We are so fortunate to have had the pleasure of building this home for Rick and Syrena Gatewood. The Gatewood's decided on one of our Premier homes, designed by Sarah Holland and David Foley of Northport. The home was built in Belfast over an 8 month period during the summer, fall, and winter of 2005/2006.
Super-insulated with 12" R-45 exterior walls, R100+ ceilings, a fully-insulated monolithic concrete slab foundation with 4" of polystyrene beneath, airtight construction, and high-performance windows and doors all make for one of the most energy-efficient homes ever built in Maine.
The framing system used in this home is the Design Concepts Company proprietary system utilizing site-built wall studs, engineered wood components, and an elaborate roof truss system. The system is designed to provide the wall thickness necessary for a true R-45 insulation, raised heels on the trusses, hollow insulated headers, split top and bottom plates, and framing techiques that enhance the energy efficiency of the home. The idea is to minimize the amount of framing lumber in the home while maintaining high structural integrity and maximizing the amount of insulation.
Roofing is a 35 year architectural asphalt shingle. Exterior trim is primed finger-jointed pine, and siding is Maibec pre-stained cedar shingles over Cedar Breather rainscreen.
The mechanical systems are noteworthy. The heating is radiant floor, using Heatway Onyx tubing throughout, with a high-efficiency, sealed combustion boiler, constant circulation design with outdoor reset controls. The home is completely ventilated for indoor air quality with a Heat Recovery Ventilation unit. Air is fully ducted througout the house to provide improved air quality to every room of the home. The home is equipped with a Daikin air conditioning system that is the highest efficiency available, using the newest and most environmentally-friendly refrigerant. The home is equipped with an automatically transferred generator system to provide power during outages. We used high quality Panasonic bath fans that provide source ventilation in bathrooms while only using 14 watts of power. The owners chose high-efficiency lighting throughout the home.
Rick and Syrena's taste is simple, which fit our normal way of finishing a home extremely well. Quality materials and fine workmanship describe what you see in this home during a walk-through. Hardwood birch trim is the wood of choice, with solid pine doors, and birch cabinets. Granite countertops and Glenwood cabinetry were supplied by Waterville Custom Kitchens, all coming in under the budgeted allowance. 13" Porcelain tile floors are extremely durable and easy to clean. Windows with the Prairie grills and wood interiors are Andersen 400 series.
This home exemplifies the spirit of what our Premier system is all about. Detailed construction of the highest quality, with hundreds of extra man-hours spent on making sure the quality of the home lives on for many decades; providing the owners with extreme energy-efficiency, comfort, indoor air quality, and a quiet, solidly-built structure.
