Houseblogger Interview: Todd @ Home Construction Improvement
Todd over at Helpful Advice for Home Construction Improvement hosts one of the most informative home improvement blogs on the net. We’re glad he’s agreed to do our 5th Houseblogger interview. In addition to Todd’s own DIY experiences, he’s also a structural engineer; so he’s one of the few of us that actually uses all these skills to make a living.
Todd, thanks for doing the interview. Ok, without further ado, Todd’s interview:
1. What’s your house blog name and web address?
Helpful Advice for Home Construction Improvement
http://www.homeconstructionimprovement.com
2. Is this your first house blog? (If not, what others have you had?)
Yes
3. Describe your house for us:
Our new home is a custom designed colonial that my wife and I came up with. We’ve wanted to design our own home for several years so when I took my new job here in New Hampshire running a division of a large construction company, I finally had the chance to design that house. Our new home is approximately 3200 sq feet with a full walkout basement that would give us another 900 sq feet of space should we chose to finish the space. The interior is a combination of modern open space with some traditional colonial styling in the wood work. The house also has a two story “breezeway” if you want to call it that. The 1st floor has a laundry/mud room which I find to be a must have for families. The second story of that breezeway is our son’s bedroom. The house has a full wrap around farmers porch which we love and get complimented on all the time.
4. What made you build/buy this house?
I grew up in an old colonial and always wanted to live in another colonial. However, I had no desire to live in a 100 yr old version. So we decided to build a new colonial with the style of an old one and all the latest features a new home should have.
5. What’s the biggest, hardest, or craziest (pick one or more) project you’ve completed so far?
Well, seeing that we did all the finish work in the house including the hardwood floors, trim and painting it’s hard to pick one project. I would say the most complicated project I did so far was the custom mantel I built in our formal living room.
http://www.homeconstructionimprovement.com/2007/03/custom-mantel-finished.html
6. What project(s) are you working on now?
I have several projects that I’m working on currently:
I’m still trying to design my new workshop over the garage.
I still have some book shelves to build in the basement storage room.
And we are still planting stuff around the yard this summer trying to get the landscaping in order.
7. What’s the biggest project you haven’t started yet?
We want to eventually finish our basement. The plan that I came up with when I designed the house included a large family room, a 4th bathroom, an office and a wine cellar. We keep having a hard time deciding if we want to invest the money in this project and also face the tax man with the additional finished space.
8. Is there a room or area in your house that you love the most? Why?
Most definitely that would be the kitchen and breakfast nook area. We absolutely love the open concept of our kitchen and all the work space. We like to have friends and family over for dinner and everyone hangs out while we cook. I think everyone that visits our home has the same opinion. It’s certainly our most used room and one we spend many hours in each day.
9. Would you build/buy your house again? (Why/why not)
Absolutely. As with anything you design there are a few things we’d change but not many. There are two things I’d definitely do differently.
1. I would spend more money on dense packed cellulose insulation instead of fiberglass batts.
2. I would eliminate the radiant heat from the main floor in our house and use baseboard hot water. I think the radiant is great in our bathrooms but I think it costs more to run in the main part of the house.
3. I would investigate geothermal heating options as well.
10. Would you like to add anything else?
I’d just like to thank OPC for sharing my blog with your readers. You guys have a great blog and I look forward to working together in the future. Keep up the good work and let me know how I can help!
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Thanks, Todd, for taking time out of your busy schedule to interview with us. Your blog is one of our favorites. We really enjoy reading and commenting!
After you finish reading here, hop on over to www.homeconstructionimprovement.com to see Todd’s work.
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Housebloggers: You too can inteview! If you’d like to participate in an interview, e-mail us at oneprojectcloser@gmail.com. It’s a great way to generate visibility for your house blog!
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2 Responses to Houseblogger Interview: Todd @ Home Construction Improvement
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June 20th, 2008 10:45 am
Thanks for the great compliments Fred! I appreciate it and you know I think your site is really great too! Keep up the good work.
June 20th, 2008 10:21 pm
The real estate company I work for also has a construction side to it. Baltimore Green Construction is the construction side and City Life is the real estate side. The construction side specializes in high efficiency, environmentally sensitive, sustainable buildings.
I haven’t yet heard of any geothermal, or even much solar being used in the city. Older houses in Baltimore City have to be retrofitted with the newer green materials. When you’re building from scratch, you can design those elements in from the beginning. When you buy a house in the city you’re using much of your effort just to get a house that was in disrepair back to basic livability.