New Customer Build: Michigan XHouse2

I am super thrilled to be able to introduce a new customer project that we are going to track on the blog. There has been a drought of customer builds and I hope this one inspires some others to correspond about their builds. Ok, lets go over some of the interesting features of this build.

The first thing is that this build is a First Build of the 0956 XHouse2, or at least the first build of the house from the Stock Plan set created of this house design since it was first built in all steel as the 3030 House. I’m always excited about First Build projects because its great to see a design realized in real space and time!

Second is that this customer and I went through a plan modification process that was part about features, and part about tech. Feature wise the house is going to be built with a third deck level - a roof deck above the second floor deck, and we’ve added a spiral staircase to serve the top level, and connect the first and second levels as well. The building site enjoys a water view of one of the Great Lakes in this coastal Michigan town. Technology wise the plans have been updated for SIPs construction. We’ve had customers build with SIPs from our plans before, but this is the first time we’ve modified plans for this purpose.

Third is that the house build will be utilizing an innovative pre-cast concrete foundation wall known by the brand name Superior Walls. If you think you’ve seen that here before, you have. Our West Chester LEED House build also used this foundation system. And our Plat House customer in Pennsylvania also used this foundation system. It’s fast, and it results in a basement wall that is easier to insulate well than a conventional basement wall. The first construction photos below are of that foundation already in place. 

So stay tuned for a new build! Check out all the recent photos in the Flickr album. And check out the XHouse2 in our catalog.