Making Countertops the Best they Can Be

The Homeowner Wanted Sink on the Clear Side

When you select granite or marble countertops, you start by selecting the slabs first at the supplier's yard.  As you move up in options and cost, nature's movement in the stone makes each piece unique.  So when you first see the stones, the initial color and movement grabs you.  From there, you take the sinks and template them and have a template meeting where you discuss where you want the cutout for the sink to go.  People like to do this, so that patterns or interesting portions of the particular slab you are selecting are not covered by a hole.  This picture is a stone called Colonial Cream.  You can see the natural movement going on in this stone, and just to the right the cabinet extends to legs and there is a table there that will accept another piece of the countertop so that people can sit there while the homeowners are cooking or entertaining.  The homeowner was given advice to put the sink on the lighter side of the slab, so as not to interrupt the brown flow of the counter on the left side.  There was some miscommunication and the under mount sink was installed on the other side.  It is still beautiful but this just gives an example of why people place templates on the slabs.  Countertops are personal and an expression of your tastes and home so if you have an opportunity to visit the fabrication process ahead of time I highly recommend it.

How to Build a Retaining Wall

Concrete Footer with Rebar

 Construction techniques never cease to amaze me.  When I visualize something, I am guilty sometimes of not letting it go and learning through the "baptism by fire" approach of diving right in.  These are actual photos of a backyard I envisioned on a hillside with significant sloping topography. The goal was to have a completely flat backyard for the kids to play, while having an incredible hill top view.  In order to achieve this, an engineered wall needed to be created. I had plans drawn from a local engineer who estimated the size of the retained load and designed the wall accordingly.

To build this, you must start with a concrete footer.  This footer has to be wide enough and deep enough to where it doesn't rock back and forth when soil and water pressure build behind it.  It also must have steel emitting from the bottom to pass through the hollow CMU blocks that will be stacked on top like legos when ready.  The next step is to have masons install the CMU and when desired height is reached, to fill it with concrete and cap it with what's called a  bond beam.  Here, you need to make sure that you have adequate drainage below the base of the CMU wall, and have installed some sort of waterproofing system against the back to allow water to drain below.  Finally, back fill with proper materials and make sure that you proper slope for drainage.  I'll be honest this process at this level was not easy.  It took a couple months and costs about as much as a small pool.  I think though that things like this are what truly make homes unique and can be worth doing if it completely changes your experience and your budget allows it.  

Now let's go build something.

CMU Blocks Being Installed

Finished Product with Graded Base

Photographing Interior Walls During Construction

Having photographed interior walls is worth its weight in Gold

Recently it was 5:00pm, sun was going down and I'm flying over neighborhood speed bumps single focused trying to get to my destination before it's too late.  Emergency?, you bet.  I needed to get to this house prior to losing too much daylight to photograph the interior walls before insulation the next day.  The homeowner was there, wanted to chat and I had to put the mission first and not talk very much.  Luckily he was very understanding.

I place such a high value on this task because it can really help you out of a jamb later on during the construction process.  It's also great for record keeping in case you ever need to get behind walls.  This is an actual photograph of one wall section in a home I recently photographed.  I usually average about 30-50 pictures and I upload them to our clients project portal so they always have access as well.  When you build a wall, there are things like electrical, plumbing, HVAC lines, low volt and in this case a pest control system as well.  When you insulate and cover the walls with sheetrock, unless you have the best memory in the world there is a good chance you will be flying blind and cause unnecessary aggravation and expense digging and search for things.  I used to really take my time almost like a professional photographer, but over the years I've gotten it down to where this task takes about 10 minutes.

If you are in the middle of a construction project or have any walls exposed in your future, I highly recommend this simple step.  You'll be surprised how much you refer back to it.

Now let's go build something.

Cool Floor You May Not Have Seen Before

Epoxy Overlays Not Just for Garages

Here's something completely different for you but cool for your next flooring project; epoxy..............inside the house.  This picture was taken of a floor we did with a product called Liquid Dazzle.  It's an epoxy overlay that goes on super thick with a hand trowel and covers imperfections with essentially a brand new surface.  The interesting thing is there is a depth that to me in unrivaled by other surfaces that can best be described as granite looking.  There are different colors and it's tough as nails due to it's roots in commercial applications.  One downside is it may have a tendency to show scratches.  All floors have ups and downs but overall this surface is sure to impress.  The cost is approximately $8-10/sf to put down, so it lies somewhere between tile and wood but I don't think I've ever seen this product applied in any of the houses I've been in before or since. So that means it's unique and sometimes being a little different can be a good thing.

How to Create Old World Style

A Picture Like this Can Offer Many Tips

On a recent anniversary trip with my wife to Quebec City, Canada I took this photo of one of the many busy streets in lower Quebec.  I'm not sure why exactly that I took it but I remember being drawn to the architecture here.  With it's British and French roots, Quebec City is rich in old world style and architecture.  Just looking down this street you see an interesting array and use of stone, plaster, brick, wood and in the far distance-you can see a copper roof that has patine d over the course of about 30 years according to the locals.  What's amazing is that even though these buildings were built hundred's of years ago, they still represent great style and architecture.  I have definitely drawn on some of the concepts and ideas and plan on incorporating them into some of my next homes.  My challenge to you is to do the same.  Start by taking a picture or collecting one of a vintage home or setting that best represents how you would want your next home to look.  Even though technology has advanced considerably, if you look hard enough you will be able to find ways to achieve certain elements by pointing out the things you like to the professional who can accomplish it for you.  A different stucco technique, an old school way to lay stone, a different roof pitch- these are all ways to create something truly timeless that will be the envy of the neighborhood.  Start with the picture, let it become a part of your vision and find the most creative way to make it happen that suits your budget.

When Custom Building, Set the Right Expectations are Key

I tell people all the time that one of the toughest things in the custom home building world is setting the proper expectations.  I think it's one of the single largest factors that give builder's a black eye.  You would think, starting with a detailed set of plans that you have a real good idea of finish out and how it will look once completed but when plans go from 2D to 3D, people that have a hard time visualizing things.

Before we ever go to plan stage, we like to ask the question of final back end budget.  The reason is we need to know how to arrange the pieces of the puzzle to where the client can get what they want for their dollars.  Trust me, half of the time we are delivering realistic news that our clients don't want to hear.  Things like "those appliances won't fit in the budget, or there is too much square footage, etc."  It always pains me to deliver messages like that, but I would rather do that and risk losing the deal then have a home owner who doesn't know the industry like I do get disappointed 6 months down the road.  The worst thing I think that can happen, is you tell the customer what they want to hear at all times and then once the build process begins and they have terrible experiences on selections the whole process through.  What excites me the most is at the end having a happy customer who is close to budget or below at the end of the project.  I am happy to say that the last 5 recent projects have all been that way and it is a very good feeling.  Make sure when building to do your best to completely understand what your budget gets you when finishing out your dream home.

Award Winning Design 2012

Won Statewide Texas Star Award for Best Architectural Design

Won Statewide Star Award for Best Outdoor Living

I am so thrilled to report that Mattern & FitzGerald was recognized at the state wide level recently for the Star Awards which honors builders from all across the state for excellence in design and architecture.  There was a banquet in Austin that we were not able to attend but they did send the trophy's which were amazing.  The architectural design award was for homes in the $700-999,000 range and the outdoor living award was for homes in the $800-$999,000 range.  Special thanks to our clients and contractors for help making these homes so special.  We are so very proud and thankful to be a part of these wonderful projects.

Using What Your Lot Gives You For an Incredible House

This rooftop garden captures the lot's greatest asset-the view

When my wife and I lived in Chicago for a few years, we owned a row house near down town that had a roof deck.  If you've ever been to Chicago, this is very common practice.  In fact, for Cubs games some of the best seats in the house are nearby buildings that have roof decks.  I have the privilege of sitting in many architectural meetings with clients and with this particular client I had pitched the concept of a roof deck to capture the incredible views. It seems like people are creatures of habit.  In San Antonio, we see a lot of balcony's, porches, view windows, etc....... but this is different.  I'm thinking tree house.  Something that perches you up high enough to give you a completely different perspective and experience that is easy to access and capitalizes on the incredible hill country views we have.  The happy ending to this story is I just delivered a trophy to the family the other day for winning "Best Specialty Room" at the Summit Awards which has stiff competition from all builders across San Antonio.  I was so happy for them and I know that it will provide them some incredible moments as they entertain and relax because nothing quite satisfies like God's canvas just outside your window.

Creating Interesting Architecture

Kitchen shows a lot of interesting elements

When creating a space, it's hard for a lot of people to visualize  in advance and even just consider everything in the room.  You can hire help for that hourly, or clip photos and web pages of different things you find to create truly interesting and unique architecture.  When I was thinking about this topic today, I was drawn to this picture of a home that is getting ready to be published in the coming months.  At first glance, you may wonder why I selected it and here is why:

• The ceiling- exposed, stained for warmth and visual impact.  
• The wall- 1X6" custom tongue and groove ship lap construction giving visual depth on the wall and drawing your eye to it through visual shadow lines created by grooves.
• Cabinets-custom veneer selections over plywood construction to create a consistent pattern and unique pattern not found commonly in any cabinetry.
• Island-custom color with interesting shape and maple top.  This was selected for warmth and because of the sheer size.  All natural stone countertops would have had a seam.
• Floating bamboo floors- not a common color and designed to feel fantastic on the feet.  Easy maintenance, cost effective and as durable as you can get being bamboo.  
• Lighting-cool light fixture made better by addition of rope around the body of the fixture.
• Windows- top trapezoid window follows roof line.  This is a little thing but I replaced the once rectangular window in lieu of the trapezoid for visual interest.
• Backsplash- the theory being that most people look horizontally when entering a home, not down at the floors.  We opted for Ann Sacks tile which is expensive but worth it in areas that receive so much attention.  If opting between floors or wall, we lean towards the walls most times.

There is a lot to consider in a home, I just wanted to walk you through some quick thoughts in this room.  Best of luck when creating interesting architecture for your home.

Construction Renovating and Giving Back

Last week I got to do something incredible that I highly recommend.  Blueprint Ministries www.blueprintministry.com is a San Antonio-based ministry that has the goal of making as many homes in San Antonio "warm, safe & dry" as they possibly can..  They do this through volunteer efforts, and have an incredible facility located on South Presa downtown near I-37& Loop 410.  You have a team leader and a representative from Blueprint who lines out the work for the day at the home for your group.  All materials are provided and you get to show up, meet the families and be a witness of faith through your trying to help improve their lives.  There were many highlights, but my favorite was bonding with the family, bonding with the other team members and sharing Christ as best I could.  We actually stayed at the Blueprint facility which was awesome because we could free ourselves from distraction and focus on the family.  If you have a free day or are looking for some way to give back and enjoy working on houses regardless of skill level, please contact them for more information and a life-changing experience.

Swish, Me & Family having dinner

Outside of home

Reid & Mason demo-ing wall



Summit Awards for San Antonio Builders 2012

Some of M&F Staff and Spouses

Still humbled from the 2012 Summit Awards Ceremonies held at the Omni Hotel last Saturday evening.  Mattern & FitzGerald won a company record 9 Eagles for outstanding builder achievement.  We are so blessed to have such an incredible team of people, as well as support from our better halves.  Special thanks goes out to the Greater San Antonio Builder's Association, the staff and our families.

Creating an Eye Popping Entry

Liquid Dazzle Floors

When you first walk into someone's home, you can't help but stop for a moment and take in your surroundings. Being a home builder and welcoming thousands of people into our homes, I must admit I'm always trying to gauge the reaction if people have a strong first impression or not. You can consider some things when thinking about an eye popping entry. Ideas might be a medallion of some sort, a cool lighting effect or beautiful flower arrangement that hopefully the kids and dog won't destroy. This picture features a product on the floor I wanted to show you. It's called Liquid Dazzle. The picture does not do it justice. This is normally a commercial product epoxy that we brought in from California. You hand trowel it down and it creates this deep, granite type of look that is truly remarkable. It's about $8/sf installed and comes in 5 gallon buckets. It does reveal fine scratches, but to me they pale to the overall effect.

San Antonio Parade of Homes 2012 Malibu House

It was important to be true to the design by focusing on texture

Beautiful shot of metal, stone and wood

True story.........we were on a budget.  I think the quote was, "if we can't do this house for that price- then forget it", or something to that effect.  Rewind almost to a year ago and a young, super nice couple approached me with the possibility of entering into the Parade of Homes in the Dominion.  To even say the word "Dominion" causes you to cringe a little when thinking about budgets due to the sizes of homes in there.  I knew we couldn't go toe-to-toe budget-wise with the other 11 homes, but we were up for it though.  The couple wanted a house with soul and natural materials that were understated, yet elegant.  We chose a Malibu circa 1972 style home to build and design a home that would be low on "stuff", and rich on texture.  Texture is a term we use to describe elements that we place on the walls.  Wall paper, cork, wood slats, rock, exposed rafters, exposed ducts; the list goes on and on.  It's more fun to be creative with different walls then just sheetrock that everyone has.  Of course there's a cost to that so you have to be careful, but I'm confident that if you explore your options- the sky's the limit.  If you want a low cost remodel alternative, or are in the process of designing your dream home- please consider what the walls have going on so that you can create an inviting, comfortable space.  Remember, it doesn't have to be expensive so consider materials that are readily available and elegant.  That was our strategy for this Parade.  These are actual photos of the home that we are entering.  Best of luck in your design-build endeavors.

Adding Texture to Walls to Create Interesting Design

Texture on Walls Can Make a Big Impact

You can learn so much from designers and good interior design can make or break a home's image. The tough thing about design is it can add up quickly so it's very important that you choose the areas that are to be your focal points and concentrate on a cost effective way to make them look good. We have had the pleasure of working with Baxter Design Group in San Antonio for our 2012 Parade project and just like most of you, we were on a budget and challenged to come up with "wow" features that didn't break the bank. in the picture I've attached, you can see where we added stone to an interior wall to create texture inside. We accomplished this by a process called "facing" the rock; or slimming it down in depth so that the sheer weight would be greatly reduced. A process like this runs anywhere from $6-10.00 per surface foot depending on stone chosen. We elected for a dry stack stone native to New Mexico that gave us a look and feel of texture on the wall. When you couple this with the stain grade exposed roof you really start getting a feel that will never get stale and you don't have to worry about painting walls. There will be floating cabinetry against this wall with a maple top and wall hung tv. By the way, the wall scales to approximately 350 surface feet so you can do the math on approximate cost.

2012 San Antonio Parade Custom Firebox

Courtesy of Google Images

If you get an opportunity to come by the Mattern & FitzGerald home to view one thing- please come by to see this.  Our home this year features a Pavilion, which will be a very large room with no interior walls.  Located in the main Pavilion will be the family, breakfast, dining and kitchen areas.  In our case, we will use elements of architecture to visually define the spaces- but the common walled-off points you are used to seeing in a home will be blurred.  I'm very anxious to see how people react to that.  One main focal feature and defining point between the dining room and living room will be this firebox.  What a lot of people don't realize is that fireboxes can be manipulated in many different ways.  We start with a platform, that we build out of wood at a height that is comfortable for the homeowner.  In this picture you see the firebox at ground level, but we are actually raising ours to where the top most part of the box is at 4' tall to give it a more prominent viewing angle from the dining table and living room while sitting.  We also chose a double sided firebox which means you can view straight through it.  The dimension of our firebox is 50" wide X 16" tall,  so it has a more rectangular look and feel.  It also has a ribbon flame feature, which I love because the flames go high to low, and continue to repeat that pattern.  The box is remote controlled, and has the ability to emit LED lights from within when it is too hot in the summer for a fire.  After the platform is built, we build a steel cage around the unit to dimensions of our choice.  We are going almost 7-1/2' wide X 6-1/2' tall.  Then the steel cage will have sheet metal riveted around it and to the top to give it the industrial look and feel that we are going for.  We will then wrap the flue pipe in the same material and have it project through the roof.  Once through the roof, we have a cool feature where we elongate the stack and call attention to it so that it becomes a focal feature as you approach the home.  The Parade begins on May 26th and I encourage you to come by and see this customized piece for yourself.

San Antonio Parade of Homes Cool Cantilever

Living room at back right corner cantilevers over pool

Cantilever:

That's what we do to be cool, and different.  Basically we engineered a structure to hang out and appear to "float" over an edge.  This year, we are cantilevering out over the pool.  That's right, when you are standing in the back left corner of the living room, you will actually be floating over the pool!  How cool is that?  Don't ask me how we pulled that off but we did.  The folks at GE Reaves and Lopez Salas Architects made it happen.  We will have a pool this year that actually goes under the house.  So when you are standing on your living room floor, there is a strong possibility that water will be underneath you.  We are always trying to push the envelope, trying to show you things unique and amazing.  If it was easy, anyone could do it.  I truly hope that you will come and visit us this year for the Parade of Homes in San Antonio, come stand on our living room and feel yourself hovering above the pool.  It will truly be an amazing experience and one that I am so glad to offer to you. I personally can't wait to do it and can't wait to hear your feedback on what you think.  God Bless America and all the wonderful things we get to try and experience as we progress forward in modern architecture.

