David Matero Architecture, Bath, Maine - Residential, Commercial Architect


	Mike Hamilton

	LEAN TOO House Brunswick, ME Construction Progress
January, 2012 The Lean Too at dusk, for photos by Darren Setlow Photography, check out this link on our website. Go to photos.
January, 2012 The Lean Too.
January, 2012 The dining and wonderful corner of the living room.
January, 2012 Salvaged barn board is also accented under the kitchen island.
January, 2012 Butcher block island countertop and maple cabinets by Youngs.
January, 2012 A comfortable living room.
January, 2012 View from the living room to the dining and kitchen. The floor is Maine grown yellow birch and the accent wall at the kitchne is from a local barn.
January, 2012 The Lean Too after a snowstorm.
January, 2012 Late morning light.
January, 2012 The living room corner and sunshade supports.
January, 2012 Landing at the bottom of the stairs.
January, 2012 It's all about light.
January, 2012 A cozy area to watch TV. The TV is behind the basement wall so it's out of view from the kitchen and dining room. There are 2 very good options for hanging a TV in the Lean Too, one exposed to the kitchen/dining area and one hidden.
January, 2012 Midcoast Energy explaining the mechanical system to Anne and showig her how to clean the filters on a regular basis.
January, 2012 Midcoast Energy and Senecal Construction about to sit down and discuss the mechanical system. Midcoast needed to send back a defective air exchange system. The system is now working as advertised and we would like to compliement Midcoast Energy on their service and response to a problem.
January, 2012 The large, frameless mirror helps to visually expand the size of the bathroom.
January, 2012 Mom and Dad's room gets the early morning sun and the eastern moonshine.
January, 2012 Colden's room.
January, 2012 Basement door, closet door, closet door.
January, 2012 Anne in the kitchen. Butcher block island with reclaimed barn board under the counter.
December, 2011 View from the southwest. The exterior is just about complete, until the spring when the sitework will be finished.
December, 2011 The mitered southwest corner of the sunshades.
December, 2011 A good example of the sunshades allowing direct sun into to the windows in the winter time to take advantage of that free heat energy.
December, 2011 Douglas Fir sunshades have been installed. The door will be painted when we get a stretch of warm weather. The wood and granite steps (granite slab is from an old schoolhouse) will be installed in the spring.
December, 2011 A beautiful affect when the window is pushed to the corner...light bouncing off the wall.
December, 2011 The loft is looking like a home office.
December, 2011 Recycled barn board accent wall and soon to be coat hooks.
December, 2011 It's moving day!.
December, 2011 Recycled barn board accent wall.
December, 2011 Mudroom entrance with a recycled barn board accent wall.
December, 2011 Looking up to the loft.
December, 2011 Matt and Anne punch listing the interior.
December, 2011 Late morning light in December.
December, 2011 View from the living room looking up to the loft.
December, 2011 Cathy visiting the site checking out progress. There are no special effects here, the camera was briefly fooled by the light.
December, 2011 View from the second floor hall looking down the stairs through the cable rail.
December, 2011 View from the loft looking through the cable railing system.
December, 2011 The butcher block island top is a nice warm touch to the kitchen.
December, 2011 The butcher block island countertop has been installed. It needs to be cut to size.
December, 2011 Unfinished maple cabinets to be painted later. The cabinet above the microwave was to be a intake vent but was moved to an alternate location. A new maple panel is on order.
December, 2011 Second floor bathroom is complete except for the mirror.
December, 2011 Siding is done. Sunshades to go up soon.
December, 2011 Concentrating on the interior, the exterior metal is complete now that the entry roof has been covered.
December, 2011 The final push. Punch list is scheduled for this weekend.
December, 2011 The cube. This insulated box takes stale air from the bathrooms and kitchen and captures 75 to 80% of the heat energy before it is exhausted to the exterior.
December, 2011 Basement guest bedroom / playroom.
December, 2011 Ceramic tile in the bathroom is complete, wating for the sink installation and the mirror.
December, 2011 Side entry roof.
December, 2011 Sheerock returns at all windows with a simple, but clean, window sill.
December, 2011 Basement and closet doors opposite the dining room.
December, 2011 Second floor bathroom ceramic tile and east window.
December, 2011 Master bedroom, southeast corner, paint trim and carpet.
December, 2011 Late afternoon light at Lean Too.
December, 2011 Entry roof waiting for metal and the shouldering sunshades.
December, 2011 Detail of the entry roof. The notches are for the sunshades which will be soon be installed.
December, 2011 Entry roof overhang made with Doug Fir brackets and real board shething. The up/down light fixture provides light for the entry as well as bounding lighting off the wood.
