I know there are guys around who do that kind of work but it really isn't practical unless your doing a top notch restoration project. I've never had the occassion to do one. The reason is New England is Oil Dependant as far as heat goes, and yep Oil these days cost alot of money,
I spend my time these days figuring out how to hang box windows on the side of houses. I mean big box windows. 17' x5' x 2'-4". Spent a whole day wrestling with that one.
I'm pretty sure they make bird-shaped window clings. Then again, I said I'd be hocking steel windows when they're probably made of aluminium or something. I guess I have lots to learn!
Will, one thing I know about Sarah H is that she's extremely crafty and creative. She can figure out which tiny dinosaur is ideal for the job.
Sarah, steel windows are used for fire rated exterior assemblies (rare, think NYC and two skyscrapers being a foot away from each other) or ballistic and blast resistant assemblies (think muslem terrorists). Considering the later, and the fact that you are in Texas, your entire line of window products might as well be made out of steel. Or it should be. Fear sells.
Wow, Rusty. I would ask how you know so much about these things, but given your name, you should be an authority on all things steel, I suppose.
As for their decor, I think I'll go with those creepy dinos from Jurasic Park 2; you know, the ones that pretended to be all cute and curious, and then swarm you Amazonian ants.... Do you think that would count?
Nam, my husband hasn't had a day off from the shop in four weeks. He's feeling the pressure, as am I. Sorry you're in the same boat - it's exhausting.
snook, my window is for the big tree concession stand at the Museum. The kiosk isn't air conditioned and has lots of natural ventilation, so we're going with single pane glass and no weatherstripping - this all makes it much easier.
RE: birds on windows….kind of: I need to figure out how to embed/apply leaves from the tree to the window glass (you can see little specks on the window in the rendering below - next to the green words). I have the leaves pressed in my house, but can only come up with two ways to do it:
1. Sandwich leaves between two panes of 1/8" glass, but how do I get them to stay? or
2. Adhere the leaves to the back of a 1/4" piece of glass with an adhesive film, but will the film go yellow in a few years?
Will either of these solutions become a colorful mold colony?!
we use steel sashes in response to fire code here as well, or aluminum. wood is pretty much verbotten for windows in the tokyo city centre.
@donna, my old office we would press washi (paper) in between two sheets of glass to make windbreaks in high-ish rise housing schemes. first time i did that was more than 15 years ago and they still look like new even though totally exposed to sun and rain and wind pressure flexing and cetera. i am guessing a film would work the best to hold the leaves in place between the glass sheets. rusty maybe knows which kind has staying power and refrains from turning yellow....
We live in a house with steel sash casement windows...and interior storm windows. Oh how I love to take out the storm windows and every liveable room has a 6'x 4' window along with an a smaller casement window. The only thing I'm not crazy about is changing out the panes of glass. Cause it is a pain. It is something I get to do every year cause they are always cracking....and I don't think it is failure because of age.
The trick to applying window film is to squirt the glass with windex (or eq.), apply the film, then squeegee it down to remove the bubbles. this works the same for vinyl films on other surfaces too..
Out in the garden for the 5th time this spring, some critter ate my tomato seedlings!!!! I'm caving and gonna go buy some tomato plants from the garden center later today. Good news is that the pumpkins have sprouted, though still waiting on the replanted honeydews (which also got munched)...
I am in a time crunch to invest in a new computer & software for my new biz, if I want to take advantage of a certain great discount that will expire in about a month. I don't want to buy anything though until I have 1) set up the official legal entity of the biz (still researching, leaning toward LLC) and 2) consulted an accountant as to appropriate expenses, etc. I feel like I don't know anything about these two things and am trying to bring myself up to speed as quickly as possible. Where does one turn to learn about such things? How does one identify a good accountant? I have never used one before & have no idea what to look for. Eek!
manta, can you call any of the small firms you worked for in your current city and ask them who they used? Or any of your co-workers whose spouses or friends have small businesses? Word of mouth is the best way, honestly, to get someone reputable.
I do know that in Indiana the State has been pushing for it to be LAWYERS who set up business entities, not accountants. Or rather, the lawyers have been pushing this idea themselves, but at the moment it is still legal for an accountant to set up your corporation or even for you to do it on your own.Your secretary of state website probably has a decent small business page that describes some of the process, yes?
If you need to move very quickly, you might be able to file a business name only - in Philly that cost $25 and was good for perpetuity, ah, Philly…so it's not a corporation, just a business entity name, that can later be converted to a corporation with all the legal ramifications. In Indy you can't set up a business bank account unless you have a corporate ID number, so that means going through the whole process (I think it cost a few hundred bucks but it took several months to get registered as an architecture firm - it's a separate professional corporation category). Here in Indy I just operated as a sole prop for a few years before becoming a corporation, with my personal and business banking account all as one, and had no issues at all, but that may be because I have a good accountant who knew how to file taxes for me! he's not cheap - I spend about $1,000 a year on him all told, but so, so worth it.
I just got some terrible news from a very dear friend of mine (not a 'necter). I'm very sad and reminded how fleeting happiness is. Hold the ones you love, everyone.
hi all... i'm still alive... just back from a week in florida taking care of family estate stuff after the passing of my grandfather...
manta, check to see if your city has a small business assistance center... there was one in both tampa and st. petersburg back in florida and i had a friend that used their services... they provided free advice on setting up all of the formalities of a small business, including setting you up with any special programs offered by the city... some universities might also have something similar (the program in tampa was actually a partnership between the city and usf)
as far as references go, you might check with your local aia chapter... often there will be accountants/lawyers/insurance agents that are allied members who specialize in working with architects...
weird honeycomb crystalline structure made of prefab units - apparently the apartments did't work very well and the inhabitants have had to make significant alterations. This architect has had some interesting projects...
Weird. My grandfather died on the second, seven years to the day after my grandmother. And his only remaining sibling died on the 5th. Very surreal.
I start my new job tomorrow. Fingers crossed!
2) consulted an accountant as to appropriate expenses, etc.
It really depends on the accountant to be honest. You may need to specifically look at getting the opinion of a financial adviser or a business management consultancy as far as constructing a business model and strategy. Most of the accountants I've done business with look at what you can and can't do within tax and legal context— e.g., qualifying business expenses, investment income et cetera.
I'd lean more towards an LLC because it's very much like a sole proprietorship with little paperwork, once a year taxes and you pay taxes through your personal 1040. You do pay the flat 15.3% FICA taxes but the tax difference is negligible.
Unless you make fistfuls of cash, an S-Corp won't save you money and here's why:
There's at least 9 forms that have to be filled annually and you have to pay taxes quarterly. If you hire an accountant, here's a run down of how much you'll be paying.
1-3 billable hours monthly to enter in your income and expenses = 12-36 hours annually
1-3 billable hours quarterly to file your taxes = 4-12 hours annually
1-3 billable hours per form filled annually = 9-27 hours annually
1-3 billable hours per quarter for reconciliation = 4-12 hours annually
3 billiable hours for bonus tasks like 1099s quarterly = 12 hours annually
So, anywhere from 41 to 99 hours annually for an accountant.
That brings us to a range of about $4,000 to $10,000 a year.
Let's say if you bring home $50,000 a year net profit...
Under an LLC, you'd have to pay 10.4% on that $50,000 = $5,200
Under an S-Corp, you can pay yourself a salary of $35,000 with a non FICA-taxable bonus of $15,000 giving you a total tax bill of = $3,640
Unfortunately, the tax savings of $1,560 is not offset by the enormous amount of money you'll have to pay an accountant to manage an S-Corporation.
I researched the break even point for someone until the old FICA tax rate of 15.3%, the amount of income necessary for the tax break versus the cost of an accountant doesn't really kick in until you have profits upwards of $155,000 to $170,000 annually. Then, of course, if you want to save money, you're going to look at how much time you'll be doing your own paperwork versus the amount of time you could be billing out hours.
And some states, like New York, treat S-Corps as C-Corps and there really is no legitimate reason to have an S-Corp unless you're hit by franchise and corporate income taxes in situations where one has a high-profit. low-revenue business or a low-profit, high-revenue business; e.g. architecture is typically a low-profit, high-revenue business and that's why so many firms in California and New York are LLCs.
I'd personally recommend an LLC until you're big enough to have employees.
Um, toaster? Something very, very odd happens to my computer screen when I click on your Wikimedia link above. These pics are great, bring 'em on, but what the?!
