e03 German PreFab Project

This house is located on a little slice of heaven some would say. Walk-able to downtown Issaquah and embraced in an oxbow of Issaquah creek. Having grown weary of living in an “energy dog” of a house, an eight-year adventure to design and construct this new home began. The clients choose the HUF HAUS Company with confidence that they would soon inhabit an environmentally responsible house light-years ahead of American sustainable technology. This project is on track for Built Green Five-Star Certification. “This house is easily Six stars” exclaims the verifier. Yes, it is that good.

Sage often likes to say that we provided the fancy Platter and Huf Haus brought in the Cake. In 2005 the Clients initiated this adventure - to have a house built to replace their existing home on a beautiful site. As the existing house was non-conforming, it was necessary to get a shoreline exemption permit prior to design. The old house leaked energy…. and the new house takes green technology to new levels based on world-renowned German expertise. The tight envelope features modern lines with heavy timber, in balance with lots of high-performance glass.

Architect & Wize Guy 

S.A.G.E. DESIGNS NW
sagedesignsnw.biz

• Sage K. Saskill has had the distinct pleasure of being the stateside architect. He considers himself “The Conductor” of the orchestra that is the client and project team. From early scribbles to face-to-face work sessions with the German design/build team he has been there every step of the way. Sage wore many hats including guide and translator for the complexities of the design process that helps people build their dreams into reality.
• Sage is a master space planner. The proportions of this house are truly well balanced. In the design development stage, we utilized Huf Haus aesthetic parameters including large eaves and passive solar concepts. This project has been a challenging, rewarding and fun journey with two wonderful clients.

Modern Prefabricated Timber Frame

HUF HAUS of Germany represented by dotGreen Inc.
dotgreenusa.com

• The Clients - one German and both having spent extended time in Germany - discovered this high-end company and became adamant that they would have the first one delivered to America.
• The Huf Haus specialty is a timber-frame luxury house with large windows and open plan design.
• The research and development into sustainable solutions has brought them to their current level of “green[r]evolution” utilizing structural insulation in solid wall panels.
• Huf Haus delivered the entire house package including the floor tiles, doors, windows, built in furniture & cabinets, to the roof tiles… and [almost] everything in between.

Structural Engineer

VISSER ENGINEERING
visserengineering.com

• Sage sometimes says that you could build a fire station on this foundation. We needed a design that would meet the unlikely occurrence of simultaneous earthquake and flood events.
• The masterful engineering of Mike Visser facilitated this project. His company analyzed the structural techniques of Huf Haus and provided the parameters to meet the stringent requirements for this particular site and U.S. building codes.

General Contractor

SCHOMES CONSTRUCTION  

• This project would not have achieved such grandeur if not for Tom Schmoe. He is the man responsible for putting together the crack team of local sub contractors necessary to execute the stateside work - beginning with deconstruction of the existing home thru the topcoat of paint.

Following is the amazing team of craftsman and suppliers who completed [almost] every detail of this project:

Deconstruction, Earthwork & Concrete

HILLARD CONSTRUCTION  

• Adam – accomplished and efficient - is responsible for making ready the site and foundation (after the piles). He has some big earth moving toys and knows exactly how to use them… and was smart enough not to let Sage operate any of them.

Augercast Piles

MCDOWELL NORTHWEST
mcdowellnw.com  

• Nine 20” diameter piles were drilled prior to setting the grade beams. The “drill team” made this look as easy as putting candles in a cake.

Electrical

NORTH STAR ELECTRIC
north-star-electric.com  

• Doug showed up early on-site to evaluate the challenge of wiring this German-built house. He found both innovation and consternation on how things are put together in a European prefabricated building. His team came up with clever – and code legal – solutions for every challenge.

Plumbing

SOREANO’S PLUMBING
soreanosplumbing.com  

• Similar to the challenges of the electrics, the plumbing systems presented innovations in German engineering that had to be resolved with American codes - and parts.

Geothermal Heat

ALL RADIANT
allradiant.com  

• Heat pump & geothermal wells, Radiant in-floor heat, Heat Recovery Ventilation, and domestic hot water. Hayward’s guys installed these systems and keep us out of hot water in the machine room. They solved many riddles for both a tight site, and a tight building envelope.

Plastering

RENAISANNCE PLASTERING
renaissanceplastering.net  

• Masterful touches were put on the finish coat of interior plaster and innovative solutions were devised for certain tricky exterior locations. Peter and crew were responsible for adding a solid old world touch to this uber modern structure.

Painting

EASTLAKE PAINTING
eastlakepaintco.com  

• Pete’s guys put the final touches and the final coat of finish on nearly every surface. They spread products shipped from Germany as easily as paints from local suppliers. They are masters at their craft.

Kitchen Counters

ALLIED MARBLE
alliedmarbleinc.com  

• Word has it that as the clients toured the showroom full of dozens of choices; they stopped and firmly decided when they stood in front of one particular marble slab. It is in beautiful contrast to some of the more simple flavors in the house and was installed with impressive precision.

Fireplace

THOMPSONS HOME & HEARTH
thompsonshearth.com

• Guy is one of our regional wizards of all things “stove”. There’s nothing quite like sitting in the warmth and glow of a Rais stove, and there are few more knowledgeable and honest salesman to be found in the northwest.

House Cleaning

MERCEDES HOUSECLEANING
Mercedescleaning.com

• This company is one of the last hands to touch the house before it is time for the contractors to turn over the keys. Mercedes will also be responsible for pre and post tour cleaning to make things beautiful for our guests and look like we were never there afterwards.

Architectural Photography  

LANE FINE PHOTOGRAPHY
lanefinephotography.com

• Michael has a knack for making the ordinary look extraordinary… and making the extraordinary look simply beautiful