For homeowners concerned about environmental health and energy
Go multifunctional. Few rooms are in use 24/7, so try to find
conservation, it’s a good time to renovate. in many parts of the coun-
secondary uses that are compatible. a bedroom with a folding bed can
try, green practices have become standard building practices as codes
become an office or a living room during the day. a low wall along a
have evolved. Concomitantly, a bumper crop of green building prod-
staircase can house a bookcase. every room that serves double duty is
ucts have emerged that spare our lungs, save our forests, scrimp on
one less that needs to be built.
fuel, reap the sun, and, in general, reduce wear and tear on the planet.
Space-conserving appliances often conserve water and energy,
Some even come with rebates.
too. Half-size dishwashers are perfect for a single person in any size
but worthy as these inventions may be, the buzz around them
house, as are drawer refrigerators that slide under a counter.
tends to drown out the importance of green design. in that spirit, here
Build in flexibility. Some life changes are inevitable, so do
are a few more things to keep in mind while planning your renovation.
what you can to anticipate them. Halls and doorways wide enough
although most don’t cost much to incorporate, their feel-good factor
(3 ft.) to accommodate a walker or a wheelchair will also be welcomed
is high.
by a mother lugging a child on her hip. Doorways without thresholds
Increase natural light. Sunlight is free, so tap into it whenever
will prevent tripping. Lever-handle faucets are easier to turn whether
possible. Light tubes (see p. 37) can transform a dark hallway or a
your hands are arthritic or merely soapy. good design is ageless.
light-starved shower, and taller windows allow sunlight to penetrate
Think outside your walls. Shop regularly at a local farmers’
farther into a building. Designing openness into interior spaces also
market and you won’t need as big a refrigerator. tap into a community
increases light and makes small rooms feel larger.
center and you won’t need a home entertainment center. Swap or recy-
Small footprints tread lightly. Small spaces require fewer
cle your kids’ clothes as they outgrow them and you’ll free up space in
resources, even if they don’t contain a stitch of green materials. So any
their closets. there are many paths to a rich life.
time you minimize the size of, say, an addition, you’re thinking green.
because whoever lives in the suite will be an
active part of the owners’ lives.
Design solutions: The size of the space and the
disposition of the site largely decided the layout.
To create a complete dwelling in so little space,
clearly some areas would have to do double duty,
i.e., be multifunctional.
Two walls had no opportunities for windows:
the south wall was cut into the hillside, whereas
the east wall bordered the stairs. Thus the large
walk-in closet, which needed no natural light,
After installing the subfloor, the crew erected shoring to
was placed in the southeast corner; the kitchen-
transfer garage loads from a wooden girder to a new steel
Multifunctionality makes the most of
ette (which was too small for entertaining) was
I-beam that would be hidden in the finished ceiling.
precious space. Stephen Shoup’s
placed next to the closet, along the south wall.
design made the most of the
Clearly, the living room area needed light, so it
490-sq.-ft. footprint, thanks to a
was situated along the north wall, near the door.
bank of custom cabinets, a Murphy
The main trade-off was between the bath and
bed, and a moving wall. Shown as a
bed. Because it would be calming to lie in bed
heavy line in front of the kitchenette,
when opened the wall disappears into
and look out into the forest, the owners decided
the walk-in closet, upper left.
to situate the Murphy bed in the southwest cor-
ner, so the bath was consigned to the remaining
(northeast) corner, with white laminated glass to
ensure its privacy.
Heavy lifting: To create a clear open space for
the suite, it was necessary to replace an existing
wood girder with a 600-lb. steel I-beam that
The renovated facade deftly balances light and privacy for spanned 22 ft. This operation is chronicled
the in-law suite. The large white panel, at left, uses
on p. 245.
laminated glass to prevent silhouetting in the shower,
whereas the obscure glass panel, at right, admits more
natural light to the living area.
38
Chapter 2
With the Murphy bed down, one looks out into a forest—
a rare sight on the edge of a city. The cabinet panel hiding
the kitchen is, in fact, a giant pocket door that slides
silently into a walk-in closet, at left out of view.
Bumpered guides keep the door aligned, so there’s
no need for unsightly floor tracks.
The in-law suite’s interior detailing is much like that of the main house: clean lines, solid maple
floors, recessed lights, and generous expanses of glass. The custom beech built-ins along the south
wall house a Murphy bed and a compact kitchen.
Green touches: Forest Stewardship Council
(FSC)-certified lumber. Locally sourced materials
whenever possible. Low-flow bath fixtures. Using
a recirculation loop to pull hot water to the suite,
saving water. Recycled cotton insulation. The
new dwelling is on an existing lot, within an
existing structure. Multifunctional, space-
conserving layout and furniture.
Parting thoughts: “We chose a design-build firm
. . . based on our fundamental belief that if you
are detail oriented, like us, then you need some-
one who understands the build implications
of the design and conversely the design choices
that will best fit your taste if build constraints
emerge. . . . A design-build approach seems the
most customer-centric one to us because they are
involved with you all through the project.”
Project size: 490 sq. ft.
The bathroom has the same cabinetry
and modern aesthetics. The shower
Design: Stephen Shoup, Emeryville, Calif.,
area, of closely fitted slate, is
www.buildinglab.com
bounded by glass partitions but no
Construction: Chris Rogers, job super/cabi-
threshold. The shower’s floor-to-
netmaker, www.buildinglab.com
ceiling glass panel, at right, is made
steel work: Bob’s Iron, Oakland, Calif.,
of white laminated glass; it admits
www.bobsironinc.com
light but ensures privacy.
Completed: 2011
The in-law at night, looking toward the main house.
planning Your renovation
39
The west face of the 1928 farmhouse,
before the renovation. The porch on
the south face, which faces the street,
had been the front door of the house
when it was new.
The east face of the farmhouse, before the renovation. This face would receive the most radical makeover, including a bump-out for the dining room. The enclosed north porch, at right, would rise to two stories.
raiSing tHe rooF
reverse ConstruCtion “There was no huge problem with the house,”
Robin explained. “And it wasn’t like a renovation
Renovation is the art of whatever works. Sometimes that means reversing the normal
was going to change our lives or who we are. The
order of construction—or deconstruction. Although the roof was to be demolished,
house was just showing its age, and our oldest
the contractor decided to first strip, rebuild, and insulate the exterior walls below,
son started sleeping on the couch because he
one wall at a time. Here’s why:
didn’t want to share a bedroom with his brother
1. Washington gets a lot of rain, so he wanted to keep the house covered as
anymore.”
long as possible.
“In fact, we loved the way the house looked
2. The attic framing was seriously undersize, with 2x6 rafters spaced 24 in.
and fit into the neighborhood,” added Mike, “and
on center and 2x6 attic floor joists spanning 15 ft.—way too long for 2x6s
we didn’t want that to change.”
bearing live loads. The contractor was concerned that the framing might rack
To keep that down-home feeling, Robin and
unless the exterior walls were bolstered beforehand.
Mike turned to two Bainbridge Island, Wash.,
3. What’s more, the walls, built of 2x4 studs 24 in. on center, had never been
neighbors, architect Russ Hamlet and contractor
sheathed and so had virtually no shear strength. After removing the asbestos
Dave Carley, when it came time to renovate. The
1928 farmhouse had the usual old-house ail-
siding, the crew built out the 2x4s to create 2x6 walls, framed new rough
ments: The windows leaked, the furnace rattled
openings for replacement windows, added hold-downs to anchor the walls to
and slurped fuel, there was no storage, the dining
the foundation, insulated the walls, and covered the 2x6s with 1⁄2-in. CDX
room was “an afterthought,” and there was only
plywood sheathing. Those walls could support a second story.
one bathroom. How folks live and entertain had
4. Strengthening the walls helped minimize interior-finish cracking once
changed, too. These days, everyone hangs out in
the attic demo began.
the kitchen, so the front porch had become the
5. Because so much
back of the house. Getting to the (unheated) attic
of the work was done
bedroom meant walking all the way through the
on the outside of the
house to get to the stairs.
house, the family
Program requirements: Increase living space
(living in a converted
without destroying the cozy look and feel of the
school bus/RV on the
house. Enlarge the dining room. Add a bathroom
property) could
upstairs and a guest room somewhere. The family
continue using the
will move out of the house but live on the prop-
house kitchen and
erty, so keep the kitchen and bathroom available.
bath with minimal
Upgrade the insulation and heating system.
disturbance.
