Maine Plat Houes - kitchen & interior progress

The Kitchen in stall is moving right along at the Maine Plat House. Countertops are the latest addition to the work. Kitchen cabinets are already in place and its looking more finished than not.

The kitchen cabinets are being topped by black granite, with what the owner describes as a "leather" finish. This finishing method seems to wear away the softer mineral grains at the surface leaving a slightly textured non-glossy finish. Advantages over polishes and honing is that it has a closed grain, less susceptible to staining.

Floors are pickled oak, and cabinets are maple, for those interested in what they see here.

Thanks go out to all our customers who share there houses here.

Continue reading "Maine Plat Houes - kitchen & interior progress"

Open Call for a Case Study Customer

We have a unique opportunity for a customer willing to have their LamiDesign Modern House Plan home serve as a case study for the application of USA New Wall and Swedish Platform Framing.

This customer can be an individual home owner, but the publicity that will surround the project will likely be beneficial to a small developer or builder interested in building their credibility as a provider of energy efficient and green building systems. Ultimately a home owner/developer pairing will provide the greatest benefit to both, a sold home being the most obvious one.

the LamiDesign Lagom House series - a perfect energy efficient case study subject

The benefits to the home owner and builder will be several. First off, the home plan you choose from our collection will be updated to include USA New Wall and Swedish Platform Framing even if the stock plan sets do not include it, at no extra charge. This would be a rather extensive modification service on any of our plans, so this represents a several thousand dollar discount in modification services.

Second, there will be a significant discount in insulation products incorporated into the USA New Wall system due to a informal sponsorship offer that we have received from Roxul. Again this may represent a significant dollar amount, and will take some of the edge off the extra cost of an energy efficient home.

Third, the home will incorporate a new energy efficient floor slab foundation system based on Swedish techniques we have studied. These products will be offered at fabrication/shipping cost, forgoing the typical product mark-up.

And we are working to identify other sponsorships which will benefit the owner and sponsor. Ideally we would like to see this opportunity go to a developer working on affordable housing, either subsidized, or non-profit developer, because we believe strongly that the owners of modest homes, of modest means, are the people that most need energy efficient construction that costs less to own and operate over a lifetime. Clearly further sponsorships will be easier to develop with a non-profit developer.

As a Case Study you can expect an unusual amount of documentation to be done of your home. This may involve photography and videography, as well as interviews on the progress of the work, the outcome, life in the house for a set period of time following completion.

Contact me to discuss your interest, which house design would suit your market, your location, time frame, etc. The time has come for this. This is the very beginning of a wholesale change in the way we build. Its time to lead rather than follow, and by leading here now you will set the stage for your mission to be ahead of the trend. We want to help you do that. We want to prove that it can be done today.

Continue reading "Open Call for a Case Study Customer"

0970 Lagom House West/East version - new in the catalog

Super happy to announce a new plan set today - the West/East Version of the 0970 Lagom House. The Lagom House was concieved from the start to have a massing that oriented the house to the sun, and as such would have a slightly different version depending on how the building lot was oriented. The Southside version and the Northside version were completed some time ago, so with great satisfaction today we add the final version for building lots on either side of a north/south running street.

In the house design competition that spawned the Lagom House design it was proposed that the house be available in 3 variations, so as to optimize the exposure of the roof surface for solar gain, as well as the seasonal shading of the windows. In a practical manner it also allows a developer to add variety to a neighborhood as the houses change their presentation to the street depending on their location.

When combined with the two story 1192 2 Story Lagom House a builder can offer a satisfying mix of houses, while at the same time enjoying the speed of building and economies that come from building a repetitive design. Score one for smart design.

As with the other Lagom House designs, this new version also incorporates our energy efficient USA New Wall designs in both 2x6 and 2x8 versions. The framing documentation also utilizes our Swedish Platform Framing for added energy efficiency. This is a one of a kind product - there are no other vendor of stock plans that incorporate these advanced energy efficient techniques. The Lagom Houses comprise an off the shelf option for creating an energy efficient neighborhood. Now any small developer/builder can offer the most advanced energy efficient product available in the country without the cost of custom designs.

The door is wide open now. Who is the builder that will take this up, and out-perform their contemporaries in their market? I am looking for you.

Continue reading "0970 Lagom House West/East version - new in the catalog"

XHouse5 - new in the catalog

As promised the new XHouse5 design has gone live in the catalog this weekend. Design prints are available now, Construction Prints will follow on your demand, or lacking that then when we get to them!

The XHouse5 is a fusion of the the XHouse Collection's mission to introduce a line of modern houses with contemporary design themes, and the energy efficiency mission laid out in our Lagom House designs. The XHouse5 incorporates the energy efficient USA New Wall and Swedish Platform Framing into the Construction Print set as do the Lagom House variations. If you are not familiar with these features, this is our well studied wall system recommendations for building high performance houses with familiar and common materials.

The XHouse5 design is also the narrowest floor plan we've introduced in this 3 bedroom, 2,000sqft range. It will fit on narrow lots, in particular infill sites and new developments following traditional neighborhood patterns. We think this is a good one, and we hope you will like it too.

Continue reading "XHouse5 - new in the catalog"