High Performance, Timber Frame House in Vermont

Last week I received these photos of a project I helped out with last year. When I say helped out it really means just that. As an architect, I do very little imposing on clients. I nudge, hint, suggest, recommend, advise but in the end it is their project and their money and people hire me for different reasons. Sometimes it doesn’t go as smoothly as this which ended up being a pretty sweet project and people make some really awful decisions. (you don’t see those projects in my portfolio but all architects have them) These clients live a few hours away in another part of Vermont. I visited them last spring and I’ll make sure to visit again.

Of all the projects I do, most projects involve some level of client involvement during construction – not just during the design phase. It may be as little as purchasing fixtures and lights and doing some painting but often I design for clients who will be doing the contracting and much of the building themselves. This is Vermont after all. It’s how we roll up here. In this case the young couple had family with timber framing experience, they had survived the house building process as kids and they were ripe for some professional assistance with floor plans, aesthetics and some good solid building science. The result is one of my favorite combinations – good building science, natural building and classical New England detailing and form. And enthusiasm.

Specifics:This is a timber frame cut from wood harvested on site. The frame is wrapped with a neat double stud detail that puts the intello air barrier in a nicely protected location. Braces are set so that sheetrock can slip nicely behind them saving much labor fussing. Much of the framing lumber also came from the site. Interior finishes are plaster which saved them money on taping and finishing the sheetrock as they were able to do it themselves. Future provisions were made for a mudroom and porches. This house may even end up being net zero. The overall footprint is 22’ x 34’ which seems to be a common size for my work in recent years. I can do a lot with that footprint. Enjoy.

This project represents a "limited services" project. My role is to assist where needed but I don't do full architectural services. My usual role involves lots of help with plans, advice with the building science and buildability aspects of things and helping the clients to keep things as simple as possible. I spend much time as a sounding board. Drawings are fairly minimal and often involves sketchup models and sketches in lieu of construction drawings. I do minimal structural and framing plans, no electrical plans, no interior elevations, minimal specs and schedules etc. We really focus on the core elements of the house. Costs for this level of service range between 2 and 5 % of construction cost if you want to look at it that way. I've done a lot of these projects over the years and I've been involved with some really great clients.

Progress Photos

Here are some progress photos on a current project which should interest those interested in building science. The AH project is under construction fairly close to my own home so I can get over there frequently. This will be a fairly modern house with large windows, double stud cellulose filled walls, a high level of air sealing and an amazing three season porch using the Kent Webster's (the builder) most excellent system of removable panels. The most interesting thing in these photos for many readers will be the use of board sheathing. Local builders are returning to this method as it provides a vapor open layer in a location within the wall where a barrier to moisture (plywood, OSB) can cause problems in a heavily insulated wall. Plus it's local wood. plus it's more fun - carpenters don't get to cut many actual 1x boards anymore. The exterior will be sealed up with Mento to prevent air movement through the wall - an excellent combination with the board sheathing.

Perry Road House photos

Some photos from the Perry Road project which is sitting empty and unfinished and for sale UPDATE: SOLD!- (It's hard for people to earn a living around here so the owners made the decision to move to where they could work.. for money)

This is a Structural Insulated Panel (SIP)house on and Insulated Concrete Form foundation (ICF) The windows are Marvin Integrity - there are a lot of them although they seem all very logical and needed. Too bad they are not triple glazed. The basement slab is piped for radiant heat, there is an air exchange system, two bathrooms, (plumbed for a third) up to 5 bedrooms, porch and sleeping porch. There is also a lot of land with a stream and waterfall.

Old Fashioned Stoves in New England

I grew up in Maine with a large wood cookstove similar to this one. Cooking in it was sketchy and it was far from tight or efficient. The top surface and oven provided excellent places to keep pies and already cooked food warm on Thanksgiving. My own home has a small efficient and relatively airtight woodstove tucked into the stone fireplace. It has a knurled top surface which makes it hard to even heat water on but it does a good job of heating the house and the front is a large widow so we can watch the wood burn. (nice) We used to have an old fashioned parlor stove but it was too big and inefficient (and a bit scary when it ran hot) It now sits in the barn awaiting installation out there for use during barn parties. Here is what it looked like in place: Please ignore the pink fuzzy slippers and yellow koosh ball. And the socks... I would love to have a spot in my home for a modern wood cookstove such as this:

Here are some places in New England that restore and sell antique wood stoves.

Once Upon a Time Antique Stove Shop in Vermont. VPR recently did a story on them HERE

Good Time Stove Co. in Massachusetts

Bryant Stove and Music in Thorndike ME I purchased my own parlor stove from this place and it is truly amazing. there are not only hundreds of stoves but an antiques museum and a huge room packed full of dolls and gizmos that, when you flip the switch upon entering all erupt into action including merry go rounds, dancing dolls, teddies on airplanes, circus bands....I can't really describe it well. Here is a Boston.com article that does a better job and an image from their article did I mention Slinkys?

Photos! Stratton Modern is nearly complete

I visited a recent ski home project near Stratton mountain ski area to get some photos. The house is nearly complete. As usual there are things I would do differently next time and things that didn't quite follow the drawings but that's for me to know and no one else to notice. I really like the "presence" of this house. The coloring and materials are first rate. It is very "touchy feely" and very responsive to the changing light as the clouds raced across the sky. I can't wait to do the local, green hemlock over Solitex Mento again. and better. Click on the photos for big screen enjoyment.

Woodshed

FALL = Wood

I have been rather absent from both this blog and from my office lately. Fall is a time of "busy" for me. The first cold snap sends me scurrying for my chain saw when I realize I have made little headway towards getting the winter wood supply cut split and stacked. Typically, I fell some trees in the winter and spring for the following year. I also cut a lot of ash which grows near the house, is dying, (?) is easy to split, burns well even if it is not seasoned. Fall is also a time when I realize that we live in a small house and it is a mess. Thus I spend an inordinate amount of time "nesting" Paying work is slim this fall so I cleaned and insulated the basement, then I cleaned and added insulation to the attic. Of course the part of the house we live in is still a mess. Fall is also a time when I like to bake. I don't know why. I have been baking bread several times a week as well as muffins, rolls and assorted other treats. Perhaps, when I do the lumberjack thing I feel the need for buttered scones with tea.

The Necessity of Good Hydration

Short and anecdotal, this one. Perhaps I need a new category - TMI (too much information) I live in a small, poorly insulated house with a wood stove for heat. The wood stove is rather small and fits in a stone fireplace. The stove is also fairly new and efficient but really doesn't hold a fire all night. So.... In the winter when the nights are cold I have a “system”. In order to insure that I wake up at least once during the night to feed the fire I make sure to drink lots of water before I go to bed. The ramifications of neglecting to do this are chilling. And it keeps me nice and healthy too.

Passive Solar, Super-insulated...heat system?

Houses are getting too complicated. There are many people living in New England in houses that are warm and comfortable and only heat with wood and passive solar. My friend Steve is such a person. His house was built in the early eighties with large windows on the south and a descent amount of insulation by eighties standards. The temperature in his house is always 70 degrees in the winter even though he usually only fires up the wood stove a couple times per day. He uses no other heat source. When you build a new house at any budget level, it seems to be not a question that there is a significant heat system. As an architect, I periodically go to seminars on super-insulated passive solar houses where I hear that radiant heat is overkill and that you should consider a simple type of electric (future photovoltaics) backup heat near the plumbing (but you may never use it). No heat system, radiant or otherwise is a very hard sell as an architect. Maybe I should take people to Steve's house and let him be the salesman.