Let's say you're in the market to buy a home.  All of the real estate listings state the 'price per square foot'.  You want to get a good deal so you look for the lower price per square foot.... right?  What does that equation really tell you?

There are certain costs involved in construction that are not directly proportionate with square footage.  For example, it may cost $15K for the foundation of a 1000 sq footprint, but only $20k for a 2000 sq footprint.  See how the cost does not double when square footage doubles?  Foundation along with many other significant cost items follow this same rule of thumb.  Excavation, foundation, framing, and roofing are some of there areas where the initial expense is mobilization, and the expense averages out to be less per square foot as square footage increases.  

The new smaller house will often lose to the mcmansion in terms of price per square foot.  But while the mcmansion wins that equation, the ongoing energy costs are often severe for the life of the structure.  Mcmansions are energy hogs due to their inefficiency, poor design, and excessive size.  While their cost per square foot looks appealing, their monthly bills do not.  

The above describes new or recent construction, but there are other factors that go into price per square foot such as age of home, location, and current market.  Regardless, you should be looking for highly designed smaller space that is so energy and resource efficient that ongoing energy cost is minimized.  As such, you should expect to pay more per square foot for a smaller house initially and enjoy the reward of saving the environment and monthly expenditures for the long life of the structure.

Bottom line is this: If you buy based on the lowest price per square foot, you and the environment will be paying for it endlessly.  Consider looking for a well designed smaller home, with a higher price per square foot that includes great energy and resource efficiency.  And when I say 'higher price' it shouldn't be exorbitant and should keep the triple bottom line in balance.  Believe me, I know that gems like this are hard to find, but they are out there.  You can find it, remodel it, or you can build it.  Good luck discovering your new home.  

Lauren Zerbey nailed one of my design philisophies in her post yesterday.  She says '...clever reuse that doesn't look...well, junky'.  Or as I like to say, 'scrap that doesn't look scrappy'.  It takes so much time and effort to design with used materials.  You have to go the extra mile to create success.

I was once on a home tour that featured tin can siding.  They literally removed the ends of cans, flattened the cylinder, and installed like shingles.  I'm not saying there's anything wrong with this, but it had a very particular aesthetic.  I often think of that example when I am using salvaged materials.  Do I want this to look like tin can siding, or not?  

Thanks for the shout, re-nest.

Yesterday was the first time I had a property on the 'BIG' tour.  I could not have imagined it any better than it was.  We had a constant stream of interested, gracious and motivated people.  There were architects, builders, designers and artists.  Many of the people were homeowners, families, and couples.  Neighbors came over as well as many people from BPS.  We had a politician stop by with his entourage looking for a photo opportunity that conveys his concern for sustainability.  There was also an author that used the Backyard House as the background for her biography shot.  A few people were more interested in the garden and the chickens than the construction project.  It was constant fun, education, and entertainment and the six hours were over in a flash.  The sunny warm weather pulled it all together.  Thank you for the amazingly successful day.  I love you Portland!

The upcoming BIG Home Tour has generated great interest in further detailing the design of The Backyard House.  I started this project concept by designing it on paper over several months.  Here are a few of my inspirations.  Then I worked on Google Sketch-Up to formalize my idea.  This image remains unchanged from May 2010, which is a month prior to the beginning of building.  Sketch-Up is free and a great tool for those of us without formal architectural drawing training.  I never did get the drawings as close as I wanted to a translation of my concept, but despite my Sketch-Up shortcomings they look very much like the final product and I stayed true to the vision throughout. 

In addition to the drawings I spent a great deal of time backcasting.  This is a green construction term that I learned from a Brightworks lecture.  They emphasized the need for clear focus on the final product of a construction project.  Then peel off each step that needs to take place all the way back to the beginning of construction.  This is contrary to the conventional construction model, which is to add layer upon layer and make the design decisions as you go.  Backcasting takes patience and more time up front and also causes the best results.

Once I had plans for the design and backcasting, I assembled a great team to begin construction.  I enlisted the help of Matt at Quartertwenty and they did great work with drawings, framing and exterior detail.  Matt collaborated on the first phase of this project and I credit him with two specific brilliant contributions among other things.  The flared walls in the loft that create a slight pentagonal shape and the siding detail were ideas by QuarterTwenty.

Almost all of the wood for The Backyard house came from Bruce at Barnwood Naturals.   These are the ones who dismantle barns and have an array of beautiful historic wood.  He provided these pictures of the deconstructed barns that produced Backyard House wood.  Bruce has been endlessly supportive and enthusiastic about this project.

Guess how easy it is to get a good roofing crew to install a used copper roof.... well, it’s not.  Many people didn’t want to talk after I said that I will provide my own metal roofing material.  But, not Todd at Willamette Roofing.  He didn’t flinch for a second about reusing a metal roof.  He was timely and did amazing work to create the copper roof that is aesthetically crucial to this project.

The interior detail was built by Douglas Shepherd.  He was amazing to collaborate with on the interior loft design and his finish carpentry work is inspired.  The beautiful cork flooring was installed by Douglas and turned out just right. 

Did I mention that I did not do any of the physical construction?  I say that now because as I am about to gush about Traditional Natural Plaster Company.  Plaster was one of the items that I thought I would do myself.  Ha!  Not a chance.  You should see these guys in action.  They have unbelievable skill and are true professionals and artisans.  Their finished plaster work is amazing and echoes the historic quality of the barnwood. 

The stairs, railing and fireplace base are creations by Jeffmade.  The stairs have a minimal appearance with great strength and perfect functionality.  Jeff has a wonderful portfolio, as do many of the above, that have included Backyard House photos. 

