How Healthy Is Your Home? Part 2

Welcome to the second article in our two-part blog series on what makes a healthy and resilient home. If you’ve missed the first article, you can read it here. 

In our first post, we answered the question of what does it mean to have a healthy and resilient home. In this article, we’ll discuss whether healthy resilient homes are more costly than standard built homes and explore some ways to improve an existing home so that it is more resilient. 

Cost Or Investment: Building A Healthy Resilient Home

Have you wondered if the cost is worth it to build or renovate your home to be more resilient? If this has been on your mind, try to reframe the question. You already engage in daily practices such as buying organic groceries and supporting local businesses, so why would you not spend a little more to have your home reflect these healthy values? After all, your home is an investment in your health, comfort, and security. 

A fact that may be surprising to learn is that choosing to build a healthy home doesn’t need to equate to a significantly higher cost to build. There is a growing list of some really good material and product choices that don’t cost more, but perhaps take a bit more time and energy to find. 

A healthy and resilient home provides financial benefits in addition to supporting the comfort and health of its occupants. A home that treads lightly on the earth tends to cost less to maintain over time. As an example, after three years in the healthy, efficient custom home we designed for them in Yakima, our clients did not have a single energy bill!

How To Improve An Existing Home So It’s More Resilient?

Almost any home can be made more resilient. For instance, weatherstripping, adding insulation and replacing old windows with new ones will help with energy conservation. Rainwater cisterns are easy to add to most stormwater systems and drought-tolerant landscaping reduces water use.

While it is easier to make a new home super resilient than an old one, it is important to note that most of our future housing stock is already built and many homes desperately need to be upgraded to reach climate goals.

Want To Improve The Health Of Your Home? Start Now.

The process of planning, decision making, and putting together design documents takes time. So does permitting in many jurisdictions. Depending on the project, we suggest allowing 9 months or more from start of design to start of construction - think of this as your baby!

The pause for Covid containment has created quite a pent-up demand for projects at all points along the way, so currently you want to allow more time than that. Getting both your architect and builder selected and working toward your goals now will give you a head start as things continue to open up.

These days, many people are thinking about ways to make their spaces more resilient and comfortable. Would you like to make an appointment to discuss your project ideas? We are listening and ready to meet your needs. Book a virtual consultation today.

How Healthy Is Your Home? Part 1

Living Shelter Architects’ mission is to offer innovative design solutions for healthy and resilient homes that positively impact our community and our planet. But you may be wondering, what exactly does a healthy and resilient home mean? This article is part one of a two part series to answer this very question.

So, What Is A Healthy Home?

At minimum, a healthy home is one built and finished using non-toxic materials, that has adequate filtered fresh air circulation, and has durable and easy to clean surfaces. We like to take this a bit further to include aspects that support good mental health such as natural light and a visual connection to nature, and that allow occupants to live independently as their abilities change due to age or health challenges. 

Living Shelter Architects was founded on the idea of promoting healthier and more sustainable options for creating homes. We stay on top of new findings and developments in healthy methods and materials to incorporate them as appropriate. When you work with us, we share our knowledge to help you understand the options and plan a healthy home investment strategy for your family.

What Is A Resilient Home?

A resilient home is one designed to allow you to comfortably survive amidst environmental challenges, such as the effects of climate change. This means that a resilient home:

• Takes very little energy to stay comfortable in all seasons, and that produces the energy it needs. 

• Collects and filters rainwater, at a minimum for irrigation and ideally for other household uses as well. 

• Has a fire resistant exterior and fire-safe landscape, and is sited so there is a sunny garden space to grow food. 

Living Shelter Architects has helped clients create low-impact, net-positive energy homes for years, and lately have been working with resiliency tools from the Living Building Challenge and Passive House Protocol. When this service is included, a resilient lens is used when helping our clients decide on a building site, in writing the design program, in layout and orientation of the building elements, and in shepherding a home through to completion.

What’s The Value Of Natural Materials In A Healthy Home?

Our perspective is holistic; what we choose causes a ripple effect far beyond our homes. Not only are we concerned about the health of our clients and their families, but also about how the manufacture and disposal of unhealthy products impacts the environment and lives of others. 

The extraction and manufacturing of many products is toxic to workers and the byproducts are toxic to the environment. There are people who are less fortunate than us and live near the factories or garbage dumps. Labor practices in many sectors are also quite atrocious, but that is a topic for another time. So, we see using healthy and natural materials as much a social justice issue as a personal health and environmental stewardship choice. All are equally important.

Now, that you have more understanding on what constitutes a healthy and resilient home, you likely have even more questions, such as: 

• Are healthy resilient homes more costly than standard built homes? 

• Are there ways to improve an existing home so that it is more resilient? 

Stay tuned as these questions and more will be answered in the next article in this two part series. 

These days, many people are thinking about ways to make their spaces more resilient and comfortable. Would you like to make an appointment to discuss your project ideas? We are listening and ready to meet your needs. Book a virtual consultation today.

How To Reduce Your Carbon Footprint With Small Steps

We love the depth of information in this article! It clearly explains both the impact of your carbon footprint and how you can reduce its size with small steps. It’s an easy tool we can all use. Please read the excerpt below and click through to the full article, and start taking steps today!

Everyday Public Service: Reducing Your Carbon Footprint for the Greater Good

If you knew your everyday actions were contributing to the spread of disease, would you change them? If you knew that even your smallest daily habits were increasing the number of people who are food insecure, would you think twice? If you knew the size of your carbon footprint directly impacted the lives of your neighbors, would you work to reduce it? For people who care about their communities, the answer to these questions is probably an enthusiastic “yes”, but how do you go about changing? 

Your carbon footprint impacts more than just yourself. There is a social impact attached to the size of your footprint and working to make it smaller is just as much of a public service as volunteering or charity work – you just need to know where to start. From understanding your carbon footprint and how to measure it to learning what you can do to reduce and offset it, keep reading to discover how everyday public service can make your community, and the planet, a greener place.

Continue reading: https://www.publicservicedegrees.org/resources/reducing-your-carbon-footprint/

A Healthy, Energy-Efficient Sustainable Home For Everyone

It is Living Shelter Architects’ goal to positively impact our community and our planet by creating spaces that are sustainable while enhancing our health and well-being. It is important for us to design in ways that support both our clients’ lifestyles and the environment. This is why we champion using natural materials, designing for energy efficiency, and striving to achieve Net Zero or Net Positive structures. 

What is a Net Zero Home? 

You are likely already familiar with the various ways a Net Zero or Net Positive home benefits the environment. But are you aware of the personal benefits of living in one? First, let’s define the terms “Net Zero” and “Net Positive”: 

• A home with zero net energy consumption is designed so that the total amount of energy used by the home on an annual basis is roughly equal to the amount of renewable energy created on the site.

• A home with positive net energy consumption produces more energy than what it consumes, allowing for powering other things such as electric vehicles or neighboring buildings.

An Energy Efficient Custom Home In Yakima

An example of a Net Positive custom home is a custom home Living Shelter Architects designed for a couple in Yakima, WA. This 3100sq ft home uses a combination of passive solar site orientation, super insulation, geothermal heating and cooling, and an ample solar panel array. It produces more energy than it needs so the excess charges their electric vehicle.

This custom home utilizes extra insulation and tight air sealing to prevent air leakage and provide an excellent thermal and moisture barrier. In addition to the traditional fiberglass batts used for insulating the exterior walls and roof, this home has continuous rigid foam insulation on the exterior of the walls and foam sprayed under the roof sheathing to help reduce both air leakage and thermal bridging.  

The daylight basement is nestled into the hill with an insulated concrete block system. The hillside itself provides an additional thermal barrier. Made with rigid thermal insulation, insulating concrete forms are interlocking and filled with concrete. In addition to providing a structurally insulated wall they provide an excellent moisture barrier that doesn’t crack.

The clay plaster walls and stained concrete floors provide an interior envelope that keeps the house temperate. The homeowners report that both the indoor temperature and humidity are comfortable year-round in all parts of the house. 

Benefits Of An Energy Efficient Custom Home

No More Energy Bills

There are several benefits to living in an energy efficient home. One of the most obvious is the lack of energy bills. After three years in their healthy, efficient custom home in Yakima, the owners did not have a single energy bill! The fourth year they experienced an unusually cold and snowy winter, covering the solar panels for so long that they could not produce as much power.

Solar Incentives

It is estimated that between a 30% Federal tax credit, a production credit from the local utility, plus incentives from Washington State of up to $5000/year, this system’s costs will be paid back in one more year.

Healthy Home

Net Zero and Net Positive custom homes often utilize advanced fresh air systems. When also constructed with non-toxic finishes, materials and surfaces, the result is a healthier home to live in. For example, the clay plaster walls in our Yakima project, are a non-toxic healthy alternative to paint, wallpaper, cement, acrylic and gypsum plasters. Clay is a natural material that is mold resistant, temperature controlling, moisture and humidity buffering, and durable.

Clean Air

The airtight nature of this energy-efficient home incorporates an advanced ventilation system called an ERV or Energy Recovery Ventilator which provides pre-heated or pre-cooled fresh, filtered air – free of outside pollutants and allergens. We love how these systems work to help keep you and your family healthy.

Low Maintenance Home

Net Zero and Net Positive custom homes can be lower maintenance and are easy to keep clean due to their durable, airtight construction and fresh air system. Moisture barriers prevent mold or water damage and fresh filtered air means less dust and easier cleaning.

Fight Climate Change

There are so many benefits to owning an energy-efficient home. One of the most important is giving individuals a way to have a positive impact on our world. A Net Zero or Net Positive home by definition contributes far less - or in some cases nothing at all - to climate change.

Want to live in a custom home that contributes positively to our world? Designing sustainable healthy homes is what we do. Find out if working with our team is a good fit: https://www.livingshelter.com/working-with-us

A Year in Review: 2019 Highlights

The holidays are a natural time for reflection. As we transition from one year to another and end one decade to enter the next, we’re taking a look back at 2019. The pride and gratitude we feel for our accomplishments over the past year have us excited for what’s in store for 2020. 

A Growing Team

Last January, we welcomed Troy Howe as a new Project Architect to our team. Troy has become an integral part of our team bringing his background as a craftsman in wood joinery building as well as 20 years of experience as an architect.

In addition to his extensive experience, Troy also received certification as a Certified Passive House Consultant this year!

We are also currently looking for a talented, design-firm-experienced, and self-motivated individual to join our team as an Office Manager. The ideal candidate is an insightful people person who is extremely organized, works well with deadlines, and is driven to help grow a small creative design firm. Learn more about the position here: LSA Office Manager job description

If you (or someone you know) are interested in this position and feel you could be the right fit, please send your resume to todd@charrettevg.com with the subject line – Living Shelter Office Position.

Living Shelter Architects in the Press

We are so delighted to have our Net Carbon DADU featured in both The Seattle Times and Dwell! 

And our Net Positive Custom Home was featured in Fine Homebuilding!

Project Milestones

2019 was a year of achieving many exciting project milestones. The Dog Towne buildings of our Pasado’s Safe Haven project broke ground; soon to be followed by Kitty City. We’re pleased to have participated in the Green Home Tour again, this year featuring Rainier View Homes, the first cottage development in unincorporated King County. 

Our Yakima Baptist Historic Adaptive Reuse project was completed and opened this fall. Terry co-presented at BuiltGreen19 discussing three groundbreaking communities that are pushing the envelope to Net Zero and beyond. Our Selah Vista project was also presented at the Green Building Slam + Summit in a ten slides in ten minutes talk. 

With so many wonderful things we’ve experienced this year, we are holding space for the new projects, new experiences and new connections that will make 2020 an expansive and transformative beginning to a new decade. Won’t you join us on this journey?

Basement and Home Energy Efficient Guide

The average U.S. household used 10,399 kilowatt hours (kWh) in the year 2017, with an average or 867 kWh each month. The state that had the highest usage was Louisiana with each residential unit using 14,242 kWh of electricity. The state with the lowest usage was Hawaii at 6,074 kWh per residential customer.

Copyright © 2019 BasementGuides . com

Reflections on the Green Home Tour and Living Future unConference

Living Shelter Architects participated in both, the Living Future unConference and the  Northwest Green Home Tour, this year and have previously done so in the past. Sitting down with our Founder and Principal Architect Terry Phelan, we took time to reflect on her experiences this year with both events. 

What was the difference (if any) between the experience of last years’ Green Home Tour and this years’? 

Our experience this year was quite different. Last year we had three different projects on the tour and they each saw over 100 visitors. This year we just had one project that only had about 20 visitors. 

What was exciting about the Rainier View Homes being on the Green Home Tour? 

It was great to show the first permitted cottage project in King County to the public and create interest in community based design. We are so proud of this project and we look forward to doing more of this type. I just wish more people had known about it and our involvement!

Why were you looking forward to the Living Future unConference? 

This is always an inspirational gathering and an opportunity to see some colleagues that I don’t often cross paths with. A bonus was meeting two other CVG partners there this year and finding so much in common with them. It was great to connect about business matters as well as the latest in deep green practices that we were all interested in. 

What was a memorable experience of the opening night reception/party? 

The memorial for Patti Southard, who was such a change maker for green building in our area. And finding two new products that I’m excited about - Teknoflor organic sheet flooring and salvaged wood paneling from Sustainable Northwest Wood.

Do you have any takeaways from your experience with the unConference?

It’s hard to go only to the opening and not the entire conference. This is the first time I’ve limited my participation to just the first night, and it left me wanting more. 

Living Shelter Architects supports both the mission of the Living Future unConference and of the  Northwest Green Home Tour. Both are special gatherings for the green building community. We are all on a mission to preserve the natural world to support our children’s children and other living beings, using building and climate science as our guide. Events such as these, allow a space for all of us to meet face-to-face and find inspiration and communion with one another. 

Interested in how your building project can contribute positively to our world? We design multiple project types and scales with sustainable missions. Find out if working with our team is a good fit: https://www.livingshelter.com/working-with-us

Green Building Slam 2018 - DADU with a View

A design and building collaboration creates a cool Seattle accessory dwelling unit for a growing family and small business. Efforts to build it right resulted in a small home set to achieve Net Zero Carbon.

Living Shelter on Natural Choice Network Podcast

Building community with green building

Living Shelter’s mission is to make sustainable design affordable, functional, beautiful and accessible. Hear about some exciting green building products, and some of the non-profits and other community organizations, who want their projects and structures to reflect their mission as well.

Photo by Marion Michele on Unsplash

Seattle’s First Net Carbon DADU

What do you do when you need more space in your home but are reluctant to leave your neighborhood? This was the central question for the clients of our Net Carbon DADU project. They had outgrown their existing home, a modest 100 year old craftsman bungalow and worried that they would need to leave their well-loved neighborhood to find a home big enough for their increasing needs for space.

Living Shelter Architects explored the possibilities for our client to comfortably stay in their home. After going through several conventional design iterations for how to expand their space including an attic renovation and addition, we decided to explore a DADU concept as a possible way for them to add space and more fully embrace what their property had to offer.

What is a DADU?

DADU stands for detached accessory dwelling unit and is often referred to as a backyard cottage. Whereas an ADU (accessory dwelling unit) is located inside or attached to a single-family home, a DADU is a secondary unit on a single-family lot that is detached from the main residence.

Seattle’s First Net Carbon DADU

To maximize their small lot, we designed a DADU that connected the main level of their existing home, across a deck, to the main level of the new cottage, where we programed flex space that includes a small kitchen. Down a flight of stairs from there, we set a guest bedroom/workshop and full bath below grade.

All of this design was layered with deep sustainability through a close collaboration between Living Shelter and the contractor, Mighty House Construction. From the foundation, insulation, and waterproofing, to the floors, paints, and roof, nearly everything in this DADU was chosen because of its low environmental impact and high performance.

Another consultant on the project, Lucas Johnson of 475 High Performance Building Supply, estimates that this is, “Seattle’s first carbon-negative DADU.” We are hopeful, and we will discover for sure after one year of occupancy, whether or not we achieved the goal to be carbon-neutral.

This experience exemplifies what a good architectural project can have: great communication and collaborative design, flexible and creative clients, and highly skilled builders. We hope the DADU adds another 100 years to the life of this home.

Our net carbon DADU has received some fantastic attention lately. In October 2018, this project was selected for the Green Building Slam presentations. And in April 2018, the DADU was one of our projects on the The Northwest Green Home Tour.