Specs
Location: Issaquah Highlands
Architect: Steve Galey
Description
We built this custom Greenhouse at the McCone residence in the Highlands. There were a number of customized features that made it highly functional and attractive.
Lake Union Houseboat Addition
Specs
Location: Seattle
Architect: Lasse Jaakola
Description
This project involved remodeling an existing houseboat and building a second-floor addition. It doubled the size of the structure. The remodel made a very efficient use of the limited space available. The project included a winding staircase and several levels of decks to take advantage of the Lake Union views.
Kirkland Garage and Workshop
Specs
Location: Seattle
Square footage: 800
Architect: Rob Harrison
Description
This project involved building a garage and workshop space with a green roof. It’s a simple, modern workshop outbuilding to be used for hobby cabinetmaking and appropriately reverent storage and display of our client’s vintage Mercedes 230SL convertible. The green roof is beautiful, and when the neighbors in back put their house on the market, they described it as a green roof view house. As with all of our projects, this one incorporates a number of green features spread evenly across the categories of site concerns, energy conservation, resource conservation, and healthy building.
Press
Sunset Magazine: Eco-Savvy Garage: Creative Building Techniques and Recycled Materials Give This Structure a Sustainable Edge
Master Builder: Green from the Ground Up to the Rooftop: Green Building Takes Root
Edmonds New Home
Specs
Location: Edmonds
Square footage: 1,800
Year completed: 1994
Architect: Butch Reifert
Green Features
- Deconstruction and salvaging of existing structure
- Whole-house ventilation system
- All low-toxic materials
- Salvaged hardwood flooring
- Full-line recycling of jobsite waste
Description
This project involved first deconstructing a small house that had been one of the owner's grandmother’s. This was the deconstruction project Ray and Kurt did together before starting their own businesses, Earthwise Salvage and Second Use Building Materials. The new house made careful use of salvaged materials from the original cottage and was built using the advanced framing technique. This home and a detached garage were built in four and a half months from groundbreaking until the clients moved in, and it was completed under budget.
Press
Christian Science Monitor: 'Green' Builders Make Homes Kinder to the Environment
Testimonial
"I think what impressed us the most was his integrity. Jon was unfailingly ethical with his workers, vendors, subcontractors, and us."
Capitol Hill Backyard Cottage
Specs
Location: Seattle
Architect: Ted Granger
Description
The original garage was built when the house was constructed in 1922. More recently a two-car garage was added to the original garage making it into an “L” shaped two-level structure. We transformed this structure into a beautiful, healthy, and highly energy-efficient backyard cottage. The new floors are beautifully sealed concrete with hydronic tubes for heating. The walls are super insulated with energy-efficient windows selected for their ability to reduce transmission. A great deal of salvaged materials were used, including the kitchen cabinets and the original roof ship lap boards for a decorative ceiling covering. The cottage has bright, natural lighting and a cozy patio for outdoor use.
Testimonial
"Jon Alexander provided an excellent product, at a reasonable price" –Scott
The Sensible House
Specs
Location: Seattle
Square footage: 1,800 + 650 (ADU)
Year of completion: 2004
Architect: Ted Granger
Green Features
- Advanced framing
- Extensive use of salvaged materials
- Full-line jobsite recycling
- Heat recovery ventilator (HRV)
- 7,000-gallon cistern
- Extensive education program for subcontractors and public
- Annual water savings of approximately 115,340 gallons
- 9” thick double-framed 2x4 walls insulated with cellulose to R-33
- R-48 SIPs roof 12" thick
- Blower door test at .14 ACH at natural pressure
- Vacuum tube solar water collector
- Fly ash concrete mix
Description
Built Green's First 5-Star Project
For this project we de-constructed an existing home and built a new energy-efficient and healthy home. This home was Built Green's first 5-Star project. The Sensible House project was about building a home that is affordable, attractive, comfortable, functional, healthy, and environmentally friendly without compromise. The idea for this home is to demonstrate that an environmentally friendly home offers all the comforts, benefits, and amenities of traditional homes, but with added features that protect human health and our quality of life. From the beginning the goal was to push our limits on green building practices and products. Thus the Sensible House began on a small lot in Northeast Seattle.
Deconstruction
We elected to deconstruct the existing 1948 “shotgun” style house instead of remodeling to most effectively reach our energy and healthy house goals affordably. The ReStore salvaged for reuse virtually all materials prior to construction. Many of the materials were reused in the Sensible House project; other materials were salvaged for resale. The remaining materials were sorted for recycling. Very little material was sent to the landfill.
Just the Right Size
The new 1,800-square-foot main unit, accompanied by a 650-square-foot accessory dwelling unit (ADU), was designed with “not so big house” principles tweaked into what we call “just the right size” house. Care was taken in the design of the house, to build only rooms the owners would use day-to-day, and making those rooms a functional size and no bigger. We also used design to make spaces “feel good” to enhance the owners' wellness by creating sunny spaces, gathering places, and places that connect the indoors and the outdoors.
Learn more at www.sensiblehouse.org
Press
JLC: Profiles in Green
West Seattle Sunroom and Pool
Specs
Location: Seattle
Architect: Bill Witt
Description
This project involved building a sunroom onto an existing West Seattle home. The sunroom included the construction of an endless pool, which allowed the owner to swim against an adjustable current and also helped entice visits from the grandchildren.
Ravenna Boulevard New Home
Specs
Location: Seattle
Square footage: 2,100
Designer: Kevin Ryden
Description
Built to the owner's design, this University District project involved building a 2,100 square-foot house from a 700 square-foot existing structure.