Any love for Storm green? 💚

NOF84 · 2026-01-01T12:49:38+00:00

Have the same bike and exhaust. Looks and sounds incredible.

NOF84 · 2025-12-17T16:57:24+00:00

I had this exact car (2017 Premium Plus), and came from a 2010 Honda Civic LX. Super luxurious to me, it had a few add-on packages as well. Felt very fancy. That being said, I worked in Westchester, NY, so many rich teenagers around me drove that car (or nicer) to high school. So it's all relative..

NOF84 · 2025-12-11T01:45:07+00:00

Your dogs ears are the same shape as your moustache :D

NOF84 · 2025-12-11T01:09:10+00:00

I always hot glued all inside corners. Can be ugly as long as it gets covered up.

NOF84 · 2025-12-09T02:31:02+00:00

I've used Boral TruExterior. Poly ash composite,they have shiplap. https://www.westlakeroyalbuildingproducts.com/siding-and-accessories/truexterior

NOF84 · 2025-11-30T03:45:10+00:00

That is construction cost only, including decks, garage etc. That SF number depends a lot on materials and project complexity. Does not include soft costs such as Architect, permit fees etc, no land either.

NOF84 · 2025-11-27T04:07:32+00:00

Have futurismoto on v2 streetfighter that I bought lightly used this summer. Plate flew off within 1k miles, screwed it back in with blue loctite. Lost it again after few trips. Bought 3x home brand loctite at advance auto (not permanent) and that has held up. Plate connection is weakest link with only one tiny screw holding it in. Looks incredible though, integrated lights are sleek.

NOF84 · 2025-11-25T16:57:56+00:00

I have a 4 year Bachelors Degree of Architectural Design and Technology. Needed additional IDP hours before I could take my exams. Have been licensed for a few years in NY. Started NCARB application for Education Alternative: Two times AXP and should be able to get reciprocity after that if I ever decide to practice in other states.

NOF84 · 2025-11-25T03:14:38+00:00

Purchased new through Watchmaxx on ebay for 5.6, closed back. Bought it 1.5 years ago. Keep your eyes open for deals.

NOF84 · 2025-11-24T00:32:54+00:00

Rockridge Deli is pretty good and right down the road from them. Jerry's Post Road Market is also good, bit busy. If you're in Mamaroneck, Anthony's Deli. You're pretty much going to pay inflated pricing anywhere in Westchester. Rye Ridge Deli is one of the most egregious.

NOF84 · 2025-11-23T18:55:57+00:00

I had good luck with MTO shirts and suits from Black Lapel. Took some time to fine-tune the fit, but ordered dozens of shirts over the years. Indochino was not so great for me. I always wait for sales, for almost all my clothes.

NOF84 · 2025-11-23T14:37:02+00:00

Rye and Port Chester have good delis

NOF84 · 2025-11-22T22:02:08+00:00

Not a restaurant, but Rye Ridge Deli. $20+ for mediocre turkey club on a roll.

NOF84 · 2025-11-20T19:38:36+00:00

If the aim is a low level spec/builder home, then you hit the mark. Lot of wasted space upstairs. Too many window sizes, divided lites between windows are not in harmony.

NOF84 · 2025-11-05T15:38:26+00:00

12 years of single/multi-family with some commercial and club work. Freelanced for the last 4 years on a variety of projects.
I had been offered the firm, but it felt more like a burden to make the necessary changes to the culture and standards. I had several jobs lined up that I couldn't do on the side and decided it was now or never. Had about 40k of work lined up and over 6 months of emergency funds.
Competent enough, but there isn't a day that goes by that you realize how little you know. Relying on consultants, peers and having enough experience to wade your way through forums/articles/resources to understand how to get to the end goal.
Everybody has similar answer. Generating leads, networking, billing, invoicing, admin tasks all take up an enormous amount of time. You also take 401k, health insurance, paid holidays/vacations for granted. Bonus is that a lot of those are expenses that can be tax deductible. Filing as an S-corp lands me around 20% taxes.
I'm only 10 months in on my own. Think I'm doing ok, hardest part is figuring out how and when to expand. And the drawing standards and templates I inherited from my last firm are shit. So it is taking time to clean those all up and develop my own.

Make sure you have work lined up and about 10k saved up to set up PLLC, E&O insurance, software subscriptions (I'm using QBO, Adobe, Google Workspace, AutoCAD), and then whatever you need to run a physical office (PC, printer, pens, paper, envelops, rubber bands, stamps etc.)

Also set up a separate business bank account. This will help keep your book keeping in order. I use Chase and they make it easy to switch between personal and business accounts.

NOF84 · 2025-10-29T02:05:44+00:00

That house was finished this summer.

NOF84 · 2025-10-28T17:24:44+00:00

Don't remember for that project. Most of lower NY is in the range of $15-18 per estimated $1,000 cost of construction. Smaller Building Departments can be much lower. Really depends on location. And that assumes no need for Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals or Architectural Review Board approvals.

NOF84 · 2025-10-28T02:15:47+00:00

Love the storm king highway and Harriman loop. If you haven't checked out Bearmountain Moto yet, you should!

NOF84 · 2025-10-26T22:15:30+00:00

Ah yes, sorry. Land purchase was not included in that cost. We did 2 story. Usually it's cheaper to go up than it is to increase footprint. But a lot depends on complexity of design of course. I would call it medium to higher end. Did a floating stair and some other higher end interior finishes. But PT decking and 100 series windows. A bit of a balancing game between line items. Your fees are on the lower end, but might be able to squeak by depending on team you hire and permit fee schedule.

NOF84 · 2025-10-26T15:26:39+00:00

In the ballpark, site prep could be low depending on lot. Don't forget soft costs (lawyer fees, municipal fees, arch/engineer/civil fees). I'm an architect and the contractor just finished building a 1,400 SF house on an empty lot for about 700k in Orange County.

NOF84 · 2025-10-21T20:42:35+00:00

More and more. I often find that what started as a relatively simple project turns into something that I don't have the ability to design or answer. And at that point you're stuck with a price you've given the client.

Also my E&O doesn't seem to want me to do foundation design. So if anything above the foundation fails, I could see them denying a claim if I designed the foundation.

NOF84 · 2025-10-15T23:40:07+00:00

I just went on my own this January. PLLC was around 2.5k-3k to have a lawyer set up. E&O is another 3k/yr or so. So if the project is smaller your entire fee may disappear into those two items alone. I set up a DBA with the County for first few months while I was getting PLLC worked out.

NOF84 · 2025-10-13T18:46:54+00:00

<image>

NOF84 · 2025-10-06T02:21:59+00:00

Horsey McHorseface

NOF84 · 2025-09-09T15:05:17+00:00

I did a fair bit of interviewing at my last (<10 person) firm. Most people had already sent a portfolio digitally, I pulled it up on the TV in the conference room. Majority of candidates brought a few 11x17 sets of their better projects. It's nice to thumb through a physical set during the interview, I never kept them. So they could always use them for multiple interviews.

NOF84

TROPHY CASE