The owner/contractor's view:
Ever since operating a hydropower site in the 1970s, I've tracked energy efficiency and wanted to build
a "tight" house. Advances in materials and technology now support a house design
which partners energy efficiency with functional beauty and maximizes a small
carbon footprint. We used
ICF
Block for the foundation and
SIP panels for the walls and roof. I decided to act as my own
general contractor since I will be able to realize about $3000 of tax credits
for construction, lighting, and appliances. To be sure that we don't consume large amounts of fuel,
Efficiency
Vermont has done blower tests for air leaks around windows and
doors. This home, even unfinished, was 65% more efficient than expected and the final test gave us a certificate with Vermont's highest rating,
Five Stars Plus.
The post and beam construction fulfills another wish of mine. With our three level design, I have a main floor
master bedroom suite, room to host family visits, an ample kitchen and home office, and spacious garage with 10' ceiling to
work on my classic car and garage a camper van some day.
The designer's view:
In this New England home, I wanted
to explore some interesting contrasts: a cape design with a chalet wing and gazebo dining nook; a
deck overlooking a ravine and bubbling stream juxtaposed with intimate
interior spaces that draw the eye upward to beautiful vaulted exposed rafter detail and tongue-and-groove ceiling. We also needed an
innovative
landscaping plan
to integrate the house with a barn-like shop 30' away and solve the
design challenge of a 10' drop to the garage. The owner asked me to keep the
costs under $400K without losing quality. Have a look at our
photo gallery. Explore
the site and judge our success for yourself!
Click here to ask us a
question or order house plans.
The builder's view:
Treetop Builders have built a number of post-and-beam homes in
the area over the last 10 years, but I had never been involved in a project
using
ICF
Block,so I was interested to work on this project. When we poured the
foundation,
Vermont ICF
consulted with us and my team got a good education. I've built with
SIP panels in the past, and the
trick is to schedule time with the crane to avoid a gap in the project. My
structural engineer designed the vaulted roof members that join the ell to the
main house, and the owner asked me to design the roof for the dining ell.I don't
do that every day, but I put together a partial rounded pavilion-type roof that
the owner liked. It's been good synergy to work with this team. We had a number
of challenges that we worked through together that yielded good results.
The solar consultant's view:
To heat the whole house, we super-insulated
the slab and looped
PEX tubing (polyethylene cross-linked) across the entire slab for radiant heat. The
main floor will also have radiant heat, assisted by radiant towel bar warmers in
the bathrooms. When we calculated the heat loss figures, especially from the
chalet window wall, we realized we needed to add a few
Myson radiant panels in the
upstairs bedrooms and office loft. We installed a
Weil-McClain propane boiler
and plan to add a solar water pre-heat panel on the south wall in the future. Other heat sources include south-facing passive solar collection through
an 8' x 13' greenhouse and tiled dining nook above, as well as a small catalytic
wood stove. This will be a showcase house for me. It looks like the 60s
back-to-the-land movement has now joined forces with the techno 20s in Vermont,
and we hope to promote Build Green and alternative fuel sources together.
The site engineer's view:
The owner felt strongly that the house should angle
135 degrees away from the shop and be sited as close to the stream bank as possible. This
left no room for a septic field on the lower side, so our solution was to
install a 1,000 gallon pump station up to a septic field on the north side of
the property. The other challenge was a 10-foot drop to the garage in a tight space while avoiding an existing septic field for the
shop. Instead of a towering 10 foot wall to one side of the garage, our
landscape solution was a 5 foot wall to a grassy plot and second 5 foot wall
20' beyond. This also allows the workers in the shop to have a picnic area for
summer breaks.
Click here for
the site plan.
http://www.soleilstudio.net/images/perpetual_motion.jpg
The property appraiser's view:
I've assessed homes in this area for 35
years.When I looked for comparables for this home, I couldn't find any since the
technology is new. However, based on size and design, I expect the following:
- a less than 4' knee wall allows the house to be appraised at 1 1/4 rather
than 1 1/2 story, but a 12 in 12' roof pitch gives the impression of an
expansive space in the second story.
- the house is appraised as 3-bedroom house with better-than-average
interior with appraisal set above $400,000.
