1,000 - 2,000 square feet | TC Legend Homes

Lake Samish Lookout

by Senna | Jul 22, 2022

We could not have asked for a more perfect site to build on than Lake Samish Lookout. Besides the striking views all around, the lot is mostly flat and already came with utilities stubbed on site. There were also no trees harmed in the building of this home. In all, the lot created a very cost-effective build which made all parties happy!

Lake Samish Lookout was designed to use space efficiently and effectively while optimizing the stunning easterly views of Lake Samish and natural southern lighting. The house includes 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms and an upside-down layout with a spacious, open kitchen, dining and living room on the second floor looking over the lake and surrounding forest. From the second floor living space, you can effortlessly access the 240 sqft deck for the full panoramic views. Whether it be outdoor cooking and dining, lounging, or working with a view, the spacious deck adds a complementary flex space to the small footprint home for bigger living. In total, this Net-Zero house measures 1500 sqft and was completed the summer of 2022.

Lake Samish Lookout was built using our standard TC Legend envelope and mechanical systems but with Fujitsu 18RL heat pump with one head on each floor. On the Southwest sloping metal roof, sits an 8.1kW photovoltaic array, allowing the house to produce an excess of electricity to power both the house and an electric vehicle, qualifying the house as a Net-Positive home. The aesthetic wooden arbor in the northeast corner of the house coveys the roof’s stormwater to an unusual up-slope infiltration trench required by the site topography.

With a 0.41 air changes per hour, the envelop sealing exceeds Passivehaus standards. We expect the home to receive at least a 4 Star Built Green rating and has received Department of Energy’s Zero Energy Ready Home rating, Energy Star certification and EPA’s Indoor AirPLUS certification.

Lead carpenter Jeff did a superb job managing the construction on this cozy abode, with photographer John Trax commenting that this was the cleanest construction site he has ever seen. On site just about every day for the last 2 months of the build, Jeff made sure the house was finished to the highest standards!

House in a Hollow

by Senna | Aug 25, 2021

The house-in-a-hollow isn’t really in a hollow, it’s on a knoll, above protected wetlands, northeast of Bellingham. The hollow is formed by the trees, which were preserved to shield the house from overheating, and to conserve the flora of the native wetlands.

Measuring 1950 square feet, this Department-of-Energy certified Net Zero clerestory design has a central kitchen and a 1^st floor aging-in-place floorplan. Designed for an Alaskan couple whose love of the outdoors demanded a house that fully engaged with the landscape, plenty of daylight is admitted & access to outdoor living is easy.

Most of the house is downstairs, leaving (2) bedrooms, a full bathroom and a rec-room upstairs for family visits, grandchildren to play Lego, perhaps an office if needed, old friends to take up residence…

Advances in TC’s mechanical systems determined that the radiant tubes embedded in the 4” concrete slab will serve as a back-up heating system to handle abrupt cold snaps, with the day-to-day heat & cool being delivered via the Zehnder Comfopost, a heating/ cooling coil that sits in the ventilation delivery ducts. The Comfopost coil is driven by the Chilltrix CX34 heatpump, along with a further fancoil heat/ cool unit located in the 2nd floor rec-room.

The energy-shell is formed using the system: 6.5” SIPs walls, 10.25” SIPs roof,’ with 4” slab-on-grade concrete-mass insulated from below with 4” of R20 foam. The openings are plugged with Vinytek triple pane Boreal windows & Thermatrue fiberglass doors.

TC Legend built this net-zero house through the winter of 2020/ 2021. The SIPs roof panels swung in on a crane through the blowing snow, Ted now reporting feeling has returned to his fingers, 6 months later! The owners planted over 630 native trees and shrubs in the chilling March rain, and the crew scooped up the mud and maintained the new 700’ driveway to this remote & beautiful lot: A gem in the Pacific Northwest.

Download Case Study

Purchase Plans-Set HERE!

Demarest

by Senna | Aug 20, 2021

Demarest

In collaboration with Bolt Construction NW, TC Legend Homes helped design, permit, and frame this 1,950 square foot home on Orcas Island.

Clerestory windows reflect light deep into the interior and create wonderful sculptured light-gradients along those white, reflective walls. Designed to flow people and views out to the west and onto the western deck. The main living spaces balance high ceilings in the kitchen and dining areas and a lower, cozy ceiling in the living room/ tv area.

The 2nd floor main-master bedroom also engages with a westerly view, leaving you feeling like you’re in a tower. The second-master bedroom connects privately through the Jack-and-Jill bathrooms & shared closet.

A choice of main entrances allows this house to fit onto most lots.

Specs

1950 square feet
3 bedroom, 2 bathroom
1st floor aging-in-place
Radiant in-floor heating with 1 fancoil
High kitchen/ dining room
Kitchen island/ bar
Clerestory daylighting
West facing
2-bedroom 2nd fl master suite.

Purchase Plans-Set HERE!

Saint Claire Powerhouse

by Senna | May 3, 2020

This 1,900 square-foot 3 bedroom clerestory home, with an additional 672-square-foot attached garage located outside the SIPs shell, was built in 2016 in western Washington.

Because the master bedroom and bathroom were required to be located on the first floor, the clerestory design allowed us to locate two additional bedrooms and a bath on a minimal second floor, while leaving the glorious and spacious SIPs vaulted ceiling within the main living & kitchen spaces.

The play of light from the second-floor clerestory windows penetrates deeply into the main living spaces, eliminating glare at the large south windows and providing unusually even and dynamic day-lighting within the kitchen and living room. The occupants feel connected to the sweep of the sun, clouds, and weather patterns outside.

This is a near-perfect lot for a solar-panel net-zero home, identified by the clear solar exposure to the south, with no trees or buildings between the building and the sun.

SPECS/FEATURES

Department of Energy Net-Zero certified
Chilltrix CX34 air-to-water heat pump
100% on-site storm water infiltration via 30-foot dispersion trench
10.8 kW of solar panel installed
6.5” R-29 SIPs walls
10.25” R-49 SIPs roof
4” R-20 foam under 4” concrete slab-on-grade for thermal mass
5.5” foam (total) R-23.8 insulated concrete form (ICF) perimeter stem walls
Vinyltek Boreal series triple-pane windows (U values from 0.14 to 0.16)
1:1.6 aspect ratio floor plan, with the long side facing south
Minimal east and west glazing

Worrell

by Senna | Apr 16, 2020

This 1,340 square-foot single-story, south-facing rural home was built for a professional couple in western Washington in 2018. It features an additional 576-square-foot attached garage to the north. The unheated garage, which sits outside the SIPs shell, is stick framed to reduce building and energy costs.

The home’s two offices are permitted as legal bedrooms, so it’s really a three-bedroom, two-bath net-zero rambler with a huge south-facing roof that has space for enough solar panels to power two electric cars and run the house.