Retirement Home
This home was designed for a local couple planning for their retirement. Beyond function and efficiency, it offers first floor living today while allowing for future owners to access and utilize space on the second floor. Sustainable Design of VT worked with a New Hampshire construction firm to create a house that could be easily panelized. In doing so, we created a home that was not only accessible and architecturally pleasing, but also affordable.
Growing Family Renovation
The growing family inside this home is seeking a little more space, better energy efficiency and the incorporation of renewable energy. This addition will incorporate all of these plus improve the flow and function of existing spaces, better connect the homeowners with their surroundings and create a home they will truly love.
Small Guest Room Addition
This multi-use addition is a good example of how "green" design can be incorporated into a project of any size. In addition to giving the homeowners a quiet retreat for reading or studying, this space also provides additional space for guests and a connection to the outdoors. This project re-used windows and doors while creating an opportunity for remediation of insulation deficiencies in the existing house.
Master Suite Addition
This master suite addition was added to the first floor for an aging couple. Special care was taken to incorporate this new structure with the existing 19th century home by adding a matching stone-faced foundation, slate roof, and bay window.
Artist Studio
This studio was designed with efficiency and economy in mind. Passive solar heating was the driving design element, achieved with heavy glazing on the south wall. The structure was built using reclaimed framing members and sheathing for the floor, deck, walls and roof. The shell is super-insulated and incorporates staggered stud walls with no windows on the north and west sides. The cantilevered roof was designed to provide maximum solar exposure during long Vermont winters and shading in the hotter months and also allows water to be collected for irrigation to the garden behind.
Timber Frame Addition
This addition highlights sustainability by integrating passive solar, a well-insulated shell, and reclaimed materials into the design. The structural timber frame will be built using antique heart pine timbers which were salvaged from an 1880's factory in southern New England. The trim, siding, and other features for this addition were carefully detailed to blend seamlessly with the existing home.
Two Car Garage
This two car garage incorporates many sustainable design principles despite its very traditional appearance. Advanced framing techniques were used to minimize the amount of lumber used. The site was actually improved with the removal of several invasive species during its preparation. To reduce the emissions, the fill removed during excavation was relocated to an abutting lot. The garage blends into the site and compliments the finishes and details of the existing home.
Deep Energy Retrofit
The renovation of this home included much more than combining two units, adding bathrooms, and updating the kitchen. Spotty fiberglass insulation was replaced with a combination of closed and open cell spray foams and dense packed cellulose; electric heating was upgraded to a geothermal system; and overall air leakage was reduced almost 80%. What was once a drafty old home has become a model of efficiency.
Garden Shed
This prairie style garden shed was conceived as an attractive option to the pre-built box store varieties available today. It was built using many local recycled building materials including 2x4's, plywood, and siding. The large overhangs create a protected area around the perimeter for a potting bench, temporary tool storage, or a place of refuge during a sudden summer rain.
Efficient Small Home
Sustainable Design of VT was hired to consult as project manager for the design of an efficient and affordable home in southern Vermont. We worked closely with Claudio Veliz, Architect to create a compact home and help incorporate sustainable details. The 24' x 24' square footprint is optimally sized for both the climate and material usage. The building and windows are located and sized to maximize passive solar performance and the timber frame was locally harvested. This home achieved an amazing Energy Star 5+ rating.
Storage Barn
This small barn was created almost entirely from salvaged building materials. The sliding door track is from an old garage, the windows are sashes from a house, and the siding is a combination of discarded vertical ship-lap and vintage cedar roof shingles. The roofing slate has outlived two prior buildings and continues to function beautifully after a hundred years of use. The wall studs, roof framing, and sheathing were all recovered by carefully deconstructing local homes that were undergoing renovation.
Attached Porch
The homeowners were looking for a room which connected them to the landscape. This three season porch created a quiet, shady oasis for them with removable windows and screens.