Last year, I had built a fire in our wood burning fireplace -not unusual for a Saturday evening in the winter. It wasn’t a raging or large fire, just a normal one.

My wife went upstairs to get something to drink and yelled down to me that there were sparks falling on our deck. I thought ‘Big deal’, we do have a fire burning after all and a rouge spark falling in the snow didn’t seem unusual. I went upstairs to reassure my wife and my eyes went wide. It was raining sparks past our windows like hundreds of sparklers lit at once.

I ran out on the deck and looked up at the chimney. There must have been a six foot high flame shooting out of the top. And the sound, you cant’ forget that hum of the rushing air and flames. At the same moment, my neighbor was racing up the driveway. They said it had looked like a bomb went off and lit up the whole neighborhood. 911 had already been contacted, including by us, and we were told to get out of the house.

On my way out, I grabbed a fire extinguisher and put out the wood fire and sprayed up into the chimney. The fire department came quick, even though that was the longest 10 minutes of my life. They used an infrared or heat detector to assess if there was still fire burning within the chimney or adjacent structure. They also looked down the chimney to visually inspect it.

They said it appeared that the chimney cap had a build-up of creasote and that was what had ignited.

The next day, I spoke with a Chimney Sweep and he said:
1. You should have the chimney swept every 2 years (every year it should be inspected if you have lots of fires).
2. Do NOT burn paper -even to start the fire. He said people often burn gift wrap this time of year and there are even more chemicals within that paper that creates creasote.

A typical chimney cleaning is around $150. Well worth it considering we could have lost our entire house let alone pets or ourselves! Here are a couple of other resources worth a read:

Chimney Fires, Causes and Cures & Facts about Chimney Fires

Oh and, a big thanks to the Hudson Fire Department!

Have to start somewhere!  This is a quick audio post to get my feet wet in the podcast world.  Meaningful, insightful and witty commentary will follow in future episodes as we discuss Design and Architecture… or we will at least be able to enjoy the theme music.  Click on the player below to listen.  Thanks!

Why hire an Architect? I could list all kinds of facts such as:

• To become an Architect it takes 6 plus years of College, 3 plus years of Internship,  must complete a 7 part Registration Exam (typically 35% pass rate),  are required to have Annual Continuing Education focusing on Health, Safety & Welfare, Code/Zoning expertise, etc.
• We are trained in understanding Integrated Systems, Scale, Color, Proportion, Materials and Constructability

Or appeal to the financial benefits:

• Quality design can increase staff productivity, minimize utility usage and strengthen a corporate identity. On the residential side, a home’s value can increase by up to 50% -all things equal to a typical spec-built house.   When selling, Realtors will market as ‘Architect Designed Home’ -knowing that implies something special
• Architects know the efficiencies in selections of materials, structural and mechanical systems, electrical equipment/fixtures
• We understand and can help streamline City/state requirement/processes

But I won’t discuss these and other facts…anymore…at least for now.

Every building project is a major and nerve racking commitment.  Not unlike other professionals such as an accountant who helps you manage your money or a doctor that aids in your wellbeing, an Architect assists you in making appropriate and advantageous decisions related to your construction project.  The physiological impact of the built environment in which we live and work helps to define our productivity let alone our happiness.  The simple choice of a paint color, materials, window size/placement, flow in and around the space will effect how you feel and function.

Our real ability lies in helping to interpret your goals and dreams into a project that exceeds your original vision. We understand site, planning, and construction issues.  We know the latest materials and finishes. We are artists and sculptors, puzzle and problem solvers.  We are mindful of the impact that design decisions can have on the project’s function, it’s environment and your pocketbook. Our value goes beyond drawing ‘pretty sketches’.   We will be your advocate and maximize your resources to far exceed what would have been done without teaming with an Architect.

We live in an amazing time.  The world is getting smaller and like most of you, I marvel at the interconnectedness available at my fingertips.  Several years ago, I began a project with a wonderful family.  The design of their home and the process was revealed weekly by a metro newspaper and an associated blog.  Though now complete and in bits and pieces floating around the web, that blog still generates emails to our office from around the world.

We love the potential of those interactions…sharing and learning together.  Thus our humble attempt to make that possible with this weblog.