Cats & Dogs at the Drafting Table: What They'd Love to See You Do

Illustration by @kampeck_ink

If there has been any silver lining to Pandemic Plus 2020 it has been the rise of pet adoptions with cities like Seattle reporting a six fold increase in pet adoption requests. Even before the Pandemic, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association, in 2018 almost 40 percent of US households owned a dog and just over 25% of households owned a cat. 

Even Cities go to the dogs. Take San Francisco, where kids may be called a “luxury item” due to the high costs of living. A 2016 KQED news report reported that 115,000 “kids” lived in the City while 120K to 150K dogs lived in the City.  City ordinances seem to support the Dr, Doolittle vibe. In San Francisco one household can legally own three pets and in Portland can own four. 

This Household designed for Cat Harmony, emphasizing vertical life and a view where they can keep their attention focused.

But we want more than the number of pets, we want them to be happy so we can be happy. In the world of design and remodeling, what if your dog or cat sat at the drafting table? What would they create in Revit?

“Cat drafting” is different than “cat proofing” where you put masking tape all over your upholstered chairs and put grandma’s ashes up in a high closet alcove so it won’t get knocked over. Essentially if you were cat drafting you wouldn’t need to cat proof because the home would support the cat vs. fighting against it. 

Cat “Cafes” like Purringtons in PDX set the architectural standard for cat dwelling success. You don’t need a commercial license to succeed! Just steal some of the design hacks you see here by emphasizing the vertical space.

Especially if your household has multiple cats, the drafting table would include elevations devoted to high altitude real estate, especially by windows where they can watch birds with the laser focus of their ingrained 90 degree binocular field of vision. Ideally, the perimeter of the room you spend the most time in would have these long runways anywhere from one to two feet below the ceiling height. Cats could pass each other on these sofa overpasses and still feel safe. 

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Litterboxes

Cats don’t like to eat near their litterboxes but so many people seem to gang a “cat area” all together this way in the ultimate Grosstown.  If you do separate food from litter box but  relegate the litter box to some Siberia like the garage you will have to keep the garage door open for in and out access sacrificing energy savings or create an unsightly cat flap in a nice door. A better move is to design a “mud room” for the cat. If you have a stairwell you can design a pocket area underneath it for this purpose.  Think of it as a butler’s pantry for the cat. (Did you get the joke? “Butlering” is what cats do when they excessively groom. Oh cat humor…) Another mud room location would be the mud room your family uses. This tends to be a way station area anyway so  instead of designing a full run banquette to stow boots and dirty shoes, leave a small space at the end for the litter box.

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Electrical Outlets in Living Spaces Away from Windows

Some homes function better with therapy, hormone therapy. Products like Feiway function by plugging into an outlet to allow the “mama cat scent” to diffuse over the space which is supposed to be calming to unrelated cats fighting for territory. The problem is that outside air trumps this mama scent so you have to plug it in away from windows and unblocked by furniture. The cat drafter would actually mount an outlet high on a wall for this purpose, much like you would for a future flat screen TV. Think about that spec---outlet mounted at 60 inches above finished floor for hormone therapy diffusion and calm home.  

For the cat interior designer, cats also need plenty of soft things to rub into in order to leave their scent.  If you don’t have carpet or many rugs, even blankets dropped in strategic places will do. And of course it’s nice to have plenty of square footage just for them to roll around to display their vulnerability and love for you. 

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Dogs

If you have a blended household, cats and dogs, then having those elevated platforms for cats to exist up above while the dog paws around below will prove especially useful for home harmony. In addition to this, what would a dog change about your home environment at the drafting table

Outside Mud Room Area 

You have a place for your coats and boots, but you get mad at the dog for bringing in his dirty paws? Why not allocate a small area with a dedicated spigot and possibly a drain before you enter the house proper? Consider a tiled entry to make this a no muss no fuss situation once the entire family enters the house. 

Sightlines

Dogs undergoing training  will not obey if they can’t see your eyes. Most of the commands that make co-existence doable including come, sit, down, stay, and focus come from intense eye contact followed your voice. Dogs love open floorplans.  We said we were just designing for the dog, right? 

Good stuff.

