The Fine Homebuilding House has to be strong, energy smart and of course, stylish. Nestled in the woods of California, the home’s aesthetic needed to complement the landscape, and stand up to the changing environment. Using metal panels as the siding and roofing materials helped this house become a shining example for educating both designers and builders on creating houses that are high-performing and stylish.
Project: Fine Homebuilding House
Builder & Designer: Atmosphere Design & Build
Materials Used: 1.75” Tru Snap Standing Seam Panels
Beauty Meets Durability
When considering all the elements needed to create this custom home, a low-sloped roof and changing climate were among the biggest challenges. The builder worked closely with the Bridger Steel team and decided the best option to accommodate these challenges while still creating something beautiful was to use Bridger Steel’s 1.75” Tru Snap standing seam metal panels. Since these panels could function as both the roof and siding, it created a flawless and seamless look.
By choosing a 24 gauge panel, the builder was confident in the metal panel’s ability to stand up to the changing weather conditions that come with the Sierra Nevada Foothills Mediterranean climate. Though most of the world considers California’s climate to be nice and temperate, the location of this home faces a variety of different climate challenges, including cold, harsh winters where temperatures average between 22-34° and hot, dry summers, which face fire threats often.
Choosing a finish that mimicked the environment's landscape helped the home to become an extension of the surrounding forest’s colors. The Vintage, dark gray finish easily complemented the mountains, pine trees and other natural-looking building materials that were used on this home.
Energy Efficiency
This home functions as a shining example of California’s new Zero Net Energy initiative, where all new residential construction will be zero net energy by 2020. This is an energy-efficient building process where, on a source energy basis, the annual energy that’s actually consumed is less than or equal to the on-site renewable generated energy. Building residential homes this way, and this home specifically, helps the world become a greener, smarter place.
Another important aspect of this home was ensuring it was built with energy efficiency at the top of mind. Metal siding and roofing are already extremely energy efficient, saving the average homeowner up to 25% on monthly heating and cooling costs. (Metal does this by reflecting solar radiant heat instead of absorbing it like other materials.)
Builders also incorporated another element to increase the home’s efficiency: solar panels. Since standing seam panels were used as the roofing material, solar panels were able to be easily installed and mounted with a custom twist. The builder used S-5 clips specifically designed for the panel used in order to incorporate solar panels and take the home’s smart build ever further.
All About Balance
One of the key design elements of this home was finding balance between the different levels and floors, while maintaining the seamless look. The Tru Snap panels have a high rib that worked well with the low-sloped roof, helped to seamlessly connect both the second and first floor’s exteriors and of course, create a design that looked as if both the siding and roof ran together. Standing seam metal panels were the perfect choice in helping to balance the different levels of the home without creating unruly looking intersections.
The Bridger Steel team worked extremely closely with the homeowners, who also happened to be the builder and designer! In fact, our team even visited the job site multiple times in order to help the builder install each piece of metal correctly and efficiently.
“The goal was to make it waterproof without sacrificing the architectural appeal and modern design of the home,” says Jacob Housman, National Sales Team Lead. “Our team had installation documents in hand and shared many industry ‘tricks of the trade’ and installation techniques with the builder, which he was extremely grateful for. After we left the job site, everything was dialed in and the job went off without a hitch!”
Why Bridger Steel
Not only does Bridger Steel provide nationwide delivery, but our team of product experts and specialists worked directly with the builder and architect on this project. In order to meet the requirements of both the architect and builder to create a home that encased beauty and efficiency, standing seam metal panels were an obvious choice. Metal’s durability and aesthetic provided the project with flexibility, pushed the possibilities of building and exceeded the expectations of the homeowner.
“Since we custom-make every order, we have the ability to modify and produce unique profiles and details if desired – which was the case with this home,” Jacob says. “We’re available via phone or e-mail to answer technical questions and help along the way. We take great pride in not only producing a lifetime product, but leading the industry in customer service.”
To read more about how carpenters adapted their tools in order to perfectly install the metal panels, check out this article. Take a deeper dive into the Fine Homebuilding’s 2018 winner here.
If you want to create a beautiful, durable building with metal panels like this home did, talk to one of our Product Specialists. If you’re not sure how you could incorporate metal into your home, but love the look of it, start with this blog.