About the Author
James Crisp has been an architect for well over 20 years. His architectural firm, Crisp Architects, designs projects throughout New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts. In April of 2007, Taunton Press published 'On the Porch' by James M. Crisp and Sandra Mahoney.
Construction Archive
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Quiet Home
Posted on April 7, 2010 | 2 CommentsDuring the construction process, standing in the interior of a half built home is deafening. With carpenters nailing, compressors running and boom boxes playing competing melodies on every floor, you can hardly hear yourself think. -
Contractors
Posted on October 19, 2009 | No CommentsI love visiting job sites. The structured chaos of running bulldozers, swinging boards and dripping mortar is invigorating. Each crafts person is working toward their own ends yet participating in a collective goal, not unlike the master builders of medieval cathedrals. Although our drawings guide... -
Cutting Costs on Construction Projects -5 Ways to Stretch Your Construction Dollars
Posted on October 8, 2009 | No CommentsWhen designing a home or addition, part of the fun for the owner is imagining the project finished without any compromises. When bids come in from the contractors, many home owners are eager to look at ways to reduce the price without loosing space or... -
Kitchen Costs
Posted on May 4, 2009 | No CommentsOne of the most expensive rooms in a home is the kitchen. It is easy to see why a kitchen is so expensive considering it contains appliances, cabinets, plumbing fixtures, lighting, ventilation, countertops as well as decorative finishes. To try to quantify some of those... -
Cutting Construction Costs
Posted on April 3, 2009 | No CommentsWhen designing a home or addition, part of the fun for the owner is imagining the project finished without any compromises. When bids come in from the contractors, many home owners are eager look at ways to reduce the price without loosing space or the... -
How Much?
Posted on February 26, 2009 | No CommentsWe are frequently asked the cost of building a project. Universally the answer is: It depends what you build. Following is a list of some of the elements that go into homes in our region and their installed costs. The prices will vary depending on... -
Geothermal heating and cooling
Posted on July 22, 2008 | No CommentsOne of my favorite jobs is visiting construction sites. On those visits I enjoy studying our homes from the most minor details we have designed to the overall execution of the project. Earth moving is always interesting but is especially dramatic when it involves the installation... -
The Beauty of a Construction Site
Posted on December 21, 2007 | No CommentsSomething that architects and contractors take for granted but that homeowners rarely experience, is the construction site. When it is your house being built or added onto, I recommend that you spend as much time as possible with the “insides” of the place that will... -
Projects’ end
Posted on November 2, 2006 | No CommentsOne of my least favorite parts of a project is it’s end. During the process of designing and constructing the home, we have built special relationships with home owners, contractors and craftspeople which inevitably must change. Often those business relationships become friendships, but there is...