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Feb 22

Stainless in Seattle


The idea behind using a one piece kitchen counter, back-splash and sink made out of stainless steel was” an easy decision when taking into account all of the other finish elements that have gone into City Cabins,” mentions builder Martha Rose.

The stainless steel counters and sink turns out to be the perfect integral accent to the high end stainless appliances in the hybrid homes.  Understated and seamless, they don’t immediately jump out at you, after looking and touching and perhaps asking what these are you are drawn –in.

Rose was targeting a pool of buyers looking for quality, durability and a sense of authenticity while she was choosing the finishes for City Cabins.  The counters provide a unique transition from the apple wood cabinets, open beam-ceiling and the reclaimed plank flooring by offering a metal element to offset the mix of wood.  Originally designed as homes to be functional, energy efficient and filled with character.

The “Cabins” on Seattle’s Queen Anne Hill have been well received with multi-offer on one of the two homes and lots interest on the remaining one.   For more information contactAdrian Willanger 206 909-7536, Coldwell Banker Danforth.

 

Related posts:

  1. New Seattle homes have a distinctive urban craftsman vibe (15.3)
  2. Green Builder Selects the AirTap for their Hot Water Solution (13.4)
  3. The much awaited City Cabins coming mid-January (12.7)
  4. Seattle Green Builder freshens up marketing to reflect trend towards Zero-energy(11.9)
  5. Builder Uses Salvaged Flooring to Help Reduce Their Environmental Footprint (9.7)

Feb 10

The Great Wall of Queen Anne

Actually the phrase is the “great green wall” of Queen Anne.   The green wall is the creation of award winning Seattle Green Builder Martha Rose.  “The great green wall” is actually the wall system designed for her latest hi-performance homes City Cabins on Queen Anne Hill.

The overall goal of the homes was to get to or near net-zero as possible without adding active solar equipment.  The active solar equipment would help off-set the paid-for electricity needed for its occupants.

A major part of using less electricity is in the design and building of the homes.  A tight building envelope includes walls systems, windows, doors, and advance sealing and insulation techniques.  The exterior walls of the City Cabins are an advanced framing double wall system with 1” of blue foam board, ½” inch of CDX plywood with an outer layer of Hardi-plank siding.  The cavities of the wall are filled with no VOC blown-in-fiberglass batts.

City Cabins at framing stage

The 9 ½” thick walls have an R-31 rating, normal code build homes would typically have wall systems rated between R-19 and R-21.  The multi-solution wall system helps keep out moisture and wind, greatly reduces the need for large heating and cooling components, increases indoor thermal comfort by eliminating drafts and will aid in reducing the homeowners overall utility costs.

The multi-certified hi-performance hi-tech City Cabins are now available for sale, for more information contact Adrian Willanger 206 909-7536.

Related posts:

  1. City Cabins in Seattle are Designed for both Passive and Active Solar Heating (18.4)
  2. City Cabins on Queen Anne Hill Are Aiming at Being Part of the Solution (18.3)
  3. The Juniper Connection on Queen Anne Hill (17.8)
  4. Color up Your Queen Anne Condo For A Great Effect! (17.4)
  5. Green Steps on Queen Anne Hill (16.3)

Feb 8

New homes on Queen Anne Hill offer solar upgrades as standard features

New homes on Queen Anne Hill offer solar upgrades as standard features

Martha Rose’s latest hi-performance homes, City Cabins, on Seattle’s Queen Anne Hill are designed and built utilizing a whole house “system” approach, one of the many hidden benefits of the hi-tech  City Cabins are the energy-efficient upgrades added as standard equipment……….More Information                                       

Benefits of solar equipment

Seattle Builder Martha Rose has wired the garages of the two new hi-performance homes one Queen Anne for electric car power charging stations as well as installing a 1.9 kilowatt (KW) solar-panel system on one of the two City Cabin homes, the other is pre-wired and can accommodate up to a 5KW solar system. The 1.9 system should produce 2000KW hours of electricity annual, enough, according to Tacoma Power and Light, to power an electric car 7000-10,000 miles (depending on the make and model). If an electric car isn’t an option the electrical power produced from the 1.9KW system should offset the home owner’s electricity cost by 20-25% depending on the home owner’s energy use behaviors. In addition to the monthly savings there are also is a 3o% tax credit from the Federal Government good through 2014 in addition to the net-metering production incentives through Seattle City Light.