The landscaping was completely destroyed after construction was complete.  Desantis Landscapes saved the day.  They know landscape design and are incredibly pleasant to work with.  Thank you Dean, Andy, and Manuel. 

I took many of the photos on this site, but the really good ones are by Uwe Schneider.  The Backyard House looks great in person, but Uwe flatters it with precise lighting, clarity, and angles.  His architectural photography is thoughtful and impressive. 

I could go on and on, thanking at least fifty more people.  I don't want to bore you all, but want to give credit where credit is due.  Even a small project like this involves so many players.  I wish I could list every person and their specific collaborations and contributions.  Good projects of any size take inspirational design and a great team.  Luckily, Portland has a wealth of talented craftspeople, designers, energy consultants, carpenters, artisans, builders.  Thank you to all who helped form The Backyard House.

See you on the tour!

Earth Advantage offers a free green building workshop.  The class is in Portland on September 22nd, 10-12:30, and provides a broad overview of sustainable design topics.  I have been to this lecture and it's worthwhile if you are motivated and new to the world of green building.  Thanks, Earth Advantage, for this free opportunity.

The Tenth Annual 'Build It Green' Home Tour is September 24th!  This event is sponsored by The City of Portland and Green Depot (formerly Ecohaus) along with many others.  It is so fun to get up close and personal with local building projects.  We all have our own home dreams and this tour is a sampling of people who have made it happen.  It's inspirational and informative.  You can pick and chose the properties that most appeal to you and chart your course.  The Backyard House is on the tour, so I look forward to seeing you!

This is my favorite street sign.  Originally posted directly on a tree, it has been engulfed by the bark over time.  To me this simple visual represents a perfectly obvious, but easy to forget concept of design: material maintenance.

When chosing any construction materials, you have to consider the cost (time and money) of maintaining them.  This applies to all materials, interior and exterior.  Ask yourself, 'what will it take for me, or anyone else that uses this space, to keep it looking new?'  

Just when you think that sheet metal is stronger than a tree in the forest, it's not.  Any building material will erode or degrade over time.  Nature is persistent.  Time will pass.  

When analyzing a material choice, think of the DEAD END.  How are you going to keep your project from just being 'DEAD'?

What is the most important residential finish fixture? 
(Finish fixtures are built-in, such as door knobs, drawer pulls, plumbing fixtures, lighting fixtures, but not appliances.)

Is it the master bath shower head?  How about the front door knob? 
No, it's the kitchen faucet.  Did the photo below give it away?

There is no other fixture that serves a more vital functional and aesthetic role.  I'm willing to bet that even if you don't really cook that you touch the kitchen faucet more than any other finish fixture in the house.  So, the kitchen faucet is not where you want to compromise.

Have you ever had to throw your weight into a faucet to get it to swivel as it should?  Have you ever seen a faucet that is peeling with chips of 'chrome' paint laying at the base?  Those are the cheap ones.  They are not worth the low price.  They will function poorly during their short life and you will be paying for a plumber and new faucet before you know it.

There are many good high end faucets out there that are more of an investment but well worth it.  The faucet shown is by Blanco and was purchased at Chown.  Fixtures like this will last, serve their purpose, and look beautiful.  Enjoy the search for the faucet that's right for you.

A friend of mine was lamenting about her bathroom project.  It was a forced remodel due to a plumbing disaster.  On toilet installation day, she caught a glimpse of the toilet from the hallway.  The toilet was in place but obviously leaning over.  She didn’t want to crowd into the bathroom with the workers, assumed that they knew what they were doing and that the toilet must be sitting that way temporarily.

Well, she left while they finished.  When she returned, the workers were gone and the toilet was nicely set in place so crooked that you could see the flaw a mile away.  Getting the crew to return to reset the toilet and contend with the floor repairs turned out to be another whole project in itself.

This is the same lesson that I’ve learned several times.  If you want the final product to be right, you have to stay involved in the process.  I’m not talking about micromanaging your people.  You hire good people who know what they’re doing.  Then you check in on the project along the way and have the confidence to get in there and say, “Hmmm, that toilet looks crooked.” 

Stay engaged in your construction projects lest you sit down and
...slowly…slide off...the potty.                                                                                                   

Used building materials can give an unforgettable historic significance to a project.  Not only can it be an amazing architectural effect, but it diverts the construction waste stream while avoiding the use of a new material.

But, for the hard part:  getting these materials.  The good stuff is hard to find. 

This standing seam copper roof is from a residential remodel.  I found it on craigslist after months of searching.  I dropped everything, drove out of town, looked at it in the dark, wrote a check and gambled on the quantity and quality.  It turned out to be worth the risk because the copper aesthetic makes the project.  Also, the recycle price of the copper scrap from the roof installation exceeded the price I paid for all of the copper.  So, I did better than break even on the material cost.  The price that you get paid for recycling clean copper changes per week and is now $3.36/lb! 

The known architectural salvage retailers have customers who troll the stores first thing, every day.  You have to be creative with finding other resources to get your hands on great materials.  You have to know what you want, be ready with cash, and have a plan for transportation.  It is also important to have an understanding of worth and the difference between antique and salvage locations.  Lastly, you gotta commit to get what you want, but know when to throw in the towel.

Your building project can be completely original with the use of salvaged materials.  With a dedicated approach, and a little luck, you can create one-of-a-kind form.  This process can be inspiring and fun, so have a good time with it.  Please share your salvage triumphs!