In Progress Now
Watch us plan, design and build a custom house, step-by-step in real time, from finding land to moving in.
Search for Vacant Property (July 2021)
Working closely with real estate agents, we make quick and experienced decisions as we choose the perfect vacant property. The final two vacant lots under consideration are a sunny half-acre lot surrounded by trees in Harbert, Michigan (SITE 1, left pic), or a quarter-acre lot in the woods in Lakeside, Michigan (SITE 2, right pic). Both lots are within a 10-minute walk to town and Lake Michigan beach. Both lots are close - but not too close - to neighboring houses.
Assessing Vacant Land, SITE 1 (July 2021)
We investigate the zoning codes to determine legal constraints including maximum house size (6,000 square feet), maximum building height (24 feet), and minimum setbacks (30’ front yard, 10’ side yards, 50’ back yard). Building an in-law suite is legal. The land is flat and composed of a thin layer of topsoil above a deep layer of sand, which can properly support a conventional foundation. Several design options are initially investigated.
Assessing Vacant Land, SITE 2 (July 2021)
We investigate the zoning codes to determine legal constraints including maximum house size (1,750 square feet), maximum building height (20 feet), and minimum setbacks (30’ front yard, 10’ side yards, 30’ back yard). The land is flat and composed of a layer of inundated topsoil above a layer of sand, which can properly support a standard foundation. Few design options are possible since only a 1,750 square foot house can be built on a tightly constrained site.
A Vacant Lot is Chosen @ 13892 S Rea Ave, Harbert, MI, 49115 (August 2021)
Since we’d like to power the house with solar energy, the sunny lot in Harbert, Michigan is selected. Additionally, this lot is large enough (half-acre) to plan a small pool and spa. Amenities and features surrounding the lot include: 3-minute walk to the nearest café, less than a 10-minute walk to the beach, restaurants, and a bakery. The lot has direct access to water, sewer, gas, electricity, and internet connections.
Initial House Design (September 2021)
Before designing the house, we consider life-style and layout priorities, and critical site feature objectives, including: (1) visually engage the mature trees on the site, (2) orient the building towards the sun to capture solar energy, (3) design the house to create privacy and deflect noise from a nearby road, (4) heat the house with radiant concrete floors, (5) design all bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms, (6) combine the living and dining rooms with the kitchen in an open layout, and (7) design all spaces in the house to be fully accessible to everyone.
Design - first steps (September 2021)
To build a fully ADA accessible house with heated concrete floors, we design a one-story home without a basement (no stairs up or down). The roof slopes (as a single pitch) to accommodate solar panels oriented toward the (south) sun. As a result, the interior ceiling slopes from 8’ to 14’ throughout the house. To visually engage the landscape, maximize privacy, and deflect road noise, the house wraps around an exterior semi-enclosed courtyard oriented toward a beautiful 80-year-old black cherry tree.
Design – Exterior Features (October 2021)
The exterior semi-enclosed courtyard includes a pool, spa, and rock garden with a fire pit. The house is wrapped entirely (walls and roof) in black standing seam metal.
Two south facing solar panel arrays gently clip onto the standing seam metal without any additional fasteners (screws or nails, etc.) penetrating the metal roof.
All interior spaces open onto the courtyard via sliding glass patio doors. The sunroom is positioned between the courtyard and a street garden berm.
The main entry to the house is fronted by hedges for privacy.
Early morning light enters the open dining/kitchen/family area of the house through large east-facing windows.
The semi-enclosed courtyard includes a pool and spa adjacent to the rock garden.
The screen porch turns toward the pool to maximize direct views of the courtyard and surrounding landscape.
Design – Interior Features (November 2021)
Entry: a glass front door, wood panel walls, a wood bench, and a line of coat hooks at varying heights greet people arriving through the front door.
Open Kitchen: a large kitchen island floats between the open kitchen and dining/living wing of the house. Concrete countertops (Concrete Collective) and green-painted cabinetry highlight the kitchen.
Dining Area: the dining table designed by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec (HAY) seats 10 people and floats between the kitchen and living areas.
Living Area: leather sofas (Article) are arranged around a green-painted custom built-in cabinet and bookshelf containing an entertainment center.
Living Area: seating is adjacent to an efficient direct vent gas stove fireplace (Jotul). Exposed concrete floors contain radiant heat. All lighting is custom designed and made by UrbanLab.
