Washington, DC - Whole House Renovation & Green Project

Brief Explanation of the Scope of Work

The owner had been renting the house out to a group of recent college graduates and decided it was time to return to this wonderful DC neighborhood. When they grow a little older, the tenants will surely reminisce about this, their first adult abode: the front door was missing both handle and lock so they used the side door; the kitchen functioned mostly for beer storage; one of the tenants lived in a closet and the two other rooms were little bigger; the home was dark, drafty and without any insulation; the sole bathroom cried out for bleach and a sledgehammer..

Unusual Constraints/Challenges & Creative Solutions

After hiring an architect who proposed tearing down the house and building new, our Design/Build firm was retained to redesign the home. This suited the client's budget and focused on quality of space rather than quantity.

The homeowner wanted a much more energy efficient home with comfortable and more open spaces tailored to her personal lifestyle.

At the first floor a wall between the existing kitchen and dining room was removed, opening the floor plan. The openings between the dining room and the front living room and between the rear addition and the dining room were also widened.

The existing front door had opened into the center of the house. To create a more defined entry area and living room, we relocated the door to the side and reworked the windows at the front facade. Brick was carefully toothed in to make the door location look original.

At the second floor the bedrooms and existing bathroom were reconfigured to create a guest bedroom and larger master bedroom with a substantial closet with laundry center and larger master bathroom. The homeowner chose a unique Japanese style seated soaking tub which we integrated with a shower area.

The Project had numerous Green features including:

* A new Geo-Thermal heat pump system with one vertical well in the rear yard.
* Ductwork sealed with mastic and carefully sized using Manual J & D calculations.
* Icynene foam insulation throughout including the attic rafters, exterior walls and band boards.
* At least 40% of debris (by weight) was recycled by our roll off dumpster provider, Environmental Alternatives.
* The eaves on the south face of the house were deepened over the windows to provide shade from summer sun.
* A new attic fan was installed to pull air through the house during the temperate months. By installing an attic fan in the ceiling of the first floor (rather than in exterior wall) and using an attic windows to allow air to escape, we avoided interrupting the attic's thermal envelope.
* Ceiling fans in bedrooms and commons areas.
* We built custom kitchens counters with Forbo Marmoleum with a wood edge detail (Marmoleum is a resilent and completely natural product made form linseed oil).
* Fusiotherm water piping throughout the house.
* New Pella energy star clad wood windows throughout the home.
* Low VOC paints, caulks and adhesives. Bon-Kemi low VOC polyurethane on all floors.
* Compact Fluorescent lighting.
* Energy Star appliances.
* Low flow plumbing fixtures.
* IKEA cabinets - no added formaldehyde boxes and low VOC finish.
* Energy star exhaust fans in the bathrooms on timer switches.
* An integrated vegetable steamer at the kitchen sink provides energy efficient, healthy meals.

Final Results

Like many projects the design process carefully balanced budget with the owner's many objectives and wishes. Tile flooring in the kitchen and addition was replaced with oak flooring to match the rest of the house. IKEA cabinetry was selected for their green featured and their aesthetic, but also to accommodate the budget.

The end result is a home without any feeling of compromise, at once cozy and commodious, but generously proportioned energy efficient and healthy. The homeowner is very happy with her home. She enjoys hosting a dinner club now and loves the praise she receives.

She also delighted with her decision not to tear down the house and add it to landfill as her previous architect had suggested. As is often the case, the greenest innovation was to do little rather than much.