December, 2011 Douglas Fir bracket for the sun shades and entry roof.
December, 2011 Wood floor end pieces.
December, 2011 By upgrading from the slab-on-grade base package, a mechanical room in the basement was designed. The Rinnai wall-mounted boiler is pictured to the left. The gas-fired boiler heats water for domestic use and the heat coils that are in the Rinnai air handler unit (hanging from the ceiling). The air handler takes fresh outside air and mixes with interior air to increase the air temperature. Stale air from bathrooms and the kitchen is not used, however, 75 to 80% of the heat energy coming across the coils is used to pre-heat the cold outside air.
December, 2011 Wood flooring being installed in the living/dining/kitchen. Locally grown and harvested Yellow Birch by Maine Traditions Hardwood Flooring, Katahdin Collection.
December, 2011 Colden attending the site meeting with David and Matt.
December, 2011 Site meeting, Anne and Matt.
December, 2011 Wood flooring being installed.
November, 2011 View of the loft. The wood flooring is about to be installed.
November, 2011 Master bathroom wall tile.
November, 2011 Southwestern view of the fiber cement clapboard siding and board and batten accent at the corner.
November, 2011 Siding continues around the side. The northern side has been completed.
November, 2011 The northern wall has an accent color.
November, 2011 View from the loft, one coat of paint is on all the walls now.
November, 2011 All the cabinets have been installed and the bases have been templated for the countertops.
November, 2011 Second floor hall, notice the amount of light in the morning.
November, 2011 North elevation fiber cement siding.
November, 2011 Future Douglas Fir sun screens.
November, 2011 Second floor bathroom ceramic tile.
November, 2011 Mudroom and powder room floor has been tiled.
November, 2011 View from the second floor corridor.
November, 2011 Some of the board and batten accent siding has been installed.
November, 2011 Meeting and showing the Lean Too house to an interested, like-minded, couple.
November, 2011 The kitchen cabinets being installed so the countertops can be templated.
November, 2011 The access to the attic space is quite a deep well to keep the 16" + of blown-in insulation to achieve a thermal value of R-60.
November, 2011 View from the east and the morning sun. The uppers windows are into the master bedroom.
November, 2011 Siding continuing around the perimeter.
November, 2011 Interior walls have been primed.
November, 2011 Fiber cement panels being unpackaged. These will be installed under soffits and as board and batten panels.
November, 2011 Fiber cement siding (Hardie Board) has begun. The proprietary Hardie Wrap provides a breathable area behind the fiber cement siding that allows it to dry from both sides, extending the life of the siding and color.
November, 2011 The vent does double-duty, both supplies and exhausts air.
November, 2011 The Rinnai air handler bringing in fresh air to the house. By building such a tight house, we will need to recycle air throughout the home.
October, 2011 View from the living room through the dining to the kitchen.
October, 2011 David, Anne, and Colden meeting with Jeanne Handy, interior designer, working on choosing paint colors.
October, 2011 Mater bedroom, windows to the left face the morning sun.
October, 2011 The Rinnai wall mounted boiler.
October, 2011 Work is about to happen on the exterior again. Sheetrocked has been completed but heat is needed because the nights are getting cold.
October, 2011 Basement walls being sheetrocked. Insulation in the basement is Roxul, a stone wool (volcanic rock) insulation that is moisture and fire resistant.
October, 2011 The second floor ceiling will be insulated to R-60. The pink baffles will allow venting from the soffit vents to the ridge vents. The 3 foot overhang of the roof will allow at least 16 inches of insulation at the wall edge to maintain the R-60 insulation for the entire ceiling.
October, 2011 Realtor, Mike Hamilton, stopping by to look at progress.
October, 2011 The first floor walls and ceilings have been sheetrocked.
October, 2011 Each bedroom will have a supply of fresh air. This house will be constructed so tight that fresh air must be brought in mechanically. This ain't your grandmas house!
October, 2011 Fresh air duct line from the basment to the second floor.
October, 2011 Getting electricity to the site has been a chore working wtih CMP and Fairpoint. Trees are being cut to run the overhead lines.
October, 2011 The basement bathroom needs to be pumped to the septic system.
October, 2011 Anne displaying the carpet to be installed in the bedrooms on the second floor. The carpet is by Kraus Flooring, Green Choice Collection. Carpet has bohth recycled content backing and fiber, it is recyclable, and has CRI's highest ranking indoor air quality rating. If you look closely, Anne is advertising the "Three Penny Taproom" in Montpelier, VT.
October, 2011 Sample of the wood flooring to go on the first floor. Locally grown and harvested Yellow Birch by Maine Traditions Hardwood Flooring, Katahdin Collection. This engineered wood flooring is FSC Certified.
