Live/Work

After nearly three years, over 100 posts, and some fantastic comments, it’s time for Live/Work to move on. Starting today, we’ll be integrating this site with my new endeavor, Portland Built.

Portland Built is an expansion of the Live/Work project, with a broader focus on art, architecture, design, and business. We’re still keeping an entire section dedicated to the Live/Work project (and accessory dwelling units), but the new site will include some exciting new topic areas and features.

Some of the new things you’ll find at Portland Built include:

• Profiles of innovative businesses in the Portland area.
• Several sections of the site dedicated to green and sustainable building practices, products, and strategies.
• Video and time lapse photography!
• A new gallery section including Live/Work progress updates.
• Great imagery (and more of it than ever before!)

Live/Work site has seen an incredible amount of growth in the past year, particularly considering how little I’ve done to promote it. So, if you are a new reader or a longtime follower, THANK YOU for your continued interest and support. Head on over to Portland Built and enjoy some great new content!

Oh, and before I forget – once you’re at the new site, update your bookmarks, RSS Readers, and so forth. You can now find me on twitter as well: @shawnbusse

Cheers!

Many of you have asked when the new site will be live. Since I have a day job, it’s been tough to stick to my initial timeline. However, I wanted to let you know the new site if fully programmed, complete with a NEW LOGO and fantastically clean navigation. Like Live/Work, the new site is built around presenting content and imagery in a clear and concise fashion. And, even though the new site is sponsored, I promise – no annoying banner ads!

Here are a few shots from the new design. Tell your friends!

I’ll let this image speak for itself…Thanks to everyone who helped make it a reality

Well, here we go: Day one of the build. I’m still working on the “newer-better-faster” version of the blog, but in the meantime, here’s the results of the first days’ work. Basically a shallow trench for the sediment fence. Nothing sexy about it, but the symbolism is great – we’re building!

Admittedly my last few posts have been long in promise and short on details. You see, there’ve been a lot of big happenings behind the scenes at Live/Work and between these developments and running Kinesis, updating the blog has taken the back burner.

BUT, don’t despair…we’re making important changes, all centered around the theme of giving this site a real home and new purpose. You might say it’s time to grow up.

The Past…

Nearly three years ago I began this site mostly as a way to help myself (and others) maintain a visual/written record of small-scale development in Portland. In that time I’ve been contacted by dozens of people from around the world – all interested in some aspect of the site. It’s been especially rewarding to help others avoid the pitfalls I’ve encountered along the way, and to learn about new and exciting trends and products in the building industry.

That said, I never intended Live/Work to be a “big deal”…but, strangely enough, it HAS become a big deal. At last count, we’ve had over 600 visitors per month, with folks arriving at the site from searches relating to everything from “concrete countertops” to “cement siding.” I’ve made new friends and learned about some amazing businesses as a result of this endeavor.

At the same time, I’ve realized Live/Work has its limitations. It’s very niche focus and has lost some momentum as my project stalled. I realized that I needed to expand the dialogue and bring in other interesting topics and areas of focus. The entrepreneur in me also sees an opportunity to expand the conversation…

The Future…

In the coming months I’ll be launching a new site that centers around the products, developments, and businesses working in and around Portland. The new site  will be a combination of both personal projects (like Live/Work) as well as topics relevant to development and building in the place I call home. For now, I’m keeping the focus of this new effort relatively broad. Here are some criteria for inclusion in the new site…

• Do you MAKE something in Portland or the surrounding area?
• Do you make something that has something to do with building design, sustainable development, interior design, construction, or related trades?
• Are you a craftsman (crafstwoman!)? Do you make things with your hands that are unique and memorable?
• Do you contribute to a larger dialogue on the use of space and design?
• Are you working in or around the “green building” revolution?

These are just some general guidelines and I’ll be refining the criteria in the coming weeks. Now is a GREAT time to get in, however, as the new site will be HUNGRY for CONTENT. If you’ve got a product or business that seems to fit this model, please contact me at s[at]shawnbusse[dot]com. I’m just now setting about the process of reviewing what will go in the new site.

But what if I don’t make stuff in Portland?

For those of you outside the Portland area, fear not! The new site (code name PDXBuilt) will feature projects and topics that relate to the main focus areas of the site – even if not directly in Portland proper. Examples might include…

• Businesses with practices that relate to or could affect development in Portland.
• Businesses or individuals who may not live here, but do important work here here (for example, Serious Windows makes a fantastic 3-pane window that is just now being offered through Portland distributor Medallion Industries.)
• People who are making GREAT THINGS that Portlanders could learn from. Chad’s 100k House is a great example of a project that’s built in Philadelphia, but that has great relevance in Portland and beyond.

As always, thanks for your continued support of Live/Work. Feel free to leave comments, send me an email, or simply check back when I announce the launch of the new site.

Some big stuff coming in the next few days…survey tomorrow morning, budgets coming together, subs being selected. Still don’t have all the details, but this weekend should provide me with an opportunity to bring everyone up to speed.

MORE IMPORTANTLY: Live/Work will be moving! That’s right, it’ time to take this thing BIG TIME. In the next few weeks I’ll be:

1. Setting up a new blog to track the course of construction and highlight vendors
2. Develop an entirely new, exciting platform to highlight products and service providers.

So stay tuned, folks. If you’ve been following this site for a while, prepare to update your bookmarks, RSS Readers, iphones, and whatever else you’ve been using to follow along. The party’s moving, and I can’t wait to get it started!

Some exciting developments! I’m using my new iPhone to write this post, so I’ll save the details for when I’m on a full-sized keyboard. But here’s a hint: the project is going to happen

I’d like to send a quick shout-out to the Massachusetts Super Insulation Project. These guys are going all-out to make their home as energy-efficient as possible. Kudos!

One of the “issues” we have in the pacific northwest is water intrusion. I recently removed some drywall in my home to reveal dry rot and mildew. The replacement window (installed sometime in the 80s, I’m guessing) had leaked.

Fine Homebuilding has a good article on “best practices” for installing a replacement window. Since I’ll be doing just that in a month or so, here’s a link to the story…

****UPDATE**** This plan is out. It’s all or nothing, folks!

I’m looking at an option of building the project in phases: a simple, single story unit designed to be added on at a later date (hence the wacky roofline). If you look closely, you’ll see it’s the same building, but with a simple, nearly flat roof. We’d tear this off later, then use the flat roof joists below for the floor of the second story.

North Elevation

East Elevation