David Stumpf Architecture

05/29/2026

Most homeowners never see this.

By the time your foundation is backfilled the waterproofing system behind it is gone forever. You will never know if it was done right until water shows up inside your home years later and by then the fix is expensive.

On this site visit David Stumpf Architecture walked the full exterior foundation of this custom transitional home in the Pittsburgh area before backfill, reviewing the 60mm fluid applied waterproofing membrane, the protection board system, the Zip System weather barrier installation, and the interior and exterior drainage system that works together to keep water out for the life of the building. Not only does he review those systems, but he also discusses the different alternative waterproofing methods, and what happens if it isn't done correctly.

Two conditions were flagged and addressed before work continued. This is what construction administration looks like on a custom home built to last.

This is part three of our full build series. Link in the comments!

05/23/2026

A hundred years old, completely gutted, and sitting on one of Buffalo's most promising streets. Most people walked away. Our client did not.

David Stumpf Architecture is working with a Buffalo west side real estate investor to convert this historic single family home into an up and down duplex while restoring the character that makes these homes worth fighting for in the first place.

The front porch is being fully rebuilt with colonial detailing that reflects the original architecture. The shingle gable, divided light windows, stone foundation base, and historic trim profiles are all being honored in the new design. On the rear, a two story deck addition gives each unit its own private outdoor space, turning a gutted shell into a home tenants will genuinely want to live in.

This is what smart residential investment looks like in Buffalo right now. Not demolition. Thoughtful redevelopment that adds value to the neighborhood, creates quality housing, and preserves what makes Buffalo's west side worth investing in.

Currently in construction documents and heading to permit within the next month.

If you are an investor with similar properties on Buffalo's west side and want to talk about what thoughtful redevelopment could do for your portfolio, reach out at davidstumpfarchitecture.com

05/15/2026

Four directions. One winner. Here is how we got there.

The Thomas Residence is a 3,545 square foot contemporary custom home currently in design at David Stumpf Architecture in Buffalo, NY, heading to permit at the end of the month. Before a single drawing goes to the building department, the client sees every major material decision explored in 3D so there are no surprises when it gets built.

We studied four exterior directions on this one.

Fiber cement lap siding with slate accents. Clean, horizontal, and textural with a contemporary character that sits comfortably in a residential neighborhood. The one that almost won before stucco did.

Smooth stucco with slate accent volumes at the entry and base. Refined, monolithic, and quietly confident. This is the one headed to permit.

Shou sugi ban charred wood siding with slate. Dark, deliberate, and striking. An ancient Japanese preservation technique that turns wood into something that looks like it was built to outlast everything around it.

Natural vertical wood slat siding with the same slate base. Warm, honest, and grounded.

Same massing. Same bones. Four completely different homes depending on what you put on them.

The program inside is equally considered. A private office off the foyer. Open concept kitchen, dining, and living on the first floor. A master suite upstairs designed around how people actually live, walk-in closet, dedicated changing room, and a spa bathroom that earns that name. Two kids bedrooms, a shared bath, and a full laundry room complete the second floor.

Which direction would you have chosen?

Designed by David Stumpf Architecture. Buffalo, NY.

05/14/2026

Three years ago this was a design on paper.

Last month you watched us pour the foundation. Today the frame is up, the garage is almost under roof, and we found two things that needed to be caught and corrected before framing could continue.

The hobby garage ceiling was built at the wrong height. Our builder Larry caught it. I verified the fix. The wrong Andersen windows showed up on site. Twice. That one eventually got sorted as well.

This is what construction administration actually looks like on a custom home. Not stamping drawings and disappearing. Blueprints in hand, boots on site, verifying that what is being built matches what was designed before it gets buried behind drywall forever.

11 car garage. Car lifts. Motor court. Breezeway. Aging in place master bath. Coffered ceilings. This one has it all.

New video is up. Link in the comments.

Architect: David Stumpf Architecture
Builder: Limpert Construction LLC

05/03/2026

The moment the forms come off your foundation, the clock starts. What was poured underground needs to match what was drawn on paper before a single piece of framing goes up. Most homeowners never see this part of the process. Most builders do not have someone checking it with trained eyes.

This is what I call the moment of truth on every custom home build.

