southwestern design q&a

rustic chic

Spring brings a fresh start with unique roofing options, home design details, and eco-friendly fireplaces.
Edited by Alicia KelloggPhotograph by Kirk Gittings

This article first appeared in Spring 2008 Su Casa

Heavy metal
Q:We were in Colorado recently and saw corrugated roofs that were in different stages of rusting, and they looked great. We have a steel roof with baked-on color and are planning a remodel. What is the roofing material used that is rusted, and could we put that on the garage and then do something to take off the finish on the steel roof so it could rust like the new roof? —Chris Larson


A:Over the past five years rusted metal roofs, which grew fashionable in Telluride, Colorado, and surrounding areas, have become very popular, says Brian McPartlon, owner of Brian McPartlon Roofing in Santa Fe, whose company was named Roofing Contractor magazine’s 2007 Residential Contractor of the Year.

McPartlon says that you can get away with this rusted look in Southwestern climates, in areas with high elevations and low humidity, but you still face the possibility of the roof rusting through. He says it is not a good idea to install a rusted roof at sea level. And any roof, even with a protective treatment, will eventually rust as the finish ages, if it is not maintained, McPartlon says.

When choosing new roofing material for a rusted roof, McPartlon says to select bare corrugated metal (not galvanized). Use heavy-gauge metal if you plan to encourage rusting—a minimum of 24 gauge, preferably 22 gauge. Do not use Cor-ten steel because it does rust through, he adds.
You can let this bare metal rust by itself or apply a 10 percent solution of muriatic acid and water to the roof, which will take the finish off and rust the surface. You always run the risk of rusting through, McPartlon adds. Hire a licensed contractor—an inexperienced person should not expose him or herself to muriatic acid.

To add rust to an existing painted roof, first the paint must be removed. Once again, McPartlon advises hiring a painting contractor or experienced roofing contractor. Take a sample of the roofing material to a professional paint store and seek specific advice on products to remove the particular paint used on your roof, McPartlon says. (Sandblasting may be required to remove the color.) McPartlon warns that you risk damaging the roof when doing this type of project, and your roof warranty will not be valid if you remove its paint.

Once the existing roof is bare metal, it will rust on its own. To accelerate the rusting process, your contractor could apply a muriatic acid solution; however, McPartlon favors letting the roof rust naturally.

Colorado-based Recla Metals (reclametals. com) specializes in rusted roofing products. Fabral (fabral.com) is another metal roofing brand.

Advice from Brian McPartlon, Brian McPartlon Roofing

International appeal
Q:We bought a lot in Saladita, on the outskirts of Ixtapa, Mexico. We would like to find a modest three-level cement Mexican style design with the top level open to the elements or partially covered with a tiled roof. We would need the height to view the ocean. Can you help with a design or guide us to a site that has any three-level Mexican styled homes? —Patrick Briley, San Jose, California

A: Before delving into the design details of your future home, start by learning about your building site, according to Louisa Borowick, interiors consultant for Design Solutions of Santa Fe, which employs contractors, designers, architects, and interior designers and has experience with jobs outside of the United States. Sometimes people envision a home design that will not work on their lot, she explains.

Borowick recommends getting an accurate plot or survey, which will help you know what you can and can’t do with the design, as well as a soil report. When you purchase your lot, you should receive some of this information, Borowick says. You should be able to obtain records filed for the property at the local city or county office, for which you might pay a nominal fee, she adds. Check when the information was gathered—it should be fairly current, within the past five to ten years.

You also will need to acquire a copy of the local regulations and covenants, Borowick advises. This will tell you about height restrictions and other factors that determine what and where you can build.

In addition to the regulations associated with your site, you must consider factors such as where your windows will be oriented in relation to views. Is the property oceanfront? Beyond your own homesite, consider neighboring lots. Are there fences? Will your kitchen window face a rock wall or a neighbor’s bedroom? How much will you have to excavate? This programming and research is critical and should be investigated up-front, before beginning the design, Borowick says. This prevents creating a full set of drawings that turn out to be unsuitable for your site, she explains.

From here, you can explore the home’s design aesthetics and functionality. Consider your desired home style, and think about things like how many people are in your family. How much time will you be spending at the home? Is this a vacation house or a home for retirement? The answers to these questions can help shape the design.

