Tag: Fine Homebuilding House

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Video: Fine Homebuilding Transforms 80-Year-Old Home With Energy, Aesthetic Upgrades

Fine Homebuilding magazine recently completed its 2020-2021 demonstration home, the magazine’s first remodeled show house, in Greenwich, Conn. The 80-year-old house underwent a transformation that included a dramatic modernization in style and a deep energy retrofit.

Fine Homebuilding, TruExterior Siding, poly-ash siding, Channel siding, Shiplap siding

The team updated the home’s layout, opening it up inside and infusing it with a Scandinavian-inspired aesthetic. The team tackled the homeowners’ desire for high performance through a range of details, including air-sealing, insulation, and mechanical systems, with a goal of net-zero energy and Passive House performance.

The original cedar exterior was transformed by TruExterior Shiplap Channel siding in a vertical orientation and painted in Benjamin Moore’s Glacier White to complete the Modern Farmhouse look. TruExterior’s reversible Shiplap-Nickel Gap profile provides a finishing touch on the gable around the balcony door and on the porch ceiling.

Porch of Fine Homebuilding show house featuring TruExterior poly-ash siding

“TruExterior is really unlike any other siding or trim material on the market,” said Fine Homebuilding’s Justin Fink. “It cuts and handles just like wood, but it’s more durable, more temperature stable than PVC, and it takes paint beautifully.”

See the façade installation in this short video:

The façade also features Eldorado Stone masonry veneer installed over a fluid-applied weather-resistive barrier.

TruExterior poly-ash siding and Eldorado Stone on Fine Homebuilding's Connecticut remodel

See all of the building science and aesthetic details of the Fine Homebuilding House to learn on the show home’s website.

TruExterior poly-ash siding on Fine Homebuilding's Connecticut remodel
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Fine Homebuilding House Remodel Transforms 80-Year-Old New England Home

Each year, Fine Homebuilding magazine constructs a new home, showcasing the latest building science techniques and best practices for exceptional quality, comfort, and style. For 2021, they’re switching things up with their first remodel, transforming an 80-year-old Greenwich, Conn., house with a deep energy retrofit and a dramatic modernization of exterior style and interior layout.

2021 Fine Homebuilding House prior to its remodel and deep energy retrofit.
The Fine Homebuilding house prior to the remodel.

“The Fine Homebuilding editors believe this house has important lessons to offer,” the publication explains. “The existing home was built in the early decades of the 20th century and was remodeled with an addition about 20 years ago. Transforming the layout and look of this traditionally styled, shingled house to a modern home with a much more open floor plan and a Scandinavian-inspired aesthetic will provide design insights as well as lessons about framing, trim, and plumbing. Because the new homeowners have placed a priority on turning the house into a high-performance home, we’ll also get to see how the team tackles air-sealing, insulation, and mechanical systems to reach net-zero energy with Passive House performance.”

On the exterior, the home is clad in TruExterior Shiplap siding, installed vertically with some horizontal boards on the gables, and finished with Benjamin Moore’s Glacier White paint for a perfect Modern Farmhouse look. TruExterior also was used for the porch ceiling, in the reversible Shiplap-Nickel Gap siding profile with the smooth finish.

A rendering of the 2021 Fine Homebuilding House project, which includes TruExterior Siding
A rendering of the post-remodel Fine Homebuilding House.

“It’s very easy to install,” says the project’s builder, Albert Jensen-Moulten. “It cuts and glues just like wood.”

Several walls feature Eldorado Stone masonry veneer installed over a fluid-applied weather-resistive barrier. Other exterior details include a standing-seam metal roof, metal triple-pane windows, Hemlock-wrapped porch beams, and Kebony wood lintels.

Take a tour of the exterior cladding details via an interview with Jensen-Moulten and the architect, Elizabeth DiSalvo:

Follow along with the Fine Homebuilding House to learn more about the highly efficient building techniques, from air barriers to double-stud walls, on the show home’s website.