Calling a room a "home office" won't help you.  In order to be defined as "habitable" under your City's guidelines, the room must have ventilation.  If it had an operable skylight, or even forced air ventilation from the outside, like a fan in a bathroom, you could probably make it work without a window.  But if it doesn't have any ventilation, then it doesn't count.  Check if there is any other room in your design that has not been modified, and can fit the ventilation criteria, that you can define as your habitable room.

I know you'd like to avoid the extra expense, but if you must add sprinklers, then there is a bright side.  Sprinklers for a house make it a lot safer.  We believe you will find, if you get a price quote, that adding sprinklers will be a small percentage of the overall cost of your remodel.  In the event of a fire, they could save a significant amount of loss to your home.  In some cases, you can get a discount on your homeowners insurance if you install them.

Feng shui is an ancient Chinese art and philosophy.  As a practical application of feng shui, we look for ways to configure a building to harmonize with principles that bring positive spiritual energy (chi).  The practice of feng shui has been in the news recently as prominent and successful people are putting it to use in their commercial properties and homes, including Donald Trump, Tony Blair, and Larry Ellison.

The application of feng shui is common in China, but is fairly new to the western world.  Some of the time-honored ideas are now being proven in studies.  So what was once thought of as superstition by westerners can now be supported by science.  Here are just a couple of examples:

1. Studies with babies have proven that moods can be affected by the color of paint on the walls of the room the child is in.  Bright colors are more stimulating, muted colors allow the child to sleep better.
2. Restaurants with bright colors, chrome, shiny finishes are associated with speed, efficiency, and high energy.  Fast food restaurants typically use these features.  People actually eat faster in these environments.  Soft colors, plush fabrics, deeper or muted colors and darker lighting tend to make you want to sit, relax, take your time and are used by the fine dining restaurants.

The building environment affects employees too.  Several studies have shown that employee productivity can be significantly improved by changes to the configuration of furnishings, lighting, and color in their workspace.

In working with our firm, you may not even notice the feng shui principles, because they seem like "common sense".  We are happy to do consultations with clients about this aspect of their design.

As a homeowner, the law does allow you to design the space yourself and draw it up for permit.  However, this is a complicated process and can take a lot of time — depending on your experience level.  (There is help available for Kitchen cabinet design in places like Home Depot and EXPO where they will recommend modular and custom cabinets.)

Home designers, contractors, even software kits can give you simple drawings.  What they can't give you is the architectural experience and training of a highly skilled professional.  As Architects, we design a lot of additions involving kitchens, family rooms, bathrooms, etc.  An architect can avoid the "sticks out like a sore thumb"-look that several do-it-yourself remodel projects have.  Also, architects can add enhancements and avoid pitfalls that a do-it-yourselfer would not anticipate.

Almost any remodeling project will require a building permit.  While this may seem like a nuisance, it is really there for your safety.  There are standard ways of installing plumbing, mechanical and electrical devices that are prescribed by the building code.  The City inspects it to make sure that it has been done correctly.  If you are moving walls or openings, the structure of the home may need to be re-evaluated.

We have clients who came to us after they have been "caught" by the city and issued a citation for doing work without a permit.  Sometimes it can be corrected, sometimes the work has to be torn out.  The Owner often has to pay a penalty and then redo part or all of it!  You should also know that even if you "get away" with doing a project without a permit, you are required to disclose this information if you to sell the house.

Dear Lisa:
Since you say that your house is cold in winter and hot in summer, it sounds like an insulation problem to me.  Older homes in Redwood City often do not have very good insulation.  Windows are only one part of the overall issue.  Double-pane windows can help, but they are very expensive and will only have a partial impact.  Here are some other cost-effective ideas that you may want to try before replacing your windows.  We used these ideas in our own home.

1. One of the most effective ways to cool a home is with an attic fan/vent.  Solar-powered ones are available that do not require an electrical hook-up.  You will want to have it installed by a reputable roofer because it does require going through the roof and you don't want to create any leaks.  We recommend Saber Roofing at 368-9220.
2. Check your attic insulation — consider doubling it, whatever it is.  You can use blow-in insulation if you have access problems.  This makes a huge difference.
3. For cooling: install ceiling fans in your rooms, especially upstairs.
4. Add landscaping (hedges, trees) in front of west- or south-facing windows.  This is a surprisingly effective insulating technique and works for both heating and cooling.  The hedge or tree does not need to be directly against the house — it can be a few feet away, so that you can still look out your window.
5. Add window shades to your existing windows.  We bought a bunch of the spring-loaded white opaque ones that roll down and then you tug to roll them up.  We installed them on all of our upstairs windows.  They are easy to adjust for the size of the window, are very cheap, and you can install them yourself.  Get the heaviest ones you can find, sometimes they are called sleep shades because they block out the light.  I think that we got ours at Target, but I'm sure they are available in many department stores that carry window coverings or drapes.  In the winter you need to remember to keep them down at night to keep heat in, and then open them during the day to let the sun in.  In the summer, you do the opposite — keep them down during the day to shield the room from the hot sun and open them at night to let coolness in.

We'll take your questions one by one:

1. Costs vary from $250 to $500 per square foot due to a lot of factors including: location (City, distance from suppliers), site factors (slope, soil, vegetation, access), design complexity (details and finish materials), remodeling (varies by room type) or new construction, to name a few of the factors.
2. It depends on the original home condition and extent of remodeling needed.  Building from scratch can be less expensive per square foot, but is usually more expensive overall because you impact more square feet.  Most of the time remodeling is more cost-effective and a greener solution, especially when you are keeping the same foundation (footprint).  When the circumstances warrant, we might recommend tearing down the original house and starting over with a new design if the house is in very poor or unsafe condition.
3. Many factors come into play for the timing. Here are a couple of them.
   1. Jurisdiction: Redwood City is generally very good to work with, especially with remodels.  Building new in any city will trigger an architectural review and approval process, which slows things down quite a bit.  In some cities and San Mateo County, if you remodel more than 50% of the home, then the entire home has to be brought up to current code.
   2. Scope of work: A straightforward master bedroom addition take an average of 6 weeks for the design process (including one-stop City review).  Bathrooms and kitchens add complexity and time, due to the extra details and decisions necessary, such as cabinetry, appliances and fixtures.  An average remodel, including kitchen, etc., would normally take about 3 months.  Then the construction process, which obviously depends on the skill & experience of the contractor as well as the weather, can take 6-9 months or more.
4. We have over 25 years of residential experience at our firm, and have local references.  If you are going to the effort and expense to create a home that is unique to your needs and lifestyle, you should contact us for a free, no obligation 1-hour consultation.
5. We know licensed contractors that have done many of our projects that we can recommend.

Thanks for your question Monica.

Dear Nicole,

It is interesting that you raise the issue of "character", which is one of the nice things about living in an older home.  An experienced architect will retain the charm and character of an older home, while modernizing it to suit your needs.  The "remuddled" look (great word!) from previous work done on the house is what happens when there was no licensed architect was involved, and the "designer" was inexperienced.  Since a home is often a family's biggest asset, it makes good financial and aesthetic sense to use experienced professionals when you work on it.

We understand your situation and it is something that we deal with quite often.  We need to take a look at your home in person in order to properly answer your question regarding cost.  We would be happy to come out for a no-obligation free one-hour consultation to look at your home, talk about the process, give you some initial ideas and discuss potential costs.

Thank you for visiting our website and using the "Ask an Architect" feature.