Although predesigned home plans exist, they need to be modified to the building site, Borowick says. Even if you have prelaid plans, you will need a complete set of drawings that include factors such as the foundation plan. Restrictions will require things like stamped engineering drawings for structural or load-bearing elements and for foundation details, Borowick adds, noting that design firms usually handle aspects like working with an engineer.

Borowick advises choosing a design firm that has experience with foreign jobs. International projects involve converting drawings to metric and working with other languages, plus more subtle distinctions from projects within the United States. Some roles within the industry handle different job aspects in other parts of the world, making it important to ensure that responsibilities are clear to everyone involved, says Borowick.

While you can work with a U.S.-based home designer if your homesite is outside of the country, Borowick says you will want to hire a general contractor who lives in the country where you will be building and is knowledgeable of local codes.

Depending on your preferences, you can work with a designer who also builds, ask your designer to help you find a builder, or identify a builder yourself. Especially for a project located outside of the country where you live, if you have a good rapport with your future neighbors, Borowick suggests asking them for recommendations on builders and subcontractors. Find out who gets jobs done on time and on budget, as well as whom you should avoid.

Once the project is under way, Borowick notes that you would not have to be on-site throughout the building process when working with a competent contractor; however, it is valuable to be present during particular phases, such as detailing and material selection.

Advice from Louisa Borowick, Design Solutions of Santa Fe

Burning question
Q:In your Spring II issue (Vol. 13, No. 3), you have an article on Santa Fe style that includes a kiva fireplace that my wife and I love. We want to build in San Felipe, Mexico, and would like to incorporate a kiva fireplace. Is it possible to obtain some information to help us come up with a similar design? Is it a conventional or a Rumford design? —Jim Gray, San Diego, California

A:Architect Craig Gosling, AIA, of Builders West in Corrales, New Mexico, designed and built the home featured in Su Casa’s Spring II 2007 story “Rounding the curve.” According to Gosling, the kiva fireplaces in this home are not wood burners. In fact, Gosling does not build wood burners unless they are specifically ordered by the customer. “As a green builder, my mission is to reduce the carbon footprint of my homes, and I strongly discourage the use of wood burning throughout the Rio Grande valley, which stretches from Taos to Belen, New Mexico.”

While Gosling was in high school in Santa Fe in 1972, he says the air officially became polluted. Since then, the area’s population has grown dramatically, and Gosling explains that we should not further pollute the air, particularly with the winter inversions experienced here.

“As a result, all of my fireplaces are gas, a better heating source and a much better result for the air quality around us,” according to Gosling. “One only has to look at the air around La Paz to understand high-altitude air pollution. Look at Beijing for an additional example, and it only makes sense to take better care of Spaceship Earth so we can live and breathe in a healthy environment.”

Green Home of the Year award co-winner D. C. Durano of Durano Construction explains that he educates his clients about the environmental impact of home elements like woodstoves.

Durano’s award-winning home is certified at the Gold level by Build Green New Mexico, a program of the Home Builders Association of Central New Mexico. The program’s green-building guidelines, based on the National Association of Home Builders Model Green Home Building Guidelines, includes information about fireplaces within its Indoor Environmental Quality guiding principle.

Build Green New Mexico’s guidelines advise installing an efficient direct vent sealed combustion gas fireplace, a sealed wood-burning fireplace or woodstove, or not installing one at all. Noting that wood-burning fireplaces are only approximately 10 to 30 percent efficient, the guidelines point out that U.S. Environmental Protection Agency–certified woodstoves are more efficient, and certified stoves and gas appliances minimize outdoor air pollution.

Gosling suggests hiring an architect to design the shape of your fireplace and the rest of your home. “It is money very well spent.”

Advice from Craig Gosling, Builders West; and D. C. Durano, Durano
Construction

Expert contact info:
Heavy metal: Brian McPartlon, owner, Brian McPartlon Roofing, Santa Fe, 505/982-6256, brianmcpartlonroofing.com.
International appeal: Louisa Borowick, interiors consultant, Design Solutions of Santa Fe, Santa Fe, 505/989-3241, designsolutionsofsantafe.com.
Burning question: Craig Gosling, AIA,
president, Builders West, Corrales, New Mexico, 505/899-1198, builderswesthomes.com.
D. C. Durano, owner, Durano Construction, Albuquerque, 505/264-1341, duranoconstruction.com.