Nearly all of our residential projects include backyard escapes. This project includes a pool, expanded upper open porch with see-through fireplace, a lower indoor/outdoor place with kitchen, pizza oven, and accordion door unit.
The carpentry and masonry compliment the great design by Jones Pierce’s Angel Shockey. With Angel at the helm, successful design was a given. What I’d like to share with you are the products utilized to make this project special–sustainable, efficiency, and cool.
Open Porch
The best place to be in your backyard escape is an open porch. What would be your biggest concern about an open porch above finished space with this kind of detailing? The potential for bulk water infiltration (rain) maybe? Yeah, us too. With the right system, the problem can be completely mitigated.
We default to Schluter’s BARA-RK and liner. When properly installed, it is a lifetime solution.
Operable Wall of Doors and Windows
So you want an operable wall but don’t have an extra $50k laying around? I have a new favorite that consists of Sierra Pacific Clad Doors assembled and installed by Atlanta Specialty Millwork.
Why Sierra Pacific? They have an amazing array of clad finishes including my favorite, Peppered Steel (insert your own bad pun). This is a very convincing substitute for steel which is all the rage (and extremely expensive while being extremely inefficient). Want an option that won’t rattle in a few years? Go with this plan. Sierra Pacific conforms to Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) standards by controlling its own forests. Their windows and doors are high tech with excellent detailing and function.
Why Atlanta Specialty Millwork (ASM)? Tired of the industry arrogance…me too. Remember when distributors and millwork shops met you at the site and worked through issues with you? Stood by their product? Said things like, “we aren’t leaving until this thing is perfect?” Remember when they were creative and helped make your project truly custom? ASM still is and still does.
Tomorrow, I’ll discuss heating/cooling an outdoor space to be able to use the porch year round, the pizza oven because everybody loves a good pizza, and the pool for those hot Atlanta days.
Have any questions or comments? Please reach out.
Frank Wickstead GC BPIba LEEDapBD+C frank@jonespierce.com