When Jarret Kinder and Susan Williams set out to build a second home, they wanted a mountain getaway, but not your typical log cabin. The building site would be tucked into 450 wooded acres on South Pittsburg Mountain, and with such a secluded location, it was crucial their home be built right the first time.
The couple's affinity for mountain biking linked them with Ethan Collier of Collier Construction, who put them in touch with Trey Wheeler of TWH Architects, both local companies known for environmental efficiency. Kinder and Williams expected these companies' priorities would be in line with their own, and they were not disappointed.
Owners, architect and builder agreed that their primary goals would be energy efficiency, minimal maintenance and building in harmony with the land. "We basically wanted a home that was built well," Kinder says. Trees around the home site were left intact, though not as many as originally planned by Collier or Wheeler.
Wheeler designed a simultaneously rustic and modern home, as distinct as it would be efficient. "The design and materials far exceeded our expectations because to us it's so unique to put those materials together," says Kinder.
A stained and stamped concrete patio, which needs no treating and won't warp, wraps the house under a single-gabled roof. Core tin is used for porch columns, frames the screen porch on the west side and forms posts for the steel cabling that is a near invisible railing on the back side of the house. Vertical cumaru siding, which naturally resists rot and insect damage, covers some of the façade while hardiboard makes up the rest.
Ideally situated on a bluff, the home has a panoramic view from three sides of the house. A dining area, living area and kitchen are encompassed by a single open room with door-sized windows topped with glass transoms to take full advantage of the bluff view. French doors open to a pier that seems to float over the mountainside, extending about thirty feet. A support beam bolted into two trees keeps the decking suspended twenty feet in the air.
Wheeler's design would become Collier Construction's first "better built" home. Better built, a green building program, calls itself "Chattanooga's Good Home Index." Testing for energy efficiency and specific requirements, like a blower door test during which the home is pressurized to evaluate energy leakage, offers statistical evidence of exceptional performance. The Kinder-Williams home has a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) index rating of 64 out of 100, which means it is 36 percent more efficient than a house built to code.
Constructing a better built home didn't require the use of products or techniques outside Collier's normal practice. "While there are product standards for certain items such as windows and insulation, the majority of our efforts simply go into paying careful attention to construction details - taking what would typically be done and just doing it better," says Collier. The company focuses on techniques such as advanced framing, conditioning crawlspaces and attics, and keeping ductwork inside the building envelope to improve efficiency.
Kinder and Williams left the majority of the interior design to Natalie Sims of Yessick's. Gray walls and window treatments exude calm and elegance. Mostly traditional furniture is freshened by industrial-inspired light fixtures and modern paintings selected by the couple.
In the master bedroom, the bed is positioned against a slate wall with a row of clerestory windows. French doors exit to the porch that wraps the house. The house has two baths and two more bedrooms as unique and cool as the master.
Collier also constructed a 2,400-square-foot barn on the property, and the couple is using the company again to build a commercial building in a different location. "The process was great, and the result was great," says Kinder of working with Collier.
Kinder and Williams expect to continue developing their acreage with hiking and biking trails that will access waterfalls on the property.