EVstudio has been working with West Standard on a new custom home in Washington Park.  The house is coming along great.  The design included a drilled pier foundation supporting an elevated two-way concrete floor.  Then a wood frame structure build on the elevated foundation and floor.  Due to a high water table and poor soil conditions, most new homes in Washington Park are supported by a drilled pier foundation and require elevated floors.  Many of the existing turn of the century homes have experienced movement of the foundation and have required engineering services to repair the foundation.  Soil conditions vary, so always get a soils report for your project.

Below you can see the placement of the cardboard void forms placed below the elevated concrete floor.  The cardboard acts as a temporary support for the concrete during placement.  After a few weeks of being exposed to moisture in the ground the cardboard weakens so that any swelling soil forces do not damage the structure.

Then a vapor retarder can be placed on the void forms to protect the structure from any moisture entering the concrete floor.  In addition, many quality builders are placing a rigid Styrofoam above the vapor retarder to reduce thermal loss.  The additional insulation is also highly recommended when the concrete floor contains a heated floor system.

Then the reinforcement is placed for the elevated concrete floor.  For residential floors EVstudio typically uses a 6 1/2" thick slab reinforced with #4 bars evenly spaced on the bottom and addition #5 bars at the top centered over the supports for the negative moment.  A two-way concrete floor is unique for residential construction, but it provides an efficient floor system by reducing excavation depths and not introducing wood over a crawlspace where mold can become an issue.

EVstudio also used a two-way concrete floor for a recent commercial project in Texas for the Corps of Engineers.  Typical main floor construction was building large grade beams spaced at roughly 15ft on center.  Then a one-way concrete floor spans between the grade beams.  This required excavating the entire site to build the grade beams.  EVstudio proposed a two-way slab to save a very significant amount of money and time while still maintaining the same level of performance.

Related posts:

1. Quick Turn Around Forensic Engineering Inspection Services In The Denver And Evergreen Area
2. Renovation and Update of Home in Washington Park Denver
3. Wood Post Bearing in Historic Denver Homes

On Friday, we had the chance to view the recently completed Rawley home renovation in Denver's Washington Park neighborhood. The project is a great example of a home renovation that leaves the existing shell of the home intact while making careful revisions to provide a modern home feel.

The house is a very compact 1,500 sf. We removed many of the interior walls on the main level to allow the living room, dining area, and kitchen to flow together.

From the first meeting, the Rawley's asked about the possibility of having Sarah Susanka's "away room". We were able to convert a small addition on the house into a quiet semi-private space that doubles as the room for television watching.

The original house had one bathroom on the main level and two bedrooms upstairs. After the renovation we left a powder room downstairs. Upstairs we combined the space into a master suite with a bedroom, full bath and sitting area opening onto a deck facing the mountains.

In a compact footprint it is essential to utilize each space. The owner's desk is tucked behind the front entry, the washer and dryer are hidden in a space carved out of the attic and the space under the stairs doubles as the powder room.

This project ranks as one of my favorite small renovation projects. One of the greatest reason's for the projects success was having a great client. Mike and Sarah were interested in designing a home that met their needs rather than falling into designing what "the market wants". They were very involved with the decisions throughout the design and worked with Bob Hinz of HomeWrights on the construction.

Related posts:

1. Denver Building Department – Home Renovation Bonanza – Free Permits
2. Demolition Pictures From Rawley Remodel in Washington Park, Denver
3. Fantastic Finishes on a Contemporary Denver Duplex

This image is looking from the front door into what will become the entry, stair and kitchen. Almost the entire house is being gutted to accomodate the remodel. The image isn't out of focus, you're seeing the large amount of dust in the air during a remodel.

Rather than parking a dumpster, the demoltion subcontractor prefers to pile the trash and have it hauled away by a trash collection truck with an arm that grabs the trash and lifts it in.

Removing the trim at the windows reveals the original counter weights for the windows. They all still work, but the windows will all be replaced for better energy efficiency.

Related posts:

1. Do I remodel or start from scratch?
2. EVstudio Selected to Design School Remodel at Lowry for Denver International School
3. Denver Building Department – Home Renovation Bonanza – Free Permits