Research and Development

Josh Architects is a firm that prides itself on doing things better than others and better than the way we did it last time. We learn by doing and adjusting. The more things we try, the more things we learn. Many of the materials and systems we use on projects (and the way we use them) have been developed by our experimenting.

By doing small projects like a shed, a deck, or rebuilding a stair, we have the opportunity to use materials in unique ways and to understand better ways of working with them. We gain a better understanding of their limitations, and most importantly, we learn how to communicate with the tradesmen on the jobsite. This is invaluable.

In some cases, we are not doing anything new or mind blowing - we are simply just learning how things work. This helps us to help our builders. It only makes sense that the person designing something should know how to build it too. Architects generally don’t have this level of understanding.

By researching materials and working with them, we are developing better ways to arrive at a better end product. The job of the architect is all about communicating construction goals to builders. If we understand construction (by doing it), we can communicate it better. This enables us to innovate along the way as we discover new approaches, new uses of materials, and new ways for our builders to sequence and implement their work. Hands on discovery is what separates us from the pack and is what makes us the best architects.

Prazi Stringer

After designing an exposed 6x12 stair stringer, we realized that a circular saw blade cannot make it all the way through the material, and it would over cut the corners. A handsaw blade could be used to finish a cut, but even that proved to be problematic because the saw blade bends too much to stay where it’s supposed to be. A planer and belt sander could not fit in the inside corners, and an orbital sander doesn’t necessarily keep things perfectly flat - which is a key trait for a stair. We discovered a tool called a Prazi which is commonly used in building barns where cutting large beams is common. The Prazi is essentially a chain saw that attaches to a circular saw. It enables a perfectly plumb cut without over cutting the corners. It is a chainsaw, so it results in a rough cut, but it’s square and plumb. Sanding brings it to where it needs to be. The time this tool saves is incredible. Not only does it save time in labor, but it even saves time in measuring since you don’t need to mark lines on all sides of the piece to be cut. This saves time, and that saves money. This enables us to do more interesting stair details in situations where we often could not. It opens up many possibilities - including nice post to beam details where builders would otherwise be unwilling to do it. This level of involvement in the practices of construction gives the architect more clout with the builder, and this enables the whole job to go smoother.

Steel Window Well

When designing a bedroom within a basement, it is required to have a proper egress window, and that commonly requires a window well to enable an underground window to get access above ground. Most commonly, builders pour concrete walls to retain the earth from falling into the window well. This is very time intensive, expensive, and not commonly practical since many window wells are within the side setback and deep holes near a properly line can be problematic since it can disturb the neighbors property. With some of the experimenting with steel that we have done, we have realized that steel plates can be welded into a 3-sided “box” that can be dropped into a hole quickly, and the dirt can be back filled against them in a matter of minutes. Because the steel is only 1/4” thick, this saves space to prevent the issues explained above. Some builders commonly use a corrugated aluminum product for this purpose, but those products are limited in size and won’t work with every window size needed. The steel plate solution accommodates any size window, and it also looks much better.

Azek Furring Strip

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Entry Meter

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Cardinal Glass

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