OK, so now I just get a small box saying this image could not be loaded. Previously I got a medium box that warp-speed shrunk down to a tiny black dot in the middle of my screen. Weird!
Ugh, I got 2 of the 15 things on my list today done. Ridiculous.
donna, just a link to the wikipedia page - nothing that interesting.
so... NY 1 guy has moved to williamsburg. and he's looking for ideas to spruce up the outside of his house! anyway - this article gave me pause, not just for the celebrity fluff story, but for this housing type. it's a row-house with a garden in back - low to mid-scaled leafy neighborhood - walk to transit and services... something you don't really see much of outside of new urbanist crap - and counter to what real-estate people are pushing again (i.e. apartments in high-rise buildings with about 10 bathrooms per unit - even if it's a studio, it has to have at least 7 or 8 bathrooms).
Just had my first day of work. Seems it could be fun. I did learn that we make / sell wood windows with chains and weights, so whoever was looking for those, call me.
Sarah, I was looking for historic wood window parts to make a single window, but it has to be local craftsman made, not purchased, because it's part of an art project.
Donna, if it would help, we can make windows from wood you send us. We just did all teak windows for a guy who sells teak. He provided the wood, and we made them. Of course, if you've got it figured out already, that's fine too. Just trying to help if I can.
We were at job sites all day. I wore the wrong shoes. Figures.
new job sounds fun sarah. though maybe a bugger window in the office would be better ;-)
@ donna, i get it. nice concept.
i am in same boat as you re time. too much volunteer activity and too much work even with staff to make it easier. somehow it all gets done but not because of my time planning. i suspect magic or strange physics...
Hey Donna, I just read that the Dallas Museumof Art has placed Maxwell Anderson as director. What are your thought on him and his wife? Do you have any?
Sarah i was wondering why you asked and then read that he was "the Melvin & Bren Simon Director and CEO of the Indianapolis Museum of Art in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA."
Maxwell Anderson is fucking awesome in every way and his wife is a gorgeous Texan gal. It will be worth your while to check out the society pages after Museum events to see what she wore! I miss them both, as does our entire city, but her family is in Texas so it made sense for them to leave us :-(
Found out that there were just 10 proposals for the 7 spots to be funded for the grant that I submitted on monday. I like those odds! Happy weekend TC!
As to physics - I'm trying to figure a way to cross into the multiverse (even if this means living in the 11 dimensions).
How I Spent My Mother's Day: six hours of drafting a kitchen to be followed by three hours of hand drawing layout ideas for another one. Interspersed with making lots of angry comments on the internet. Too bad it's such a beautiful day out!
my kids made breakfast for their mom yesterday, then gave her cards they made, and at night each sang a song they composed. my oldest is learning guitar now so she thought it would be fun to write something. surprisingly smart lyrics and even a bit of a hook thrown into the chord progression. kids continue to amaze the heck outa me. my wife had a great day, but only because the kids took care of it all.
To make up for working all day yesterday I spent 35 minutes this afternoon buying myself a new pair of summer shoes. Now, sadly, I have to face the reality of the anchor bolts being in the wrong place. This will not be fun.
Thread Central
Donna,
I know there are guys around who do that kind of work but it really isn't practical unless your doing a top notch restoration project. I've never had the occassion to do one. The reason is New England is Oil Dependant as far as heat goes, and yep Oil these days cost alot of money,
I spend my time these days figuring out how to hang box windows on the side of houses. I mean big box windows. 17' x5' x 2'-4". Spent a whole day wrestling with that one.
that's really great sarah!
can it be any bird, or is there a particular bird you have in mind rusty?
I'm pretty sure they make bird-shaped window clings. Then again, I said I'd be hocking steel windows when they're probably made of aluminium or something. I guess I have lots to learn!
Will, one thing I know about Sarah H is that she's extremely crafty and creative. She can figure out which tiny dinosaur is ideal for the job.
Sarah, steel windows are used for fire rated exterior assemblies (rare, think NYC and two skyscrapers being a foot away from each other) or ballistic and blast resistant assemblies (think muslem terrorists). Considering the later, and the fact that you are in Texas, your entire line of window products might as well be made out of steel. Or it should be. Fear sells.
