The New York Times published an intesting article today about home automation. Brian Chen describes the pros and cons various options and features, and I notice myself being somewhat slow to jump aboard. https://www.nytimes.com/guides/technology/how-to-make-a-smart-home While many embrace their smartphones wholly, I have actually taken a step back. I noticed myself taking the iPhone to my […]
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Ready For Winter? 10 Home Maintenance Tips!
The SF Bay Area received some much-needed rain Friday night, and the end of this week will bring more. We are slowly but surely moving toward winter, and it is time to take a look around the house and make sure we are ready. (more…)
Store Remodels Using Salvaged Lumber
In a post published last year, I wrote about creative use of reclaimed wood. While most content on this site is about home remodeling, retail stores and other businesses can (and do!) the same. A good example is a local branch of Port & Manor that opened in San Rafael, California, not long ago. Before […]
Desalination: Good For Israel. Good For California?
The New York TImes reports today on how Israel is mitigating a shortage of much-needed rain by desalinating seawater. California, reeling from its driest winter in history, has a long coast line and the same opportunity as Israel. Of course, the problem with desalination is that it requires a lot of energy. According to the […]
Flush Water-Saving Toilets After Each Use!
Now that an official drought has been declared in California, many people remind themselves that “When it’s yellow it’s mellow; when it’s brown flush it down.” That was fine and well during the days of toilets that used nine gallons of water to keep waste moving. With today’s modern toilets that use between one and two […]
Amsterdam Architects Build Full-sized Canal House With 3D Printer
Leave it to those Amsterdammers! Famous for their red light district, Old Dutch Masters, and gorgeous canal houses, one is now being built with a 3D printer. A few weeks ago, Annemarie Coevert of the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad reported how DUS architects designed the world’s first building being constructed with a 3D printer. Visitors […]
Rem Koolhaas Back In Baghdad By The Bay
For several weeks, I have had page C2 of the SF Chronicle sitting on my desk. Its City Insider column announced on March 18 that “Dutch superstar architect Rem Koolhaas is getting another crack at San Francisco.” While I never like to see the word “crack” mentioned anywhere near the topic of construction, I suppose this […]
Curved Ipe Deck – Photos & Tips
Summer is getting closer, and decks are wonderful places to spend time outdoors. We have built many of them, mostly using redwood or cedar, and sometimes using composite material or hardwood. Just a few years ago, we crafted a curved ipe deck that became a true labor of love and one of our flagship projects. […]
Building Spirit at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center
Last September, I visited Tassajara Zenshinji and hot springs, located in California’s Carmel Valley. (more…)
Solar Power Day And Night!
NPR’s Alan Yu wrote an interesting article about Abengoa Solar. On Wednesday, Abengoa cranked up the world’s largest solar energy plant of its kind. What is newsworthy is not only its size — it powers 70,000 homes in Arizona — but the technology that enables it to store energy during the day and then generate […]
Remodel Using Reclaimed Wood
While on a walk this morning, I saw a creative way to give old wood a new lease on life. In this photo, a gardener used reclaimed lumber as stepping stones, making a path from the sidewalk to the gate. This salvaged wood, nice thick pieces of tongue-and-groove redwood, sits on a bed of gravel. I […]
Continued Education For Builders?
Recently, a friend mentioned he had to finish up some continued education credits to maintain his medical license. Lawyers are required to do the same, and so are many other professionals. Then I began to wonder: why is the building industry exempt? The construction landscape is constantly changing with new and updated laws, methods, and […]
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