Out for a while longer! Still here.

 

Well, once again it's been a while.  Quite a while. Been busy with a few things.  Welding, getting into corporate architecture for a while, working at a cool place called Architectural Castings where I got to geek out on 3D geometry with AutoCAD while coordinating with structural engineers on the sides of skyscrapers to produce and help install replacement blocks for deteriorating terra cotta blocks on historic buildings.  Also did some fire escape drawings for an engineer friend of mine all along the way.

Recently got back in the saddle with my own architectural practice and things are going great.  Feeling comfortably whelmed with work.  Here are a few projects that came to fruition since the last post...

McHugh Patio Room

Terhune Sunroom                                                

   

Webber Residence

Casa Diablo Nightclub Tower Addition

Lake Cabin Remodel                                           

Bennett Residence Additions

Dart Creek House

So I've been pretty busy.  Throw in there fighting cancer through all of 2017, My rental property on St. Thomas enduring two hurricanes a week apart, Irma and Maria, and a whole hose of other life trials, and it's been a pretty exciting six years!  Now I'm doing chemo again having a recurrence of the cancer in my liver, pandemic, rioting in the streets.  It's all good!  I started a local community all-volunteer big band and have got me and the boys involved with fencing with a local club I discovered here at the Scappoose High School.

Be happy everyone!

Out for a while, now I'm back.

Life has certainly been interesting over the last 8 months.

The architecture business has been very slow.  So slow that I had enough time (and so little money coming in) that getting a job was a possibility (lo necessity).

Having been enrolled in the Portland Community College Welding Technology Program for the last two years, and trained in GTAW (TIG welding) with Aluminum, Stainless Steel and Mild Steel last spring, I sought out and found a job using that process in July.  I worked at a custom metal fabrication shop putting together stainless steel commercial countertops and various other things such as display items for retail stores.  Due to the low rate of pay coupled with architectural work appearing on the horizon, I quit in January.  But not after getting a lot of experience in both Stainless and Mild Steel fabrication and finishing.

My last quarter in the Associates of Welding Technology program ends in March and as my capstone project I am developing a number of downspout fountains and creating the web infrastructure to sell them on line.  Metal sculpture and design and fabrication is a long desired facet of Drumheller Design Studios which is coming into being.

More as news happens.

The Terhune Addition is nearly complete!

The addition the Terhunes of St. Helens have embarked on so their mother, Rose, can age in place is nearly complete!  It would appear that this aging in place concept is a growth industry.  With baby-boomers coming of post-retirement age and in such vast numbers, we are preparing to do a lot more of this kind of work.  Recent study into universal design for people of all ages and abilities has increased our working knowledge of performing architectural services for this special type of client here in Columbia County including Scappoose and St. Helens.  Or anywhere in Oregon, Washington and California for that matter.



Exterior Siding Installed



Plywood Sheathing and Windows

Terhune Addition Progress Pix

Things have been moving along smoothly at the Terhune Residence all this month...



Formwork off, floor framing in.

Bay window foundation.

Wall framing.

Framed in, roof on.

Ground Broken at Terhune Addition

Excavation.



Forms installed.




Foundations complete!

Terhune Residence Addition

The Terhune's of St. Helens, Oregon are adding a bedroom and bathroom to their house and converting an existing bedroom into a sitting room to create a suite for their elderly mother who will be moving from the midwest to live with them. 

This is a trend which I'm sure we will see more and more of as parents of adult children leave the work force, wind down their retirements, and begin to need additional care.  It is economically advantageous for families, and sees a return to the extended-family living at home, which has many other sociological advantages.

While the togetherness of the family is a nice concept, it was important to the clients that they be able to maintain independence and autonomy to whatever extent is desired.  Toward these ends, a kitchenette will be installed in the sitting room, and the suite's climate control will be on its own mini-split system.

The sitting room will have a new bay window to bring more light into the room and provide visual connectivity to the out-of-doors.  A high, near-clerestory window will illuminate the accessible bathroom.

Below are images of the existing house and a quick sketchup model we developed to show the clients how the project will look in three dimensions.  In most cases, we try to add to a house so it looks as though the addition were part of the original design by using the same materials and positioning the elements and paying attention to details in such a way that it grows organically from the original structure.  Approaching even the smallest of projects with a design methodology is one of the many ways Drumheller Design Studios brings Architecture with a capital 'A' to the table to add value for our clients.












