“As well as we can possible imagine” home
Pearland, TX
A couple with three children wanted a home designed for passive sustainability specifically for their family and property. It also had to be hurricane resistant, have a home office for him, a quiet master bedroom, a music teaching and recital room for her, good indoor air quality, a large organic garden, a swimming pool, a garage for table tennis as well as cars and enough room in the house to often accommodate two dozen of their children’s’ friends. They also wanted to participate in the construction management themselves with the help of a contractor friend. So after we assessed their situation, it was decided that SIP construction would be the preferred construction system and we proceeded with the site design planning and then the house’s design and quickly afterwards, the construction documents.
After living in the house for over three years and after the hottest summer months then on record, the owners’ immediate reaction to my question about how well the home’s design was performing for them was: “As well as we can possibly imagine!” “The indoor air quality is outstandingly wonderful. All our allergies have cleared up. The house fits us like a glove and we can’t imagine living anywhere else that would be so comfortable for us. Like we wanted, the Master Bedroom is incredibly quiet. Our energy bills are fantastically low; normally under $100.” (For the hottest month then on record, June/July 2009, their bill was about $200 (excluding the swimming pool pump) for their 3700 sf home, even with many of their children’s friends being there and the constant going in & out.) He went on: “This is the beauty and benefit of having a home specifically designed for who you are, for what you want, and for its site.”
Note: Wow! Incredibly, what was said above was all spontaneous. Luckily, I had a pencil ready to record it exactly. Comments like this make us feel really wonderful about what we do! Thanks Ron, LaVerne
Photos by Owner