A Sustainable San Diego Home Remodel with German Sensibility

They soon realized that all of Heinz’s requirements—including an energy-efficient home illuminated during the day by the sun, wrapped tightly with insulation (“no Swiss cheese,” she says)—met LEED Platinum specifications. Completed in 2017, the home has won the San Diego Green Building Council’s Sustainable Design Award and been featured on San Diego Green Homes Tours. Heinz has named the home Neuhaus (German for new house). 

Deconstruction, Not Demolition

The team, which included JLC Architecture, took the existing 35-year-old house, down to the studs. Heinz asked that AGB deconstruct rather than demolish the house. “The process was slower than demolition, and pricier,” Heinz says, “as the existing house was taken carefully apart, its components wrapped up, and donated for use in other homes—everything down to the doors and hardware.” 

Most everything in the house was in good condition and could be reused or recycled. “It was important to me that we not create a lot of waste that would fill up a landfill,” she adds. “I wanted to find a new use for as much of the existing house as possible.” The team kept the house’s existing structure, and sustainable design principles were placed at the forefront of the remodel’s design process alongside functionality and aesthetics. 

The team retained the house’s basic footprint with minor modifications, expanding the house to just over 3,000 square feet. The original 2,300-square-foot structure, built in 1980 with a 1993 master suite addition, came with a few limitations. For instance, the builders couldn’t change the envelope or shape of the garage because it was encroaching on the front setback. 

Instead, the team pushed out the front of the house (to reduce the garage’s impact) and constructed a 144-square-foot office with side entrance for the students Antje tutors in German. They also retained the upper level roofline because it exceeded existing height limits, and expanded the second floor with a 534-square-foot addition, providing space for the kids’ bedrooms and a bathroom, plus laundry room.

Sustainable Inside and Out

During construction, contractors treated all of the structure’s framing members with sodium borate, which is a nontoxic compound that prevents termites from converting wood into sugars, effectively starving them and not allowing them to eat through the lumber. The treatment not only increases the durability of the home, it saves money over the lifetime of the home by negating the need for termite tenting. 

Recycled and low emission insulation was installed. Quality Insulation Installation (QII), a standard set by the California Energy Commission to make sure insulated framing areas resist thermal bridging of the assembly separating conditioned from unconditioned spaces, was undertaken. An independent third party, called a certified HERS Rater, verified that the home’s insulation touched six sides of the interior of each wall, ensuring no thermal gaps existed. The result is maximum thermal comfort and increased energy efficiency. 

Throughout the yard, the turf is drought tolerant saltgrass that uses 50 percent less water than traditional grass. The front yard features drought-tolerant plant species and xeriscaping.

A Dream Home Realized 

The sleek, modern kitchen includes an induction cooktop and steam oven, plus custom fold-up walnut cabinets with electronic touchpad closures. Prominently displayed on a countertop is the espresso machine that Udo selected. Heinz hired an electrician to install 220-volt outlets in the kitchen to accommodate her small, German-import appliances.

“We played a lot with light in designing the house,” she adds. Before construction began, the architects demonstrated how the sun would move through the house throughout the year, using a three-dimensional design program. “The house gets great natural light during the day and glows beautifully at night with the use of LEDs,” she says. 

Low VOC paints, sealants, and adhesives were used, as were recycled content countertops. For flooring, the tile was installed for wet locations, like areas of the pool. Elsewhere, white oak flooring warms the contemporary interior. The result is a welcoming contemporary home with timeless materials and timeless, sustainable design.

Neuhaus, Heinz says, is truly her dream home fully realized. “I love the light and the feel of the house,” she says. “Every choice was done delicately and intentionally. We feel very healthy and happy here. It’s our new beginning.”