About the Builder - Thomas Cook

I had the good fortune early in my life to have had work experiences in which I was able to work and learn under the direction of uncompromising craftsmen. I started in construction at the age of 14 working a summer job for one of the finest house builders in the Atlanta area in 1970. I worked the summer for Robilt Homes. Afterwards I worked for Simpson Millwork and Cabinet Shop in the summers and on weekends through my high school years. While I was in College I had the opportunity to do some work for Hallmark Restorations, who did restorations of fine antique furniture. While I was in graduate school I started my own Antique restoration company in Louisville Kentucky. I restored fine antiques and built limited production antique reproductions. Also during this time I had the opportunity to provide consultation to members of the board for the restoration of the Governor's Mansion in Kentucky, as well as consultation for other historical restorations.

In 1990, I started my current company: TEC Restorations. While my company has done remodeling, house additions, restorations of antique houses, unique interior woodworking projects and cabinets, a disproportionate amount of our work has been doing costly repairs on relatively young houses. Too much of our work has been on repairs that while necessary have not added to the square footage of living space nor augmented the appraised value of our clients' houses. Needless to say I have never found it gratifying to make my living receiving people's hard earned money for costly repairs or maintenance on houses for which they have already made a sacrificial investment in the purchase of such houses.

The standard for residential construction in the Southeast for the past 100 years has been wood frame built houses and this standard has provided reliable shelters for families for a large number of years. My company has done restoration projects on houses that exceed 100 years old. For the most part these antique houses have still had very sound structure. However, a very significant portion of my company's work experience has been concerned with dealing with very serious structural issues on houses less than 20 years old. The most common problems we deal with in repairs and restorations and of which I also note in numerous house inspections for which I perform for prospective home buyers are: water or moisture decay to windows, doors, siding, and decks. Inevitably this initial superficial damage precipitates more serious deterioration to internal structural members, as well as the invasion of destructive insects. I can tell too many heartbreaking client stories of disastrous structural concerns, which started out with what appeared to have been minor defects. Another too common problem we encounter is termite infestation. Most notably such infestation begins in frame structure on the basement slab, where the frame is in close proximity to the soil.

While many of these problems may be linked to defective architectural design, poor workmanship, defective materials or the improper use of certain materials, there are more pervasive issues that have impacted all wood framed construction. With the suburban sprawl explosion in the Southeast and especially around Atlanta, the demand for new construction has exceeded the supply of wood materials. This fact has brought on the emergence of many synthetic substitutes, some of which have exceptional value if installed in a very specific manner; however some others have been disastrous, such as hardboard siding or synthetic stucco. The greatest impact this overwhelming demand for wood materials have had is that most of the framing materials now used in the Southeast comes from the Western States. Furthermore the demand has brought on the emergence of new methods of accelerating growth and harvesting of forest.

Fifty years ago houses in the Southeast were built with native timber. For this reason most of the houses in this era and before have not had the structural problems that are now prominent in later construction. Native timber is preferable because it is naturally adapted to the native environment and resistant to the native insects. Naturally grown and harvested timber means the growth rings in timber are closer together and thus have a higher density, which of course makes stronger wood. New growth and harvesting methods has reduced the time before harvesting a forest nearly in half as compared to previous natural growth methods. These new methods result in growth rings being farther apart and thus the wood density and strength are less. More importantly our dependence on Western timber means that our houses are being constructed of materials that are grown in a relatively dry, low humidity climate that has not the destructive insects that are native to our climate nor the natural resistance to such. This lumber is extremely vulnerable to our high humidity, and moisture and to our native insects.

