Canyon Construction
Gottfried Home
When David & Sara Gottfried approached Canyon Construction with this project we all knew it was a chance of a lifetime. The Gottfrieds’ had purchased a 1915 Craftsman Bungalow with the end goal of turning it into a completely energy efficient, sustainable home. We called in DSA Architects, a local firm committed to sustainable design, and the team was formed. The first thing that was decided was not to increase the size of the home, keeping it at roughly 1500 square feet. Instead interior walls were knocked down, creating much more of an open, airy feel. Since the home only contained one bathroom for four people, it was decided that an additional half bath would be needed, adding a dual flush toilet, high recycle content flooring and an energy efficient sink. The full bathroom had a Kohler tub installed, in addition a dual flush toilet, an efficient showerhead and faucet aerators were installed to make sure the bathroom reduced waste water and was energy efficient. Another way the Gottfrieds’ home reduces energy consumption is by having Energy Star, energy efficient fans in the bathroom that vent to the outside. The Gottfrieds’ knew that only having one shower would create problems so an enclosed shower was added on the back porch.
The rest of the home continued on with many more sustainable features. The kitchen utilizes state of the art Energy Star appliances, a kitchen hood that vents to the outside, high recycled content syndecrete countertops, and new, environmentally conscious cabinetry. Reclaimed redwood from the Old Sacramento Main Bridge was used for the front steps and the doors and hardware were reused. FSC certified wood was used for construction framing, plywood and replacement flooring. Cellulous insulation, made of 80% post-consumer recycled newsprint, was used throughout the home. The fiber is chemically treated with non-toxic borate compounds to resist fire, insects and mold. It also protects the home from air leakage, creating an effective barrier so energy is not wasted. Marvin Windows’s low-E double pane windows were installed throughout the home. The low-E coating is extremely helpful for minimizing heat & cold air loss in glass windows. Another way the home lowers it’s external energy dependency is the installation of 16 solar photovoltaic panels on the home and the use of a solar hot water heater for heating both the water and providing heat for the home.
Working to maintain as earth friendly a lifestyle as possible, a 120 square foot “LifePod”, designed by Mr. Gottfried and Mr. Smith, was added to the expansive backyard to be used as an office. Designed to be as efficient as possible, the space is topped with eight solar panels, has a High Volume Fly Ash Concrete floor and Marvin Window. The landscaping surrounding the outdoor office space utilizes 90% native, drought resistant plant life, and both rainwater and grey water, captured from both showers and sinks and filtered in an underground system, is used for landscaping, to make sure that minimal water is wasted. The driveway was laid using permeable pavers on top of gravel to allow rainwater to soak into the ground thereby allowing it to permeate the ground and not flow into storm drains, cutting back on major pollutants getting into our water resources.
Canyon Construction is a leader in sustainable building, having built our first sod roof, recycled content home in 1969. In recent years we have had over fifty employees go through the Build it Green, Green Building certification course. We felt honored to be able to work on this project with David & Sara Gottfried and DSA Architectural Team. The outcome was beyond what any of us could have imagined.
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