Gold Award
New Design Building Co. Inc., Livonia, Mich.
Project location: Plymouth, Mich.
Sq. ft. before: 920
Sq. ft. after: 2,771
Project cost: $357,860

Afamily of four, plus two dogs, was cramped in a 920-sq.-ft. home in the walkable, downtown section of the suburban Detroit town of Plymouth.

An architect friend of the homeowners, Jason Gnich, who lived in Portland, Ore., visited the home and decided that drawing a simple addition would not be in keeping with the styles of the other well-kept homes in the neighborhood. He returned to his Portland office and drew a blended East meets West Craftsman bungalow that greatly expanded the size of the home and also its comfort. The 30-in. rake overhangs were emblematic of an East Coast style, while details like the four-post cedar columns with through-bolt detail and cedar bracketed eaves support represented a Pacific Northwest aesthetic.

The family was on a very strict budget. Throughout the construction process, choices were made to keep the project on target. Carpeting was installed upstairs instead of hardwood. But these trade-downs were few and far between. In fact, several important upgrades were added. Because the roof assembly was designed with hips, ridges and pan ceilings, a conditioned attic space was required. To facilitate this conditioned space, Icynene hot roof insulation was selected. This, combined with a tight building envelope and efficient windows, yielded a net increase in utility bills of only 15 percent. Considering that the amount of conditioned space had tripled from before the remodel to after, this small increase in energy consumption represented a significant accomplishment — one that vastly reduced lifetime costs of ownership.

The home has 9-ft. ceilings throughout, even in an enlarged basement, which, if included with the rest of the living space would total 3,700 sq. ft. The four-bedroom, 3.5-bath home is likely to be the family’s residence for a very long time.

Specified Products

Bath cabinets: American Woodmark, Diamond
Bath fixtures: Decolav, Kohler and Delta
Bath faucets: Moen
Brick/Masonry: Owens Corning
Interior Doors: JELD-WEN
Exterior Doors: Therma-Tru
Fireplace: Montego
Hardware: Kwikset
Insulation: Icynene
Kitchen appliances: KitchenAid, Broan
Paints/Stains: Behr, Sherwin Williams
Roofing: GAF/Elk
Siding: James Hardie
Structural: iLevel by Weyerhaeuser
Windows: Andersen 200 Series
Other: Rinnai tankless water heater

Silver
Team Entry: GC/a ARCHITECTURE, Arlington, Va. and Merrill Contracting & Remodeling, Arlington, Va.

Bronze
Team Entry: Architectural Resource, Ann Arbor, Mich. and Meadowlark Builders, Ann Arbor, Mich.

Honorable mention
Team Entry: Grossmueller’s Design Consultants, Inc., Washington, D.C. and A.R.T. Design Build, Bethesda, Md.