October, 2011 Most of the windows have been installed.
October, 2011 The electrical rough-in is almost complete.
October, 2011 The windows are manufactured by Marvin, these fiberglass windows with wood interiors is their Integrity line. Good quality windows, fiberglass on the exterior is a very durable material.
October, 2011 The windows have arrived are are beginning to be installed.
September, 2011 The metal roof is almost complete.
September, 2011 A coordination meeting with Midcoast Energy, installers of the heating and ventilating system. We have been working with Bob Hardina.
September, 2011 Metal roof being installed. The color is galvalume and will change color as the sky changes based on the reflection. It is also a light colored roof so it will not absorb heat (however, R-60 roof insulation would prevent heat absorption anyway).
September, 2011 Interior framing on the second floor. View from the hall towards the loft.
September, 2011 Thank you to our visitors who attended our open house. We had some who were planning on building a SIP home for themselves, some who were interested in the Lean Too project, and a bunch of friends.
September, 2011 Relaxing with a job meeting after the open house with Anne, David, Matt, and Steve Lunt.
September, 2011 Not the best photo, but this large hawk watched over the open house all day. Yes, we made sure our little vistors playing outside were tied up.
September, 2011 Our kitchen and bath cabinets, represented by Hammond Lumber, are made in New Hampshire with FSC certified Poplar by Young Furniture. These cabinets have solid wood frames and dovetail drawers boxes	Kitchen Cabinets Young Furniture Custom Cabinetry
September, 2011 Setting up for the open house.
September, 2011 A home in the woods.
OPEN HOUSE TOMORROW- SEPTEMBER 17 10am to 1pm This is your opportunity to see the Lean Too house under construction and meet the design and construction team. Senecal Construction, ReMax Riverside, Greg Day Lighting, Complete Home Evaluations, and David Matero Architecture will be on site to answer questions and review construction procedures. Lulwe Ridge is off Collinsbrook Road which is off the Durham Road in Brunswick. Hope to see you there.
September, 2011 Getting ready for our open house tomorrow. Roof is on and the sun is out.
September, 2011 Bedroom windows beging shaded from the southern sun in September. A morning like today, David and Anne will appreciate the sunshine through the windows. We are experiencing a clean but cold Canadian air.
September, 2011 The view from the loft looking down to the living room and across to the site facing south.
September, 2011 This view will only be available for a short time. Standing at the loft looking through the eventual bedrooms.
September, 2011 Interior framed walls are going up. These are the closets between the dining room and the stairs to the basement and second floor.
September, 2011 Looking through the living room two-story space to the new roof trusses.
September, 2011 The metal roof has been delivered. The roof will be a "Galvalume" color. The roof will take the color of the sky. The roof will look gray some days and blue on other days.
September, 2011 Knife edge detail of the roof overhang on the north side.
September, 2011 The roof is on! As you can see, the September sun is half shaded by the roof overhang at 10am.
September, 2011 Trusses being installed. Yes, there is a gap there. Instead of adding 2 gable end trusses the truss company changed out 2 trusses for gable ends, leaving us 2 short. A quick redesign by Casco Bay Engineering utilizing on site lumber allowed the roof to continue with 2 conventionally framed trusses.
September, 2011 By this weekend the trusses and roof will be installed. Just in time for the open house! Saturday September 17 from 10am to 1pm, please join the design and construction team (cider provided by the David and Anne) as we show you some of the sustainable construction techniques being used on our first Lean Too house. If you scroll down this blog to August you can find a map to the site.
September, 2011 Looking forward to this detail. Notice the knife edge detail at the truss ends.
September, 2011 The trusses have arrived and are sitting on the second floor. They will begin to be installed today.
September, 2011 Looking down on a window opening and at a butt joint between two panels. You can see the splice joint. You also see the obligatory nail coils for the nail gun
September, 2011 If you look closely, the second floor windows do not align with the first floor windows. The contractor noticed this in time and will adjust the opening on the second floor accordingly. A good catch by the contractor.
September, 2011 From the corner of the living room you will be able to see through the dining room to the kitchen beyond.
September, 2011 Looking at the south and west corner windows of the living room.
September, 2011 The second floor panels have been installed. View from the south.
September, 2011 View from the southwest showing the corner of the living room and loft space above.
September, 2011 The largest beam on site. This beam at the mudroom is holding part of the main roof, part of the mudroom roof, wall and floor above.
September, 2011 The second floor opening for the loft has been framed.
September, 2011 When possible, these joist hangers will allow joists and beams to be installed without beam pockets to maximize the insulation at the floor rim.
