Black Creek Ravine House

This updated 1970’s bungalow, located near Georgetown, Ontario, is perched on the edge of a ravine along Black Creek. Our clients, who wanted to start a new chapter of life just outside Toronto yet still within driving distance, were initially looking for a plot of land on which to build a new house. In the end, they built what was effectively a new building but on an existing foundation.

Built by Retreats Inc, the house now has quadruple the original insulation and air-tightness values, with upgraded heating, cooling, electrical and plumbing systems. The long back façade faces south, and new window and door openings take advantage of passive solar heating in winter and cross ventilation in summer. The mature mixed forest provides shade for the house during the summer, greatly reducing the cooling load. The exterior of the home now reflects a more vernacular style, and the interiors have been opened up and modernized.

The design focuses on our clients, with their desire to be in the country, and their love of entertaining family and friends. In so doing, we designed a spacious and accommodating master wing, with bedroom, customized bathroom, generous walk-in closet, and a spacious laundry room with ample storage. The guest wing is on the other side of the house with two bedrooms and a three-piece bathroom. The guest area is separate enough from the main living spaces that when no one is visiting, they can lower their energy use by closing the vents and doors to those rooms.

A special feature of the house is the large, screened-in porch on the east off the home office. Its soaring pitched roof and immersion in the forest offers a cool respite on a hot summer day.

The house is a conventional 2×6 stick frame construction, with 2 inches of polyisocyanurate insulation on the exterior to prevent any potential thermal bridging through the studs, and 5.5 inches of spray-in-place fiberglass between the studs. In total, the wall assembly provides a total insulation value of R34, which is 70% better than the building code’s minimum insulation value.

The roof is comprised of factory made trusses, with 18 inches of blown-in cellulose insulation in the ceiling. The roofing is sheet steel, and the galvalume finish has a high reflectance rating, keeping the hot summer rays at bay in the summer. The exterior siding is a durable, factory-painted fibre cement product by James Hardie, an extremely durable, weather-proof product that will last maintenance-free for at least 20 years.

The mechanical system is a forced-air system with super high-efficiency furnace and air conditioner, and the house is equipped with an ERV by Ultimate Air, one of the best performing ERVs on the market. A large basement workshop is heated with a wood stove, which makes clever use of any scrap wood generated in the workshop as fuel.

Throughout most of the home, the cabinetry is custom-made locally. The only exceptions are in the laundry and dressing rooms, where IKEA cabinetry was installed instead for its versatility and affordability.