In this video I walk the foundation of a custom car collector's home in Greensburg, Pennsylvania immediately after the forms were stripped. As the architect of record I am verifying every element before construction moves forward. Anchor bolts, beam pockets, wall offsets, utility rough ins, egress windows. All of it gets checked because once the walls go vertical, fixing a foundation error stops being a correction and starts being a lawsuit.

If you are planning a custom home and want to know what an architect actually does on site, this one is worth watching.

Watch the full video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMCJ823q4yg&t=938s

And if you are working on a custom home in the Pittsburgh or Buffalo area and want an architect who stays on the job through every phase of construction, send us a message or reach out via the contact form on our website.

4 likes. "Foundation Mistakes That Only an Architect Will Catch Before It's Too Late"

04/29/2026

Most homeowners settle for someone else's floor plan. A custom home designed around your life, your lot, and your vision is not as out of reach as you think. David Stumpf Architecture serves the Buffalo area and David personally leads every project from first sketch to final walk-through. Link in bio.

04/12/2026

The Unity Residence is coming together and this one is worth stopping to appreciate.

We are getting close to drywall which means this is the last chance to see everything before it gets tucked behind the walls forever. So today we are walking the front porch and the interior and talking about what went into both.

On the exterior the front porch is nearly complete. The columns and beams are wrapped, the brick skirting around the base is finished, and most of the siding is on. Like we talked about in a previous video we made a deliberate budget conscious call to substitute James Hardie siding and wood column wraps for vinyl siding and PVC. Same profiles, same design intent, tighter budget. That is a real world decision that happens on real projects and there is no shame in it. What matters is that the design reads the way it was intended to and this one does. That brick skirting ties the porch to the main structure and into the garage and it pulls the whole composition together beautifully.

On the interior the rough in plumbing and electrical are mostly complete which means we are right on schedule for drywall. And the fireplace surround is in. If you have been following this build you already know this fireplace is special. Double sided, centered on axis with the front door, with a direct view through to the backyard. Seeing the brick surround in person makes it even better than it looked on paper.

This home is going to be something special for the family moving into it. Almost there.

If you are thinking about building a custom home and want an architect who stays engaged from the first sketch all the way through construction, that is exactly what we do. Link in bio or send me a message and let’s talk about your project.

04/11/2026

Most people design a garage to fit two cars and a lawnmower. This one is designed around eleven cars and a lifestyle.

We are framing a ranch style home in Greensburg for a serious car collector and the garage situation here is anything but typical. The motor court splits into two separate structures. A main house garage for three cars and a dedicated hobby garage that holds at least eight with room for lifts.

That eleven foot ceiling in the hobby garage is not a coincidence. That is a calculated decision to make sure hydraulic lifts can operate at full height without restriction. Every inch of that space was designed around how a collector actually uses a garage. Not just storage. Maintenance, display, and eventually EV charging infrastructure for the entire collection.
This is what it looks like when a garage stops being a utility space and becomes part of the architecture of the home.

We did a full video on the foundation system for this one over on YouTube. Now the framing is up and you can start to feel the scale of what this is going to be.

If you have a dream home in mind and want an architect who designs around how you actually live, not just how a house is supposed to look, let’s talk. Link in bio or DM me directly.

Link in bio for the full foundation video.

04/10/2026

While we were walking the exterior I want to stop and talk about this rear porch.

A porch that is added as an afterthought looks like one. A porch that is too small becomes useless. This one was designed as part of the home from day one and you can feel the difference standing on it.

Twelve feet deep. That is not an accident. That is a decision. Most rear porches are a slab, a roof, and a door. This one is a room. Twelve feet gives you the flexibility to actually use the space the way you want to use it. Dining area, seating area, or both.

But here is the detail I am most proud of. No columns. Instead of breaking up the view with posts we ran a drop beam wall to wall to carry the entire roof load. Completely unobstructed sightlines to the rear yard. And because the home’s own walls wrap the space on three sides you are naturally protected from wind and weather without needing anything in between you and that view.

In other parts of the world they call this a courtyard. Here in Pittsburgh it is an elevated rear porch. Same idea. Shelter, openness, and a connection to the outdoors that actually gets used.

That only happens when the porch is designed with the building from the beginning and not bolted on at the end.

The homeowners are going to get a lot of use out of this one.