By David Porter AIA - Consulting architect to the Garlinghouse Company since 1989 You have looked through lots of plans magazines or you have spent hours sitting at your computer looking at plans services' websites and there it is; bingo....a rendering or photograph of that dream house you have always wanted. ...
How would you like to save handfuls of money with minimal effort? And how would you feel if these actions made your home more comfortable, and were good for the environment? You can do just that by taking these simple, cost-effective steps to quickly improve the energy efficiency of your home: Use...
Add a Twist of Something Special to Your New Back Yard With about a million things to think about, it's understandable that if you're planning to build a new home, you may not have spent much time thinking beyond the home itself. The yard - especially the back yard - has...
By Adrienne van Dooren Will traditionally built homes soon join the ranks of the 8-track tape, knob and tube wiring and the manual typewriter? Ed Begley, Jr., environmentalist and star of HGTV's hit show Living with Ed, believes that may indeed come to pass. I interviewed Ed during the Earth Day celebrations...
By David Porter AIA - consulting architect to the Garlinghouse Company since 1989 Since I am a licensed architect, I would be remiss if my answer wasn't just, "of course, you need only an architect." But, nah, for your use in designing a house, that isn't necessarily so. I will first explain...
By David Porter AIA - Consulting architect to the Garlinghouse Company since 1989 By now, you have probably heard loads about everything "green" - building green, living a more "green" lifestyle, and on and on. "Green" is the new, overly used, buzzword thrown at you from twenty directions each day. What...
You know it's there, but you rarely give it a thought-unless the temperature inside your house won't stay at a comfortable level. We're talking about the insulation in your home's walls, attic, and beneath its floors. If there's not enough insulation, it can be added to an existing home. However,...
View The Garlinghouse DIY Deck Plans collection. This two-tiered, ground-level deck is made entirely out of ChoiceDek, a composite material created by mixing wood fibers (red cedar or some other type of softwood) with polyethylene, which comes from recycled consumer waste. Photo courtesy of ChoiceDek. Backyard decks are great because they offer level...
by Bruce Arant, Editorial Director for The Garlinghouse Company I've lived in "Tornado Alley" all of my life. That being the case, wailing tornado sirens, along with the chirping of birds and the buzzing of bees, have become just another familiar sound of springtime (although, not quite as calming). At 2:30...
If you think your living room furniture takes a beating, imagine what your outdoor furniture goes through. The "elements," as we call them, will really do a number on any unprepared thing left to their mercy. Outdoor furniture has to take this beating, remain useful, and still look good. Creating Backyard...