Feb 6

East and West Queen Anne home inventory levels continue to deplete going into 2012

East Queen Anne Hill (Zip Code 98109)

West Queen Anne Hill (Zip Code 98119)

 

East and West Queen Anne home inventory levels continue to deplete going into 2012

The popular Queen Anne community (zip codes 98109 East Queen Anne, 98119 West Queen Anne) has seen home prices to continue the downward trend since the last update 3 weeks ago. The downward trend began in August of 2011 for the East Queen Anne neighborhood and mid-October for west Queen Anne.

The median selling price for East Queen Anne has fallen from the years high $850k in August 2011 to just under $687k from $705k on 1/19/2012. West Queen Anne reached its high water mark of $710K in October of 2011 and has since seen prices trend downward to $648K down from $665k as reported on January 19, 2012.

Inventory levels in both Queen Anne zip codes  continues trending downward,  Queen Anne’s available homes for sale levels are down over 50% from the beginning of 2011. East Queen Anne showed a brief sign of inventory levels leveling off going into the end of January but then started to trick downward again.

This brief pause might be a good sign that buyers are starting to come back into the market and home sellers are watching for these signs of market improvement prior to listing their homes for sale.

The Queen Anne Hill location is located close to several major employment centers, South Lake Union, Downtown Seattle and just a short commute to the University of Washington.  The neighborhood is rich with restaurants, boutiques, specialty shops, bakeries & markets, and professional services.

Many of the homes on Queen Anne Hill were built in the early 1900s with much hand crafted detailing to go along with some of the city’s best views.

This Seattle real estate market update is courtesy of Adrian Willanger at Coldwell Banker Danforth& Associates 206 909-7536 helping people buy and sale homes in the Greater Seattle area.

Homes Available For Sale on Queen Anne Hill

New Green Built Homes on Queen Anne Hill

 

Related posts:

  1. East and West Queen Anne See Home Prices Slip Slightly Going into 2012 (47.8)
  2. East and West Queen Anne See Home Prices Slip (39.6)
  3. Seattle’s Queen Anne Hill January 2012 Home Sales (32.1)
  4. Seattle s West Queen Anne Hill Real Estate Market Today (24.8)
  5. Timing the Market Dynamics of the Queen Anne Hill Housing Market (16.6)

Feb 1

Seattle’s newest hi-performance hi-tech homes are now available for sale

Seattle’s newest hi-performance hi-tech homes are now available for sale.

 PHOTOS-PHOTOS-PHOTOS

Martha Rose’s newest collection of hi-performance hi-tech homes are now available for sale in Seattle’s Queen Anne Hill neighborhood.  These next-gen homes are filled with energy-efficient building elements from heating and cooling equipment, low wattage lighting, and each home is filled with abundance of natural daylighting.

For more information contact Adrian Willanger 206 909-7536.

Jan 20

Eco-inspired City Cabins Grand Opening 





 

							

		

					

			

				

					
Jan 5

				

								

									

			

			

				

					Will reducing energy codes create more jobs?
				

				
Will reducing energy codes create more jobs?


This morning’s Google email alert regarding Albuquerque’s City Councils decision to scale back Albuquerque’s eco-friendly building standards really raised lots of questions for me.


While studying for my masters in sustainably one of the required courses was environmental law, while studying each state’s environmental and energy policies I was impressed by New Mexico’s aggressive regulations and initiatives, dating as far back as 1978 when they passed the Solar Energy Right Act.  And now I’m wondering did they perhaps go too far too fast?


Supporters of rolling-back the eco-friendly building codes that were initially adopted in 2009 had concerns that within the current economic environment any mandatory increases in construction spending, such as energy efficient building requirements, would dampen many new construction projects because of the added cost to become code compliant.  Opponents of the roll back included, homeowners, architects, environmental activist, and engineers thought the move was shortsighted. The merits of a stricter code were argued by argued by Councilor Isaac Benton said “it’s clear that higher energy-efficiency requirements benefit the consumer, though not right away.”   “But that’s part of the problem in this country today: people wanting to buy something cheap up front, without any regard for the long-term costs.”


Is this eco-friendly code reversal the tip of the iceberg?  Will other cities that have increased energy conservation into their building codes take similar measures?


Things to think about:


    

  • The more energy efficient a state is the lower the cost of doing business in the state.
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  • How will relaxed energy building codes effect poor and moderate income households once energy prices spike up?
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  • Are states falling behind by failing to provide energy efficient alternatives?
    • 

  • Will rolling back the building codes help the construction market?
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Only time will tell how rolling back energy-efficient building codes will affect the local Albuquerque economy and create new job opportunities.

							

		

					

			

				

					
Dec 27

				

								

									

			

			

				

					The much awaited City Cabins coming mid-January
				

				


City Cabins to be completed mid-January 2012!


The much awaited 2 high-performance hi-tech homes built by award winning Builder Martha Rose Construction in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood are due to be completed in mid-January 2012.


The near net-zero homes are filled with hi-end energy efficient equipment that is a perfect compliment to the hi-tech building techniques used to build City Cabins. Rose has  developed a solid reputation for building  award winning hi-performance homes and building  in the  Seattle marketplace has continually  pushed the energy-efficient envelope.  The building and design of City Cabins should be Rose’s most energy-efficient homes so far.


Homes will be open for view and tours beginning Sunday January 22, 2012. For more information contact Adrian Willanger 206 909-7536.


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 

							

		

					

			

				

					
Nov 29

				

								

									

			

			

				

					Game Changing Lighting at Seattle’s City Cabins
				

				


Builder Martha Rose, president of Martha Rose Construction in Seattle Washington, is electing to upgrade traditional builder grade incandescent lighting in her new homes, City Cabins in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood, with ultra-compact and extremely efficient Juno Mini LED Downlights and Gimbals.


The living rooms of City Cabins will be displaying the much sought –after “quiet-ceiling” architectural designed fixtures featuring Mini LED Downlights and the Gimbals that feature a 30 degree aiming and 360 degree rotation, perfect for adding a bit of drama to your favorite work of art!


The beauty of this type of task lighting is that it produces virtually no heat while enhancing visual comfort while using 1/10 the energy of traditional lighting. The lights are expected to last 50,000 hours which equals about 5 years if you left them on 24/7.


Rose mentions “sustainable building is all about doing more using less.” This type of think has influential in their selection of light bulbs for the “Cabins.” It just makes sense to use more efficient bulbs that use less wattage even though the cost is greater but once you look at the whole profile or payback for a LED bulb compared to a standard incandescent bulb it makes more financial sense.


A typical incandescent bulb would take 60 watts to produce 800 lumens where a CFL bulb would take up to 15 watts and a LED would take up to 12 watts to produce 800 lumens. The initial cost of an incandescent bulb is small compared to the cost of the energy it uses over its lifetime.


City Cabins are due to be competed in December of 2011, for more information visit CityCabins.com or contact Adrian Willanger 206 909-7536.

							

		

					

			

				

					
Nov 23

				

								

									

			

			

				

					New Homes on Queen Anne Hill approaching net-zero
				

				


New Homes on Queen Anne Hill approaching net-zero


City Cabins builder Martha Rose’s passion for sustainable building can be traced back to the energy crisis of the 1970s. “The Carter administration started giving grants to people with innovative about how to use less energy,” mentions Rose.


When Rose learned about the Built Green program in Seattle in 2003 she thought this would be natural transition for her company to become “certified green home builder.”   Her company was already following much of the guidelines on the Built Green checklist.



Since 2003 many of Rose’s project have become more energy efficient than the previous projects.  Rose continues to push the energy saving envelope utilizing new techniques in building science and material innovations to get closer to the goal of building a net-zero home.City Cabins in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood are getting very close, the two high-performance come with many built in features that most builders charge extra for such as increased insulation, quadruple glazed windows, heat-recovery-ventilator, and extremely high-end Energy Star appliances.



The homes are at finishing stage and are scheduled to be completed in December 2011. For more information visit CityCabins.com or alternatively contact Adrian Willanger 206 909-7536.

							

		

			

							
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