A Terrace Garden


Architects & Custom Designers of Homes Embraced by Livable Gardens

Living in a
"GardenHome"
is like living
a dream come true!

Welcome to Our Home Page Who we are & What we do Only Architects can make affordable 'Dream Homes' come true! A Home embraced by a practical yet beautiful Garden is a 'GardenHome' - Short Overview We'll help you Create a Home that is Better not just Bigger Our partially glass-roofed GardenRooms are meant for everyday living, dining, and entertaining, and perfect for growing indoor plants Our Gardens are places in which to live and enjoy yourself In your private 'RoofGarden' you'll always feel on Top of the World A GeoThermal Heat Pump more than pays for itself by drastically reducing your HVAC and Water Heating bills Let us help you create a Home you won't have to abandon should you ever become disabled in any way A Garden is a series of 'Outdoor Rooms without Ceilings' designed to be lived in and enjoyed. At its most beautiful, 'Landscaping' is still just a picture frame. A beautiful Garden adds to your Quality of Life! Here are the reasons why you should have a Garden rather than just Landscaping Excerpts of Bill Hoppe's upcoming book by the same title. Stay tuned for more chapters! An Example of a GardenHome Concept Design Drawing How we Manage our Projects We want a Close and Viable Relationship capable of Producing the Results you seek! How we will Handle Your Project - Overview What our Hourly Rates are based on Here we'll give you a 'Ball Park' idea of our Costs BEFORE you buy that Property, let us take a good look at it FIRST! Tell us what you think of our site and our 'GardenHome' concept ENJOY Our Biographies and Faces How to get a hold of us

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How we Handle Projects
  – Phase #1 –

Pre-Design  Data Gathering, Assessment, and Analysis

     During this phase, ALL site data and information of relevance to the overall project such as:

●  the exact location of all property lines and markers, driveways, other access roads
    and pathways;
●  the location of power–, phone– cable–, water–, storm drainage–, and sanitary
    sewer lines and "rights of way";
●  the location of fences, walls, and/or hedges;
●  the characteristics and the condition of its plant cover;
●  the identification and location of all major trees with a trunk diameter in excess of
    6 inches;
●  the property's topographic and drainage characteristics, spot elevations;
●  the identification of perk and potential septic system sites, if applicable;
●  the evaluation of all "view-sheds", etc.

     ... will be collected, assessed, analyzed, and depicted on our drawing(s) and, if essential, incorporated into our report.

     In addition, we will gather and analyze all local governmental "Planning & Zoning" and environmental data and regulations, building codes, set-back requirements, and community (Home Owners Association) imposed design limitations and/or restrictions, if any, to which the property may be subject.

     To gain an intimate and personal familiarity with the property, to get to know it well, to experience its ambience and character, and to discover its "possibilities" and/or recognize its limitations, we will, of course, visit and "walk" it as part of the above data gathering process.

     Commonly , Phase #1 is split into two task areas as follows;

     Task A:  Conduct of the comprehensive "Site Assessment & Analysis" process as discussed above and the subsequent preparation of a detailed and to-scale...
1.)  "As Found Site Drawing" [as accurate as an official "Plat" or a " House Location
       Survey"] and
2.)  an "As Found Site Report", if needed.

     Task B:  In the event that the site features an existing structure that is expected to remain, in one form or another, as an integral part of the overall, re–constituted property...

1.)  the conduct of a comprehensive "Structural Analysis and Evaluation" and
2.)  the preparation of a set of to-scale "As Found Structural Drawings " done to a
       level of detail and to a degree of accuracy deemed essential for subsequent
       use, if any.

Go to ...

Overview    Phase #2    Phase #3    Phase #4    Phase #5 
Our Home and Garden "Initial Design Questionnaires"