Little Woods House wins AIA award

On November 5, the American Institute of Architects, Dayton Chapter awarded the Little Woods House with a Merit Award.  The Awards are part of the AIA's biennial Focus on Design Awards Program designed to recognize design excellence in the Miami Valley.  The jury was comprised of representatives from AIA Springfield, Missouri - Andrew Wells, FAIA, of Drake Wells Architects served as the jury chair.

More info here:  AIA Dayton

Design Award Jury Comments

Photos

Wood Ceilings

Bathroom Tile

Setting Concrete Counter Tops

Concrete Counter Tops

Cast concrete counter tops being fabricated by M Concrete Studios.  The large one in the foreground is the kitchen island (approx. 4' x 8') cast in a single pour.  Cut out for kitchen sink.  The color is a standard gray with stainless steel flecks to add a shimmer.

Cabinets

Kitchen cabinets with clear vertical grain Douglas Fir veneer.

Stair Railing

Driveway / Walkway Install

Douglass Fir Flooring Install

The Big Reveal

Scaffolding removed for "the big reveal".  First glimpse of the finished product.  Used a darker semi-transparent color to add punch to the wing wall.

Gypsum Board

Insulation

The interior cavity of the stud walls being filled with blown-in cellulose insulation. The product is called Nu-Wool and is made of 100% recycled paper.

The blown-in product can't be effectively held in place when installed in the ceiling cavity, Nu-Wool comes in a batt product called Eco-Cell.  You can see the insulation here in 6" thickness, being applied in 2 layers to fill the 12" joist cavity.  An added benefit of Nu-Wool is it's astounding acoustical dampening properties.

Cedar Siding

My contractor (DRM) installing the cedar siding.  Nails are hand driven.

Rain Screen

Scaffolding set up to install 1" insulation board (pink) and vertical rain screen wood strips.  The Cedar siding will be attached to the wood vertical strips.

Cedar

For the exterior of the house I specified western red cedar.  Seemed fitting that the Little Woods House should be clad in wood, and not vinyl or cement board.  This particular produce was harvested in British Columbia and milled in Washington State.  Had the painter pre finish with a semi-transparent stain which will allow the natural color variation of the cedar panels to be visible.  Boards are tongue and groove.

House wrap with windows

Windows

Windows installed today.  Manufactured by Western Window Systems and installed by Hemm Glass.  This is an aluminum frame system with thermally broken 1" insulated glass, low E coating, Solarban 60 glass.  Nice thing about Western is that the door is part of the same system, but is able to be specified in a unique color - Chose cinnamon color to give it a little kick and say "front door"

Wow - this thing is just incredible.  30' clear span of glass, comprised of (5) 6' wide x 8' high pieces of sliding glass.  When open the panels gang on the right side.  Needed to make special structural provisions for the clear span, and to handle the 3,000 lb point load of 5 panels of glass sitting on the wood floor.

Spay Foam Insulation

Closed cell spray foam insulation is blown in against the inside face of the wall sheathing.  The 1" layer functions as both an insulator and an air barrier, providing a super tight house.