To create an affordable home by building an additional residential unit (ARU) at the right rear corner of a large residential property in the City of Guelph.
The two-bedroom 861 square foot home was designed to:
a) be energy efficient with the use of:
i. two layers of 1.5” thick rockboard 80 (R11 continuous insulation) on the exterior of the 2x6 exterior walls (R24 Rockwool)
ii. R70 cellulose in the attic
iii. providing 5” of Type 4 board insulation (R25) below floor slab
iv. providing 3” of continuous insulation (R15) around exterior of slab edge to plane of exterior insulation sheathing on exterior walls and extending 4’ past exterior of front porch slab and building slab to ensure 4’ frost protection
b) utilize the best wall exterior air barrier (Majvest by SIGA) and intelligent interior wall vapour barrier systems (Majorex 200 by SIGA) on the market to ensure a healthy and long-lasting exterior wall assembly.
c) allow continuous air flow with metal screening on the bottom and continuous soffit venting with both vertical and horizontal strapping behind the exterior siding. This served to keep wall assembly cooler in the summer, to keep wall assembly dry and to keep surface temperature of the exterior siding lower.
d) accommodate the owner’s tall stature by using 34” wide X 7’ high doors throughout, higher countertops, higher shelves and hanger rods in walk-in closets,
e) include age-in-place features by including lever type door hardware, curb-less shower and low threshold on exterior entry door,
f) include good amounts of storage -> both bedrooms have walk-in closets,
g) provide comfortable heating which included an in-floor hydronic heating system with a Laars combi-boiler which served domestic hot water needs as well as hot water heating needs,
h) provide high indoor air quality by using a fully ducted energy recovery ventilation system which recovers 75% of the heat from outgoing stale air to temper incoming cold air. This system is designed to provide fresh air to normally occupied living spaces. This is done indirectly to the bedrooms and living rooms via: walk-in closets and mechanical room. This approach allows for full tempering and mixing of air before reaching normally occupied spaces. In this system, stale air is removed from rooms with sources of contamination including washroom and kitchen.
The project involved:
· Extending gas service
· Upgrading hydro service to main house and extending new service to ADU (no photo included)
· Extending sanitary sewer to ADU (no photo included)
· Upgrading water service to main house and then providing a water service to the ADU (photo is of live tie in at City main by City approved contractor)
· Construction of a professionally engineered reinforced concrete floor slab with major insulation below and extending around edges and beyond edges of slab
· Energy efficient wall construction
· High heeled trusses to optimize insulation levels over top of exterior walls (no photos included)
· Top quality air barrier membrane on the exterior wall assembly including around openings in walls
· Sound control insulation on interior walls (Rockboard 80)
· R24 Rockwool insulation in walls with intelligent air barrier/vapour barrier control membrane on the interior (photo not included)
· Vented exterior wall assembly
· Exposed Douglas Fir heavy timber framing over front porch
· Large 34” wide X 7’ high modern solid core doors in bedrooms, bathroom and mechanical room for sound control
· Panasonic exhaust fan controlled by a timer for shower (high volume and located near shower to quickly dissipate moist air to exterior) – no photo included
· Fully ducted energy recovery ventilation system (photo is of fresh air intake for ERV which is as least 6’ away from sources of contamination)
· An in-floor hydronic heating system using Laars combi-boiler system for domestic and hot water heating
· Larger downspouts with flip up extensions to make lawn cutting easy (no photo included)
· Carefully detailing around service penetrations and custom colour matched exterior wall vent terminals
In summary, by a carefully thought-out design and using top-quality trades and suppliers we were able to create this beautiful additional residential unit that will meet the current client needs and wishes and be adaptable for use by senior parent(s) in the future.
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