Hearing Your Space

Illustration by @Kampeck_Ink

Imagine if everyone came home blindfolded and if every realtor held open houses at two am instead of two pm? How would human decisions change?

During the daytime we react with our eyes---I like that coat of paint, I dig that view. At night we see with our ears---lying in bed, the freeway noise outside multiplies, the refrigerator hum sounds more like an assault...even a utility line when wet from rain can create a white noise sound that many can’t handle. But few people isolate their ears this way until it is too late. It’s kind of like the idea of falling in love with a city that you only see during its best season---who doesn’t love Portland, the Rose City in June? The real question is whether you can love it in November. Who doesn’t adore Tucson in December, the real question is if you aren’t a snowbird, is whether you can love it in August when average temps run to 110 degrees. Through an entire 24 hour cycle can you live with the sound design of your space? If not, what can you do to channel your inner sound designer?

Perhaps we should all take a note from the film industry which is also a visual medium. In the film industry you learn to hate airplanes and refrigerators. Location scouts know that directors don’t like to wait for planes to finish descending or ascending if dialogue hangs in the balance. Refrigerators have to be pulled out and unplugged so the inherent hum won’t clutter what talent is being paid to say. (One of the most hated things a director can say is “don’t worry, they’ll fix it in post.” Which is why post production and production often don’t get along…) 

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What is Sound?

Think of sound as air molecules compressing and separating. Decibels or dB is the measure of loudness or amplitude. As a reference:

Whispering is around 30dB

Females average speaking tone is 48-61 dB

Males average speaking tone is 49-64dB

Normal Conversation at about 60 dB

Vacuum is 75 dB

Shouting is 80 dB

Jet engine is 120 dB

Gunshot is 140dB

We know that decibel levels of 130 dB can cause pain. German researcher Jurgess Altmann found that a blast of 210 decibels affects the inner organs. Let’s not go there.

There are some other ratings that apply to sound. The Sound Transmission Rating measures how well a material reduces incoming sound. The higher the number, the more the sound is reduced. As a reference, an open doorway has an STC of 10 while certain windows companies will advertise that an STC rating of 34 can reduce exterior noise by 60 decibels. 

Another rating for sound you might see is sones. This measurement is a standard with bathroom fans that cannot exceed one sone in CA. One sone is 28 dB and eight sones is 58dB. If we established that normal conversation sits around 60 dB the category of “unwanted noise” will probably apply to anything over eight sones. 

Controlling Indoor Sound

So let’s first talk about the sound that you can control in your own home. The loudest indoor offenders are appliances and yet when people are appliance shopping, “silence rating” doesn’t seem to be the sexiest thing on the list. Wi-fi connect. Icemaker. French Doors. Those are the clickbait items. However, silence rating is the one spec that might actually affect quality of life. Will the fact that you can run your refrigerator remotely matter if your refrigerator hums louder than the human voice? Will a slick dishwasher touch screen matter if you can only run it when you aren’t worried about contracting a headache? Remember that something like a refrigerator won’t be turned off. You knew that, right?

The good news is that certain brands have identified models that will cater to this need. GE offers a Profile Top control dishwasher that runs at 39dBA (softer than the human voice so you can run it while your guests are enjoying a living room chat after dinner). Bosch advertises itself as the “quietest DW brand in the United States” with models like the 800 Series 36” French Door refrigerator running at a whispery 40dBA. 

The takeaway here is that before you commit to a specific appliance make sure the silence rating is less than 50dBA. If the information is not available on the spec sheet living online, make an inquiry. Yours could be the silent scream in the dark if you don’t. 

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Perimeter Noise

Once you’ve done your damndest to control your interior environment you have to look at your existing barriers to outdoor sound. The same windows that delight you with light during the day may be bleeding unwanted noise at night. The STC rating should factor just as much as thermal data and UV blocking data. Even if you don’t live in a hurricane zone you may want to look at a window line rated for storms such as Simonton’s Storm Break Series that advertises an STC rating of 35. Milgard windows offers a “quiet line” of product with STC ratings of 48 and above. At the very least look for windows that are double paned with varied thicknesses. 

