Interior Construction Quality Details
Apartment/Guest Suite: This house contains an 1,100 square
foot guest suite. The suite occupies the upper level of one wing of the house
and extends over the lower garages. The only common walls to the main house
are buffered with closets and sound insulated. The location of the suite and
sound isolation affords complete privacy. The guest suite has a separate outside
entrance along with a separate drive, parking and deck. Really, this suite is
like a separate house. It has its own heating & air and water heater systems.
Also, there is a full kitchen, walk-in pantry, two walk-in closets and laundry
room.
NOTE: All the quality descriptions given for the house also apply to the guest
suite – it is built to the same quality standard as the house.
Kitchens: The kitchens have custom-made cabinets of maple,
ash and hickory. The cabinet drawers are of ¾ inch plywood with 150 lb.
capacity ball bearing drawer slides with 100% extension. All counter tops are
granite. All sinks are gourmet quality stainless steel. The faucets are Grohe
(Germany), Hamat (Israel) or Moen (US). The main kitchen has 2 sinks, 2 refrigerators,
a double oven, dishwasher and built in microwave. The refrigerators are Amana,
the other appliances are Bosch. All are finished in stainless steel. The guest
suite appliances are in white.
Floors: All floors are northern maple from Illinois. The sub
floors in this house were laid with both glue and screws. There are no squeaks
in this floor. The floors are finished with Bioshield, a hypoallergenic penetrating
oil finish from Germany. Bioshield was also used on the wainscoting and other
wood work in the house. There is no wall-to-wall carpet in the house.
Interior Wood and Trim: There is a lot of wood in this house,
most of which was custom sawn and milled for this house at a local lumber mill.
The wainscoting is southern maple, the door trim and baseboards are hickory.
The fireplaces are oak. The staircase is a mixture of cherry, maple and hickory.
Interior posts are 6 by 6 cherry.
Bathrooms: All 4 bathrooms in the house are custom-built and
nicely finished. The cabinets were custom-made from hickory, maple and ash.
All floors are ceramic tile or limestone. All counter tops are granite or limestone.
All 4 tubs are whirlpools (3 cast iron, the master unit is a full-featured fiberglass
unit). All faucets are Grohe. In the showers and whirlpools there are Chicago
Faucet temperature/volume control units – these maintain perfect temperature
while being able to control the volume independently. There are two or three
levels of lighting in each bathroom. The master bath is finished in limestone;
counter top, whirlpool and a custom shower with a bench seat and three shower
heads. The master bath whirlpool tub is a really nice unit with an in-line heater
– it keeps the water hot without having to add hot water. The suite bath
also has a custom, ceramic tile shower with a bench seat and multiple spray
heads, and a large, cast iron whirlpool tub. The main house and suite are served
by Marathon water heaters (85 and 50 gallons). These water heaters are high-tech,
energy efficient models built from polymers and fiberglass – no metal.
They are rust-proof and carry a lifetime warranty.
Lighting: The lighting in this house was carefully designed.
There are 2 or 3 levels of lighting in each room. All light fixtures are of
a nice grade. All ceiling fans are Hunter originals with cast iron housings
and oil-bath ball bearings. In addition to a full array of chandeliers and wall
sconces, the 1st floor has commercial grade, recessed compact fluorescent fixtures
with electronic ballasts. The front porches and parking area are well lit –
in addition to full-width, overhead porch lights, there are two powerful, metal
halide and sodium flood lights that provide full coverage of the parking lot.
Motion-sensor floodlights are included for security. There are also drive way
accents lights – these post-mounted lights are controlled by a timer and
follow the curve of the drive way.
Fireplaces: There are 4 fireplaces in the house. Each one
houses a high-efficiency gas log unit from Central Fireplace in Minnesota. These
units are very high quality and can easily heat the entire house, even in the
coldest weather. They each are controlled by digital, programmable thermostats.
While most gas fireplaces are more decorative than functional, these Central
Fireplace units are both – they have nice flames and glowing logs, but
at 92% efficiency are an economical way to heat the house. Of course, the 3
central heat pump units can also heat the house.