September, 2011 Where headers are needed (in this case 3 2x10's), 1/2" insluation is installed between the wood so we get a total of 1" of insluation above the windows and doors .
September, 2011 Owners David and Anne talking to Matt Senecal.
September, 2011 At the joint of SIP is a beam pocket already installed to make installation of the beam easier.
September, 2011 Real progress of SIP installation now. The two story panels are where the stairs and loft openings are.
September, 2011 View from the kitchen window.
September, 2011 The first floor, southeast walls have been installed.
OPEN HOUSE - SEPTEMBER 17 10am to 1pm This is your opportunity to see the Lean Too house under construction and meet the design and construction team. Senecal Construction, ReMax Riverside, Complete Home Evaluations, and DayMatero studio will be on site to answer questions and review construction procedures. The SIP walls and roof will be installed by Saturday Sep. 17. Come get some free information on sustainable construction.
August, 2011 Irene was not much of a factor in our area, but it was better to be on the safe side. SIP's continue to be installed after the weekend. By coordinating the window and door sizes before construction, the manufacturer cuts out the openings which greatly reduces construction waste.
August, 2011 The first wall panels being installed. At about this time we are getting weather reports for the potential hurricane, Irene. With 65 mph winds forecasted, the GC has decided not to install the two story SIP's. Although it will delay the install of the walls and roofs, having 20' "sails" without sufficient bracing is too much of a risk.
August, 2011 This beam is picking up the opening at the stair. Underneath, the stair beam will eventually cantilever to help the owners move large objects (like kayaks) in and out of the basement.
August, 2011 The beam pocket in the SIP still maintains a thermal barrier.
August, 2011 At many of the corners, hold down clips are installed. Steel brackets by Simpson, these resist overturning forces on the wall that can easily achiever 8,000 lbs of force. When you consider having ro reduce the affects of the coming hurricane Irene, this is inexpensive insurance and another way that the Lean Too house is solidly built.
August, 2011 SIP box joists and spray insulation. Note the vapor retarder and insulation thermal break at the concrete slab to foundation intersection.
August, 2011 The SIP box joist is done, next up is the installation of the hangers and floor joists. The plywood sheathing will be installed on top of the floor sytsem and will cover the top of the SIP box joist.
August, 2011 Occasionally, 1 1/2" of insulation must be dug out by hand. Although we had shop drawings, we needed to order the panels before the final grade and concrete work was completed. There is a small amount of panel cutting that will be required at the basement level. Otherwise, from the basement up, panel adjustments should be minor, or none at all.
August, 2011 The top plate is treated the same way, spray insluation is applied prior to the top plate being installed.
August, 2011 The SIP's come without the plate attached. Here you can see the end plate (needed for a structural corner), being installed after insulation is sprayed between the SIP insulation and 2x6.
August, 2011 What's normally termed a box joist, a SIP is resting on sill seal that is resting on the top of concrete foundation wall. This panel is the same dimension as the floor joists. The advantage here is that the thermal envelope is continuous, even at the ends of joists where many times in conventional framing this is a poorly insulated area.
August, 2011 The wall panels come with grooves at the joints, called splines. Plywood will be slid into the grooves of each butting panel, like a tonge and groove system.
August, 2011 Floor joists have arrived, too. Now the floors and walls will go up quickly. The only structure missing at this point are the roof trusses, scheduled for delivery next week. These engineered floor joists are also straighter and stronger than dimensional lumber, and use significantly less wood.
August, 2011 Engineered beams have arrived. The floor joists clear span the width of the building, however, where we have designed openings in the floor for stairs and the loft, these beams need to carry the load. The largest beam is 7" x 11 7/8" where it has to carry floor, wall, and roof load. Engineered beams such as these are straighter and stronger than dimensional lumber.
August, 2011 When floor joists are not bearing on the top of the concrete wall, Simpson joist top hangers are used. These hangers are nailed to the top plate of the panel so the joists can slide into the Simpson hanger.
August, 2011 The SIP's come plastic wrapped and labeled. There is a drawing that indicates what is in each bundle to assist the contractor in the order of panel construction.
August, 2011 The SIP's have arrived (on Saturday morning).
August, 2011 This is a drawing of the south elevation SIP (structural insulated panels) shop drawing. DayMatero studio and Casco Bay Engineering (structural engineers) reviewed and marked up these panel drawings. It is critical that window and door openings are coordinated with the panels because they are delivered with the openings already cut out. This will speed up construction and reduce site waste. Each panel is numbered so when it arrives on site they can be installed efficiently. The panel openings are only 1/4" larger than the window manfuacturer's documented rough openings.
