Gig Harbor Residence Install, WA

Project Overview

This 4 bedroom modern family house is 2614 square feet, and was completed in spring 2021. he home is designed to take advantage of passive solar heating and shading with a floorplan that is longer in the east-west direction and puts a majority of the windows on the south sides of the house. In the winter, sunshine can pour in the well-glazed south side of the house and heat up the floors like a thermal battery. In the summer, the 2.5-foot roof overhang upstairs and full-length 3.5 foot covered porch downstairs shield windows from direct summer sun. East-, west-, and north-facing sides of the home have fewer windows.

Overall, the homeowners are amazed. “We are loving our new home. It’s still almost unbelievable to us how air-tight it is in here. It’s so quiet inside, we barely hear any exterior sounds…. We definitely underestimated the amount of light and heat that would come in, both on the west side alone and in the home overall. It is so bright in here. I love it!” said one of the owners.

The home features the following building components:  

• Premier SIPS gable roof: 10.25" R-49 graphite-EPS SIPs, asphalt composite
• Premier SIPS Walls: R-30: 6.5" graphite SIP panel (R-29), house wrap, fiber cement
• The envelope & mechanical systems are all drawn from the 2020 TC Legend building system which includes the: 6.5” walls, 10.25” SIP roof, 4” R20 foam under the slab, R24 ICF’s
• HVAC included Chilltrix CX34 heat pump  and (1) fancoil upstairs, Zehnder 350 HRV with comfopost heat/ cool delivery. Air-to-water heat pump with 50% central air handler, 50% radiant, 3.92 COP, AC variable speed compressor, 23.02 EER
• Vinyltek triple pane windows on the south side have a U value of 0.15 and a SHGC (solar heat gain coefficient) of 0.46. 
• Thermatru front door for entry
• 12.87 kW, rooftop solar panels
• EV charging station
• No-VOC paint, cabinets.

SIPs helped the contractor (TC Legend Homes) save on labor, time and construction costs. The client did a stellar job of following design advice & the crew lovingly built the house, sealing the envelope to 0.6 air changes per hour, Passivehaus standard. The result is an economical house that has won a Department of Energy Grand Prize, attained 5-star Build Green certification and is certified Net Zero Energy Construction. 

Measured Energy Performance: 

•  0.47 ACH50, all SIP joints taped and sealed with double-bead mastic tape & whole-house aerosol sealant
• HERS Index: without PV: 35; with PV: -22

Environmental Certifications: