Professional Photography: Susan Teare Photography
“It's a very unique structure, with amazing views. The New Energy Works team took a complex project and made it look easy. The clients love it! They enjoy the sense of place and the level of craftsmanship in their new porch.” – John Steel, Steel Construction, builder for High on the Hilltop.
The clients were determined to turn an existing timber frame home into their full-time residence with some general remodeling work and a significant rework on the kitchen and entry. They wanted to take advantage of the view of the Green Mountains of Vermont with outdoor living space. Following the natural topography and exposed bedrock of the landscape, a timber frame “bridge” and large screened porch was added.
Our teams enjoyed the challenge of this porch addition situated on a site full of exposed bedrock which also experiences high snow loads and is exposed to high winds in the mountains of Vermont. Cushman Design Group provided the plans while Steel Construction built the project and our craftsmen cut and raised the frame.
Biggest challenge: The porch joins the existing house at an angle, making the geometry for the colliding rooflines a challenge for both the architect and the design, as well as the joinery team on the timber frame.
Douglas fir posts top steel bases anchored to the craggy bedrock below, while custom screens and weather-resistant flooring combined with timbers above form a comfortable space tough enough to endure the elements.
Cushman Design Group shares: Our client requested a remodeled kitchen and a new screened porch at their home in northern Vermont. In collaboration with them, we envisioned a new kitchen with generous windows and a more natural connection to a remodeled breakfast nook and incorporated new and refinished interior timber framing in the overall composition of the re-imagined space. The dramatic seven-foot-long sink and its multiple faucets create functional workspaces that are graced with a magnificent view framed by the new windows above.
The handsome new timber framed screened porch becomes a bridge to ground the existing house that sits between blasted ledge on an expansive hilltop site. The screened porch's volume rises from the exposed, supporting bedrock, and its transparent form gracefully establishes a connection between home, site topography, and view. Inside the porch, panoramic views at the treetops visually extend its living space into the surrounding Green Mountains while the exposed Douglas fir structure creates a sense of solidity and comfort. The custom fabricated screens are a high strength fiberglass mesh with copper mesh added in the lower panels for durability.
We are thankful to have collaborative partners who share our desire for precision and high craft and allow us to practice both. See a few more images of this project in our case studies. Let us know if you have questions or a project in mind that you’d like to chat about.