Interior Doors and Sound Proofing: All interior doors are
solid wood. Also, all interior walls contain sound insulation. Additionally,
there is two feet of cellulose sound insulation between the floors in the house.
Thus, the house is pretty quiet. Additionally, the downstairs guest bedroom
door is a weather-stripped, double-paned, exterior unit installed for additional
sound-proofing. The floor plan was designed such that no bedroom shares a common
wall with any other bedroom. For example, the master bedroom is insulated from
other bedrooms by the master walk-in closet and the master bath. The 10 foot
wide glass door unit between the kitchen and family room/den is also an exterior
unit with double pane glass and weather stripping. When these doors are shut
the home theater system in the den can be used with very little notice in the
rest of the house. Finally, the double glass doors to both the downstairs office
and the upstairs laundry room are double-paned units for sound-proofing.
Door Hardware: All the door hardware in the house, both exterior
and interior, is Schlage commercial grade. Commercial grade door hardware is
heavier and has better finishes than residential grade hardware.
Central Vacuum: The house is served by a high-quality central
vacuum system. The vacuum outlets have been located to provide full access to
the entire house. “Floor sweep” outlets are located in both kitchens
(one may sweep the floor directly into a vacuum outlet).
Yard house: The two-story yard house is fully wired and insulated.
There is also provision for a telephone or intercom.
Screen Porch: The floor structure and sub floor are all pressure-treated
lumber. The concrete board underlayment was completely skim-coated with thin
set for water proofing. The tile is porcelain, which unlike clay tile, is weather
proof. The screens are set in removable frames for easy repair. The ceiling
fan is an exterior grade Hunter.
Softened Ceilings: Throughout the house, where the wall meets
the ceiling, “invisible” curved moldings were installed. This curved
wall/ceiling junction is painted with the same white as the ceiling such that
the wall/ceiling juncture disappears. The effect is one of a “floating”
ceiling which enhances the sense of openness in the house and makes the 9 foot
ceilings feel even higher.
Design Summary: This house was custom designed to take optimal
advantage of the setting. There is a 45 degree angle to one wing of the house
and a 30 degree angle to the other wing. This footprint provides the best views
and a good relationship to the yard, parking and exterior access. The open floor
plan, nine-foot ceilings and extensive use of natural-finished wood provides
a spacious, mountain lodge atmosphere. The guest suite, with its separate entrance,
parking and operating systems, was designed to provide perfect privacy while
still having an interior entrance into the main house.
The upper and lower floors are connected by an atrium core. The stairwell, broken
into two flights, ascends this core. A bonus room (bed room, office or library)
extends perpendicular to the main axis of the house at the intermediary stairway
landing (this produces living space of three levels). Above, a skylight brightens
the 2nd floor landing. Entrances to two bed rooms, the master bedroom, and the
guest suite emanate from this focal space. There are no hallways in this house.
By design, an open access concept has been employed throughout the house.
Overall Construction Details
Engineered Foundation Design: A professional engineer was
retained to design the foundation and structural aspects of the house. Moreover,
the foundation construction exceeds the engineer’s specifications for
strength by about 50% - where the engineer called for a 24 inch wide concrete
footer 12 inches deep, a 36 inch wide footer 18 inches deep was installed. Where
the engineering plan called for a 3,000 psi soil test under the footers, the
footers were widened, deepened, and filled with gravel to yield a 4,000 psi
footer base, and with better drainage. Further, although the engineer plan did
not require nor suggest it, a 10-foot deep drainage well was designed into the
footer drainage system. An automatic sump pump was installed at the bottom -
any water that collects is pumped 100 feet downstream into the creek.
Poured, Solid Concrete Foundation Walls: The foundation walls
of most homes are built of concrete block. Concrete block is porous and if not
reinforced properly, can be weak and prone to crack under pressure. Further,
should any water penetration occur it will saturate the block and pass readily
into crawl and basement spaces. The foundation and basement walls of this house
are all poured, high-strength, solid concrete. The main walls are 10 inches
thick, solid concrete, all reinforced with a 12 inch grid of 5/8 inch steel
reinforcement bar set inside the concrete to my engineer’s specifications.
