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brixton builders backyard cottage

Last summer, Neil finished building a backyard cottage in Bellevue that I had designed for a client of ours at Ross Chapin Architects.  One of the owners of the existing house wanted a cottage for her mother.  We ended up doing a major modification of one of our GoodFit plans, the Betty Cottage. For more photos check out the Brixton Builders website.

Chapucas exterior and rain garden

Took a couple pictures this weekend and then went back to this photo & rendering I had done before the construction.  Glad we went with the black trim.  The model and all the drawings were done in Archicad.

The rain garden has sure taken off.  I've had to do a lot more watering than usual due to our dry weather.  Each weekend I do a little more planting.  It's been hard to just stick with a few types of plants...I'm more of a color and texture experimenter when it comes to choosing landscaping. And it's looking a bit chaotic, but I'm having fun.  The Ben Moore gray siding is a nice backdrop for the different grasses and plantings.

Our solar panels are installed and just waiting on final equipment from Seattle City Light.  Here are 6 with another 10 on the upper roof.

We have been quite comfortable living in the 530 sqft apartment. Neil is working on the bookcases upstairs now and once they are done and painted we will be able to move up to the main part.

If you look closely you can see the cats lounging on the walkway.  Being strictly indoor cats, they have been loving exploring the garden and just being outside. 

settling in

We have been living in the apartment portion of the house for about a month now and it's hard to put into words how it feels.  All the decisions and details have come together and the apartment lives very comfortably.  The diagonal views out the windows look out to our garden as well as the neighboring garden.  The light is Vita Lighting Cuna Pendant Light.   After a couple intense days of adjustment,  Chessie finally settled in and found her go to spot...of course in the sun.

Eventually, we will have a way of covering the TV whether it's a blind or a pair of doors.

We were a little short on our layout for the backsplash, so we added glass tiles between the 4x12 white tiles.  I am really happy with how it turned out.  A simple way to dress up $2 / SF tile.  The countertops are Wilsonart laminate over Apple Ply.  Custom maple cabinets with a light white tint added to the finish.  Stove is Blomberg and the fridge is LG, both 24" wide and deep. 

 The lights are Astron from Rejuvenation.

The apartment is 530 SF with one bedroom.  The extra deep drawers below take advantage of the space under the stairs leading up to the rest of the house.  The sliding door hardware came from Home Depot.

door hanging and trimout

Here Neil is installing the doors - shimming and leveling the jambs.  This is the door between our house and the apartment.  It is a fire rated, outside door.  Notice the threshold at the bottom and the 2 bored holes for a deadbolt as well as other lockset.

We have gone with a picture frame detail for our windows and door trim.  The corners were mitered,  reinforced with biscuits, then held in place while the glue dried.

interior trim begins

Last week Neil and Mitch started on the interior trim of the apartment.  While we are doing some more modern detailing, we both still prefer windows to have trim instead of just drywall corners.

And yes....the windows are in much need of washing.

Upstairs our hardwood floor is acclimating ready to be installed this week.

Can't wait to see it installed!  It's 5" character grade rift & quarter sawn white oak.  Basically that means it has some life and imperfections to it.  We plan to stain it a dark brown/black.

exterior window trim

While the subcontractors are inside, Neil has moved to the outside.  He will be adding 1-1/2" of rigid insulation on the exterior of the building...over top of our weather barrier which covers our 1/2" plywood sheathing.  Once the insulation is applied, he will then install 3/4" plywood battens vertically, aligned with the studs in the wall.  This will create a drainage plane behind the siding.  We are using 2 different types of siding.  1x6 cedar beveled siding that we are having pre-stained black and 8" exposure James hardi lap siding which will be painted an undecided grey.

Because we are adding more thickness to the wall, we had to rethink our exterior trim.  Originally we were wanting a 3-1/2" wide trim that would be picture framed around the window, but after mocking it, we came to re-evaluate this due to the multiple 12 steps to building it out versus 5 for the 2x on end.  12 x 34 window groupings equal a painfully slow process.  So we decided we liked the more streamlined look.

You can see all the extra blocking needed in this side shot.








We also briefly looked at adding a stepped trim piece around the frame, but decided against it's fussiness.

We have tried to minimize the fan vent locations and while we do not have individual exhaust fans for our main part of the house, we still have them for the apartment portion.  For every hole coming through from the inside to the outside, Neil has boxed it out and flashed it like below.  All of the vents, hosebibs and exterior electrical outlets receive this treatment.

windows all in!

Spring has arrived and our windows are all in.  We have had some issues with them that took a bit to get sorted out, but they are now all installed and looking good.  Many of them are casement windows below with an awning above.  This will allow for upper ventilation without being a security issue.

The gutters are also on and look great! Love how they just disappear.  Downspouts are just temporary till we finish the siding.

The above picture shows our cat door to the deck...just a slider window.  Being indoor cats, they are going to love having access to the upper deck!

The windows are Milgard Ultra series which is all fiberglass. We evaluated a few different windows and settled on Milgard because they are a local company (manufactured in Tacoma, WA), their great customer service and lifetime warranty for as long as we own the house.  Also other window packages were coming in higher and with 50+ windows, cost was a major consideration. 

We went with the flat black exterior, but it would have cost an additional $5,000 to do black on the inside, so we decided we were all right with the white.  They are also triple glazing, with 2 panes of Low-E coating on the glass to give us a lower U-value averaging .26. Surprising this only added about $500 to the entire $30,000 window package.  Triple glazing also helps with sound control from the busy street....but it adds considerable weight to the window...especially with our larger windows.  Luckily during install, the window sashes were removed for easier handling.

Brixton Builders is a general construction company with a specialization in residential projects. Established in 1997 by Neil Chapman, Brixton Builders past projects include new custom homes, entire house remodels and additions, extensive kitchen and bath remodels and small commercial tenant improvements.  With over 20 years of experience in construction, Neil brings a thorough knowledge of building and materials to every job.

In 2010 Brixton Builders completed the Karina house which is featured extensively on this blog as well as some photos of past kitchens and the Genesee house.

the karina has sold!

I just watered the plants over at the house for the last time. We are no longer the owners of the Karina. It's been a stressful last couple weeks as we go through the process of accepting the offer, the inspection period, the appraisal, financing contingency, and all the signing. We were so afraid to jinx it, we just weren't talking about it or even letting ourselves think about life without the additional mortgage. We haven't met the new owners yet, but hopefully we will soon. Someday we hope to be their neighbors when we build on the lot we still own next door....but that's after a much needed break.

house update

I'm still here! Sorry about the absence. It's been a busy few weeks. We decided to list the house with Windermere after trying to sell it ourselves and have been overwhelmed all over again with the details.

the karina