Photography by Natalie Marotta Bungalows are lovable homes, but how can they be better? Along with many of our clients, we find that older (early 20th c.) homes have a lot of character and a comfortable scale, but are leaky, damp (especially in the basement), have fair to poor air quality, and use unconscionable amounts of fossil fuels to heat. The owners of this bungalow were ready to change that, and wanted to do so with minimal upfront carbon emissions as well. The gut renovation included replacing the basement slab and providing capillary breaks and insulation continuously below grade. The brick structure was treated with a fluid-applied air and water barrier from the interior and insulated entirely with cellulose, a carbon-storing insulation. The roof used HFO-blown spray foam to provide sufficient insulation while allowing headroom for bedrooms, bathrooms, and laundry. One great benefit of a full renovation is the possibility of reconfiguring spaces to suit the family’s lifestyle, and to make the best of indoor-outdoor connections. We opened up the main rooms on the first floor, creating a family gathering spot with a view to the back yard, and a spacious kitchen that supports the family’s commitment to cooking for healthy eating. The stair uses a north-facing skylight to bring light from above into the middle of the home, where it was previously dark. As a decarbonization retrofit, the inefficient furnace was replaced with two small ducted heat pump systems, water heating and clothes drying are powered by air-source heat pumps, and cooking uses an induction cooktop plus electric ovens. Energy recovery ventilation provides filtered fresh air continuous exhaust from the kitchen, baths, and laundry, and supplies fresh, highly filtered air to bedrooms and living spaces. The Better Bungalow now makes sense for the 21st century–it now fits the owners’ life-patterns, is super comfortable, has great air quality, and uses a fraction of the energy it did before, greatly lowering the demand on the utility grid. In the near future, when solar PV is installed, it can achieve net zero or near net zero emissions, and with battery backup, can provide great resilience in the event of power outages.

Prachi Damle Photography

Photography by Natalie Marotta Bungalows are lovable homes, but how can they be better? Along with many of our clients, we find that older (early 20th c.) homes have a lot of character and a comfortable scale, but are leaky, damp (especially in the basement), have fair to poor air quality, and use unconscionable amounts of fossil fuels to heat. The owners of this bungalow were ready to change that, and wanted to do so with minimal upfront carbon emissions as well. The gut renovation included replacing the basement slab and providing capillary breaks and insulation continuously below grade. The brick structure was treated with a fluid-applied air and water barrier from the interior and insulated entirely with cellulose, a carbon-storing insulation. The roof used HFO-blown spray foam to provide sufficient insulation while allowing headroom for bedrooms, bathrooms, and laundry. One great benefit of a full renovation is the possibility of reconfiguring spaces to suit the family’s lifestyle, and to make the best of indoor-outdoor connections. We opened up the main rooms on the first floor, creating a family gathering spot with a view to the back yard, and a spacious kitchen that supports the family’s commitment to cooking for healthy eating. The stair uses a north-facing skylight to bring light from above into the middle of the home, where it was previously dark. As a decarbonization retrofit, the inefficient furnace was replaced with two small ducted heat pump systems, water heating and clothes drying are powered by air-source heat pumps, and cooking uses an induction cooktop plus electric ovens. Energy recovery ventilation provides filtered fresh air continuous exhaust from the kitchen, baths, and laundry, and supplies fresh, highly filtered air to bedrooms and living spaces. The Better Bungalow now makes sense for the 21st century–it now fits the owners’ life-patterns, is super comfortable, has great air quality, and uses a fraction of the energy it did before, greatly lowering the demand on the utility grid. In the near future, when solar PV is installed, it can achieve net zero or near net zero emissions, and with battery backup, can provide great resilience in the event of power outages.

This beautiful home is an example of what can be achieved on a small lot. Interactive Construction was able to provide these homeowners with a Passive House that fit perfectly into their heritage neighbourhood, onto their narrow lot, and with their personalities. There are huge energy savings built into the design of this home. In keeping with Passive House principles, the house is insulated everywhere to minimize heat loss meaning this house doesn’t require a conventional heat source. There is an extremely efficient Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV) system that quietly manages airflow throughout the building and takes the heat from showers and cooking before expelling cool, filtered air. Triple glazed windows cut down on heat loss and are almost all openable to aid in cooling instead of a costly air conditioner. Environmental considerations in this build go beyond energy savings. The decision to use prefabricated wall panels and roof trusses to cut down on waste and aid in site storage of lumber. This house’s innovation comes from it being a modern design passive house that it somehow fits very well in a neighbourhood filled with heritage houses. We managed to squeeze a lot of house onto a postage sized lot and still have it feel roomy inside and in the yard. And check out those funky stairs! What the homeowners had to say: Despite the huge and unforeseen challenges of building safely and efficiently during the 2020 Covid pandemic, especially on a very narrow lot, Interactive's exceptional crew and their team of skilled subcontractors delivered our dream house.

This beautiful home is an example of what can be achieved on a small lot. Interactive Construction was able to provide these homeowners with a Passive House that fit perfectly into their heritage neighbourhood, onto their narrow lot, and with their personalities. There are huge energy savings built into the design of this home. In keeping with Passive House principles, the house is insulated everywhere to minimize heat loss meaning this house doesn’t require a conventional heat source. There is an extremely efficient Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV) system that quietly manages airflow throughout the building and takes the heat from showers and cooking before expelling cool, filtered air. Triple glazed windows cut down on heat loss and are almost all openable to aid in cooling instead of a costly air conditioner. Environmental considerations in this build go beyond energy savings. The decision to use prefabricated wall panels and roof trusses to cut down on waste and aid in site storage of lumber. This house’s innovation comes from it being a modern design passive house that it somehow fits very well in a neighbourhood filled with heritage houses. We managed to squeeze a lot of house onto a postage sized lot and still have it feel roomy inside and in the yard. And check out those funky stairs! What the homeowners had to say: Despite the huge and unforeseen challenges of building safely and efficiently during the 2020 Covid pandemic, especially on a very narrow lot, Interactive's exceptional crew and their team of skilled subcontractors delivered our dream house.

This beautiful home is an example of what can be achieved on a small lot. Interactive Construction was able to provide these homeowners with a Passive House that fit perfectly into their heritage neighbourhood, onto their narrow lot, and with their personalities. There are huge energy savings built into the design of this home. In keeping with Passive House principles, the house is insulated everywhere to minimize heat loss meaning this house doesn’t require a conventional heat source. There is an extremely efficient Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV) system that quietly manages airflow throughout the building and takes the heat from showers and cooking before expelling cool, filtered air. Triple glazed windows cut down on heat loss and are almost all openable to aid in cooling instead of a costly air conditioner. Environmental considerations in this build go beyond energy savings. The decision to use prefabricated wall panels and roof trusses to cut down on waste and aid in site storage of lumber. This house’s innovation comes from it being a modern design passive house that it somehow fits very well in a neighbourhood filled with heritage houses. We managed to squeeze a lot of house onto a postage sized lot and still have it feel roomy inside and in the yard. And check out those funky stairs! What the homeowners had to say: Despite the huge and unforeseen challenges of building safely and efficiently during the 2020 Covid pandemic, especially on a very narrow lot, Interactive's exceptional crew and their team of skilled subcontractors delivered our dream house.

This beautiful home is an example of what can be achieved on a small lot. Interactive Construction was able to provide these homeowners with a Passive House that fit perfectly into their heritage neighbourhood, onto their narrow lot, and with their personalities. There are huge energy savings built into the design of this home. In keeping with Passive House principles, the house is insulated everywhere to minimize heat loss meaning this house doesn’t require a conventional heat source. There is an extremely efficient Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV) system that quietly manages airflow throughout the building and takes the heat from showers and cooking before expelling cool, filtered air. Triple glazed windows cut down on heat loss and are almost all openable to aid in cooling instead of a costly air conditioner. Environmental considerations in this build go beyond energy savings. The decision to use prefabricated wall panels and roof trusses to cut down on waste and aid in site storage of lumber. This house’s innovation comes from it being a modern design passive house that it somehow fits very well in a neighbourhood filled with heritage houses. We managed to squeeze a lot of house onto a postage sized lot and still have it feel roomy inside and in the yard. And check out those funky stairs! What the homeowners had to say: Despite the huge and unforeseen challenges of building safely and efficiently during the 2020 Covid pandemic, especially on a very narrow lot, Interactive's exceptional crew and their team of skilled subcontractors delivered our dream house.

This beautiful home is an example of what can be achieved on a small lot. Interactive Construction was able to provide these homeowners with a Passive House that fit perfectly into their heritage neighbourhood, onto their narrow lot, and with their personalities. There are huge energy savings built into the design of this home. In keeping with Passive House principles, the house is insulated everywhere to minimize heat loss meaning this house doesn’t require a conventional heat source. There is an extremely efficient Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV) system that quietly manages airflow throughout the building and takes the heat from showers and cooking before expelling cool, filtered air. Triple glazed windows cut down on heat loss and are almost all openable to aid in cooling instead of a costly air conditioner. Environmental considerations in this build go beyond energy savings. The decision to use prefabricated wall panels and roof trusses to cut down on waste and aid in site storage of lumber. This house’s innovation comes from it being a modern design passive house that it somehow fits very well in a neighbourhood filled with heritage houses. We managed to squeeze a lot of house onto a postage sized lot and still have it feel roomy inside and in the yard. And check out those funky stairs! What the homeowners had to say: Despite the huge and unforeseen challenges of building safely and efficiently during the 2020 Covid pandemic, especially on a very narrow lot, Interactive's exceptional crew and their team of skilled subcontractors delivered our dream house.

This beautiful home is an example of what can be achieved on a small lot. Interactive Construction was able to provide these homeowners with a Passive House that fit perfectly into their heritage neighbourhood, onto their narrow lot, and with their personalities. There are huge energy savings built into the design of this home. In keeping with Passive House principles, the house is insulated everywhere to minimize heat loss meaning this house doesn’t require a conventional heat source. There is an extremely efficient Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV) system that quietly manages airflow throughout the building and takes the heat from showers and cooking before expelling cool, filtered air. Triple glazed windows cut down on heat loss and are almost all openable to aid in cooling instead of a costly air conditioner. Environmental considerations in this build go beyond energy savings. The decision to use prefabricated wall panels and roof trusses to cut down on waste and aid in site storage of lumber. This house’s innovation comes from it being a modern design passive house that it somehow fits very well in a neighbourhood filled with heritage houses. We managed to squeeze a lot of house onto a postage sized lot and still have it feel roomy inside and in the yard. And check out those funky stairs! What the homeowners had to say: Despite the huge and unforeseen challenges of building safely and efficiently during the 2020 Covid pandemic, especially on a very narrow lot, Interactive's exceptional crew and their team of skilled subcontractors delivered our dream house.

This beautiful home is an example of what can be achieved on a small lot. Interactive Construction was able to provide these homeowners with a Passive House that fit perfectly into their heritage neighbourhood, onto their narrow lot, and with their personalities. There are huge energy savings built into the design of this home. In keeping with Passive House principles, the house is insulated everywhere to minimize heat loss meaning this house doesn’t require a conventional heat source. There is an extremely efficient Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV) system that quietly manages airflow throughout the building and takes the heat from showers and cooking before expelling cool, filtered air. Triple glazed windows cut down on heat loss and are almost all openable to aid in cooling instead of a costly air conditioner. Environmental considerations in this build go beyond energy savings. The decision to use prefabricated wall panels and roof trusses to cut down on waste and aid in site storage of lumber. This house’s innovation comes from it being a modern design passive house that it somehow fits very well in a neighbourhood filled with heritage houses. We managed to squeeze a lot of house onto a postage sized lot and still have it feel roomy inside and in the yard. And check out those funky stairs! What the homeowners had to say: Despite the huge and unforeseen challenges of building safely and efficiently during the 2020 Covid pandemic, especially on a very narrow lot, Interactive's exceptional crew and their team of skilled subcontractors delivered our dream house.

HVAC Contractor

Photography by Natalie Marotta Bungalows are lovable homes, but how can they be better? Along with many of our clients, we find that older (early 20th c.) homes have a lot of character and a comfortable scale, but are leaky, damp (especially in the basement), have fair to poor air quality, and use unconscionable amounts of fossil fuels to heat. The owners of this bungalow were ready to change that, and wanted to do so with minimal upfront carbon emissions as well. The gut renovation included replacing the basement slab and providing capillary breaks and insulation continuously below grade. The brick structure was treated with a fluid-applied air and water barrier from the interior and insulated entirely with cellulose, a carbon-storing insulation. The roof used HFO-blown spray foam to provide sufficient insulation while allowing headroom for bedrooms, bathrooms, and laundry. One great benefit of a full renovation is the possibility of reconfiguring spaces to suit the family’s lifestyle, and to make the best of indoor-outdoor connections. We opened up the main rooms on the first floor, creating a family gathering spot with a view to the back yard, and a spacious kitchen that supports the family’s commitment to cooking for healthy eating. The stair uses a north-facing skylight to bring light from above into the middle of the home, where it was previously dark. As a decarbonization retrofit, the inefficient furnace was replaced with two small ducted heat pump systems, water heating and clothes drying are powered by air-source heat pumps, and cooking uses an induction cooktop plus electric ovens. Energy recovery ventilation provides filtered fresh air continuous exhaust from the kitchen, baths, and laundry, and supplies fresh, highly filtered air to bedrooms and living spaces. The Better Bungalow now makes sense for the 21st century–it now fits the owners’ life-patterns, is super comfortable, has great air quality, and uses a fraction of the energy it did before, greatly lowering the demand on the utility grid. In the near future, when solar PV is installed, it can achieve net zero or near net zero emissions, and with battery backup, can provide great resilience in the event of power outages.

Air Cleaner, True Hepa, Air Purifier, Purifier, Asthma, Allergy, Allergens, Pollen, VOC, Mold, Dust Mites, Babies, Pet, Dog, Cat, Hair, Home, Home Environment, Carbon, Filter, Carbon Filter, Odor Removal, Smoke, PlasmaWave, Quiet

Trendy bedroom photo in Singapore

Photography by Natalie Marotta Bungalows are lovable homes, but how can they be better? Along with many of our clients, we find that older (early 20th c.) homes have a lot of character and a comfortable scale, but are leaky, damp (especially in the basement), have fair to poor air quality, and use unconscionable amounts of fossil fuels to heat. The owners of this bungalow were ready to change that, and wanted to do so with minimal upfront carbon emissions as well. The gut renovation included replacing the basement slab and providing capillary breaks and insulation continuously below grade. The brick structure was treated with a fluid-applied air and water barrier from the interior and insulated entirely with cellulose, a carbon-storing insulation. The roof used HFO-blown spray foam to provide sufficient insulation while allowing headroom for bedrooms, bathrooms, and laundry. One great benefit of a full renovation is the possibility of reconfiguring spaces to suit the family’s lifestyle, and to make the best of indoor-outdoor connections. We opened up the main rooms on the first floor, creating a family gathering spot with a view to the back yard, and a spacious kitchen that supports the family’s commitment to cooking for healthy eating. The stair uses a north-facing skylight to bring light from above into the middle of the home, where it was previously dark. As a decarbonization retrofit, the inefficient furnace was replaced with two small ducted heat pump systems, water heating and clothes drying are powered by air-source heat pumps, and cooking uses an induction cooktop plus electric ovens. Energy recovery ventilation provides filtered fresh air continuous exhaust from the kitchen, baths, and laundry, and supplies fresh, highly filtered air to bedrooms and living spaces. The Better Bungalow now makes sense for the 21st century–it now fits the owners’ life-patterns, is super comfortable, has great air quality, and uses a fraction of the energy it did before, greatly lowering the demand on the utility grid. In the near future, when solar PV is installed, it can achieve net zero or near net zero emissions, and with battery backup, can provide great resilience in the event of power outages.

Example of a garage design in Toronto

Inspiration for a scandinavian light wood floor and white floor living room remodel in Singapore with white walls

Kerri Torrey Photography
Example of a transitional gray floor dedicated laundry room design in Toronto with an undermount sink, shaker cabinets, white cabinets, gray walls, a side-by-side washer/dryer and white countertops

Keith and Amy loved their home in quiet Wake Forest neighborhood on a large corner lot on a cul-de-sac. Over time, Amy had developed allergic reactions to unknown allergens in their home. As her condition worsened, it became impossible for her to spend much time in the home, and they were forced to move out and find temporary housing accommodations. After months of talking with other home improvement providers and indoor air “experts” and trying other solutions to no avail including having their HVAC ducting cleaned, they turned to Paradise Found Construction and our expertise and experience in transforming indoor environments in homes into healthy and clean living spaces. Because many of the improvements we undertook to create a cleaner environment also provided energy savings, we had our work certified under the 2012 National Green Building Standards (NGBS) and were award a Bronze level certification for the home. We conducted a thorough investigation and testing regimen that included bringing in our team industry leading air quality and HVAC experts, we developed a comprehensive plan of action that would solve their “sick home syndrome”. We removed all of the carpeting and pad from the home and thoroughly cleaned all surfaces and filtered the air with advanced HEPA filtration units. There were a few areas of mold in the crawl space which we mitigated as well. We thoroughly air sealed the home, paying particular attention to the ground level and attic floor system. Since the HVAC systems and ducting had become re-contaminated, we cleaned both units and all associated duct work. To eliminate unhealthy air being drawn into the home from the crawl space, we completely sealed and conditioned the crawl. In order to provide a controlled entry point for clean fresh air into the home we installed an energy efficient stand-alone Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV). We installed wood flooring in all of the living areas that did not have wood flooring, and finished all of the flooring using a NO-VOC water-based floor finish. All of the painted surfaces of the home were sealed and painted with NO-VOC latex paint. To further improve the energy performance of the home in addition to thoroughly air-sealing and sealing and conditioning the crawl space, we installed 100% LED lighting in the home. We improved the water efficiency of the home by installing low-flow EPA WaterSense rated toilets and shower heads, converted all of the bathroom and kitchen faucets to be more water efficient. Upon completion, Amy and her family was able to move back into their cozy and clean “new home”, and are once again able to enjoy and be comfortable in their home.