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What is Acceptable Neighborhood Noise and What to Do if Your Neighbors are Clueless 

So you’ve done your best to eliminate all the noise apertures in your home. Now you have to deal with the beast: human unawareness of how their own noise affects others. Based on the passive aggressive responses you see on websites like Nextdoor, noise seems to fall into two categories: construction noise and everything else. I think the city of Portland, Oregon has this down to a fine science. They have an “Office of Noise Concerns” with dedicated phone lines for each type of noise complaint: Airplane. Construction. Garbage, Helicopter, Leaf Blower, Music, Loud Voices, Railroad. Kind of amazing. Let’s look at the situation in three locations: Tucson, Portland, and San Francisco.

When it comes to construction noise in particular the Portland Code section 18.10.060 cites “permissable hours”  as 7-6 from Monday to Saturday with no more than 85 dBA at 50 foot distance from origin. So if there is a construction crew working on Sunday or working during approved hours at noise levels above this they can be fined up to $5000. 

Tucson cites something similar with no particular fine amount. Their City Code 16-31(b)(5) prohibits construction noise between 8pm and “sunrise” Monday through Saturday. Excessive noise is cited as any activity that goes beyond the property line and is received at greater than 70dBA during construction hours and 62dBA from 10pm-7am. 

San Francisco has a website for citizen response issues, sf311.org with a “Menu of Noise Issues” that contains 43 line items from “barking dog” to “loud music from a neighbor” to “tour bus.” For a barking dog between hours 10pm and 7am neighbors are asked to call police non emergency. Other items fall more into verbiage such as “disturbing the peace” and “to a reasonable person of normal sensitivity.” Building construction between 8pm and 7am is unlawful without a permit. Noise up to 5db from 7am to 8pm is permitted which is cited as “a screw gun putting in screws into drywall.” 

Upshot: Noise laws vary from city to city but you see a pattern in the overall no-no hours, plus the standard of decibel level for normal people who don’t shout. As such you have every right to ask for help from City Infrastructure if people are not following ordinances and laws.

Don’t Make Your Home Into A Noise Work Hub

While mottos like run fast and break things may be wonderful for creative work environments it can spell disaster for a gentle neighborhood vibe. Many companies that employ elastic work hours and letting loose at any hour is not a vibe that translates easily to a residential environment. Unfortunately with the Pandemic and Work From Home models in play, many people are treating their homes like extended work hubs unknowingly creating nightmares for their neighbors.

The problem arises when you realize or don’t realize that the built environment operates on different standards than commercial environments. All those coping strategies you use for work may be causing your neighbor to lose sleep and hate you.

For example, maybe you want a hot tub to “help you relax.” You may think hot tub sound only applies to the people drunk in it. You would be wrong.

California Residential Code 1206.2 cites that habitable spaces should not have walls that have sound transmission classes of less than 50. However impact sound insulation is not required for floor to ceiling assemblies over non habitable rooms such as garages and mechanical rooms. A mechanical room may also include a room devoted to heat pumps for jacuzzis. This means when you are turning on your Jacuzzi at 3am your neighbor may be silently grinding their teeth because the mechanical noise still vibrates through the wall assembly. Add to this the amenity of “music” and now your neighbor has to fight mechanical noise plus trance music which is probably destroying her sleep.

Some people think they can simply transfer their data halls to a home environment. This too is a recipe for disturbance. A data hall in a business is designed to accommodate cable trays and busways and high rack temperatures. There is fiber optic and DC distro cable. It takes a rigorous HVAC system to keep temperatures at a standard 72 degrees Farenheit for ideal data transfer meanwhile the cable trays can heat up to over 110 degrees. You’re going to need plenum space above for air circulation for these trays but you are also going to need acoustical perforated panels for sound dampening. Consider a product like Quiet Rock for insulation even if you don’t need to specify it for Code. Consider modular cloud kits for lighting that integrate fabrics like wool shades. Even soft seating serves as an acoustical barrier.

So be a good neighbor if you are planning a rebuild. Think about sound. Use materials that absorb reverberation, block unwanted noise while covering background noise. Even if the Building Code doesn’t require the construction of 50 STC rated walls for mechanical spaces provide acoustical dampeners.

The solutions don’t have to be expensive. They just need to be thoughtful. The big takeaway is just because you want it doesn’t mean you should have it outright. And that house you are considering buying? Drive by at 2am.