Coastal living: prudent planning and shrewd product selection help coastal homes stem the tide

Residential Architect, July, 2004 by Nigel F. Maynard

a client asks you to design a vacation home on some prime real estate along the New England coast. He wants a maintenance-free exterior that will resist the harsh weather conditions, large window openings that embrace uninterrupted ocean views, and an energy-efficient interior that keeps its occupants warm or cool as the season warrants. How do you meet those demands without losing your sanity and your insurance coverage? Through careful design and wise product choices, that's how.

For seasoned design pros who specialize in projects near the coast, such requests are common but challenging to satisfy. Bob Knight, a veteran of the coastal project, warns that these homes are artistically compelling but professionally tricky. "Bad things can happen quickly on the coast," says the principal of Blue Hill, Maine-based Knight Associates, Architects, and author of A House on the Water: Inspiration for Living at the Water's Edge (The Taunton Press, 2003). "The house deteriorates faster because of constant storms, salt spray, and horizontal rain."

weather advisory

Architects understand many of the problems that go hand in hand with designing coastal homes, including hurricane threats and the codes that require impact-resistant glass doors and windows. But other equally vital concerns are often overlooked.

Air infiltration as a result of sustained wind is one such issue, says Knight, which is why he now insulates his homes with sprayed foam. "You don't have to vent the roof and it stops air flow into the building," Knight says. "We get high wind pressure with a lot of moisture, but [foam] makes a whole lot of problems go away."

The moisture-rich climate of the Pacific Northwest is a constant problem; and architect Stuart Silk says wind is a major concern there, too. "The wind really scours through pretty intensely," the principal of Seattle-based Stuart Silk Architects says. In addition, "the wind sucks up the sand and sandblasts the house. We get clients who want maintenance-free exteriors, but that is pretty hard to do."

Salt is a major concern for David Mullican, who works along the Texas coast. "We have some of the highest salt concentrations in the country," the Galveston-based architect says. "Salt can get into the attic and penetrate any surface." As a result, corrosion happens three to four times faster than on an inland job, he says.

tide turners

Most architects have a list of favorite products, but residential practitioners doing work on the coast are doubly loyal to their tried and true specs. For roofing, architect William T. Ruhl, AIA, chooses cedar shingles, asphalt, and lead-coated copper. "All metallic components are stainless steel to resist moisture," says the principal of Ruhl Walker Architects in Boston.

Sometimes a coastal house needs fewer finishes, Ruhl says, referring to wood products that weather to an attractive patina. "In terms of maintenance, it is much simpler and cheaper."

Architect Jerry

Caldari, of Bromley Caldari in New York City, likes cypress siding, although availability limits the firm's use of the product. "We have also used gypsum reinforced concrete panels and are currently considering resin-based panels," he says. Caldari favors ipe and other responsibly harvested products for decking and seeks out fasteners that don't streak the exterior with rust.

These days Silk employs resin-based panels such as Prodema--a high-density exterior cladding panel composed of a resin-bonded cellulose fiber core faced with natural wood that has been coated with acrylic resin--and Parklex high density panel made from Kraft paper or wood fibers and treated with resin. Both products withstand rain, wind, and snow.

One product Knight has been experimenting with is Home Slicker, a nylon matrix made by Horsham, Pa.-based Benjamin Obdyke. Applied over sheathing and behind the siding, it provides a continuous space that allows moisture to escape before it damages the sidewall. When using cedar shakes, Knight often covers the roof in self-adhered membrane roofing underlayment from Cambridge, Mass.-based Grace Construction Products. "It's not a huge cost, but it increases the ability of the roof to shed water."

Horizontal rain for a sustained period is one of the biggest causes of moisture penetration and windows are the weakest points, Mullican says. He double-tapes his windows (and everything that penetrates the building envelope) with Tyvek bitumen tape from Wilmington, Del.-based Dupont. He also seals windows and doors with a high-performance sealant such as Sika 1 by Sika Corp. in Lyndhurst, N.J. "There is no such thing as a 30-year caulk, but Sika is very good for bonding between windows and siding," he says.

Smart window selection is just as important. Caldari says that while vinyl windows are not normally his firm's preferred spec, their weather-resistant benefits are welcomed along the briny coast. Knight favors aluminum-clad windows coated with durable Kynar 500 paint. Silk likes the paint job on Wausau, Wis.-based Kolbe & Kolbe's products. He has also tried bronze cladding and steel windows--expensive products that work well and last a long time. Two of his preferred suppliers are Albertini, an Italian outfit that offers windows with thick frames, and Union, NJ.-based Megawood Products, which sells clad products with narrow sight lines.