Author: Nicholas Buccalo

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Natural Flow Snow Melting System, Zero Energy Consumption

We’re at that point in the year where the sun is starting to make its presence known by giving us extended day light hours.  But the effects of the cold acts like winter is an entity cuddled in a slingshot in that the cold of winter is about to hit us, along with snow and ice that makes a daily walk a risk taking adventure. Is there a way of guaranteeing that our walkways will be free of snow and ice year around?  I believe there is.

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Carroll Gardens Brooklyn Garden Transformation

With spring around the corner, lets take a quick look at one of our SimpleTwig garden projects during the renovation of a Carroll Gardens Brooklyn townhouse.

When purchased the garden was overgrown with fallen fencing, and whatever thrown wherever.  Our first steps were basic cleanup.  The ivy was trimmed back and the trash, fencing and anything not savable removed.  We kept the existing gravel cleaning it up so we could use it as a base for a new slab and tile.

This garden is just 30×40 feet square with buildings on 3 sides.  Because of this we decided to make more of the planting area by raising it, and at the same time provide additional seating for informal gatherings.

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Natural Flow Flood Prevention Drain System

We are proud to have developed a simple pipe system that prevents basement and cellar flooding due to a blockage in the house trap.  It’s a rather simple system that for a couple hundred dollars can spare a homeowner from thousands of dollars in damages, including sparing them from the week or so to make their flooded area ‘sewer free’ which is not an easy task and often leaves residue behind despite the best efforts. YUCK!

 

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Efficiency of Home Design, the Laundry Machine

It’s looming, consuming, it’s laundry day.

Homes are functional machines (not if you choose the wrong Architect), although most people don’t consider this factor when designing a new home, or only as a side note.  Yet when choosing an Architect you hope, or assume, they know what they’re doing.  The truth is there might be passing consideration at best, for some of your home’s most important functional aspects, like your closets, laundry and that whole messy process.

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40 Unit Apartment Building in Brooklyn – PARKING FACILITIES

This project we’re working on is large enough to break into two articles, the first dealing with the parking facilities. When designing for a large multi-story apartment building, one must provide for parking. There is an option of using off-site parking but essentially one needs to own the property and that property must be within a reasonable distance to your building. That said, like on this project, the parking must be incorporated into the basement space.

This is where good architects stand out in my opinion, in that if the structure is right, and aligns with the apartment units above, there is a substantial savings in the avoidance of transfer beams. This is our approach to help lessen the financial burden of providing a parking garage yet do so in a way that doesn’t negatively impact the apartment units on the upper floors, or the retail space.

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