Pocket House Q&A
Why call it a Pocket House?
adj. 2. A handy size; a pocket backyard; a pocket museum.
In pocket 3. Having gained or retained funds of a specified amount.
Our Pocket Houses come in a range of handy sizes; you select the best fit for your needs. Pocket Houses are about simplicity and creating lifestyle flexibility. A home that is exceptionally functional and just the right size is less burdensome to one's overall lifestyle and pocket book.
Also, a prefabricated Pocket House is designed as a tidy package for easy shipment to any location in the country for uncomplicated and accurate assembly.
Can you tell me about the quality of the prefabicated house?Well, first off, it's important not to confuse the quality of pre-fabricated homes with mobile homes. Generally speaking, prefab is simply a different building method for constructing a regular house. Produced in modules or panels, they can be any architectural style.
In our case, our Pocket Houses are anything but 'regular' given they are critically designed and built to the exacting standards of Passive House. They must successfully pass performance tests by third party testers during construction and after completion in order to be certified.
Architecturally, you will not see or experience any difference in the home than if it were built on-site.
What is a Passive House?Firstly, all of our homes are designed and built to the Passive House building standard.
A Certified Passive House or Passivhaus is not the same as a passive solar design of the 70?s and early 80?s. Passive Houses today are really simple to own and maintain, and they work exceptionally well in our rainy PNW climate. Passive Houses designed for other climates are highly successful as well, because this approach offers sophisticated design tools that allow us to tailor the home to the climate.
Passive House is a design and build method, which relies upon an airtight envelope, loads of insulation, super-efficient doors and windows, efficient ventilation and the reuse of heat. These houses are mechanically super simple but extremely efficient. They have a really tiny heating system, and for heating, they use ONE TENTH OF THE ENERGY of a conventional home.
For more details about Passive House, please see the Passive House Q&A's.
What makes a Pocket House economical?Each aspect of a Pocket House is designed to achieve the "best bang for your buck." Also, the components that make a Pocket House are pre-fabricated in our facility, which greatly reduces production costs, limits materials waste and allows for quick and trouble-free construction time on site.
Pocket Houses are designed and constructed using the Passive House approach. Passive House are simple and inexpensive to own and operate, because they require no complicated energy systems to achieve their incredible levels of energy-efficiency.
What is the size range of the Pocket Houses?Pocket Houses come in a range of pre-designed sizes, from 800 square feet of floor area up to 3,000. Please call us to talk about specific sizes and floor plans. 360.870.6280, ask for Tessa.
What about reselling my Pocket House?Statistics indicate that energy-efficient homes sell more quickly than standard homes, often above market value. You'll have a certification by a third-party, which verifies your home's performance. Also, a Passive House is not built with expensive mechanical systems or 'things to go wrong' which is a wonderful selling point over a home built with efficient but costly heating systems. Finally, our work has been winning awards for many years, so you can be assured that your home will be well received if you choose to put it on the market!
Can I produce my own electricity and go Net-Zero?Absolutely! In fact, the Passive House method is a cost-effective approach to netting out a house in the PNW. A Pocket House is so ultra-efficient, with super low energy demands; typically a relatively modest solar electric array can provide power for all your household needs.
What about remote sites?Because Pocket Houses take pre-fabrication to the limit, this is a perfect approach for building sites that are difficult to get to. We will build most of your home in our facility, and then simply assemble the home on your site.
What is unique about The Artisans Group?The Artisans Group is a true Design/Build firm. You can bring us your needs with confidence that we will take full responsibility for every phase of the project; you can spend your energy on realizing your dreams, and not on trying to manage a surprisingly large group of specialists and suppliers.
The Artisans Group has designed and built more Passive Houses than any other firm in Washington State. Creating a successful Passive House requires many different fiercely committed players to focus on the details. We have the experience to identify the important details, and a proven history of "getting them right."
We are the first company to offer pre-designed, pre-fab Passive Houses.
