After purchasing the property we took a look at the existing structure & overall floor plate of the house. We quickly determined that the base structure of the house was not ideal to work from for our infill. We had considered using the existing foundation; however, we would have needed to connect a new foundation with a settled existing foundation giving us concern for the potential long term issues that could arise.

Dismantling a House

Although we had decided to start from scratch, we wanted to make sure we salvaged and repurposed every item we could. In June of 2019, our contractor began the task of dismantling the existing house and garage!

The process began with removing all working fixtures (plumbing, lighting, appliances, cabinets, etc.). We are quite proud to say that most of these items found homes through Buy and sell sites, Upcycling, Kijiji, Friends/family and neighbours.

See below some of the gems we were able to find future homes for:

Cabinets, appliances, sunshine ceiling all reused.

Toilet, bathtub & all fixtures were reused.

Some really interesting light figures throughout the house all found new homes:

Hot water tank & furnace too!

Once these items were carefully removed, all of the base materials were pulled and separated – even down to the nails! Metal was recycled. Wood was partially recycled, partially re-homed and partially set aside to reuse on the project for some feature areas if all goes well. