R&R Design Services Founder and Designer Ralph Crafts will be giving a raised-bed gardening workshop at ReBuild Warehouse in Springfield, VA on June 5th, 2010 at 11 am. Back by popular demand, this follows Ralph’s highly successful May workshop at the same venue.

Learn more about the workshop’s content and download Ralph’s Powerpoint presentation on our Gardening page.

Come learn first-hand how to obtain high vegetable yields from a 32 sq. ft. raised bed garden!

TIME: June 5th, 11 – 12:30

PLACE: ReBuild Warehouse, 6625-B Iron Place, Springfield, VA 22151

MAP & DIRECTIONS:

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In today’s residential community/marketplace, homeowners have numerous options for obtaining/generating designs for additions, remodeling projects, and new homes—ranging from software/CAD systems to “do it yourself,” to registered architects, along with design-build companies, and residential “designers,” (who are not necessarily registered architects, but who have the skills and experience required to provide the necessary deliverables).  As with any market/service/industry, the results of the various options may vary, from outstanding to unusable, depending on a wide variety of factors—the skill of the practitioner, the viability of the design tools used, the communication skills of the various professionals, and the vagaries of the local jurisdiction reviewing/approving the project.

Regardless of the option chosen, the end result is always the same:  a set of drawings/plans that (hopefully) represents the intent of the homeowner, and that enables the project to be approved and constructed in accordance with the various codes, standards, regulations, and levels of quality applicable to the project.

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For new home construction and remodeling projects, the design and construction phases can be roughly divided into the “what” (the design generated by the architect/designer) and the “how” (the builder/contractor implementing the design). 

The “what” is encompassed in the drawings generated by the designer/architect, and should represent the homeowner’s goals/desires for the finished project.  The level of detail included in the final plans will vary, depending on the project, the client, the skills of the designer/architect, and the skills of the builder/contractor.  For example, a skilled builder will not need to see detailed interior elevations of a living room to be able to properly install crown molding and casing, but a skilled builder will definitely need to see and understand the framing and structural requirements for the project.  Some designer/architects are highly skilled in developing detailed elevations (exterior and interior) that beautifully represent the homeowners’ desires, and their plans will provide those details to ensure the final “look” of the project.  Structural and framing details may be left for the builder/contractor to develop and finalize, hence the differences between the “what” and the “how.”

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