Another major factor that has impacted wood frame construction especially in the Southeast are two particular Federal regulations enforced by the EPA. The first regulation was the outlawing of the use of Chlordane for the treatment of soil under foundations. This chemical was and has still remained the most effective deterrent to the invasion of termites. The second regulation has been the elimination of metals in paints, most notably the elimination of lead in oil-based paint. Metals were a very important preservative to wood, keeping wood hard and thus resistant to the elements. Oil base paints were a very important preservative/ conditioner to wood, especially giving wood resistance to water and moisture. With the elimination of metals in paints the practicality of using oil base paints for exterior use is nil. Oil base paints were completely dependent upon metals for elongation flexibility. Now oil base paints when used outside crack and peel. Acrylic/latex paints have emerged because they naturally have better adhesion, flexibility and elongation properties. The down sides of using such paints for exterior use are: While these paints have good resistance to exterior moisture, they provide neither natural conditioner nor preservative to the wood itself, but instead the contrary. Acrylic paints wrap the wood, not allowing the wood to breath nor for moisture to escape. With the heating and cooling that is present in our environment everyday condensation forms under the paint exposing the wood daily to dosages of one of its natural denigrates.

I have in the above paragraphs described just a few of the issues I have observed over my past experience in the construction trade. My company believes that such knowledge is invaluable to improving the ways we do repairs, restoration or new construction. It is unconscionable to me to consider doing things the same old way, just because it is standard building practice. Methods must change with knowledge gained through good or bad experience. Five years ago I decided to focus more on new custom construction, with an emphasis of using my knowledge gained in the restoration business to build houses that are not standard construction, but are customized to provide especially low maintenance and high-energy efficiency.

Through the years in the restoration business I have had the chance to see what kinds of designs, materials and workmanship are successful in providing a reliable shelter and what methods make for financial heart- break.

We in America have never gotten over the frontier mentality. Being a relatively young nation we have maintained the thinking that we have a vast frontier to develop and exploit. We have had such abundant natural resources that we have taken for granted that we have unlimited real estate to develop and build upon. Consequently insufficient thought has been given to neither how we should build, nor how we should preserve the ecology that is ours. In Europe the nations have a long history and have had to deal with the reality of a growing population and the depletion of available real estate for new construction. Given this reality, for centuries the Europeans have given careful thought to where to build and how such construction can enhance the natural landscape, and probably most importantly consideration has been given to how these structures can endure and serve many generations to come.

I share the mentality that new construction should not be driven by the current fads but how can new construction serve the needs of generations to come and endure long time wear from the elements and from occupation. That is the reason why I have been attracted to many of the typical construction methods utilized in Europe for many centuries. The most typical is solid construction materials for primary structure of houses. Typically in Europe most houses are built with masonry products such as stone, block, brick or solid concrete. I adopted Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC) as my primary structural material of choice. It is a material that has been in use in Europe for over seventy years. I like AAC because it is a solid material that can provide a sound structure for many generations. It is a building product made of natural elements all of which can and are recycled in production of other building materials. AAC is a lightweight material that is a natural thermal insulator and sound isolator as well as virtually fireproof. Of utmost importance to me, given the problems I have seen in the Southeast, AAC is not subject to insect infestation nor effected by damaging moisture. In our high humidity environment it is important to have a construction system that will resist outside water penetration, but will also allow moisture vapors from the inside to escape. ACC allows the house to breathe naturally, resisting outside water penetration, but allowing condensation moisture and vapors to be released.

Most people want to know how much is this kind of planning, designing and building going to cost me. Initial price is only a very small factor in the cost of owning a house. I believe it is my responsibility as an entrusted professional to know and present the long picture to either my potential client or present client. It is my responsibility and mission to provide the best knowledge skill and craftsmanship that I possess to my client in the planning and implementing of such plan in the construction of their personal house. It is for this reason I am daily on the construction site working with my crew or sub contractors to see that my client's and my intentions are carried out exactly as we had planned and dreamed of together. I never forget that my client has confided me with an awesome trust. It is entrusted to me to build a reliable structure for which will require at least for most clients one of their life's single greatest financial investments if not emotional and mental investments. It is my mission to build a house for my client for which their greater mission of building a home can be fulfilled, without the constant draining annoyance of worrying about the house in which they make their home. This is my mission and I trust part of my legacy for future generations.

Sincerely,

Thomas Cook
Owner/President, TEC Restorations

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