Design solutions: “The old house leaked energy
The west face, gutted.
like a sieve, so something needed to be done with
the lid of the house,” mused Hamlet. “And the
upstairs was just not functional.” So when a struc-
40
Chapter 2
tural engineer approved the old foundation for a
second story, up they went. The plan also included
the realities of recycling
adding a cantilevered bump-out to enlarge the
dining room, stripping the exterior and reframing
job-site recycling is a great goal, but it’s not without its problems. First and
the walls, and insulating from the outside.
perhaps most important, you’ll need to get buy-in from your contractor. recycling
structural solutions: The attic joists were
materials means handling them at least twice, which means increased labor costs. if
undersize for live loads, so the floors were
recycling is important to you, be willing to assume the extra costs of doing it. then
springy and undulated. Cut off the old 2x6 rim
work with the gC to figure out how to organize work flow and where to store recy-
joists, install new 2x10 rims, and hang 2x10 joists
cled materials from the start. to do it right, someone should also remove nails
off them to support the loads of the new second
before stacking the old lumber.
floor. (Leave the original 2x6 joists in place
Second, you’ll need room to store recycled materials until there is a large enough
because the finish ceilings on the first floor are
load to recycle. be advised, the volume of dismantled materials can be prodigious.
screwed to them.) Cantilever the dining room
third, unless your site is roomy, stored debris can impinge access for workers
bump-out to increase its size without expanding
and suppliers.
the foundation.
Fourth, you may need a couple of trash receptacles to keep recycled materials
Green touches: Recycle old lumber to keep it out
separate. Know, too, that a fair amount of stuff can’t be recycled, such as tar paper
of the landfill. Reuse all interior trim, and pre-
and plaster lath.
serve most of the interior surfaces. Install sal-
Fifth, kids seem to find nail-infested piles of lumber irresistible places to play.
vaged stairs. Build out the walls to make them
Can you secure your site?
2x6s. Blow in R-22 fiberglass insulation. Upgrade
Despite all that, Mike Derzon was a determined and successful recycler. evenings
all windows. Install a ground-source heat pump
often found him pulling nails and stacking lumber so that he wouldn’t be in the way
for maximal efficiency in a mild climate.
during workdays. the house sits on an acre-plus, so there was plenty of storage
Parting thoughts: “We had heard all the horror
room. the boys mostly stayed off the piles. the recycling facility was closer than the
stories about remodeling, how our marriage
dump. and because the facility used some debris as fuel for its generators, recycling
would never survive and all that,” said Mike,
fees were considerably less than dump fees would have been. all factors considered,
laughing. “But it was a great experience. We
recycling was a tiny bit more than straight demolition would have been—and Mike
chose friends to be our architect and contractor,
and robin had done the right thing.
and Dave and Russ have a lot of integrity. Plus
A cantilevered bump-out roughly 31⁄2 ft. by 12 ft. created
a dining room that comfortably seats more
than a dozen
guests. The fir flooring of the bump-out was rescued from
the attic demo.
With the addition of full shed dormers on both sides of
the roof, the attic was transformed into a light-filled,
spacious suite with handsome recycled materials.
planning Your renovation
41
they’re very decisive. Neither Robin nor I have a
lot of spatial planning sense, so, basically, we
turned the process over to them. And it worked
out beautifully.”
Project size: 700 sq. ft. (second-floor addition)
Architect: Russell Hamlet, Bainbridge Island,
Wash., www.studiohamlet.com
Construction: Carley Construction,
Bainbridge Island, Wash., www.carleyconstruc-
tion.com
Completed: 2010
The renovated west face with a full
second story off the north end, at
right. Because the kitchen is in that
end of the house, it has become the
main entrance, making it a logical
place to add a new set of stairs to the
second floor.
The south end of the house looks little changed from the street. Roof
profiles gradually step up from the gable end to the shed dormer,
minimizing the visual impact of a major remodel.
The new stairs in the north end contained some old
elements: The posts, rails, balusters, and foot trim were
salvaged from an old home near Seattle.
42
Chapter 2
Tools
3
The tools in this chapter are a subjective col-
lection. Yours should be, too. Choose tools that
are right for the scope of your renovation, your
experience, your storage space, your budget, and
your physical strength. Because tools become an
extension of your hand, shop for tools that fit
your hand well, have a comfortable grip and con-
trols that are easily reached, and are balanced to
minimize muscle strain. More specialized tools
are presented in pertinent chapters.
Tool Safety
Few things will slow a job down more dramati-
cally than an injury, to say nothing of the pain and
expense involved. Don’t be afraid of tools, but
respect their power and heed their dangers. The
following suggestions come from professional
Safety equipment. From left to right,
top: hard hat, work gloves, and knee
pads; center: ear plugs, safety glasses,
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