Category Archives: tips

Wind Energy and Green Homes training (Tues Tip)

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solar center logoThe NC Solar Center (at NC State University) is hosting two week-long courses October 11-15 in Raleigh.

The first course is Renewable Electric Generation with Small Wind.  This workshop focuses on residential wind energy, but also touches on general concepts of electric generation with wind turbines. Utility and community scale wind facilities will be discussed.  At the end of the week, the class will take-down and install a Skystream 3.7 residential wind turbine. Credits: AIA, PDHs, GBCI CEs.

The second course is entitled Designing and Building a Sustainable Home or Small Building .  This workshop (part of the Green Building Diploma Series) covers integrated design concepts, green building programs, materials selection, building envelope, passive solar, and ventilation and indoor air quality.  

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Know of a seminar, workshop, or other training for construction professionals in North Carolina?  Drop me a line!

Timing can be everything (Tues Tip)

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alarm clockIt is always easiest, cheapest, and surest to deal with legal issues right away.   Problems ignored are problems amplified.  A recent North Carolina Court of Appeals cases prove the point:

In the recent NC Court of Appeals case Meier v. City of Charlotte (Aug. 17th, 2010), the Court held that a zoning administrator’s determination could not be appealed because the plaintiff failed to appeal within the 30 days provided by law and, therefore the Board of Adjustment no longer had jurisdiction to hear the appeal.  The petitioners are left to live next to an (allegedly) 50 foot tall house.

This case demonstrates that timeliness is crucial to your case when dealing with the courts.  Don’t delay if you think you have a cause of action, because delay could mean you lose before your case even gets out of the gate.

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Photo “Alarm Clock”  by Freefoto.com via Creative Commons License.

Want a peek into some beautiful homes? (Tues Tip)

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 magnifying glassThere are several home tours coming up in the Triangle in the next several weeks, so get out your calendar and make plans to check one or more of them out.  Stunning architecture is promised.  Who can resist taking a peek?

First up, the 14th annual Triangle Modernist Houses Tour  “Exceptional Modernist Houses from the 1950’s to today”.  The TMH tour is Saturday, September 25th in Raleigh.  [Did you know: the Triangle area of North Carolina has the third largest concentration of modernist houses in America?].

Next up, the first ever AIA Homes Tour on the East Coast, the AIA Triangle Homes Tour is scheduled for October 2nd. The homes featured are all the result of the collaboration between an architect and homeowner.  Each home was designed with the specific needs of the homeowner in mind, integrating the family’s personality, preferences and lifestyle, and illustrates the range of projects, styles and budgets that architects work with.

Finally, the annual Home Builders Association of Raleigh – Wake County Parade of Homes is scheduled for Oct. 2-3, Oct. 8-10, and Oct. 15-17.  Details on home specifics will be forthcoming, so keep a watch on their website.

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Photo “Eye See You” by Cayusa via Flickr/Creative Commons License.

My 15 minutes of fame! (Twitter Transcript)

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megaphoneAs I mentioned earlier in the week, I had a real time twitter interview  with @22 Tweets.

Before you think I lack any knowledge of how to craft a sentence, keep in mind the 140 character limitation of the Twitter world!.

For any of my legal tweeting friends, if you haven’t done so, you should get on Lance’s schedule for your own interview.  It’s not painful– I promise!

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Photo “This is not a social media megaphone” by altemark via Flickr/Creative Commons License.

Review your Deed Before you Build (Tue Tip)

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(Or, Reason # 529 why you need a lawyer)

A recent North Carolina case shows why you really need to consult with a lawyer before you build.  Deed of TrustIn the swanky Myers Park section of Charlotte, setback requirements were contained within property deeds, a hold over from the pre-zoning days of the early 20th century.   A $500,000 addition to a residence was built that violated the setback, and the Court of Appeals held that the neighbors were not enjoined from suing to force compliance even though they waited over two months (during which construction was substantially completed) to bring suit.

 The case is Irby v. Freese.  Of note, the homeowners built the addition without benefit of an attorney or architect, so the deed restriction was not noticed.

The Court of Appeals was only addressing the issue of undue delay in bringing the lawsuit, because a two month delay occurred during which significant sums were spent by the homeowners to dry in the building.  The Court held that, under the specific facts of the case, a two month delay was not fatal to the claim.  Stay tuned for further details, as the case is far from over.  It has been remanded to the trial court for a full trial.

And, be glad that this isn’t you.  This could prove to be a very costly mistake, in which the entire addition may have to be demolished because of the violation of the setback requirement contained in the property deed.

Read your deed.  Read your covenants. When in doubt, hire real estate counsel before you pick up the shovel.

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Photo “February 5, 2010- Paperwork” via Caitlin Childs via Flickr- Creative Commons license.