360 Winnett » altius

Construction Drawings

jeremybell — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 18:58:01 +0000

Our construction drawings were submitted to the city a few weeks ago, so we’re in a bit of a holding pattern while we wait for our building permits. This process usually takes around 10 business days, so we’re expecting we’ll receive them this week.

These latest set of drawings are quite comprehensive and illustrate in great detail how we’re planning on building the home. In particular, the cross sections really put things into perspective and give you a decent idea of how the house will look when things are completed (such as the 23’-9” ceiling height when you enter the house.)

For the most part everything is the same as it was, however we have made a number of refinements since I posted the previous drawings. For instance:

The length of the clearstory has been reduced significantly to stop it from encroaching into the living room. It now sits flush with the front bedroom, while the en-suite continues to extend about 4’ past it.
We’ve reintroduced a step down into the living room. This means the ceiling height in the room below will be about a foot shorter, but Altius was insistent that we eliminate the bulkhead that would have resulted from the en-suite bathroom above. I think that’s a fair tradeoff, no?
Each bedroom now has an updated window arrangement. The master has a larger set to better fill the space, while the others now have windows on adjacent walls for improved cross-ventilation.
Because of grading restrictions we needed to decrease the pitch of our driveway, which unfortunately has caused a few adverse side effects:
- The garage now sits slightly lower, which means it will have a generous 10’ 4” ceiling while the rooms below now stand at a paltry 6’ 11”. I can’t say I’m particularly happy about the lower ceilings, but our options are limited at this point. We’re planning on using INSUL-DECK for the slab floor in the garage (which isn’t illustrated in the latest drawings at the moment). Hopefully that’ll allow us to reclaim a few inches.
- We also needed to add an additional step into the house at the front door and in the garage door. Again, not exactly ideal but not the end of the world.

It looks like we’re going to need a small retaining wall along the north side of our driveway. I assumed it would just be a small block wall, but Altius has illustrated it as a wall + planter instead. Much better, if I do say so myself.
At the moment, the drawings illustrate the use of ICFs for the foundation only, with stick framing and spray foam for the floors above. We really wanted to use ICFs to the roof, but it appears as if it’ll fall outside our budget. Sigh.

As usual, the updated drawings can be found in the documents section for your viewing pleasure.

Choosing an Architect

jeremybell — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 01:45:06 +0000

First, let me say this – Choosing Altius has been the smartest decision I’ve made so far. They’ve been an absolute pleasure to work with, and I really can’t say enough about them. We certainly wouldn’t be building the home we’re about to, had it not been for Cathy, Tao and the team at Altius.

That said, this relationship almost didn’t happen.

When we started this project, we hadn’t planned on working with an architect. We knew we needed someone to draw up the floor plans, but we assumed their role would end there. We were undecided how long we’d actually stay in the house, and we knew we could put a minimal amount into the project and still see a healthy return should we decided to sell it.

So we chose our contractor, found someone to handle the drawings, and set off down the road of renovating our home. We expected to use the existing foundation, and on top we’d build the biggest house we could for the least amount of money. However, when we got the first set of drawings back, I had to take a step back and reevaluate what we were about to undertake.

Put frankly, it was plain, boring and uninspired. It definitely met the criteria we had set beforehand, but I wasn’t about to go through this arduous and expensive process to build that home. Our expectations for the project definitely changed at this point. We knew we didn’t want to build “another house”. We wanted something a little different. Something a little special.

And this is when things got a little complicated.

To me, the most logical solution was to find someone who could help us articulate a vision for this project. I had some ideas, but I had no idea where to start (or what was actually realistic).

I started looking around for houses that I liked, and then sought out those responsible for designing them. I used Google and did as much reading as possible. This took a few weeks, but I soon had a decent list of architecture firms in and around Toronto.

Architects come in may different flavors, and finding the right fit proved to be difficult. I was interested in a “full service” architecture firm – a company that would be involved through the entire process, ensuring that the creative integrity was maintained until the construction was complete.

However, after speaking with a number of companies, reality definitely set in as it seemed like we couldn’t afford their services. Most of them said it was impossible to build the type of house I wanted with the budget we had set (which was true in retrospect). Altius, on the other hand, was the only company who seemed interested in helping us make it work. They made a number of recommendations right up front, even suggesting other candidates when I initially told them we couldn’t afford their services.

This is when I decided I’d rather build a better home, and not just a bigger home. I wasn’t after the biggest footprint possible, but rather the tightest building envelope possible. I had come to appreciate my eco responsibilities and decided I wanted to investigate them further. And Altius has been entirely instrumental in making this happen. They’ve illustrated a stunning house, and they’ve made countless recommendations that will ensure the final product is as green as we can afford.

They may seem expensive, but a talented architect is invaluable.

Cardboard Model

jeremybell — Sun, 18 May 2008 19:10:23 +0000

We’re about 2 months into the design process, and everything is coming together nicely. Our floorplans and elevations are almost complete, and we’re about ready to start choosing the actual cladding and building materials for the house.

As part of the design process, our architects have created a small cardboard model for us to review. It’s main purpose is to illustrate the overall feeling and proportions of the house (which are somewhat difficult to appreciate on the drawings). The model is about 16” long, which is just big enough to peer inside the windows to get a sense of the room sizes.

One of the standout features will be the two story opening which extends up to a clerestory in the middle of the house (and the obviously large window in the front). At the beginning of the process, I made it clear that I was willing to sacrifice space on the second floor as I wanted as much natural light as possible. I couldn’t be happier with how our architects incorporated it.

Another unusual aspect is the garage. Our initial expectation was that the front door and garage would be located at the front of the house, but I was quite excited to see that they had set them both back. And I really love how the door opens into that large two story opening inside of the house

We’re not entirely sure what the cladding will be at this point, but I’m pretty sure it’ll be a mix of red brick and some sort of siding. Budget restrictions will definitely dictate what we do here, but my biggest concern is choosing the right materials as I don’t want to ruin the entire esthetic with the wrong cladding. I’ve seen it happen too many times… Hopefully I’ve learned from others’ mistakes.