Together with an architect, we designed a 2,200-square-foot, two-story house for a small, infill lot. We then had the exterior walls and roof manufactured as structural insulated panels (SIPs), which were assembled on site, along with interior framing.
Wheelchair accessibility required that all basic needs be satisfied on the main floor: smooth thresholds, wide doors and hallways, roomy closets, a roll-in shower, low-mounted intercom stations and microwave, side-by-side washer/drier, etc.
The overall cost was held to around $100 per square foot by having the owners (us) act as general contractors, working closely with subs, finding great deals on materials, and conjuring creative solutions to design issues (such as recycling a 4-by-10-foot slab of custom concrete countertop). We also tried to anticipate future needs. For instance, we wired the garage for an electric car charger.
Our main challenge with the site was rock. Our neighborhood is notorious for it, so we didn’t even consider a basement. Trouble occurred, though, when we began digging trenches to access municipal water and sewer lines. We hit solid rock, requiring five days of hammering with a large hoe-ram. That added about $15,000 to the excavation cost.
Overall, though, we saved more than that by “salvaging” new but unwanted materials (mostly interior and exterior doors), comparison shopping on line, getting competitive bids and doing much of the finish work ourselves.
The result is nothing short of magical. People frequently stop to tell us how much they love our modern incursion in an old neighborhood. Once invited inside, visitors are awed by the high ceilings, the play of shades and light … and, yes, even how great all the rust looks!
This fine 21st century home is truly one for the ages.
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The home is clad in painted metal to minimize future maintenance. The landscape is xeriscape to reduce water demands. A contiguous sidewalk winds up the middle of the driveway for easy wheelchair access. The sidewalk is flanked by 4-inch-wide grassy strips that radiate to the sides and absorb runoff.
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The kitchen features a 4x10-foot prototype concrete counter that was rescued from a custom manufacturer's waste pile. The lights were salvaged from a century-old warehouse.
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The 3-inch metal post that supports a corner of the second floor is wrapped in the trunk of a cherry tree taken from the property and turned on a lathe, then split and cored out with a chainsaw. The entertainment center was built around the dimensions of two IKEA cabinets, which slide in and out of the sides and allow access behind the gas fireplace. The unit's wood frame is skinned in corten steel, on which saw blades and gears are mounted. The top is crowned with slate.
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At the top of the stairs is a fir bedroom door originally intended for a wine cellar. The frame is wrapped in 2-inch-thick slabs of cherry milled from a century-old tree that was standing dead on the property. Other slabs were used as a bathroom counter on which sits a vessel sink fashioned from a farmer's ancient disk blade (clear-coated at an auto body shop to preserve the rust).
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The brawny glulam stairway is complemented by a railing of salvaged steel, including mining drill bits, a steering wheel from a 1950 tractor, a lugnut wrench, and assorted gears and wheels.