Wow, Rusty. I would ask how you know so much about these things, but given your name, you should be an authority on all things steel, I suppose.
As for their decor, I think I'll go with those creepy dinos from Jurasic Park 2; you know, the ones that pretended to be all cute and curious, and then swarm you Amazonian ants.... Do you think that would count?
"put a bird on it" I think was a reference to perhaps, both the Portlandia meme and Sarah's craft filled posts on her blog....
morning all. Anyone else going to be working their 3rd Sat in a row this weekend? TGIF!
Nam, my husband hasn't had a day off from the shop in four weeks. He's feeling the pressure, as am I. Sorry you're in the same boat - it's exhausting.
snook, my window is for the big tree concession stand at the Museum. The kiosk isn't air conditioned and has lots of natural ventilation, so we're going with single pane glass and no weatherstripping - this all makes it much easier.
RE: birds on windows….kind of: I need to figure out how to embed/apply leaves from the tree to the window glass (you can see little specks on the window in the rendering below - next to the green words). I have the leaves pressed in my house, but can only come up with two ways to do it:
1. Sandwich leaves between two panes of 1/8" glass, but how do I get them to stay? or
2. Adhere the leaves to the back of a 1/4" piece of glass with an adhesive film, but will the film go yellow in a few years?
Will either of these solutions become a colorful mold colony?!
Donna, have I said how much I love the look and playfulness of that project, before.....
portlandia explains a lot.
we use steel sashes in response to fire code here as well, or aluminum. wood is pretty much verbotten for windows in the tokyo city centre.
@donna, my old office we would press washi (paper) in between two sheets of glass to make windbreaks in high-ish rise housing schemes. first time i did that was more than 15 years ago and they still look like new even though totally exposed to sun and rain and wind pressure flexing and cetera. i am guessing a film would work the best to hold the leaves in place between the glass sheets. rusty maybe knows which kind has staying power and refrains from turning yellow....
btw, agree with nam, really great project !
We live in a house with steel sash casement windows...and interior storm windows. Oh how I love to take out the storm windows and every liveable room has a 6'x 4' window along with an a smaller casement window. The only thing I'm not crazy about is changing out the panes of glass. Cause it is a pain. It is something I get to do every year cause they are always cracking....and I don't think it is failure because of age.
The trick to applying window film is to squirt the glass with windex (or eq.), apply the film, then squeegee it down to remove the bubbles. this works the same for vinyl films on other surfaces too..
Out in the garden for the 5th time this spring, some critter ate my tomato seedlings!!!! I'm caving and gonna go buy some tomato plants from the garden center later today. Good news is that the pumpkins have sprouted, though still waiting on the replanted honeydews (which also got munched)...
I am in a time crunch to invest in a new computer & software for my new biz, if I want to take advantage of a certain great discount that will expire in about a month. I don't want to buy anything though until I have 1) set up the official legal entity of the biz (still researching, leaning toward LLC) and 2) consulted an accountant as to appropriate expenses, etc. I feel like I don't know anything about these two things and am trying to bring myself up to speed as quickly as possible. Where does one turn to learn about such things? How does one identify a good accountant? I have never used one before & have no idea what to look for. Eek!
manta - I'd make your office a superPAC.
manta, can you call any of the small firms you worked for in your current city and ask them who they used? Or any of your co-workers whose spouses or friends have small businesses? Word of mouth is the best way, honestly, to get someone reputable.
I do know that in Indiana the State has been pushing for it to be LAWYERS who set up business entities, not accountants. Or rather, the lawyers have been pushing this idea themselves, but at the moment it is still legal for an accountant to set up your corporation or even for you to do it on your own.Your secretary of state website probably has a decent small business page that describes some of the process, yes?
If you need to move very quickly, you might be able to file a business name only - in Philly that cost $25 and was good for perpetuity, ah, Philly…so it's not a corporation, just a business entity name, that can later be converted to a corporation with all the legal ramifications. In Indy you can't set up a business bank account unless you have a corporate ID number, so that means going through the whole process (I think it cost a few hundred bucks but it took several months to get registered as an architecture firm - it's a separate professional corporation category). Here in Indy I just operated as a sole prop for a few years before becoming a corporation, with my personal and business banking account all as one, and had no issues at all, but that may be because I have a good accountant who knew how to file taxes for me! he's not cheap - I spend about $1,000 a year on him all told, but so, so worth it.
