Passive Solar Modern Prefab In Northeast: April 2014

Prefab Cabin House - Tiny Little Lab Progresses!

I am so thrilled to get an update from the prefab house in the northeast, The Pennsylvania Project!

If you recall, this client is "doing it backwards"- building the smaller unit first, then the main unit later this year.

She calls her prefab cabin, "The Little Lab."
It's such a beautiful house site. The client is surrounded by meadows and rolling hills... I can't wait to hear about her life there once it's all complete.

Project Notes: The client used different windows that were spec'd by our prefab house architect, Damon Pearson.

Here is her prefab house kit update, in her words:

"J. took pictures of the porch yesterday - as you can see, ALL the ice and snow have melted away, and with any luck, life will stay that way.

The porch boards are hemlock from Pennsylvania, a major forest tree for us, but one under serious threat and pressure from the woolly adelgid and other pests. The boards were planed and tongue and grooved at a mill in about 20 - 30 miles from here. Hemlock is one of my favorite trees, so graceful and flowing in a breeze, and it is a great joy to have hemlock included in the construction.

... the Marmoleum looks pretty true to character except it is really black. It is CP-2939, SMART certified, a black with a little whitish pattern, and I am trying it out in The Little Lab to see if it disguises the dust and dirt that will probably always be a fact of life when you live in the middle of a field. If it doesn't, a grey will be installed in the bathroom in the main unit. My ideal for the main bathroom is the London Look: black floors, white fixtures, and birch plywood walls, but then you deal with reality.

The yellow paint on the walls is Valspar's Dandelion Wish, a warm, wonderful yellow that is much stronger and redder than in this photo. The combined effect of strong yellow and strong black will be a little over the top for some people, especially when they see the assortment of towels, all different colors, that will be used in this bathroom!

The next picture is of the corner windows with trim and hardware installed."

[A week went by, then more pictures!]

"Walls are ROMA Biodomus Superflat (romabio.com), a very special finish that is luminous and reflects light, in addition to all its healthy properties! I call it a plaster, but it is applied like paint, with a roller or brush. As you know, ROMA tied for 3rd place in the 2013 Cradle to Cradle Product contest. I love it and will try some tints for walls in the main unit.

Floor is finished with OSMO Polyx-Oil, second coat in these pictures. I realize I should buy an American product for this job, but the European air quality standards are so far ahead of ours, I went with the best.

I like the white trim (in the SIP cavity) better than I thought I would, and probably will stay with it in the main unit.

Third picture shows the 275 year-old White Oak, beyond.

Rest of floor and interior doors going in today.

The closet wall in main living/bedroom. A chance to experiment with different whites and blues to use in the main unit. The ceiling and 1 foot down is covered with the Biodomus Superflat, & you can see the boundary line I left between the plaster and paint. Drywall compound needed to be covered, hence the blue in the middle of the wall & white paint on drywall screws.

Formaldehyde-free birch plywood on the floors.

IKEA sink - long and narrow - that echoes the shape of the bathroom, IKEA faucet; Valspar Dandelion Wish on the walls. more orangey than in the photos; Smart Certified Marmoleum real CP-2939 on the floor is doing a good job hiding boot prints.

IKEA kitchen cabinet and Domsjo sink with new model Moen Align faucet. The high faucet looks surprisingly good with the small 24' cabinet, I think because the cabinet is on legs. Will not look as good when doors are put on because IKEA stopped making flush birch doors (damn). I gave up - the doors will be flush white. Tested a blue on the wall behind the sink, Valspar Cobalt, samples come in satin, giving a little water protection."