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Continuing Education

10 Apr

I returned late Friday night from two full days in Albuquerque where I taught  Certified Aging in Place (CAPS) classes to a very lively group of homebuilders, remodelers, occupational therapists, kitchen designers and plumbing suppliers.  You might wonder what kind of material would attract such a varied group to take time out of their busy schedules not to mention paying rather substantial fees for the privilege. 

Senior housing issues will become the most dynamic niche in the housing market.  Boomers are turning 65 at the rate of 10,000 per day, a flood that will continue for the next 20 years.  These students are now trained to meet their unique needs.

Day one was devoted to developing marketing strategies to reach the seniors market including both those who have no immediate needs as well as those who do.  The second day was concerned with design/build ideas for all areas of the home both inside and out.  Everyone in the room agreed on at least one thing:  Getting on board the Universal Design/Aging in Place market early is smart business. 

Builders, remodelers and associates can obtain a nationally recognized designation offered by the National Association of Homebuilders by completing the two CAPS courses plus a Business Management course.  Periodic continuing education hours are required.

I’ve found that I really love to teach.  It is a real joy to share this material with students as well as the things I’ve learned over the years.  In return I’m amazed how much I learn from the students.  My company is stronger for it.

 
873 Comments

Posted in Education

 

Making gravity work for us

29 Mar
One of the most popular features we offer is the curbless or roll-in shower.   For years in order to control water builders have installed a curb 4-6″ high at the shower door.  It is a very effective dam and even if the slope to the drain wasn’t particularly well conceived at least the water wasn’t going anywhere. 

Recessed footprint of shower

While the curb contained the water it became a hurtle for those using a chair or walker and wasn’t as attractive as a ceramic tile floor  flowing seamlessly into the shower.   

In Texas we build most of our homes on a concrete slab and it is our aim to have the slab as flat as possible after it is poured.  How then do we get the water to the drain and not our on our bathroom floor?   We recess the floor area in the shower several inches before we pour the slab which gives us plenty of slope as we install our shower pan and ceramic tile floor.

Shower framing

During  framing, our client decided to enlarge the shower by serveral inches on both outside walls.  As a result the recessed area had to be expanded chipping out the concrete to fit the new footprint.  The white piece of PVC pipe will become the drain for the shower.  Before  the slab is poured the plumbers “box” out  the drain by filling a cardboard box with dirt.  Later the box and the dirt are removed which allows the drain to be moved to its most efficient location within the shower.  Once the drain is permanently situated, the void is filled with concrete and leveled .  On a curbless shower we want to have 3/4 to 1″ of fall from the level of the slab. 

 

Drain Set

The drain has been set in concrete and the extra concrete is chipped out to the edge of the framing.  Note the blocking between studs which will be used to nail the vinyl shower pan to the walls. 

  
 
 
 
 
 

Shower pan liner

 The vinyl shower pan is in place with and extra long flap extending through the door.  The tile layers will trim the excess and then glue it to the slab and lay their tile over the vinyl. 

 I measured the drop from the slab to the top of the drain and it was almost 2″.  The drain is adjustable to set at just the right level after the tile has been laid. 

 We have now provided the water a way out rather than flooding out on the bathroom floor.  We do not get complaints with this approach.

 
 
 
 
1,671 Comments

Posted in Construction

 

What’s with the Name?

15 Mar

 

We felt the time had come to give our remodeling operations it’s own identity.  Remodeling has become a significant portion of our business in the past couple of years and rather than continue to sweep it’s activities into Tapestry Custom Homes LLC, we established a DBA (doing business as) with the State of Texas under the corporate charter of Tapestry. 

The term “transitions” captures the essence of a remodeling project and perhaps even more, life’s realities for many of our clients.  Life is about change, from one place to another……….transitions.  We think we understand the process, the uncertainty and the answers.  Our clients unanimously agree with that statement.

 
170 Comments

Posted in About

 

Long overdue

04 Mar

I know you’re out there, I’m just not sure who you are or where you are but I’m absolutely sure you’re looking for some of the information I have been sitting on for too long.  I apologize for that but sometimes the Lord has to whack me alongside the head to get my attention and He can be very diligent in getting His way. So here I am.

Perhaps I ought to explain myself before we go any further.  My work experience includes over 20 years in commercial real estate finance here in the Dallas area.  In the early 90′s I bought a piece of land, platted it, developed it and sold most of the lots.  Watching the builders, I got the bright idea I could build so I designed a house, built it and sold it. 

 In retrospect, selling our first house rather quickly was probably both a curse and a blessing.  A curse in the sense that I had brains confused with a bull market.  You could sell anything in those days and I probably over estimated my talent.  We’ve suffered disappointments along the way and had high times as well but it is always those tough times that are the character builders.  The blessing was and continues to be that I enjoy the whole process of construction and love to share what I’ve learned with my clients and anyone else who is interested.

I need to pause at this point and make it clear that whenever I use a pronoun, e.g., I, me, us, our and especially we, I am referring collectively to both myself and Judy, my wife, who keeps me running straight.  It will be her energy and administrative gifts that will keep me on track to inform and entertain our readers.  She has been my partner in this venture since it’s  inception and all the more as we work out this new technology of creating an internet presence.

This posting gets us out of the gate and on our way.  I’m going to cover a wide range of topics including working with builders, universal design, the construction process, green building, “aging-in-place” concepts, elevators, insurance, construction contracts, bankers and many more.  And I’d hope to hear from you on any questions you have on your mind. Maybe I’ll even throw in a restaurant review for comic relief. 

Hopefully you’ll find something of interest and stick with us wherever this may lead.

 
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Posted in About