I just got some terrible news from a very dear friend of mine (not a 'necter). I'm very sad and reminded how fleeting happiness is. Hold the ones you love, everyone.
more seriously - agreed with donna - with accountants, make sure you get recommendations.
completely unrelated - interesting that france elected socialist Hollande - european countries tend to go conservative during downturns.
hi all... i'm still alive... just back from a week in florida taking care of family estate stuff after the passing of my grandfather... manta, check to see if your city has a small business assistance center... there was one in both tampa and st. petersburg back in florida and i had a friend that used their services... they provided free advice on setting up all of the formalities of a small business, including setting you up with any special programs offered by the city... some universities might also have something similar (the program in tampa was actually a partnership between the city and usf) as far as references go, you might check with your local aia chapter... often there will be accountants/lawyers/insurance agents that are allied members who specialize in working with architects...
Manta, you might consider an SCorp. More costly to set up but significant tax savings. Good luck!
manta,
Just don't become a John Edwards and take money from people with name
Bunny to take care of your Mrisesss..
stumbled across this today:
Zvi Hecker's Ramot Polin - 1972-1975
source: Wikimedia
weird honeycomb crystalline structure made of prefab units - apparently the apartments did't work very well and the inhabitants have had to make significant alterations. This architect has had some interesting projects...
Weird. My grandfather died on the second, seven years to the day after my grandmother. And his only remaining sibling died on the 5th. Very surreal. I start my new job tomorrow. Fingers crossed!
2) consulted an accountant as to appropriate expenses, etc.
It really depends on the accountant to be honest. You may need to specifically look at getting the opinion of a financial adviser or a business management consultancy as far as constructing a business model and strategy. Most of the accountants I've done business with look at what you can and can't do within tax and legal context— e.g., qualifying business expenses, investment income et cetera.
I'd lean more towards an LLC because it's very much like a sole proprietorship with little paperwork, once a year taxes and you pay taxes through your personal 1040. You do pay the flat 15.3% FICA taxes but the tax difference is negligible.
Unless you make fistfuls of cash, an S-Corp won't save you money and here's why:
There's at least 9 forms that have to be filled annually and you have to pay taxes quarterly. If you hire an accountant, here's a run down of how much you'll be paying.
1-3 billable hours monthly to enter in your income and expenses = 12-36 hours annually
1-3 billable hours quarterly to file your taxes = 4-12 hours annually
1-3 billable hours per form filled annually = 9-27 hours annually
1-3 billable hours per quarter for reconciliation = 4-12 hours annually
3 billiable hours for bonus tasks like 1099s quarterly = 12 hours annually
So, anywhere from 41 to 99 hours annually for an accountant.
That brings us to a range of about $4,000 to $10,000 a year.
Let's say if you bring home $50,000 a year net profit...
Under an LLC, you'd have to pay 10.4% on that $50,000 = $5,200
Under an S-Corp, you can pay yourself a salary of $35,000 with a non FICA-taxable bonus of $15,000 giving you a total tax bill of = $3,640
Unfortunately, the tax savings of $1,560 is not offset by the enormous amount of money you'll have to pay an accountant to manage an S-Corporation.
I researched the break even point for someone until the old FICA tax rate of 15.3%, the amount of income necessary for the tax break versus the cost of an accountant doesn't really kick in until you have profits upwards of $155,000 to $170,000 annually. Then, of course, if you want to save money, you're going to look at how much time you'll be doing your own paperwork versus the amount of time you could be billing out hours.
And some states, like New York, treat S-Corps as C-Corps and there really is no legitimate reason to have an S-Corp unless you're hit by franchise and corporate income taxes in situations where one has a high-profit. low-revenue business or a low-profit, high-revenue business; e.g. architecture is typically a low-profit, high-revenue business and that's why so many firms in California and New York are LLCs.
I'd personally recommend an LLC until you're big enough to have employees.
other works by hecker:
school that is supposed to be a giant sundial:
new apartment building in poland:
Um, toaster? Something very, very odd happens to my computer screen when I click on your Wikimedia link above. These pics are great, bring 'em on, but what the?!
oh yeah - wtf? that's weird.