Foundation Walls Water-Proofed with Rubber Membrane: Many
foundation walls are sealed by painting on tar and sticking plastic sheeting
to it. Others may be simply painted with a moisture resistant concrete sealer.
Neither approach is perfectly water neither proof nor long-lasting. The foundation
walls of this house were primed with a special sealer then covered with a 1/8
inch thick, self-adhesive rubber membrane. The membrane was then covered with
¾ inch think construction foam to protect the membrane and to provide
a thermal break between the ground and the concrete foundation walls. These
concrete walls are solid, and water proof.
Extensive Foundation Drainage Design: Given the terrain around
here, effective drainage around a house is important – in a good rain
a hillside can produce a lot of surface water. There can also be subterranean
water such as strata drainage and underground springs. This house has an extensive
drainage system that is oversized by about 300%. As you can see in the photo,
7 four-inch drain lines are positioned at the external footer base (most homes
have one or two). These lines are double-wrapped in fabric filter cloth, buried
in gravel, and the gravel was then wrapped in filter cloth. All these lines
travel to a point downhill and terminate into the creek. Also, all the gutter
downspouts are connected to drainage pipe systems that also travel downhill
and terminate at the creek. Further, the gutters and downspouts are commercial
size which doubles its water carrying capacity. Incidentally, a network of 4
inch piping was installed in the ground underneath the sealed crawl space of
the house. This network terminates outside the house and could be used in the
future to evacuate any ground gases (radon) as needed. It works in that fashion
as a passive system right now – the addition of a low-volume fan to circulate
the system would make it active.
All Plywood Sheathing and Roof Decking: Most houses are sheathed
and roofed with OSB (oriented strand board – wood chips glued together
in a sheet). The exterior walls and roof of this house are covered with 5/8
inch exterior grade plywood. Plywood is stronger, holds fasteners better and
is more stable and moisture resistant than OSB. There is no OSB anywhere in
this house.
High-End Windows – All Low-E, Argon Filled: All the
windows and glass doors in the house are energy efficient. They are low-e coated
to reflect heat in the summer and filled with argon gas to increase insulation
value. There are no vinyl windows in this house, only aluminum clad, all wood
units from Hurd, Peachtree and Pella.
Energy Efficient, Cellulose Insulation: The vast majority
of houses in this area have fiber glass insulation. The reason for this is cost
and availability – it’s economical and can be installed with unskilled
labor. However, cellulose insulation is superior in all ways – it is a
better insulator (has a higher R value), it air-seals the walls perfectly (the
biggest advantage over fiber glass – no drafts), it is a fire retardant
(fiber glass burns), and it dampens sound (fiberglass is more acoustically transparent).
This house was insulated by a company in Asheville that has specialized equipment
for spraying cellulose into wall cavities. As seen in the photo, installed cellulose
is dense and fills the wall cavities perfectly. If you were to press on this
cellulose with your hand, it would feel about like a car wash sponge. There
is also nearly two feet deep of cellulose in the attic (R-38 to R-42). Also,
floor system between the 1st and 2nd floors was pumped full of cellulose. This
allows for more independent control of the HVAC systems as well as attenuating
sound – this house is quiet and has good acoustics.
4 Foot Eave Overhangs for Weather Protection: This house was
designed with big eaves. This helps keep rain off the house and extends the
life of the paint, siding and windows. Moreover, this roof system design allows
full-depth insulation to be installed in the attic above the exterior walls
of the house – a key location for potential heat loss. The siding on this
house is all wood. The paint should last a long time – the siding was
back primed before installation, then primed and painted with two coats of highest-quality
opaque stain. The roughened texture of the board and bating siding holds paint
very well. The 4 foot overhangs give an extra measure of protection.
House Sealed with 30lb Felt – No House Wrap:
Plastic house wrap is used by most builders to cover the exterior sheathing
of a house – it’s easy to install and is cost effective. However,
some problems with condensation are turning up with house wrap, especially in
mixed heating/cooling like we have here. Being a conservative person, I stuck
with a time-proven technology to water seal the sheathing – good old-fashioned
30 lb. felt paper (tar paper). This stuff is thick, heavy and won’t degrade
over time. Moreover, quality homes have for decades been well protected by felt.