August, 2011 Finishing the slab. The blue membrane will eventually get sealed to the concrete wall. Rigid insluation is also turned up between the slab and wall as both a pour stop and insulated barrier.
August, 2011 The basement slab pour. Note the blue vapor retarder directly under the concrete slab (and under this is rigid insulation). This membrane will assist in keeping water and radon vapor from entering through the concrete slab. There is perforated perimeter piping both inside and outside the footing.
August, 2011 Anne sporting a new haircut.
August, 2011 David and Matt Senecal reviewing the requisition
August, 2011 Underground plumbing inspection passed. The sump upper right is the sewage pump for the basement bathroom. The first and second floor waste lines are gravity flow so bathrooms can be used in a power outtage. The footing to the left is support for the stair opening. Other than this post, the basement is a clear span space. More stone, vapor barrier and slab are scheduled for tomorrow.
August, 2011 Leach field is complete except for the spreading of loam. The septic tank is scheduled to be buried later today.
July, 2011 DayMatero studio, Matt Senecal and the clients met at Hammond Lumber to review drawings and begin picking out materials and finishes. The most important decision was chosing a color of fiber cement siding, both the primary and secondary color. We also decided on a metal roofing color.
July, 2011 Our fist Lean Too clients, David and Anne (Prusak) Daniel and their son Colden before our meeting at Hammond Lumber in Brunswick.
July, 2011 Concrete foundation has been poured. Getting ready for waterproofing. This is the view from the southwest, the walkout basement is to the north.
July, 2011 The footings have been poured. View is from the northwest corner where the basement daylights to the exterior. An extra playroom/bedroom is in the basement, along with mechanical and storage.
July, 2011 Pouring the concrete footings.
June, 2011 Using a sun chart and compass, the construction team can orient the house due south. Depending on other circumstances (views, prevailing breezes, site constraints), the house can vary off this angle by a few degrees. In our case, we capitalized on a direct southern exposure.
June, 2011 Matt Senecal, Senecal Construction Services, Scott Fraser, site contractor, and DayMatero studio on site to preliminarily layout the house.
July, 2011 The entrance to Lulwe Ridge off Collinsbrook Road in Brunswick, ME.
January, 2010 A visit to the site in winter. The developer of the land cleared some of the buildable area to give people an idea of siting the house. Although we would prefer to site each house, this was done a couple of years ago.
January, 2010 View from the northeast.
January, 2010 View from the southeast showing the kitchen windows on the first floor and bedroom on the second floor. A first floor bedroom is possible in the future on this side so it captures the morning light.
January, 2010 Building Sections - Sections cut through the house show the loft and two-story living room. More importantly, sun angles are shown to help design the correct sun shading devices and roof overhang.
January, 2010 West Elevation - The sun shades on the first floor wrap to protect the west facing windows. A screen porch could be installed on this side of the house in the future.
January, 2010 South Elevation - A metal roof will protect this house for many years, and the fiber cement siding mounted as a rain screen will also extend the life of the siding. The winodws are a combination of stationary and casements because they are better performing than double hung windows.
January, 2010 Second Floor Plan - Two bedrooms and a bathroom make up the second floor. The loft could easily be converted to a third bedroom, if needed. All south facing windows are protected by a large overhanging roof.
January, 2010 First Floor Plan - An open concept which is how most modern day families use their home. The kitchen, dining room, and living room all face south to take advantage of free solar gain. To shade the sun during the summer, each of the south facing windows and doors have sun shades. The living room is open to a loft above. On the north side of the plan is a powder room, mud room, and laundry.
January, 2010 A generic site plan of a typical Lean Too site including the important considerations like solar orientation, native landscaping, and limited site clearing.
January, 2010 Early in 2010, a team that included DayMatero studio, Senecal Construction Services, and Mike Hamilton from RE/MAX Riverside, approached the owner and developer of the Lulwe Ridge development off Collinsbrook Road in Brunswick, ME, with the concept of designing, marketing, and constructing energy efficient homes based on the LEED requirements. These nice, 2 +/- acre lots had some of the buildable areas cleared and a road constructed, but otherwise were not selling in a down economy. After much interest in the concept, over 220,000 hits on the realtor's website, the first "Lean Too" house was sold this spring. Please enjoy this blog as we continually update the status of our first Lean Too house.	Lean Too Design Team Architect - David Matero, David Matero Architecture Lighting Design - Greg Day Lighting Construction Manager - Matt Senecal, Senecal Construction Services Broker - Mike Hamilton, RE/MAX Riverside Landscape Architect - Carroll Associates Energy Analysis / HERS Rating - DeWitt Kimball, Complete Home Evaluation Services