Screen Porch: a large dining table and a relaxed outdoor seating area overlook the pool/spa and courtyard.
Den: the den is located at the end of the bedroom wing of the house and can be used as study, quiet area, or game room.
Den: the den has three large glass openings to maximize sunlight and connection to the exterior landscape.
Den: the den is a flexible space where the furniture largely determines the use and function. For example, the den can be easily converted into a small gym or TV/gaming room.
Bedroom: three bedrooms are similarly designed with a queen-sized bed and access to the exterior semi-enclosed courtyard through a sliding glass patio door.
Bedroom: two custom printed curtains surround the bed. A 14’ tall curtain provides privacy from the exterior, and a second curtain hides the closet.
Bedroom: the ceiling slopes from approx. 10’ to 14’. The door on the left leads to an ensuite bathroom.
Bathroom: each ensuite bathroom has either a bathtub or shower. Green penny tile covers many walls and the floor.
Bunkroom: one bedroom has a custom-made triple bunk bed. The wood frame is painted green.
Bunkroom: Each bed has a light, privacy curtains, and an outlet to charge phones and tech.
Bunkroom: like the three other bedrooms with queen sized beds, the bunkroom also has an ensuite bathroom.
Construction - Foundation (December 2021)
Construction begins! The general contractor (Caron Custom Homes) performs site excavation, which reveals and confirms a deep layer of sand that can support a conventional foundation.
Foundation: concrete foundation spread footings are poured. The white vehicle pumps the concrete into place, which helps prevent the heavy concrete mixers (yellow vehicles) from disturbing the property.
Foundation: formwork for the concrete foundation walls is placed on the spread footings. The concrete walls and spread footings are fastened together with steel rebar.
Foundation: the walls are poured, and the concrete is curing. Note the “brick ledge” along the top edge of the concrete walls (look for the 2x4), these ledges will provide space for rigid insulation between the foundation walls and the (eventual) concrete slab.
Foundation: per building code, foundation walls must be insulated to make buildings more energy efficient. The black coating provides water resistance to the concrete.
Foundation: the foundation is backfilled with clean sand to protect the concrete footings from winter freezing. Construction work will commence once the weather improves in early March.
Construction - Framing (March 2022)
Framing: the house is framed with 2”x6” wood studs. 6” studs are structurally stronger than 4” studs, and provide a deeper space for added insulation. The roof is constructed with 20” wood trusses.
Framing: the house is sheathed with ¾” OSB, which provides lateral strength to the wood studs. The sheathing must be flat and even across the façade or the metal finish panels (metal siding) will warp.
Framing: the screen porch columns will eventually be sheathed with the same metal finish paneling as the rest of the building.
Framing: a waterproofing membrane is fastened to the roof to semi-seal the building. Both the roof and façade will be sheathed with the same (black) metal paneling to unify the building design.
Construction – Slab prep (April 2022)
Slab prep: plumbing pipes (fresh water supply a sewer lines) are installed below the concrete slab. The vertical pipes are toilet, shower and sink waste lines. The blue tubes are fresh water supply lines.
Slab prep: rigid insulation (4” thick) covers a strong plastic membrane to insulate and waterproof the concrete slab. Steel rebar covers the insulation to strengthen the slab and prevent cracking. The missing area of insulation (the linear void in the insulation) is where extra concrete will be poured below a structural “shear wall” (a wood stud wall that is bolted to the slab).
Construction – Slab poured (May 2022)
Slab: concrete floors are poured! The concrete mix includes local river rocks that will (hopefully) be exposed after the slab is polished (grinded) to remove imperfections and seal the porous floor surface. Plumbing and mechanical pipes are visibly penetrating through the slab for efficient mechanical access. At this point in the construction process, nothing can be added underneath the concrete floor, so extra care was made to plan for all under-slab mechanical requirements.
Construction – Water, Heating, Electrical, Insulation (June 2022)
The building systems are getting installed in the mechanical room. Here, the radiant heating tubes emerge from the slab and will eventually terminate in “manifolds” connected to a pump and on-demand hot water heater (the red tubes deliver hot water to the slab, and the orange tubes return the water to the water heater). Fresh water is delivered from the city via the blue tube, and distributed throughout the house via the black tubes, which are buried below the slab. The electrical panel connects to an exterior emergency/maintenance “shut off” panel, which connects to the main electrical meter and underground electrical supply. Spray-in foam (closed cell) insulates the house and provides an air and vapor seal. Additional cellulose insulation will be blown into the wall cavities after drywall in installed later in the construction process. The walls of the house will ultimately hold three distinct layers of insulation to save energy and mitigate noise transmission.
Construction – Windows and Exterior Insulation (July 2022)
The windows, sliding glass doors and exterior doors are installed, so the building is almost closed and secure. Exterior insulation (pink foam) is installed. This kind of insulation wraps the entire house, like a winter jacket on a person. The goal of this insulation is to uniformly cover all potential air leaks between wood frame joints. This sort of exterior insulation is not typically applied to homes, instead, most houses are insulated with fiberglass batts (or sprayed-in foam or compressed fibers) between wood studs of exterior walls (this house has in-wall insulation too). Exterior insulation is an extra step toward achieving a well-insulated building, with only a modest additional cost. The two windows in the foreground of the den are 6’x6’ square. Also note how the home is lightly tucked underneath adjacent trees (and yes, extra home owners insurance was purchased just in case tree damage occurs).
Construction – Interior Wall Framing (July 2022)
Interior walls are under construction. The polished concrete slab is protected with heavy craft paper. To preserve the floor finish, the interior walls are installed directly on this paper, which will be removed later. In-wall electrical wires, and HVAC ducts and pipes, are visible for now, everything will be covered with drywall soon. The corridor connects all the bedrooms and den. The corridor has small 2’x2’ windows for a little natural light. The corridor faces a nearby house and deflects noise from a nearby roadway. The bedrooms face the interior courtyard and large mature trees.
Construction – Metal Siding (August 2022)
Black metal siding is installed directly over the exterior insulation. The siding is lightly corrugated to strengthen the sheet metal and prevent “oil canning” (wavy distortions in the metal). The metal panels are designed to lock together to prevent water penetration, and are fastened to wall and roof sheathing (OSB/plywood) with hidden clips and screws. The weather and corrosion resistant black coating sparkles in the sun.
Construction – Metal Siding (August 2022)
The black metal siding wraps around corners and windows cleanly, with minimal detailing.
Construction – Metal Siding and Roofing (August 2022)
The black metal siding wraps the walls and roof. The vertical standing seams align to give the impression of aesthetic continuity between walls and roof, but in fact, a drip edge is installed between the two planes to provide proper water resistance. Electrical wires (white cables) are visibly penetrating the wall for exterior lighting and a digital doorbell. A single conduit is visibly penetrating the roof to house electrical wires for the solar array. This conduit will be hidden by the solar panels. And the fireplace flu is visible. The fireplace is a high efficiency direct vent gas stove by Jotel.
Construction – Drywall (September 2022)
Interior drywall covers interior insulation (spray-in and cellulose) and most MEP services. The drywall floats above the floor to prevent any moisture in the concrete slab from wicking into the gypsum and paper wallboard material. The gaps between the drywall and the floors and windows will be eventually covered with painted wood trim. Note that the floor slab is still covered with protective paper to preserved its finish.
Construction – Painting (October 2022)
Interior drywall is complete, and the first coats of paint are applied. Most of the interior is painted with Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace (OC-65), which a classic go-to white that elicits images of fresh cotton and pure silk.
Construction – Grading and Exterior Concrete Prep (October 2022)
Final grading smooths the landscape. Sand and topsoil gently slope away from the house so rainwater is directed toward the flanking trees. The compacted sand on the bottom right of the photograph is a base layer for a concrete slab that will support a large hot tub.
Construction – Interior Painting (November 2022)
After wood paneling is installed on select walls, color highlights are applied. This wood paneling (custom shelving will be installed directly on these panels momentarily) in the living room is painted with Benjamin Moore Soft Mint (2041-60), which is an effervescent light green that delivers understated pop. Several shades of green will be applied to wood panels throughout the house.
Construction – Planting (November 2022)
Before the temperature drops too low, trees are planted around the house. These evergreen trees will eventually grow together to form a thick hedge around the main entry. The Western Red Cedars (Thuja Plicata ‘Virescens’) are fast growing, deer resistant, dense habit evergreens that can be pruned and shaped.
Construction – Planting (November 2022)
The new trees planted in the semi-enclosed courtyard are Skyline Honeylocusts (Gleditsia triacanthos f. inermis 'Skycole'). The trees are hardy, medium-sized trees that cast a light shade. They typically grow 60–80 feet tall with a rounded spreading canopy. These trees will help shade the building’s large glass openings in the summer. The root balls of the trees will eventually be covered with grey sharp edged pea gravel, which is easy to walk on and mostly stays in place.
