Finished Houses, Barns, and Additions

Our client asked us to build a two-bedroom home that would be as chemically benign and as close to net-zero energy as possible. Working with Joan Heaton Architects of Bristol and Efficiency Vermont, we sited, designed and built a barn and house with the following features:

Barn:

• 22x38, on piers, to fit truck, tractor and boat.
• built first, served as onsite paint shop, staging area for tools and materials and storage for client tools and belongings.
• 2'6" eaves and rakes give substantial protection to the hemlock shiplap siding.
• Total cost including sitework $40,000.

House:

• 23 x 33, high-posted cape with 3' kneewalls and two shed dormers, 1400 sf, with with option for future addition.
• Fully compliant with Vermont Energy Star and 2011 RBES codes.
• Slab on grade, continuous foam roof insulation, foam and cellulose wall insulation, and substantial under and edge of slab insulation.
• Geothermal heat, open loop system extracts heat from groundwater from the house's water well. Heat pump by Vermont Well and Pump heats house via radiant tubes in slab and high-output baseboard.
• All appliances electric, so with geothermal heat and backup woodstove heat, there are no fossil fuel sources on site.
• With approx. 5 KW grid-tied solar PV array installed, house will be truly net-zero energy.

Indoor Air quality:

• All interior partitions are T&G pine paneling, whitewashed and fully dry before installing – no sheetrock or related compounds.
• Ground floor is the concrete, to be polished and finished with 0 VOC floor sealer by Vermont Eco-Floors.
• Second Floor was sanded and finished with Bona Mega, 0 VOC by Brown's Hardwood floors.
• Trim and curved timber frame elements finished offsite with Land-Ark Citrus-based wood finish.
• Whole house HRV installed by Memphremagog Heat Exchangers, was run through construction process.
• Appliances outgassed 6 months before installation.
• Inert FireSlate used for all countertops.

Finish details:

• Live-edge cherry window and door headers.
• Curved 2nd floor handrail from bookmatched cherry slabs and ash balusters.
• Timberframed entry porch set on site-found stone, locust posts.
• Hand-crafted cherry and pine doors and cabinetry, walnut and paper fan-style light screens at corner braces.