Custom ADU Provides a Spacious, Light-Filled Portland Retreat

Client Needs

Dana wanted his mom to be able to live independently into her golden years, free from the work of keeping up her own home. So he and his wife, Peggy, set out to build her a beautiful, custom ADU, right in their Portland backyard. Years later, the couple has turned the 450-square-foot mini home into a five-star Airbnb, where they now enjoy hosting hundreds of travelers from around the world.

Remodel Highlights:

• Even with a small footprint – 323 square feet on the main floor – the ADU feels expansive. Natural light pours in through large windows, vaulted ceilings open up the living room, an upstairs loft adds living space, pocket doors slide into walls to keep walkways clear, and custom cabinetry around the murphy bed maximizes every inch of the home. The owners have dubbed it “The Westmoreland Lighthouse.”
• There’s nothing like the luxury of a warm floor in the Portland winter. The home’s radiant in-floor electric heating system quietly and consistently warms all the objects in the room, without the draftiness that can come with other types of electric heat.
• Designed to match the style of the owners’ 1925 home, the ADU blends seamlessly into the neighborhood. “I can’t emphasize enough what a pretty structure it is,” Dana said.

Client Testimonial

We’d never done something like an ADU build before, but Bert was unflappably calm and always put us at ease. He was on the property every day, overseeing the development and catching anything before it became a problem. The ADU is a beautiful structure – it blends in with our house and has attracted a lot of positive attention from neighbors. And we felt like we had such a skilled tactician and craftsman to guide us through the process.

-Dana

Notes for Architects:

• The installation of an exterior recessed tankless water heater eliminated the need to fit an indoor unit into the compact building. The device fits into an exterior wall and vents outside, efficiently heating water while keeping the pipes well insulated.
• The design and engineering included balloon construction and a hand-cut roof to facilitate the ADU’s spacious interior.
• To minimize cost and maintain simplicity, the SlabHeat™ cable system was used to provide radiant heat without the need for any pumps, tubing or boilers that a typical hydronic system requires. The cables are fastened directly to the rebar in the concrete slab. The slab was also thermally isolated using 3″ rigid insulation.