Of course, it costs more, but that’s what is on this house.
All Windows and Doors Foam and Tape Sealed: All windows and
doors were meticulously installed for tight fit. All perimeters were foam sealed.
All exteriors were weather-sealed using self-adhesive, thick rubber sealing
tape. These windows won’t leak around the perimeter or sills, and they
are completely air-sealed (no drafts).
All Copper Wiring: In some instances, builders use aluminum
wire to feed circuit breaker boxes. The reason for this is cost – copper
wire costs twice as much as aluminum. But in my opinion, copper is better –
it heats up less under load and does not have vibration/contact problems like
aluminum. Thus, all the wiring in this house is copper. Further, building codes
have recently allowed 14 gauge circuit wiring that was tied to 15 amp breakers.
This house has all 12 gauge wiring and 20 amp breakers.
100% Copper, Thick-Gauge Water Lines: Most new construction
will contain PEX water lines. This is a new technology consisting of flexible
plastic water lines that are snapped onto fittings with metal bands. Plumbers
like PEX because it cuts their installation time in half compared to copper
(thus they make more money). But copper has stood the test of time and remains
the gold standard against which other plumbing systems are measured. So this
house is plumbed with 100% copper water lines.
3 Independent, 410A Heating and Air Systems: The heating and
air systems in this house were carefully designed to provide a perfect interior
climate. The infrastructure of the HVAC systems was designed into the engineered
superstructure of the house. There are 3 independent, high-efficiency heat pump
systems, each controlled by a digital, programmable thermostat. These systems
use the new 410A type refrigerant as opposed to Freon. For one, 410A is more
energy efficient, but also the manufacture of Freon will soon cease (due to
environmental problems) which will increase the servicing costs for Freon based
systems in the future. Due to the careful design of the HVAC systems, there
are no hot or clod spots in the house – these systems provide a very even
and well-balanced interior climate. Due to meticulous sealing, cellulose insulation
and 410A HVAC systems, this house is very energy efficient.
Propane Fireplaces as a 2nd Independent Heating System: The
house has 4 propane fireplaces, all controlled by programmable, digital thermostats.
These units come from a company in Minnesota. I was attracted to these units
because of their high quality and efficiency – they are 92% energy efficient.
The next most efficient unit on the market was 76% (i.e. 24% of the heat did
not come into the house – it went up the vent). Thus, these units are
really very efficient heaters that look like fireplaces. We like back up to
a warm fireplace in the winter, so we’ve used these fireplaces to heat
the house all winter. With the insulation efficiency of the house, these fireplaces
easily heat the whole house without use of the central heat pump system. But
one could do it either way.
Oversize, Commercial Garage Doors with Belt-Drive Openers:
The garage doors are 9 feet wide and 10 feet tall. This allows easy entry and
exit, even for big trucks or SUVs. Residential garage doors do not come this
large – these are commercial quality, insulated doors. The garage door
openers are high-end, belt drive models. Chain drive garage doors can be noisy
and transmit vibrations throughout the house.
All Concrete Driveways: Most homes around here have asphalt
drives. Asphalt can weather and crack if not well maintained. The drives on
this house are 5 inch thick, 4,000 psi poured concrete with fiber glass reinforcing
fiber. These drives require no maintenance, are not susceptible to weathering,
and will last a lifetime (or longer). They also look good. For extra strength,
the garage floor contains 5/8 inch steel reinforcing bar set in an 18 inch grid.
This garage floor will never crack or shift.
Sealed Crawl Space: Floor trusses span the full width of the 1st floor and are set on the concrete foundation walls. Thus, under the floor is about 2,000 square feet, wide open, and about 4-5 feet high. This space is accessed through a hatchway in the mud room floor. There are stairs down to the lighted crawl space. This space is sealed with white plastic and is dry. If one needs storage space, there is plenty of it here. There is also an access door from the master bedroom into the attic space above the family room, or den, on the northern end of the house – this provides additional, easy-access storage space.
SUMMARY:
Here is a summary of the construction features of this house that most other
houses do not have: