At Trillium Architects we believe in quality. We believe in building homes that work, last and are loved. Looking forward into the past we believe that you should live in a home that you would be proud to leave your grandchildren - and one that will last long enough for that to be a possibility.
We have just begun observation of the construction of what will be our second LEED Home. We have recently completed 3 new homes in Fairfield County, CT (one of them LEED Certified Home) and have one new home in mid-construction outside of San Diego, CA. The common thread that runs through these homes is that they are all super energy efficient, sustainable, relatively small homes (for Fairfield and San Diego Counties). We also have a number of additions, renovations, curb appeal upgrades and deep energy retrofits underway.
For a more complete portfolio: Please also see our website!
At Trillium Architects we design green homes.
What does GREEN mean? Green is an umbrella term that means:
- energy efficient
- sustainable
- healthy
- low maintenance
- low carbon footprint
- natural
- environmentally friendly
- smaller in size
- appropriately sited
- practical
- beautiful
- enjoyable
- user-friendly
At Trillium we pride ourselves in doing 3 kinds of ‘Green Homes’:
- New Green Homes
- Green Home Additions and Renovations
- Deep Energy Retrofits
16 April 2012
01 April 2012
15 March 2012
11 April 2011
23 March 2011
A House of Good Intention
( A first snippet about the LEED registered home we are building in Darien - more and more to come on this one. LEED registered means that the house is in the process of becoming LEED certified. We are aiming for Platinum.)
Building a house is dirty work. The weather for this particular job has been relentless. The job started Nov 1 2010 and by December the weather started to be problematic. Usually I tell clients that starting a project in the winter is no big deal. As long as we can get concrete in the ground, building in the winter usually does not really cause problems- not in our neck of the woods. But this year was a completely different story. This year we had 85 inches of snow and it was absolutely freezing for the first 6 weeks of the year. If the guys could even make it to the jobsite they were out shoveling- foundations, roofs, driveways, lumber stacks, etc. for hours on end. We have had 2-3 feet of snow on the ground for most of the winter. Now that the weather has warmed a bit everything is mud. No matter how clean the guys sweep the site at end of the day, it is filthy again the next. And now it won’t stop raining or sleeting or snowing and then raining again.
I am always amazed that the guys on the site have such a good attitude. The electrician did comment yesterday that he didn’t understand why we even have HVAC guys on the job 'it is always cold here- all they will need is heat' he said. It’s true I can see how he feels that way. Every day on site seems to be damp and cold and dark.
Today the job site was a royal mess – temporary subfloor had been pulled up to install ducts, holes were being cut in framing everywhere for plumbing and HVAC lines. It was all dark and mud and saw dust and way too many guys working and way too many holes in the floor to fall through. And of course I was wearing high heels.
Yet every person on this site is totally cheerful, nice, fun, happy. It was the highlight of my day to go to the site. There is just something better about building a green home. Everyone on board cares and likes what they do. We all believe in what we are doing. Everyone is sort of cut from the same cloth- GC, subs, architects, clients. Everyone is doing a really, really good job. This is a great job. This is the way a job should be. People who have horrible building experiences have no idea what it is like to build a house of good intention. This is a completely different world. This is why we design green homes: because when we go to job sites we have a great day.
Here is a rare photo of the house in actual sunshine!
More to come. Enjoy the snow tonight ~ happy spring!
13 January 2011
Snowy Roofs!
Ah the snow ~ There is nothing I geek out on more the day after a snow storm than driving around looking at other people's roofs. Last night we got 22" of snow in my home town. The way snow melts off of a house roof tells the story of the roof's insulation inside.Different amounts of snow tell the story in a different way. Heavy snow will tell the story more in icicles and what I call snow slumps-large swathes of snow falling down a roof.
Why do icicles happen? Well really what is going on are called Ice Damns. Ice damns happen when heat from inside the house flows out of the house- mostly through the roof (because heat rises). When the heat flows out through the roof (because there is not enough insulation) it melts the snow that is touching the roof. That melted snow turns to water and runs down the roof until it gets to the gutter/ eave and then it starts to drip down. However since the air is very cold (less than freezing) the water turns to ice and as more water comes dripping down the icicles grow longer.
What's bad about this is that at the gutter line a LOT of ice is forming! And behind that ice the dripping down water that has not frozen yet is creeping into and behind your roof shingles, sometimes popping them up and often penetrating through to the interior of your house and then causing water damage in the ceiling near the roof eaves. Bad!
The way this problem shows after a light snow fall is with stripes on a roof. Look at these 3 pictures. All 3 of these houses are neighbors, they face the same direction. ( and yes, sun and wind can often throw off the results!) They quickly reveal the levels of insulation in each house.
House #1 has very poor insulation. You can see the white stripes at each roof rafter. There is likely no insulation between the rafters which is why you can see the black asphalt shingles showing. The heat from the house has poured through and melted all of the snow off the roof. Where the rafters are, the heat gets though more slowly and thus there is still a bit of snow clinging there- un-melted. You can also see at the over hangs and the porch roof below there is still all snow in tact. That is because there is no heat flowing through there- just cold outside air.
House # 2 is less 'bad' but you can see the same patterns emerging. This house may be moderately insulated in the floor of the attic/ above the living space.
By the way if you ever see the opposite- broad white stripes and thin black ones where the rafters are- that means there is some decent insulation in the rafters- probably batt insulation- but it pulls away from the rafters, or is not well installed, so it is letting heat sneak out right along the rafter lines.
The third house (below) was recently built and I watched it go up and I happen to know that it was very well insulated with blow in insulation and sheathed with the Zip System which provides a great air infiltration barrier which inturn makes insulation perform to its highest potential. Good job! All of the snow is in tact! No heat is leaking through!
Here is an example of the detail for a decently insulated house:
Have a look at your roof today and the next few days as your roof melts! Do you need more insulation?
BTW: simply insulating your roof can cut hundreds and hundreds of dollars off of your heating and cooling bill per year. Payback times for this kind of work are usually less than 2 years! Why not !!??
Happy sledding ~ Elizabeth
09 December 2010
02 December 2010
30 November 2010
Congratulations to B P C Green Builders
Yesterday we did the blower door test for the house in Rowayton. For those of you who don't know what a blower door test is you can read about it here. Basically it is a test to see how air tight and generally awesomely well constructed for energy efficiency a house is.
The lower the number the better. As a reference:
The
IRC’s current energy code requires 7 ACH at 50 pascals.
Energy Star requires less than 5 or 6 ACH, depending on the climate zone.
Tight house Less than 5 ACH/50
Moderate house Between5 and10 ACH/50
A Leaky house Above 10 ACH/50
The Rowayton House (drum roll please.....) 1.2 ACH/50 !!!!
This test just how awesome a job the contractor did at building the house. The truth is hidden in the walls and once the drywall is on the inside and the siding is on the outside you have few ways of knowing what is really happening within the walls. And if you are not on site all day everyday watching the contractors work, you could miss a lot. An architect's best friend is a trustworthy contractor. A trustworthy contractor is - of course- also the owner's best friend.
They are hard to come by but they definitely exist. BPC Green Builders (Chris and Mike Trolle) are definitely a great example.
Every construction project takes a team. The owner has a dream, the architect draws the dream and the builders constructs the dream. Along the way there is a ton of planning, changing, detailing, thinking ahead, worrying and bill paying. We all discuss and work on detailing the house and figure out exactly how it will be built. But a lot of times no matter how much you figure it out ahead of time or how well the architect details a house...it doesn't always get built the way it was planned.A bad contractor cuts corners when architect and owner aren't looking. A good contractor builds it better than the architect and owner expect.
I just want to publicly thanks Chris Trolle for a job VERY well done. Every job meeting was -if not simply very pleasant - actually fun. The entire construction project was a smooth sailing. And the results are undeniable.
I also want to thank Leslie for being an awesome client. They don't come any better: Smart, savvy, good at communication, completely understanding of the process and great at allowing the process to happen, plus a fabulous eye for design and wonderful taste. A true and equal team player.
02 November 2010
28 October 2010
05 October 2010
01 October 2010
Some updated Rowayton Photos
The LEED home in Rowayton is about 1 month away from completion. We are all very excited because it is looking great. I think it is truly the epitome of a Fine Green Home! I will write more soon but for now some pictures:
