It Looks Flat, But It’s Not

We’ve obviously shied away from a traditionally pitched roof, however one common misconception about the house is that the roof is flat. While it definitely appears that way from the ground, it actually slopes away from the structure at around 2 degrees. It doesn’t seem like much, but it’s enough to keep the water moving and prevent it from pooling.

The slope is actually quite pronounced when you’re looking at the lower roof from inside the house (mainly because it simply slopes from one side to another). However, the upper roof is a different story altogether. The roof has 2 peaks (on both sids of the clerestory) with each sloping away in 3 different directions. I’m not 100% sure how the framers figure out the various angles (and it’s actually hurting my brain just thinking about it), but I went up on the roof this afternoon and was amazed how well it was assembled. We’ve had quite a lot of rain over the last few days, but other than a little frost (and the snow that was falling from the sky) it was essentially bone dry up there. Of course the plywood sheathing isn’t exactly watertight and I assume a lot of water simply washed through the cracks, but there definitely wasn’t any pooling up there. I’d say that’s a good sign, no?

We had originally considered a product called PosiSlope, which is described as a “factory pre-designed tapered roof insulation and drainage system”. It’s essentially a large foam puzzle that gets assembled on the roof, with pieces custom made based on your drawings. Compared to strapping out the roof and sloping by hand, it’s assembled and installed in a fraction of the time, plus it has an inherent R-value… which is an obvious plus. Of course, it’s also happened to exceed our budget by just a few dollars. Sigh.

The next step is waterproofing the roof, although I don’t know the exact approach we’re going to take yet. I assume it’ll be a torch-down solution of some kind, but I could be wrong. We’re also planning on covering the entire clerestory (top and sides) with Ice & Water Shield to ensure it’s completely watertight. Well, as watertight as it can be… I suppose nothing is 100%. Regardless, I’m becoming somewhat paranoid about the clerestory leaking and I want to do everything I can to ensure it stays nice and dry.

Posted by Jeremy Bell in: Architecture & Design + Construction    |    9 Comments »

Structured Analysis

We’re expecting to finish the framing this week, so I figured this might be an appropriate time to reflect on what we encountered along the way. Aside from a few tweaks, I’d say the framing has turned out quite well. However, that’s not to say we haven’t encountered a few unexpected complexities… most of which stemmed from the specifics outlined in the structural drawings.

I’m obviously in no position to question what our structural engineer has outlined, but each of the trades has expressed the opinion that our home is over-engineered. I don’t know if it really matters at this point (and I certainly can’t argue with the craftsmanship), but there’s obviously a fine line between quality-construction and over-construction.

For instance, our floors are built with TJI joists, which are engineered I-beams made of wood. We have a lot of them and each is supported by a joist hanger. I don’t believe this actually all that uncommon (and I would have requested them regardless), but I’m told our approach was far more involved (so as to eliminate bulkheads). This meant that each joist had to be cut, glued, nailed into a hanger… ultimately resulting in more work for the framers.

Similarly, we apparently “have enough LVLs to build three homes” (as one of the trades told me). LVLs are dense beams engineered from laminated veneer lumber, and we’ve got them all over the house. We also had to reinforce the structure with shear walls, which meant we needed to sheath the exterior walls with thicker plywood, and affix the walls to the floor with a series of substantial bolts.

Beyond the TJIs, LVLs and shear walls, we also have plenty of steel beams and columns… All of which have added up to a pretty substantial structure. Too much structure? It seemed that way, so I inquired why the house was designed as it is. I got a pretty detailed explanation, but there were 3 primary reasons:

1. Windows. In retrospect it seems painfully obvious, but the size and number of windows demanded that we increase the structure to compensate for the reduction of studs. Apparently glass isn’t as strong as wood. Who knew.
2. Aesthetics. We wanted large open spaces and crisp clean lines. To accomplish this, we obviously had to reduce the number of load-bearing walls and bulkheads throughout the house. Similarly, we decided we wanted to cantilever the 2 overhangs instead of supporting them with beams.
3. The clerestory. The large two-story opening displaced everything in the middle of the house, which meant we needed to compensate by beefing up the structure around it.

I can’t say I expected to build the house this way when we began, but I understand how we got here. I mean, I obviously wanted to build the best home we can, but I also don’t want to overspend on it.

So have we gone overboard with the structure? I certainly hope not.

You can take a closer look at the structure in the photo gallery

Posted by Jeremy Bell in: Architecture & Design + Construction    |    15 Comments »

How Green Is Green Enough?

The 2nd of 5 articles I’m writing for the Globe and Mail was published today, in which I reflect on our environmental commitments. As I mention in the article, one thing I’ve learned during this project is that ‘being green’ means different things to different people. I’m sure people will take this opportunity to criticize what we have or haven’t done with our project, but I thought it was important to start a discussion about the broader topic.

So I’m curious, what does being green mean to you?

Posted by Jeremy Bell in: Eco / Green    |    5 Comments »