Insulated Concrete Forms - TC Legend Homes

Birch Bay View

by Senna | Jan 26, 2026

Birch Bay View

As the name suggests, Birch Bay View sits right across the street from Birch Bay with epic views of the water and easy access to the beach. Since the lot is within a tsunami zone, appropriate future-proofing was necessary. In this case, the zoning required that the house be raised 4’ off the ground. Fortunately, this just added more visibility of the scenery. The permitting process, which is always done in-house, took a full year in order to obtain the major variance.

While this home sits high above the water, the clients shared that while demolishing the run-down homemade cabin that used to reside on the lot, they discovered that their cabin, like many cabins on the road, was built on tree stumps instead of a proper foundation. Having such a large foundation on the new house isn’t ideal for the home’s carbon footprint, but at least this one will stand the test of time better than the stumps that came before it.

Lovingly nicknamed the trailer house, the lot size required that the house be long and skinny to fit on the infill lot, mimicking the client’s previous vacation trailer home a few lots over where they spent many years visiting while growing up. Birch Bay View was also designed to house the client’s children, grandchildren and friends for years to come. Although the first floor isn’t currently built to accommodate aging-in-place due to the front steps, the first floor is otherwise designed to be accessible when the clients are older. The home was designed to be able to easily install a ramp over the stairs in the future to make it fully accessible.

Specs

Overview:
- 3000sf SFR
- 7 bedroom, 7 bathroom
- Net zero energy
- Passive solar heating/cooling design
- Insulation: R-29 walls & R-45 ceiling
- Air Sealing: 0.59ACH
- HERS Index: -4
- Certifications: DOE Zero Energy Ready Home certified, ENERGY STAR certified, EPA Indoor airPLUS certified, anticipated Built Green 5-star certified
Mechanical:
- Ventilation: Fantech Hero 250 with built in HEPA filter. Built-in humidity, temperature, and CO2
- Heating/Cooling: Chilltrix CX-34; hydronic radiant floor heating downstairs and 2 fan coil unit
- PV: 10.32kW solar array with Tesla Powerwall 3 backup battery
Selections:
- Hardie lap, panel and shingle siding
- T&G cedar soffits
- Taylor Metal Easylock aluminum roofing with Alumiguard coating in Zinc Gray
- Hemlock trim & doors
- VOC and formaldehyde-free hickory flooring — Vintage Natural Hickory Northern Solid Sawn
- Locally made custom cherry shaker cabinets
- Quartzite countertops — MSI Calcatta Abezzo
- LED lighting
- WaterSense plumbing fixtures
- ENERGY STAR appliances and induction range
- Balanced range hood
- No/Low-VOC finishes
- Triple pane, Low-E coated, argon-filled locally manufactured vinyl windows

2602 Woburn

by Senna | Dec 10, 2025

2602 Woburn

Originally designed to be co-housing with the intent of multiple family units buying/rent in, this home is ahead of its time. The first floor was designed for aging-in-place with all the necessary home components to accommodate someone with mobility impairments, while the second floor has 4 additional spacious bedrooms for a wide variety of room layouts and uses along with 2 full bathrooms. Both floors also have washer and dryer hookups. 2602 Woburn is perfect for a large or multi-generational family unit, or a group of friends.

Located walking distance to a main shopping/eating/recreation center and with a main bus stop right outside, this home doesn’t need a garage and encourages transportation by foot, bike or public transportation.

Specs

Overview:
- 2000sf SFR
- 5 bedroom, 3 bathroom
- Net Zero Energy
- Passive solar heating/cooling design
- Insulation: R-29 walls & R-45 ceiling
- Air Sealing: 0.34ACH
- HERS Index: -4
- Certifications: DOE Zero Energy Ready Home certified, ENERGY STAR certified, EPA Indoor airPLUS certified, anticipated Built Green 4-star certified
Mechanical:
- Ventilation: Fantech Hero 250 with built in HEPA filter. Built-in humidity, temperature, and CO2
- Heating/Cooling: Chilltrix CX-50; hydronic radiant floor heating downstairs and 1 fan coil unit
- PV: 9.84kW solar array
Selections:
- Hardie lap and panel siding
- Cedar siding and posts at entry
- Taylor Metal Easylock steel roofing
- Rotary birch & VanAir doors
- Hemlock trim
- Acid stained concrete at first floor
- FloorScore certified laminate flooring on second floor
- Locally made custom maple-ply cabinets
- Quartz countertops
- LED lighting
- WaterSense faucets and toilets
- ENERGY STAR appliances and induction range
- Balanced range hood
- No/Low-VOC finishes
- Triple pane, Low-E coated, argon-filled locally manufactured vinyl windows

Morales Utility Shed

by Senna | Oct 25, 2020

This small backyard building in urban Bellingham was designed for multiple uses: yoga studio, brewery, workshop, and cycle storage. While not built to be a living space, it does have a bathroom. The entire project was built for just $120,000, with the client doing much of the finish work. With its south-facing roof, this building is ready to become net-zero-energy with the installation of solar panels.

Specifications

360 square feet
6.5” SIPs walls
8.25” SIPs roof
4” R-20 foam under 4” concrete slab-on-grade for thermal mass
R-24 insulated concrete forms perimeter stem-walls below grade
Terracotta colored floor from red dye within poured concrete slab. Scrubbed, polished, sealed.

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.