The Utah Heritage Foundation will present a workshop, titled "Monster Houses: Not For Everyone" Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Memorial House in Memory Grove Park, 485 N. Canyon Road.
The workshop will focus on building compatible additions as an alternative to building monster homes, said Kirk Huffaker, Utah Heritage Foundation assistant director.
"There's been a lot of discussion about monster houses, so a lot of people see the issue as (being that their) only choice is to tear down a small house and build a big house," Huffaker said. "Really there's another choice — save the smaller house and build an addition."
It's not a new idea, but the way people build additions is increasingly becoming an art form, he said. The design of how a home fits in with a neighborhood takes careful consideration. Compatible additions take into account a home's height, mass and the materials it is comprised of, as well as the height and mass of neighboring homes.
"You may be able to double the size of the house and still fit in depending on the size of the lot," Huffaker said. "That depends on many many factors; that's part of the conversation that we will be discussing at the workshop."
Part of the reason the Utah Heritage Foundation is holding the workshop is because monster home building is affecting so many areas, he said.
"From our point of view, that's really important," Huffaker said. "We've seen it in Salt Lake, we've seen it in Holladay for years. Now we're seeing it in Farmington, Ogden and Logan."
The workshop will include presentations from a Salt Lake City representative who will discuss the city's effort to curtail monster houses and a Farmington city representative who will discuss the monster house trend there, he said. Jim Lindberg of the National Trust for Historic Preservation will discus the national trend of tearing down historic homes.
Arrin Holt with Cooper Roberts Simonsen Architects and Roger Durst with Elliott Mahoney Architects will offer ideas on how homeowners can build compatible additions and effectively repair their front porches.
Some ideas for additions from the Utah Heritage Foundation include building additions at the rear of a home where they are less visible so the original shape of the house remains discernible. Additions should be narrower and shorter than the original building and individuals should try to match the original roof pitch, window shape and eaves width.
The foundation also suggests that individuals build a freestanding garage rather than attaching one to a historic home. For information on contractors who have experience working on older homes, individuals can contact The State Historic Preservation Office.
The cost of the workshop is $10 or $8 for Utah Heritage Foundation members. Lunch is included.
To register for the workshop contact Angela at 801-533-0858 Ext. 107
E-mail: sbills@desnews.com