San Antonio Parade of Homes Designer

Debbie Baxter

I am excited to announce that for the 2012 Parade of Homes in the Dominion, Mattern & FitzGerald has struck an agreement with Debbie Baxter Designs to help assist us with this project.  This is probably the first and last time you'll see a Longhorn and Aggie work together peacefully (just kidding).  Debbie has done commercial work, residential, vacation homes, luxury yachts and luxury highrises.  You may have read most recently about The Broadway, San Antonio's first luxury highrise in Alamo Heights- well her firm designed the interior and it is stunning.  Her website is http://baxterdesigngroup.com/.  Holly Hickey is also helping us and she is an incredible talent.  We are so fortunate to have them on our team and looking forward to an incredible Parade.  Take time to visit their website if you get a chance and view some of their incredible work.

Parade of Homes 2012

The rectangular windows above are called clerestory

I am very excited to announce that Mattern & FitzGerald Custom Builders has agreed to enter into the Parade of Homes for 2012.  The Parade is undergoing some changes this year, with the first Parade being held the last weekend in May on Memorial Day weekend and continuing through the next 10 days for a total of 2 weekends.  The thought being the weather will be much cooler for visitors.  The Parade location will be in The Aragon in Dominion, which is the last undeveloped property in Dominion and located near the new 3rd gate near the Camp Bullis exit and TMI.  There will be another Parade later in the year with more affordable housing with time & place to be determined.

We will be showcasing some very interesting architecture this year.  It will be one of the smaller homes in the Parade, but will have some very progressive elements that I think you will find very interesting.  The picture above is not one of our homes, but it illustrates a point of something we will be doing this year.  The small, rectangular windows you see above are referred to as clerestory windows.  They are designed to allow more light to come in and really open up the space.  One effect that we will play off of is to appear to make our roof "float".  It will be a very different concept than traditional big roof plans that you are probably used to seeing.  Over the next few months, I will attempt to explain some of the different elements that we are doing, without spoiling the surprise when you come see us.  Mark your calendars and save the date for what should be an amazing show this coming year.  Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

Amazing Kitchen Remodel in 7 Weeks

I wish I could sit here and tell you this was easy, but I'd be lying to you.  I also wish I could find the before photo of this kitchen and bar because it looks completely different.  When remodeling, the first thing you have to do is start with a clean slate.  That means in this case a week of demo, tying down old electrical and plumbing, and game planning for new electrical and plumbing.  You should see it, we write on the walls, the floor the ceiling- everywhere.  It looks like graffiti and a war zone all at the same time.  Then we patch up the walls, paint, get the cabinet guys in and start measuring for cabinets.  This ceiling and lighting                                                                        is new as well,

and it required some framing and repositioning of duct work to pull it off.  These customers were awesome in the sense that they were living there for a good majority of the project and were very patient and kind.  I love before and afters because you get such a great return on effort in such a short amount of time.  They are not easy, and often you miss things that are unforeseen but they are certainly rewarding when finished.  Check out the cool edge the homeowner chose for the island, probably one of my all time favorites.  If you don't think it's that great it's probably because you're not there in person but it's really cool how the granite company fabricated the edge.

How to Improve the Entry of Your Home

This courtyard is only 1 week old

I love this house for a lot of reasons.  True story, the owners brought us a CD of a resort they travel to in the Virgin Islands every year and wanted to recreate it to a large degree.  They really wanted a focus on the outside.  This home has outside showers, amazing landscaping, a wooden door courtyard entry and custom lights we imported from the Virgin Islands that were hand made.  Really cool and fun project.  I wanted to focus however on the sidewalk and front entry.  When you see your home from the street, I think you have 2 curb appeals going on.  The initial impression, and also the feel you get as you walk up to the home.  My theory is it should continue to surprise and impress as you walk to the front door.  You don't have to go over the top, but you can do little things with landscaping, install a water feature, improve the walk way, add lighting, rocks and the focus on the porch area.  This picture was taken shortly after the homeowners moved-in.  If you look closely you can see that they installed a water feature to the left that runs down the rocks and flows into a small pond area, then recirculates back up to the origin and flows back down again.  These kits are sold at Home Depot and Lowes and have come way down in price.  The stones that were laid were field stones from excavation and supplanted with river rock.  The concrete walk path was stained, which is real easy to do with a bug sprayer and could be a fun weekend project.  Lastly, they installed a couple of outdoor speakers in the front, just to welcome guests or have some outdoor tunes going while they work and play outside.  I admit, this is pretty grand, but it if you take an idea or two from this you would be surprised at how different you can make the walk up appeal of your home.