J james, that doesn't match my experience with an s-corp. Best to consult a business consultant and ignore us internet peeps anyways!
OK, so now I just get a small box saying this image could not be loaded. Previously I got a medium box that warp-speed shrunk down to a tiny black dot in the middle of my screen. Weird!
Ugh, I got 2 of the 15 things on my list today done. Ridiculous.
donna, just a link to the wikipedia page - nothing that interesting.
so... NY 1 guy has moved to williamsburg. and he's looking for ideas to spruce up the outside of his house! anyway - this article gave me pause, not just for the celebrity fluff story, but for this housing type. it's a row-house with a garden in back - low to mid-scaled leafy neighborhood - walk to transit and services... something you don't really see much of outside of new urbanist crap - and counter to what real-estate people are pushing again (i.e. apartments in high-rise buildings with about 10 bathrooms per unit - even if it's a studio, it has to have at least 7 or 8 bathrooms).
Just had my first day of work. Seems it could be fun. I did learn that we make / sell wood windows with chains and weights, so whoever was looking for those, call me.
Oh, and Rusty, we do sell steel windows by crittall. So there.
Sarah, I was looking for historic wood window parts to make a single window, but it has to be local craftsman made, not purchased, because it's part of an art project.
art can't be off the shelf? or only this particular piece of art?
This particular piece of art. It's for the Chopstick tree - so everything has to be made of wood from the Chopstick tree!
I will never, ever catch up on all I have to get done right now.
Donna, why don't you hire an intern for part time?
I can't demand enough pay for myself to be able to afford to pay someone else too.
Donna, if it would help, we can make windows from wood you send us. We just did all teak windows for a guy who sells teak. He provided the wood, and we made them. Of course, if you've got it figured out already, that's fine too. Just trying to help if I can.
We were at job sites all day. I wore the wrong shoes. Figures.
new job sounds fun sarah. though maybe a bugger window in the office would be better ;-)
@ donna, i get it. nice concept.
i am in same boat as you re time. too much volunteer activity and too much work even with staff to make it easier. somehow it all gets done but not because of my time planning. i suspect magic or strange physics...
I have been looking for some "Strange Physics"....Feel about like a rubber band streched to its limits, but still having fun!
I'm that same rubber band lately, snook.
Hey Donna, I just read that the Dallas Museumof Art has placed Maxwell Anderson as director. What are your thought on him and his wife? Do you have any?
Sarah i was wondering why you asked and then read that he was "the Melvin & Bren Simon Director and CEO of the Indianapolis Museum of Art in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA."
They already got Wikipedia updated...
Maxwell Anderson is fucking awesome in every way and his wife is a gorgeous Texan gal. It will be worth your while to check out the society pages after Museum events to see what she wore! I miss them both, as does our entire city, but her family is in Texas so it made sense for them to leave us :-(
Donna, she just did a fashion spread in our local FD Luxe magazine. I read the exposé, and thats why I asked you.
Found out that there were just 10 proposals for the 7 spots to be funded for the grant that I submitted on monday. I like those odds! Happy weekend TC!
As to physics - I'm trying to figure a way to cross into the multiverse (even if this means living in the 11 dimensions).
Barry I feel like I'm Living in the 12th Dimension. Working a a design for a Curling Club.....yahoo....the Ultimate Sport!
Another one (almost) done!
The title of the poem is Our Street In Endless Circles.
Donna, is that a real photo? I am drunk(ish) , goodnight.
RIP Mr Shelby, designer of the Mustang in 1964.
How I Spent My Mother's Day: six hours of drafting a kitchen to be followed by three hours of hand drawing layout ideas for another one. Interspersed with making lots of angry comments on the internet. Too bad it's such a beautiful day out!
lol donna. happy mother's day.
my kids made breakfast for their mom yesterday, then gave her cards they made, and at night each sang a song they composed. my oldest is learning guitar now so she thought it would be fun to write something. surprisingly smart lyrics and even a bit of a hook thrown into the chord progression. kids continue to amaze the heck outa me. my wife had a great day, but only because the kids took care of it all.
To make up for working all day yesterday I spent 35 minutes this afternoon buying myself a new pair of summer shoes. Now, sadly, I have to face the reality of the anchor bolts being in the wrong place. This will not be fun.
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