Aaron Maret | Design Build Studio » Design + Build

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.

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.

Expansion

aaronmaret — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 18:21:37 +0000

So, in my professional life, I’m a little space hungry. Especially horizontal surfaces, I don’t think it’s possible for me to have enough of them. This is a tad bit ironic, when compared to my personal life where my needs are rather modest. So here in the studio, I had a lofted mezzanine office space and a single, albeit large, drafting table for all my designing and officing needs. And it really didn’t cut it. So I’ve been working on building out an extension to the original mezzanine accessible via catwalk. I love catwalks. More broadly speaking, I love aerial space of all sort. The build-out is almost complete and here’s the result, in all of it’s 14 foot long desk AND drafting table to boot glory:

HJ Master Suite (Unbuilt)

aaronmaret — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 03:48:03 +0000

This is one of my favorite small house designs that unfortunately was never realized. It is a freestanding master suite for a couple and their visiting grandkids on their Sonoma, California land. The footprint is very compact in order to minimize impact on the site. It is situated adjacent to the existing swimming pool and so becomes somewhat of the pool house, with a generous covered porch to enjoy a poolside view on hot summer days.

It’s form is thin and tall, with an ascending promenade into, up and through the house that culminates at the roof deck which serves as an aerial perch for watching birds and taking in the stunning Sonoma Valley landscape.

Click here or on the image below to view the 3D sketches.

Sonoma Bathroom Addition

aaronmaret — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 00:39:04 +0000

Before I moved away from California, I designed and built an addition to a converted barn to become a poolhouse bathroom. I used mostly salvaged lumber and hardware, including a few special find from the original house on site.