylvania, performed to the quality of standards and techniques as used by the National Park Service Historical American Buildings Survey. The project is ongoing with surveying and documentation still underway.
Property site plan of farm.
Sketch of farm house & barn.
Survey drawings of the historic bank barn.
Survey drawings of the historic house dating to the mid 19th century. The comprehensive drawing set can be downloaded here.
Private Residence Renovations & Additions
Survey, design, & coordination on renovations to reconfigure existing space, add new space, and create greater functionality for owner.
- Type: Private Residential, Renovation, Personal Work
- Date: Spring 2018 - Fall 2019
- Size: 2,000 sf (9,300 sqm) home
- Role: Design & Build
An important part of my life is contributing my experience and skills in order to benefit my family. This project consists of work on renovations for an existing 2,000 sf private home to create more usable space for homeowners. Phasing and prioritization for the various projects throughout the home was considered in order to allow for progress while maintaining usability of home and keep a focus of efforts. Work throughout the project consisted of full field survey and documentation of existing building and property with combination of information from public records. Production of working documents as well as coordination with owner and contractor during construction to maintain integrity of design intent throughout project.
Phase 1 consists of interior reconfiguration of rooms for greater flow and efficiency of the home. This consisted of work on the long, awkward existing ground floor living room being divided to create a powder room and storage closet while maintaining a functional 200 sf living room. Work on the 2nd floor consists of converting a 120 sf spare bedroom into a master bathroom and laundry room.
Phase 2 consists of an exterior wraparound porch addition at the main entry. Previous work done on the home was done with the intent of this future improvement, and the porch configuration takes advantage of the arrangement of existing entries into the home. The design of the porch is sympathetic to the colonial styling of the home, with simple tuscan porch columns, stained wood decking, brick piers and crawlspace screens, open rafters with exposed roof decking, and matching standing seam metal roof. A generously width allows for various configurations for furniture and usage, while also helping to block high-angled summer sunlight.
Future phases are planning to add a butler's pantry, renovate an original bathroom, refinish a kitchen, and plenty of other improvements.
Existing Home Exterior.
3D Panorama view on porch at front door.
3D Panorama view on porch at side of house.
3D Panorama view at entry to porch.
Porch Floor Plan.
Porch Floor Framing Plan.
Porch Roof Framing Plan.
Porch Sections.
Porch Construction Details.
Design renderings of porch.