Page 37 - Green Builder Magazine March-April 2018 Issue

Designed to accommodate

generational living, HOME OF THE YEAR AWARDS

this home sets the bar for Best Affordable Net Zero

10th Annual
market-rate sustainable homes.

BY JULIET GRABLE

EATTLE-AREA DESIGN-BUILD FIRM TC LEGEND has
hit on a winning formula for building market-rate, net-
zero-energy homes: Start with a rectangular volume + Use
passive solar orientation + Build a well-insulated, airtight ADU
envelope using structural insulated panels (SIPs) and high- BEDROOM GARAGE
S performance windows.
That strategy is on display in a home completed in 2017 in West
Seattle. The 3,160-square-foot home on an urban infill lot is net- ADU
positive energy and was built at market rate. FIRST FLOOR PLAN BATHROOM
“I still talk to people who don’t even know it’s possible to build a
net-zero home for the same price as a conventional home,” says Ted ADU LIVING ROOM
Clifton, designer, builder and owner at TC Legend. ADU KITCHEN
When Clifton began building with SIPs 17 years ago, he had
reservations about the material. But then his father, also a builder,
asked if he’d like to take on a project in Seattle. The home, which
cost $124 per square foot to build, went on to capture a Housing
Innovation Award from the Department of Energy and has
earned Net Zero Energy certification under the Living Building UTILITY
Challenge. ENTRY BATHROOM
The combination of cost and performance of the SIPs system won
Clifton over, and today, he won’t build with anything else. The energy
shell for the West Seattle home arrived on a truck. The 6.5-inch SIPs
panel walls were unloaded and installed by hand; a crane was used SECOND FLOOR PLAN
to set the 10.25-inch SIPs roof. Triple-pane windows from EuroClime
complete the envelope. LIVING ROOM KITCHEN BEDROOM
Environmentally Attractive and Easy on the Eyes
TC Legend homes aren’t just functional boxes; it’s important that the
homes are attractive, too. On the exterior, Allura fiber cement panels
combine with FSC-certified redwood accents to create a durable yet
attractive façade. Overhangs and awnings add interest while shading
the home from the summer sun. CLOSET
As a case in point, Clifton points to his Tesla S electric car. Yes, it’s OFFICE
environmentally responsible. “But it looks really cool, too,” he says. BATHROOM MASTER BED
Not content to stop at net-zero energy, TC Legend also integrated a
rainwater harvesting system into the home—a first for the company.
The system was designed by RainBank; TC Legend installed all of
Family Hostel located below the first-floor deck, for a total storage capacity of 10,000 THIRD FLOOR PLAN GAME ROOM BEDROOM
the components. The system consists of four 2,500-gallon cisterns
gallons. The water moves through a series of physical filters before
undergoing UV treatment. The system supplies all of the water used
in the three-story home, including irrigation.
Sizing the rainwater collection system for the three-story house

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