Project Description

This small three bedroom, 2-1/2 bath house features a simple design with minimal circulation space to maximize the efficient use of space.  It is tucked away to the rear of a large wooded lot in complete privacy.  All of the main rooms have corner locations on both floors which puts windows on two walls, filling every room with natural light.

This is the only house in Connecticut to earn certification by the American Lung Association Health House program.  This now-dormant program was an early effort to set a standard for a highly energy efficient home that also provided excellent indoor air quality and comfort.

Kathryn Boughton wrote about the house in The Litchfield County Times.

Christine Shugrue wrote about this house for Sierra Club Quinnehtukqut.

Special Features:

  • Walk-out finished basement
  • Detached garage with covered walkway to isolate car exhaust from the house
  • 8’-6” ceilings on 1st floor and cathedral on 2nd floor
  • Master bedroom with en-suite bath
  • IKEA kitchen with concrete counters
  • Deep, flared window openings
  • Wide roof overhangs to keep the walls dry

Green Building Approaches:

  • Rear of house faces solar south to capture winter heat and for PV panels
  • Pre-cast insulated foundation walls
  • Fully insulated basement slab
  • Double walls and raised-heel roof truss to eliminate thermal bridging
  • Super-insulated with cellulose
  • EPDM gaskets used to achieve air-tight thermal envelope
  • Canadian fiberglass windows
  • Fiber cement siding over ¾” drainage plane
  • FSC certified white birch floors
  • Condensing, sealed combustion, hot water heater
  • Hydro-air heating
  • Energy recovery ventilation
  • HEPA air filtration
  • Central dehumidifier