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Posts tagged with “architecture”

Book Review: 8 Comments | Add a Comment

Book Review: Traditional American Rooms

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A resource for classical details

I apologize. I read this book more than a year ago and wanted to write a review but never made the time, and I should have. Sure, we’re all busy and short of time, but the truth is, if something is important to you, you make the time, even if it means sacrificing something else that isn’t as important—at least for a little while. And that’s often what it takes to read a good book. This is one I recommend highly to anyone interested in classical architecture and the design of traditional American homes. Read the full article…

Tips: 35 Comments | Add a Comment

Raked Baseboard Returns

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Hand tools should be a part of every carpenter’s arsenal.

There was a time—not too long ago, really—when carpenters approached problems differently than they do today, and the solutions they conceived were different, too. Some readers might suspect I’m talking about raked crown on an open pediment, but that’s a rare problem encountered in only a few homes. Read the full article…

Feature Articles: 4 Comments | Add a Comment

A Home For Haiti

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There is a 99% chance that if you live in Los Angeles, your wood frame home survived the 1994 Northridge earthquake. It was a magnitude 6.7 event, caused $20 billion in damage, and seventy-two deaths. The damage to homes was primarily stucco cracks at door and window openings, and un-reinforced masonry chimney failures. There was a surge in demand for foundation bolting and bracing after the earthquake, but even before building codes accounted for seismic events, our wood frame homes were both strong and flexible; two characteristics that are essential to surviving a temblor. Read the full article…

DesignING Class: 20 Comments | Add a Comment

Homemade MiterTite Joinery

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This is a follow-up to the Curtis Mitertite article by Dave Parker, and an attempt to answer the question about the feasibility of making this joint in the field. I previously posted some comments to Dave’s article and uploaded some photos of a prototype jig that I made with the resulting joint. This is a more detailed account of what I think a setup should be, taking into account the problems encountered with the prototype, and also addressing the need for different size casings. Read the full article…

Feature Articles: 19 Comments | Add a Comment

Building a Chinese Chippendale Balustrade

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Once you figure out the math, the rest is just glue and sawdust.

“You want what?” You’re kidding!”

That’s what I thought when some very good clients asked me to build a railing for a second floor deck above a living space. I hesitated — I normally do interior finish work, not decks.

But when they said they were thinking of a Chinese Chippendale balustrade, they got my attention. In general terms I knew what Chinese Chippendale design was — I’d just never built anything with the geometric fretwork patterns that mark that style. It’s beautiful stuff. Read the full article…

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Building Inspections in Haiti

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Erica Fischer reports on construction challenges facing post-earthquake Haiti

The earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12th was described as a “middle-class disaster.” I was not sure what that meant until I arrived in Port-au-Prince on March 20th and began doing building assessments with the ATC-20 guidelines. Those who could afford proper building materials, a structural engineer to design their house, and a skilled mason to build the house, had homes which were in pristine condition. These people are considered the upper class.

Those who could not afford proper building materials, and either built the house themselves, or had a mason who did not know proper construction methods, were left with collapses and damages beyond repair. This group was the middle class. Read the full article…

From The Road: 17 Comments | Add a Comment

Falling Water

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Where Wright was Right and Wright was Wrong

I recently read The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. What a great story about an architect—Howard Roark—who refuses to compromise his creative ideals or his personal values. In a biography of Frank Lloyd Wright, Brendan Gill discusses the comparison between Wright and Roark, and the common misconception that Rand based her character on the famous architect (Many Masks, pg. 490-492). After reading several biographies of Wright (and learning Wright was a colossal egotist), then visiting many of his homes (where I was overwhelmed by their timeless beauty), I have to agree: it’s too bad there wasn’t more in common between the man and the myth. But Wright’s work, and especially his influence on architecture, will definitely outlive his personality. Read the full article…

DesignING Class: 4 Comments | Add a Comment

Terminating Versus Supporting Moldings

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If I were to say: “Hi are how you? Brent I’m Hull.” You might wonder what I drank for breakfast. I mean, you’d recognize the words, they’d sound familiar, but the way I used them wouldn’t make any sense. But if I said: “Hi, how are you? I’m Brent Hull,” you’d respond without a hitch, my words would make perfect sense (depending on what you drank for breakfast!).

Well guess what? There is a language to classical design, too; a vocabulary that’s dependent on moldings for communicating purpose in a room. If you speak the language, all your finish work—your, bookcases, mantelpieces, doorways, and ceilings―will communicate fluently with your customers. Read the full article…

Circular: Comments closed | Add a Comment

Arc Length of a Segmental Arch

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In my article on building a sunburst I described how to find the circumference of a circle given a specific radius. I then divided that circumference in half, because I was working with a half-round arch. This gave me the length measured along the arches curve, otherwise known as the arc length. Finding the arc length of a segmental arch is a little more difficult, but a construction calculator makes it incredibly easy. Read the full article…