Lopez Island Studio/Workshop

Kids lead to the darndest things. Through my elementary school son, I got to know a family with a five-acre lot on Lopez Island. I started using the services of the Dad for computer help, and he suggested that I design them a vacation house on Lopez Island.

The owners came to me with a site plan of a marvelous wooded lot with potential views of Puget Sound. He also wanted this house to be energy efficient. We started talking about double-wall construction with lots of space for insulation. Over time we looked into SIPs, which are Structural Insulated Panels. SIPs give the same kind of above-minimum insulation as thicker walls, as well as tighter construction. They also provide ease of construction on an island setting with no Home Depot down the road to buy extra supplies.

As the General Contractor, the Dad supervised or installed all the utilities to the site. The house is heated by an energy efficient, earth-based heat pump, which runs off of 1600 feet of 1" pipe buried 5' under the driveway. The system provides full-floor radiant heating on the ground level and upper level. A lightweight concrete topping slab was poured over the upper level plywood sub-floor, with hot water tubing laid down first.

This was my first time working with residential fire sprinklers, but I agreed on their usefulness after the owner told me about island houses that had burned down before anyone noticed the fire. Given the need for exposed piping, we went with a copper piping and fixtures, which look handsome against the pine-planked vaulted ceilings.

This house was designed with a two-bedroom unit on the upper level. It features a wrap-around deck to the south for the sun and to the east for the view. On the ground level there is a one-car garage and a large shop. The shop is crucial for the Dad as he finishes out the entire structure. And someday, this family dreams of building a retirement house near this vacation home, which then becomes the perfect guest house for visiting friends and family.