Builder Jeff Spang of Portrait Homes Northwest was awarded the contract and the building permit should clear the building department next week.  This blog intends to follow the course of construction.  You can check out Jeff's work at www.portraithomesnorthwest.com

The Studios Go Mobile!

One of the things we learned about in D.C. at the Google event was how to use DudaMobile to convert our website to mobile and tablet format so it looks good on smartphones and tablets.

Check us out!

Photo with Senator Merkley

Yep!  There we are, lobbying in D.C. with Senator Merkley.  We also met his wife and staff.  All very nice and real people. 

I let them know that despite what Google is doing for small businesses by helping give us an on-line presence, it is really our representatives' work in the other Washington which will make the difference in the long run.   Priority A-1: Retaining American Jobs!

America Get Your Business Online Ambassador's Summit

We just got back from an incredible three-day trip in Washington D.C.  Because of our participation with Googles GYBO 'poster child' exercise, they treated us, along with one other company from each state, to an 'America Get Your Business Online Ambassador's Summit'.  There we attended a GYBO 'Bootcamp' which helped us hone and refine our websites and online marketing strategies, were given a tour of Washington D.C., and were introduced to our state Senators, Representatives and their staff.  Google's Wendy Gonzalez and the whole Google team were awesome, very organized, and a good time was had by all. Here are some photos from the trip...

Google's amazing Wendy Gonzalez

Attending the 'Bootcamp'

Valentine's day at the Capitol

The group at the Lincoln Memorial

Visits with Senators and Staff

Meeting with the Small Business Commission

 

Google 'Oregon Get Your Business Online' poster child!!!

Hey!  It really happened!  It took a while, but there we are serving as Oregon's example of how Google can help businesses succeed!  Check us out at http://www.gybo.com/oregon.

Google 'Oregon Get Your Business Online' poster child?

Because I took advantage of their free seminars last spring, we received a call form Google's "America Get Your Business Online" department and we may be Oregon's web-poster-child for "Oregon Get Your Business Online"  They sent out a photographer last week.  Jeff Walls, a very cool guy and super photographer http://www.jeffwalls.com/.  He took pictures of our crack team of design professionals and the mobile office unit.

Hey everyone!  We've got a real website now, so check us out at....

www.ColumbiaCountyArchitect.com

First Post

Drumheller Design Studios, Architecture and Interiors, LLC is a full-service architecture and interior design firm which combines the architectural design talents of H. Weston Drumheller and Thomas M. Houha, with the interior design talents of Snjezana Drumheller to provide our clients with high-quality, personalized, residential and commercial design services.

We believe that our clients have a vision of what they want to create, and it is our job to facilitate bringing that vision into reality. In so doing, we listen closely to you to ascertain your needs and goals, collaborate effectively with our team of hand-picked and time-tried consultants, and work diligently with building contractors during construction. It is the combination of accurately assessing client goals, effectively working as a team, and representing the client’s needs during construction that make for successful projects.

Tom and I have over a half century of architectural experience between the two of us and have been working together on residential and commercial projects for over a decade. Snjezana apprenticed under nationally acclaimed award-winning interior designer James Taylor Roberts at Taylor Roberts, Inc. where she worked for over eight years. The firm is limited to just we three and we keep our projects at a number where a high level of personal attention and response time can be maintained for each.  Clients like this because of the level of quality that can be attained along with the ability for us to respond to issues immediately when they come up, espeically durring the permitting or construction phases.

Our design methodology focuses on quality, comfort, and energy conservation. Using principals of passive solar design, providing ample insulation, and utilizing new technologies in building materials and heating systems, we craft residential and commercial designs which not only save money, but are also more comfortable and healthy for our clients and their users.

Thank you for making the opportunity to review our firm.  Please feel free to call with any questions you may have, to arrange a meeting to review additional portfolio materials, or to discuss a project that you have in mind.

Truly,

H. Weston Drumheller

Phone:  (503) 396-8353
e-Mail:  hwestond@yahoo.com