Aaron Maret | Design Build Studio

on salvage

aaronmaret — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 05:19:05 +0000

as i continue to explore designing around and building with salvaged materials, i continue to bump up against both the synergy and magic that can arise as well as the challenges and conundrums. now that the siding is installed on the two long walls of ps1, i feel pretty wowed by how beautiful and special salvaged wood, specifically, can be. but i also feel challenged by how much extra time in sourcing, processing, processing, processing, and using salvaged wood has added to the construction timeline.

it gives me insight into why so many building materials end up in the construction dumpsters… it’s not necessarily because folks don’t care about resource use and conservation. often there simply isn’t the budget to pay for the labor required to manage and process leftovers, scraps, recyclables and the like.

likewise, though the salvaged wood and other materials certainly exist to make a bigger showing in our buildings, construction projects, and the built environment; folks who hire craftspeople and workers to realize building projects have a hard time justifying the extra costs incurred in the extra labor to their clients. so, cheaper, more easily available and dimensionally reliable materials get chosen and used. the savings can be significant.

i would estimate that my choice to use solely salvaged wood for the exterior siding and trim added approximately 2-3 weeks to the project so far. of course, i’m doing all the work myself, which affords me a bit of luxury here. which is fortunate because i think the extra effort is well worth it. the results speak for themselves. the texture, beauty and uniqueness of these old growth timbers and boards, with their telltale radial saw marks, paint traces and stains add a quality to this pocket shelter’s appearance and feeling that is hard to put a price tag on.

whether or not the next pocket shelter will get the same 100% salvage treatment for it’s cladding will depend on the desires and values of whoever ends up commissioning ps2.

cold!

aaronmaret — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 04:48:46 +0000

perhaps it’s because not too long ago i was swimming in the pacific ocean under a hot sun in mexico… but darn it’s been cold here lately. the snow and ice bring a beautiful sparkle and freshness to the air, but also make it a little hard to work outside or in the unheated studio. today was downright frozen, even at the height of the sun’s path across the beautiful asheville sky. but the chilly weather certainly hasn’t been all bad, a certain little boy and his mama had their first sledding adventures!

and despite the weather and half-numb fingers… progress continues on the pocket shelter prototype. now working on rough plumbing and electrical, preparing for the installation of the rest of the wall and ceiling insulation.

looking like a tiny house

aaronmaret — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:28:10 +0000

i finally finished installing the salvaged barnwood siding on the two long exterior walls last week. i’m pretty pleased with the results.

cold weather, progress

aaronmaret — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 01:09:03 +0000

the weather has turned downright chilly over the past week or two. but progress continues, and i’ve reached a couple more milestones in the construction process. the metal roofing is complete and the space is fully dried-in.

i’m choosing to install the wood siding as a rain screen. basically, instead of mounting the siding boards directly over top of the building paper, there is an air gap between them. this allows the wood siding to breath and dry out more quickly and easily. this method provides a more durable envelope. the wood furring strips that will hold the siding off of the sheathing are installed and i’ll begin installing the siding shortly. i’m pretty excited to see how it turns out. stay tuned.

tupelo sunset shoot

aaronmaret — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 06:31:10 +0000

i was outside this afternoon on another amazing, though perhaps unseasonably warm day, as the sun began to set and the light began to do that thing. i ran around for i little while and made some fun photos. below are the results. enjoy!

New Shop Mates

aaronmaret — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:15:50 +0000

The cooperative aspect of the woodshop has seen some pretty big changes over the past few months. Andy, who was a major force and presence in the space, decided to move out of town. His leaving has been a big transition.

Shorty after his departure, two friends independently showed up inquiring about possibilities of sharing the space. They are both fantastic souls who bring a fresh and different approach to the wood crafts.

Ira is a tree working/timber framer/builder/permaculturalist/woodworker. He and his partner recently moved to Asheville from New England. Asheville’s a better place for it as they are both very community-minded and give much of themselves in the spirit of creativity and consciousness raising.

Josh is the founder of Vintage Roots Guitars. He’s building a business making custom, one-of-a-kind guitars. He and his partner own a piece of land just out of town and have been building their homestead there.

I’m thankful for the introduction of such positive, creative energy in the shop. Big thanks to Josh and Ira for holding down the co-op spirit with me!

Eyes, a Raincoat, and a Hat

aaronmaret — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 04:30:33 +0000

PS1 is progressing nicely. This has been a big week for continued evolution and transformation:

Eyes:
On Monday I cut the openings for all window openings, which lightened up the space inside tremendously. It’s exciting to see how open and airy it feels. And the aspect of looking out from within emerged for the first time. Imagining the outside context, and how on a house on wheels, this is much more of a fluid and changing scene. An interesting notion that sparks novelty and excitement in this architect mind.

Raincoat:
Once I cut the openings for the windows, it was a quick dash to install the windows and weatherproof the envelope asap. after some steady rain, a little water, some head scratching, troubleshooting, and finding a flaw in my weatherproofing, i’m fairly confident that the little house is completely “dried in” or rainproofed.

Cap:
Yesterday and this morning brought the addition of a nice red-orange metal roof. Quite dashing I think.

A big thank you to Michael Mooney for the assist on installing the metal panels!

Process photo gallery here.

Dried In

aaronmaret — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:54:08 +0000

Framing is complete and the structure is dried in. Good thing on a rainy, rainy day like today. I’ve been working on some of the details that are about to be installed such as the entry door and salvaged redwood decking.

It’s finally to the point where I can get a clear sense of how big the space really is. It’s quite exciting!

PS1 Gets Spacial

aaronmaret — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 05:08:54 +0000

Finally lifted the second long wall and the roof. It’s been an interesting process. I’ve only had access to help sporadically, so I’ve been developing techniques to make these moments easier with fewer people. For example, I created hinges that pinned the walls to the floor deck and ensured that when lifted, the wall would settle in the right spot at the edge of the floor and not be able to tip too far. And I built the roof in two sections on the ground in the shop with bolted connections so it would be stronger. Then, we lifted the light sections by hand up on top of the walls. Everything has gone together brilliantly.

It’s exciting to start to see some verticality and space!

Gallery here.

latest ps1 progress

aaronmaret — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 02:21:41 +0000

i’ve been framing walls, gathering materials, developing the details for a few key places, squaring and sheathing the first wall, and researching where to source the last of the materials i’ll need to finish building the shell. below are some results, including the tiny stack of red metal roofing. so cute!

coming soon: verticality and space!

alternate view via simpleviewer gallery here.