Construction – Bathroom Finishes (December 2022)
Fixtures and finishes for the four full bathrooms (directly connected to the four bedrooms) are underway. The bathroom vanity floats above the olive-green penny tile floor. Many of the walls are covered in white penny tile. The vanity has two sets of sinks (Kohler), faucets (Riobel) and oval mirrors (Kohler). The countertop is quartz silestone (white). The cabinetry is custom made by Paul Caron Custom Homes.
Construction – Living and Dining Area Finishes (January 2023)
Cabinetry, fixtures and finishes in the living and dining areas are almost complete. This photo is taken from the kitchen, so the island countertop (concrete terrazzo slab from Concrete Collaborative) is visible at the bottom of the photo. Custom designed/made (by UrbanLab) glass globe pendant lights hover about the dining table area and living room area. Left of the built-in cabinetry is a glass door to screen porch
Construction – Kitchen and Dining Area Finishes (January 2023)
Cabinetry, fixtures and finishes in the kitchen and dining areas are almost complete. The kitchen is completely open to the main dining and living room areas. Hidden away, to the right of the kitchen is a concealed pantry area that includes a quartz silestone (white) countertop for small appliances (toaster, blender, etc.). The kitchen cabinetry is custom made by Paul Caron Custom Homes.
Finishes – Exterior Courtyard (February 2023)
Gray gravel is installed in the courtyard, and the remaining ground around the house is seeded with grass.
Finishes – Screen Porch (March 2023)
The large screen porch (500 square feet) includes a dining area (Hay) and sofas. Floor drains in the concrete slab drain rainwater and water used to clean the porch.
Finishes – Screen Porch (March 2023)
An exterior glass door connects the screen porch to the living area. Interior and screen porch concrete slabs are coplanar. An exterior concrete skirt-slab connects each room along the perimeter of the courtyard.
Finishes – Living Area (March 2023)
Furniture, rugs, plants, and accessories are installed in the living area, which is open to the dining room and kitchen. The trees in front of the house are fast growing Western Red Cedars. These trees will grow together to create a thick privacy hedge along the street façade.
Finishes – Living Area (March 2023)
Technology like Wi-Fi and the TV are installed in the living area. Books and designed objects are placed in the custom built-in cabinetry.
Finishes – Dining and Kitchen Area (April 2023)
Even the table cloth and custom coffee mug are installed.
Finishes – Bedroom (May 2023)
Full length curtains provide privacy to the bedrooms. An original photo of the nearby Harbert Woods is printed on a 14’ tall sheer fabric curtain to compliment the exterior view. Each bedroom has an 8’ x 8’ sliding glass door (with bug screen) to provide natural light and access to the semi-enclosed courtyard.
Finishes – Bedroom (May 2023)
Full length curtains hide the closets in each bedroom. Colorful artificial birds adorn the light fixture.
Landscape – Courtyard (June 2023)
Indigenous prairie plants are installed in the courtyard directly into/beneath the gray gravel. The new Honey Locust trees are blooming. The exterior shower is installed; pool installation will commence in the courtyard in September.
Finishes – Entry Vestibule (July 2023)
The entry vestibule includes a bench and coat hooks. Durable wood paneling is painted pink to reflect natural light through the house from the glass entry door. The curtain hides a coat closet and kitchen pantry.
Finishes – Pantry (July 2023)
Appliances like coffee and tea makers are installed in the pantry alongside dried and canned foods, and cookbooks.
Finishes – Bunk Room (July 2023)
The triple bunk room accommodates 3 kids (or adults). The circular tube-steel stair treads are wrapped with spongy bicycle handle tape to assure grip up/down the ladders. Each bunk includes a light fixture and USB power.
Finishes – Den (July 2023)
The den doubles as an office and work-out room.
Finishes – Courtyard (July 2023)
New trees and grasses are planted beneath gray gravel in the courtyard.
Finishes – Courtyard (July 2023)
Preexisting tall tress surround the courtyard.
Finishes – Courtyard (July 2023)
The fire pit at the center of the courtyard is accessible from all rooms including the screen porch (left leg of house).
Finishes – Courtyard (July 2023)
The grass lawn contains the grey gravel in the courtyard.