Tag: new build

Hideaway House

This gorgeous Colorado mountain house is tucked away off a dirt road west of Denver. The all-electric new build is a quiet hideaway, featuring passive house principles, high performance construction techniques, and low carbon materials, which keep the home healthy and quiet. Windows and doors are triple pane, by Viking. Airtight tapes and membranes are provided by Proclima from 475 High Performance Building Supply, for achieving an airtight home rated at well below 1 ACH50 for comfort and energy efficiency. An Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV) with geothermal pre-conditioner and in floor radiant heating and cooling will keep the home comfortable year round in the high elevation mountain climate. This new home is currently under construction and will be completed in 2026. 

Project Team

Architect:

Shape Architecture Studios

Structural Engineering :

The Engineering Loft

Passive House Consultant:

Northeast Projects

The Path to Passive House: Making the Decision

Living Craft Co-founder Frank Wetenkamp recently spoke at the Passive House Network Rocky Mountains chapter meeting about our upcoming Passive House Certified project in Golden, CO with Ewers Architecture. The focus of the presentation was on how the clients, architect, contractor, passive house consultants, and subcontractors all navigate the early planning process when a sustainable home design makes the transition to becoming passive house certified, well before breaking ground. Watch the presentation below!

Living Craft hopes to provide education to everyone based on our experiences, so that high performance buildings, such as passive house, can continue to expand their reach. Let us know what you thought and if you have any lingering questions about the path to passive house!

future passive house rendering in Golden Colorado
Rendering of future Golden, CO passive house.

Modest Marshall

custom home built by living craft in colorado

This Marshall fire rebuild home was designed for a family that lost their original house and was able to rebuild on their property. The home incorporates principles from both the Passive House and Pretty Good House frameworks. As an Energy Star Certified and All Electric home, it had to meet stringent requirements for R-values of wall, roof, and floor insulation. We completed third party verification of insulation installation, air sealing metrics (ACH50 blower door testing), and mechanical system design verification and efficiency testing.

Significant intention was taken with the layout and lot siting to fit the lifestyle needs of work-from-home professionals into under 1,400 conditioned square feet and a single story. The well-separated home office layout results in sound attenuation, with the opportunity for a guest bedroom conversion when needed. A large southwest facing deck has gorgeous outdoor views and is a year-round space to host and recreate outdoors. The north facing front patio is a cool reprieve from the summer sun and a connection to the neighborhood. Fire-resistant wood and metal siding offer a sense of peace and longevity. A permaculture/fruit tree/native plant focused landscape aligns with the family’s interests and values. Easily navigable hallways and walkways with pocket doors provide privacy and the ability to age in place.

Sunflower Sanctuary

We built this all-electric passive house for a family who lost their home in the Marshall Fire in Louisville, CO. Designed by Shape Architecture, the home incorporates active and passive solar, locally manufactured Alpen triple-pane windows, southern views, an airtight envelope, 12” double stud walls filled with carbon sequestering cellulose, hemp, and sheep wool insulation, and an advanced energy recovery ventilation system to meet passive house standards.

A light-filled main living area opens out onto a garage rooftop patio that connects the spaces on the 2nd floor to the secluded rear yard. A trellis provides shade and protection from weather. The design maximizes space and privacy with lofts in the high point of the roof gable in kids’ rooms as well as a secret lab and guest suite/home offices in the lower level. The homeowners also included significant food and medicinal plant producing gardens in both the front and rear yards, which also incorporate water-wise design and native plant species.

The owners have been amazing about sharing their experiences. The first part of a series on passive house rebuilds at Rocky Mountain PBS, features this family! Denver’s Channel 7 News also did a piece on the house right before it was completed.

Architect:

Shape Architecture Studios

Structural Engineering:

I.M. Smith Sustainable Structural Engineering

Passive House Consultant:

BLDG Typ

Passive House Certifier:

CertifPHIers Cooperative

Spring Gulch ADU

This detached father-in-law suite features solar power, plaster walls, custom carpentry, and a large double garage with dog shower below. We used a sheathingless wall system that incorporated smart air barrier with cellulose insulation.

  • SG Exterior
  • Kitchen Spring Gulch
  • Spring Gulch Main Area
  • Spring Guulch Plaster and Lady
  • Spring Gulch bathroom
  • Studio Spring Gulch
  • Spring Gulch Laundry

Berthoud Studio

A new build of a detached studio/work space with its own kitchen and bathroom. This structure was oriented to the sun for passive heating in the winter, air sealed with smart vapor open membranes, insulated with Havelock sheep’s wool, and includes an ERV for increased indoor air quality. We built with our clients’ chemical sensitivities in mind, and all materials went through a thorough vetting system to eliminate indoor pollutants.

 

  • exterior studio
  • studio bathroom
  • living room
  • living room 2
  • kitchen

Hemp-clay Mountain Timber Frame

This beautiful timber frame home at the edge of the mountains near Boulder, Colorado has a fun twist: a hemp-clay infill between the timbers of the exterior walls. The Living Craft team installed a 4″ layer of hempcrete to the inside of the walls, using a clay binder instead of lime to keep embodied energy down. We then plastered over those walls with custom clay plasters.

The hemp hurd used in the walls will sequester carbon for the lifetime of the building, reducing the overall embodied energy of the building. Additionally, the highly insulative extra R-value will keep the home temperatures comfortable and keep it quiet inside. Combined with tripe pane European style windows, this home is high performing and healthy.

Project Team

General Contracting:

Earthrise Homes

Plaster and Hempcrete:

Living Craft

Custom Interior Carpentry:

Grimes Carpentry

Magnolia

West Boulder County passive solar strawbale home. Designed by Fuentes Design. Built by Earthrise Homes. Plasters by Artesano Plaster and Living Craft. Custom carpentry by Frank of Living Craft, with Earthrise Homes and Grimes Carpentry.