Hammer & Hand ADU Profiles

To learn more about this company, check out ADU Builder Profile: Hammer & Hand and read Regan Gray & George Okulitch’s ADU: A Super-Efficient ADU.

ADU #1: Sellwood ADU

• Square Footage: 460 SF
• Year Built: 2014
• Architect/Designer: Marty Buckenmeyer of Buckenmeyer Architecture
• Builder: Hammer & Hand
• ADU Type: attached new construction
• Current Use: landlord suite
• Ballpark Cost: $160,000

The Project: Hammer & Hand and Marty Buckenmeyer of Buckenmeyer Architecture teamed up to build an attached ADU for three generations of a growing family. Hammer & Hand removed a small garage and built a “landlord suite” in its place. The attached ADU serves as a guesthouse for the owners while visiting their son’s family who lives in the main house.

The Challenges: The biggest issue faced with this project came up during excavation for the new foundation. After the team removed the existing small garage, driveway, and concrete slab to make room for the ADU, they discovered a huge hole that, a very long time ago, served as an outhouse. A geotechnical engineer advised to keep digging and the hole ended up being 14 feet deep and 6 feet wide. Hammer & Hand filled the hole with compacted pea gravel, laid down a layer of geofoam insulation, and poured the concrete slab for the ADU on top.

The Solutions:

1. The team converted the back bedroom of the main house into a living room with a kitchenette and bathroom while the new addition contains a bedroom and walk-in closet. The owners’ son and his young family live in the main house while the owners stay in the ADU during their long visits. It’s the perfect solution for the grandparents to stay close to their family while maintaining their own privacy and space.
2. The only way to get heat into the space from the existing furnace was to create zoned ductwork in the area with its own thermostat. Hammer & Hand hid the ductwork in the transition space on the top tread of the stairs between the existing home and the new master bedroom.
3. The clients also wanted high ceilings – but without blocking the view from the second floor bedroom of the main house. The team solved for this by having the bedroom set about two feet down from the rest of the addition and main house. This way the bedroom could have high ceilings without obstructing views.
4. One of the best parts of this ADU is the private deck off of the bedroom. It provides privacy from the rest of the home and has a private garden feel. An asymmetrical overhang with tongue and groove cedar panels screens the patio from rain, wind, and excessive sun.

ADU #2: Alameda Ridge ADU

• Square Footage: 400SF (600SF including the 200SF loft space)
• Year Built: 2011
• Architect/Designer: John Perkins
• Builder: Hammer & Hand
• Current Use: long-term rental
• Ballpark Cost: $180,000

The Project: The clients wanted to remove their old garage and build an energy-efficient income-generating ADU in its place. This certified-green ADU has excellent energy performance and indoor air quality and boasts Earth Advantage New Home Gold status.

The Challenges: The main challenge of this project was finding ways to make it energy-efficient within the client’s budget. Another challenge was matching the ADU’s detailing to the main home’s.

The Solutions:

1. In order to make this structure energy efficient, the team created a plan that encompassed the entire structure. The ADU’s foundation is set on four inches of EPS [expanded polystyrene] geofoam insulation, creating a “break” that will keep thermal energy from leaking out of the house and into the ground.

2. A liquid-applied air barrier system provides a continuous air barrier on the exterior sheathing and through into all window and door openings. The walls are filled with high density blown-in cellulose insulation while the roof has low density spray foam and a continuous layer of polyisocyanurate foam insulation over the rafters to reduce thermal bridging.

3. The team put the ADU through extensive testing – in addition to the requisite Earth Advantage blower door test and Energy Star insulation inspection, we conducted an independent blower door test to verify performance of the liquid-applied air barrier system.

ADU #3: Cully ADU

• Square Footage: 480SF
• Year Built: 2015
• Architect/Designer: Kevin Fischer of Alice Design & Charlotte Cooney of Domestic Arts
• Builder: Hammer & Hand
• Current Use: guest house
• Ballpark Cost: $180,000

The Project: This project included converting a garage into an ADU and an unused driveway into a fenced-in yard with new bike shed and sauna.

The Challenge: The primary challenge of this project was to take an unused garage with exposed framing, unfinished concrete floors, and no insulation or drywall and transform it into a comfortable living space for the client’s guests.

The Solutions:

1. The design and construction team transformed the skeletal garage into a comfortable 480SF living space with bathroom, kitchenette, storage loft, and laundry area. The team replaced the garage doors with French doors that open up to a small patio area, ground and polished the existing unfinished concrete floors, and added high performance insulation for comfort and energy efficiency.
2. To make sure the ADU looks cohesive with the main house, the team painted both structures, installed new kitchen windows in the main house to match the ADU’s, and installed interior fixtures and hardware in the ADU to match that of the main structure.
3. This project created a completely new environment in the client’s backyard. What was once an unused area open to the neighbors and the street is now closed off by a new fence with a guest house and amenities (sauna and bike shed) for the clients and their guests to use.

About linamenard

Hi. My name is Lina Menard and I'm a small house dweller, designer, blogger, and builder. I'm currently collecting ADU Case Studies for AccessoryDwellings.org. Through my company Niche Consulting LLC, I help people design and build the home (and life) of their dreams! I also tell my stories about simple living in small spaces - like a travel trailer, a yurt, a backyard cottage, and tiny houses on wheels - at Niche News.

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