* Please Note: Live/Work has moved! We’re now located at Portland Built. Please click here to see what it’s all about!* A while back I wrote about an exciting product called “Ice Stone.” Back then, I didn’t pay a lot of attention to the price of materials, but I have the sense that it’s not [...]
Some great ideas from the UK
Here’s an interesting green floor finish from Vermont Natural Coatings.
Here’s an interesting product – it’s an additive that make concrete waterproof. I’m sure there are a variety of manufacturers out there, but one company I found is called “Hycrete.” It might be a great idea if you were building below grade, or were worried about water intrusion through the slab. Fortunately, this shouldn’t be [...]
* Please Note: Live/Work has moved! We’re now located at Portland Built. Please click here to see what it’s all about!* I’ve dedicated several earlier posts to the wonders of concrete stain. Up until now, however, I wasn’t sure if there was an alternative to the acid-based colorants. Acids work GREAT, but they aren’t the [...]
* Please Note: Live/Work has moved! We’re now located at Portland Built. Please click here to see what it’s all about!* Previously I’ve written about the merits of cement fiberboard siding. Recently, I found a new blog by a fellow designer/builder that features a great panel-version of this material. Here’s a photo from Jason’s blog, [...]
For the last few months I’ve been working on the shop and the studio apartment as separate renderings. Last night I merged the two files into one finished model. I’m still working out the finishing details like siding and paint colors.
Yet another way to handle deck railings…and about a million other construction challenges. These are cool systems! Called a “Kee Klamp,” These fitting use various size pipes to build frames for numerous applications. You can use iron pipe, aluminum pipe, or even galvanized gate pipe.
Some great sink and faucet choices: Toto Nexus TB794DDC Ikea has a good alternative to the Kohler Wading Pool. It’s called the Hollviken and costs about $80. It’s available in 23″ and 21″ widths. Sadly, it only has one hole. The matching faucet isn’t as stylish as the Toto, but it’s reasonably priced ($80 Enskar)
There are several ways to heat the studio. These also affect what sort of finished floor we can have. Radiant Heat/Hydronics: This entails a boiler, PEX tubing, and a system that’s pipes hot water through the walls and floors. It’s probably the nicest type of heat money can buy. There are several variants including: PEX [...]