Passive House Training...

Passive House Training By Randy Foster, Owner, The Artisans Group I recently completed the first three days of training as a Certified Passive House Consultant last week.  During the first day of class, I was struck by the fact that there are a lot of really smart people studying the Passive House approach.  I was impressed by that, and I felt really honored to have been accepted into this year’s training program!  Each of the 25 students in my class seemed to fully grasp the fact that designing and building a Passive House is rooted in attention paid to many small...

Disappearing Window Screens...

Now that the leaden skies of winter are receding a bit allowing us to enjoy the beauty of spring, I’m enjoying looking out my windows more than I have in the past few months. There are two things impeding my otherwise perfect view of my empire. One: I can’t see out the bottom third of my full-lite French doors. Eddy, our dog, while passively window-shopping the bird feeders from the comfort of the living room, she manages to fairly effectively apply an obfuscatory coating on the entire surface of the glass…. and then… after actively shopping the...

Our Own Passive House Consultant...

We received notice yesterday of news we’ve longed to hear… our  lead building designer, Tessa Smith, passed her grueling exams to achieve status as a Passive House consultant! Tessa is one of fewer than 300 certified Passive House Consultants in the United States. Tessa has been with The Artisans Group for 4 years; she’s been consistently producing award-winning remodel and new construction designs for us.  Her designs speak for themselves. Tessa has a deep background in sustainable design, and is very much a part of the new generation of designers that...

House Remodel Part 3...

Elegant simplicity in the kitchen By: Tessa Smith, lead designer Understated fixtures lend coziness to high ceilings As a sustainability consultant (LEED AP, Certified Passive House Consultant, pending) I have a long standing affair with mother earth, a deep-seated passion for deep green design and a constant nagging concern about energy performance.  Although the clients goals on this project were much more about finish than energy, we made every effort with every part of the project we touched to increase its performance.  Where we opened walls and replaced windows and...

House Remodel Part 2...

By: Tessa Smith, lead designer Before remodel, old roof line from streetside Although personally I very much liked the modern aesthetic of the original flat roof (a bit of a mid-century modern buff myself) Mr. Demich had been in an epic battle with it for as long as he lived there, constantly leaking and failing under wind conditions.  Not to mention not a bit of insulation in it, resulting in high energy consumption and cost.  Also, although they said this in different terms, the Demich’s longed for a more archetypal profile to their home (a form more recognizably a...

House Remodel Part 1...

By: Tessa Smith lead designer Free hanging uppers around range allow for sense of openess I met the Demich’s at a tour of homes several years ago, as we stood in my project they described wanting a similar sensation of light and balance in their own home, a small mid-century house on the water. Earthtone hues in bathroom The Demich’s needed a whole house remodel, two bathrooms, a kitchen, a great room and all the floors needed to be addressed, as well as the tired, flat roofed exterior. The Demich’s pictured coming home to a contemporary cottage retreat, soothing...

Should I Remodel My Home? part II...

Did you read part I? This is part II of my musings on when it makes sense to remodel. I left off yesterday with a list of general questions that might help to shape your thoughts on whether to engage in a remodel or not. If you’ve read the questions and you’re comfortable with your thoughts at this point and want to pursue a remodel, great!  Let’s assume you’re like me and have a ceiling on your budget. Let’s also assume your homes ‘bones’ are in good order allowing us to focus on the interior rooms to be remodeled. Living Room Before But first, let’s get...

Should I Remodel My Home? part I...

When does it make sense to remodel my home? The fact that you ask yourself indicates the possibility of a ‘need’. Something or lack of something inspired you to wonder. “Wouldn’t more counter space make my life so much easier?” “Is a real laundry room too much to ask for?” “A stove top that can accommodate pots on all burners at the same time! “ Whole-House Remodel Before Despite that it would be wonderful to instantly have snazzy new accommodations and appointments, we still must ask, “when exactly does it make sense to remodel?” Take a moment...

Green Remodeling Basics...

Green remodeling, just how elusive is it? Green building and energy efficiency are not the Holy Grail. You bet there are some measurable efficiency- standards out there that could make your socks roll up and down, but that’s in a different post. This post is of the super basic variety.  I want to give you a few ideas how you can tune-up your own home to achieve a level of ‘green‘ that you can measure in your monthly utility bills as well as the ‘Honey-do-you-feel-a-draft-in-here‘ factor. Some of these tips are easily done by an unsupervised...

Passive House (PHIUS) Concept & Sta...

Written by Tessa Smith, The Artisans Group, for The Nisqually River Foundation The Passive House (Passivhaus in German) concept was created in 1988 by Professor Bo Adamson and Doctor Wolfgang Feist, spurred on by their desire to positively affect climate change while decreasing reliance on a volatile energy market.  Their research combined existing energy efficiency technologies and concepts making Passive Houses the most energy efficient building system in the world.   Today Passive House certifications are administered by the Passive House Institute United States...