National Television Series Features Denver Custom Home Builder, West Standard

West Standard General Contractor, Brian Dotson (left)

West Standard's build of a Mid-Century Modern inspired home will be the subject of a national television series premiering in 2011. The home was designed by West Standard in close collaboration with our clients, Dave and Natalie Huff

West Standard General Contractor, Brian Dotson (right)

West Standard General Contractor, Brian Dotson (right)

The premise of the reality-based series is to document the process and challenges of custom home building, from initial design meetings through final construction. The documentary format will include footage of the design process, interviews with clients and design-builder, and commentary from the design-builder regarding major construction milestones. Additionally, all construction will be captured via time-lapse still photography. Our contractual agreement with the production company and television network prevents us from releasing the name of the series and network until the time of airing.

Each of the thirteen episodes will spotlight a different custom home design-builder. Participants range from smaller one-off firms to national builders, and home designs range from traditional to modern.

Huff Residence by Denver Custom Home Builder: West Standard

Huff Residence: Modern Home in East Washington Park

The first on-site filming session for the “Huff Residence episode” occurred in December, and focused on the process of pouring concrete foundation piers. Commentary on the technical aspects of this process was provided by West Standard general contractor, Brian Dotson.

The Huff Residence is currently under construction in the Central Denver neighborhood of East Washington Park. The popularity of this neighborhood stems from it's proximity to the 165 acre Washington Park, Downtown Denver, and the North Cherry Creek shopping district. The single-story modern home will be Energy Star rated, and consists of 2,000sf above grade, and 1,000sf below. The home demonstrates a common sense approach to sustainable design through the use of smarter smaller spaces, high efficiency mechanical services and fixtures, and xeriscaping.

West Standard is a Denver, Colorado based architecture firm and custom home builder creating modern sustainable experiences. More information may be found at: www.WestStandard.com

Concrete Pier Foundation Completed for Modern Home in Denver's Washington Park

drilling hole for concrete pier foundation by West Standard

pouring concrete for foundation pier by West Standard

completed concrete foundation pier by West Standard

concrete forms by West Standard

completed concrete pier foundation by West Standard

Foundation work has been completed on the Huff Residence, a Mid-Century Modern inspired home in Denver's Washington Park. Due to the site's high water table and somewhat unstable soil, a pier system was employed to support the entire foundation. Although mostly buried, the piers in this application serve the same purpose as the stilts of a beach house.

Given the site's challenging geology, a typical foundation system was not sufficient to provide structural integrity. The pier system overcomes this condition by allowing the entire home to "float" above the soil, thus greatly reducing the possibility of damage from water and shifting soil.

Thirty-two concrete piers are the backbone of this foundation system. The piers are placed along the perimeter to support the foundation wall, and within the foundation's interior to provide additional support for the suspended concrete floors. The piers are created by: drilling approximately 8' into the bedrock, placing three reinforcing bars (rebar) in each of the holes while leaving the rebar extending several feet above top of pier; and, lastly, concrete is pumped into the hole. Voila: a pier.

Next, concrete forms are placed along the pier lines to define the foundation walls. The forms provide a cavity into which concrete will be pumped. Additionally, the forms maintain the shape of walls until the concrete cures. The rebar extending above top of pier serves to secure the foundation walls to the piers.

The next step will be to pour the suspended concrete floors. This system will help promote the homes clean modern aesthetic by allowing for an interior finish of stained concrete.

Photos (top-bottom): drilling a pier hole, pumping concrete into hole, a completed pier, foundation forms, completed foundation

West Standard Design Build is a, Denver based, architecture firm and custom home builder.
More information may be found at:
www.WestStandard.com

West Standard Breaks Ground on Washington Park Modern Home

West Standard team (L-R): Jonas DiCaprio, Marc Schulte, Brian Dotson, Derek Soule

West Standard is pleased to announce that ground has been broken for our client's new home. The site is located in Central Denver's Washington Park.

Moving some dirt to make way for the Huff's new home

The entire build is being filmed by a national television network for a new TV series premiering in 2011.

Our clients, Dave and Natalie Huff, breaking ground

Photos (top-bottom): West Standard team (L-R: Jonas DiCaprio-project manager/ designer, Marc Schulte-founder, Brian Dotson-general contractor, Derek Soule-architect), Dave and Natalie Huff breaking ground, excavation, client toast

Photos (except "excavation") courtesy of Zach Zorn:
www.zornphoto.com

Dave and Natalie Huff celebrating the ground breaking of their new Washington Park home

Denver Custom Home Builder to Begin Construction in Washington Park

Washington Park Custom Home By West Standard Design Build - Rear View

Washington Park Custom Home By West Standard Design Build - Front View

Denver custom home builder and architecture firm, West

Washington Park Custom Home By West Standard Design Build - Street View

Standard Design Build, is poised to begin construction of our clients Mid-Century Modern inspired home. The custom home will be constructed in Denver's East Washington Park on a 6,300sf lot.

This single story home offers: 2000sf above grade, 1000sf garden level with walk-out, 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, and 2 car garage. A prominent feature of the home is the 400sf central courtyard which opens to the kitchen and living area via a pair of 15' "accordion style" doors.

Construction is scheduled to begin next week, with an expected completion date of June, 2011.

More information on West Standard Design Build can be found at:

www.WestStandard.com

Great $99 Real Estate Signs in Denver, Colorado

This is an unsolicited review, and we have no stake company being reviewed.

After discovering a great local business it is only right to tell others about it. Today it is very difficult to find a quality product and good customer service offered at a great price, but this is exactly what Complete Signs of Denver, Colorado provides. Our company has ordered several real estate yards signs from Complete signs, and obviously we are very satisfied with the experience.

Our signs were printed on a material called Dibond which consists of two pre-painted sheets of .012" aluminum with a solid polyethylene core. This product gives a brilliant finish, is fairly light-weight, and is extremely rigid.

Complete Signs price for a full color 36" x 36" Dibond sign is $99.00, and there is a one time set-up fee of $19.00. A 1" thick, 36" x 36" angle iron yard arm frame is priced at $28.00. Note: the yard arm shown in these images is not the style offered by Complete Signs.

Complete Signs is located at the north-east corner of the intersection of Chambers Road and Alameda Avenue in Denver, Colorado. You can find their contact information at:

www.yourcompletesigns.com