The Richards Cottage-ADU
This cottage was completed in January of 2020.
Cottage Specs: 999 Sq. Ft., 1 bedroom, 1.5 bath, 500 Sq. Ft. of covered and screened porches, integrated sprinkler room/storage closet.
This cottage was built an an ADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit) for clients who wanted to build a cottage on their property for their parents/in-laws to age into. With that in mind we set out on a collaborative process between the clients whom lived on the property in the primary residence and the parents who currently live out of state. The clients came to us with a vision for a cottage in the woods perched at the end of a long wooded peninsula. The challenge was dealing with the local jurisdiction which has strict setback requirements for steep slopes and critical areas, the latter in this case was a creek that runs adjacent to the property. We spent several months doing survey work, geotechnical work, septic design, drainage design, construction documents and permit submittals but eventually we prevailed and construction commenced in August of 2019.
Additionally this house was designed to dovetail back into the landscape as the client allows the forest to return post construction. The house was sited in a location that was previously cleared on the site some 35 years ago. Alders had infilled that space and the Alders were cleared and cut for firewood for the client. The house as also designed to meet future accessibility needs for the parents as needed. A single step entry and accessible thresholds throughout, the bathroom can be adapted for their needs in the future if needed.
Build Details:
This house utilizes the energy efficient envelope that is standard on most of our projects. The foundation is a traditional stem wall foundation with a rat slab poured in the crawlspace. The rat slab was poured to keep the rodents and critters from weaseling their way into the crawl space which is quite common in this area. The underside of the main floor was sprayed with spray foam to enhance the strength of the floor, provide an air tight envelope and add a thermal barrier for the radiant heat (in gypcrete) above.
This cottages boasts a moderate efficiency (Less than our typical but still really good) envelope with R-23 walls (zipp sheathing and BIBS), R-49 spray foam ceilings, locally sourced double glazed windows with .24 U-value (Grove Window Supply, Carnation, WA), Rogue Valley solid Douglas Fir doors and high efficiency air and vapor sealing (SIGA tapes and Prosoco products).
Post and Beam framed porches utilize all reclaimed Douglas Fir material that we had resawn and finished on site, timber framed windows at the front of the house are crafted out of Red Cedar with Fir plugs, the porch screen system is installed over cedar and the custom cedar screen door was crafted by Sno Valley Cottages on site. All Exterior trim is reclaimed fir and siding is Tight Knot Yellow Cedar. On the interior all of the beams are Reclaimed Douglas Fir and all of the mill work was painstakingly finished by our craftsman on site. The interior millwork is also reclaimed Douglas Fir that our supplier de-nailed and delivered on site cut to dimension. Then it was planed, ripped, sanded and shaped on site. The interior millwork is finished with Rubio Monocoat provided by Green Home Solutions (Seattle). All interior paint is no VOC (interior and exterior), custom cedar railings at side entry by Sno Valley Cottages.
Radiant system and domestic hot water provided by air-to water heat pump by Sanden. High efficiency system without the use of toxic refrigerants. The radiant tubes were stapled to the floor sheathing then 1-1/2" of gypcrete was poured making for a dead level and efficient system. Ventilation and MERV12 filtration provided by Ultimate Air ERV which has become standard in all of the houses we build. When building tight you have to ventilate right.
For more information about this project or if you have a project you want to discuss let us know.
Cottage Specs: 999 Sq. Ft., 1 bedroom, 1.5 bath, 500 Sq. Ft. of covered and screened porches, integrated sprinkler room/storage closet.
This cottage was built an an ADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit) for clients who wanted to build a cottage on their property for their parents/in-laws to age into. With that in mind we set out on a collaborative process between the clients whom lived on the property in the primary residence and the parents who currently live out of state. The clients came to us with a vision for a cottage in the woods perched at the end of a long wooded peninsula. The challenge was dealing with the local jurisdiction which has strict setback requirements for steep slopes and critical areas, the latter in this case was a creek that runs adjacent to the property. We spent several months doing survey work, geotechnical work, septic design, drainage design, construction documents and permit submittals but eventually we prevailed and construction commenced in August of 2019.
Additionally this house was designed to dovetail back into the landscape as the client allows the forest to return post construction. The house was sited in a location that was previously cleared on the site some 35 years ago. Alders had infilled that space and the Alders were cleared and cut for firewood for the client. The house as also designed to meet future accessibility needs for the parents as needed. A single step entry and accessible thresholds throughout, the bathroom can be adapted for their needs in the future if needed.
Build Details:
This house utilizes the energy efficient envelope that is standard on most of our projects. The foundation is a traditional stem wall foundation with a rat slab poured in the crawlspace. The rat slab was poured to keep the rodents and critters from weaseling their way into the crawl space which is quite common in this area. The underside of the main floor was sprayed with spray foam to enhance the strength of the floor, provide an air tight envelope and add a thermal barrier for the radiant heat (in gypcrete) above.
This cottages boasts a moderate efficiency (Less than our typical but still really good) envelope with R-23 walls (zipp sheathing and BIBS), R-49 spray foam ceilings, locally sourced double glazed windows with .24 U-value (Grove Window Supply, Carnation, WA), Rogue Valley solid Douglas Fir doors and high efficiency air and vapor sealing (SIGA tapes and Prosoco products).
Post and Beam framed porches utilize all reclaimed Douglas Fir material that we had resawn and finished on site, timber framed windows at the front of the house are crafted out of Red Cedar with Fir plugs, the porch screen system is installed over cedar and the custom cedar screen door was crafted by Sno Valley Cottages on site. All Exterior trim is reclaimed fir and siding is Tight Knot Yellow Cedar. On the interior all of the beams are Reclaimed Douglas Fir and all of the mill work was painstakingly finished by our craftsman on site. The interior millwork is also reclaimed Douglas Fir that our supplier de-nailed and delivered on site cut to dimension. Then it was planed, ripped, sanded and shaped on site. The interior millwork is finished with Rubio Monocoat provided by Green Home Solutions (Seattle). All interior paint is no VOC (interior and exterior), custom cedar railings at side entry by Sno Valley Cottages.
Radiant system and domestic hot water provided by air-to water heat pump by Sanden. High efficiency system without the use of toxic refrigerants. The radiant tubes were stapled to the floor sheathing then 1-1/2" of gypcrete was poured making for a dead level and efficient system. Ventilation and MERV12 filtration provided by Ultimate Air ERV which has become standard in all of the houses we build. When building tight you have to ventilate right.
For more information about this project or if you have a project you want to discuss let us know.
Project Year: 2019
Project Cost: $500,001 - $750,000
Country: United States
Zip Code: 98024
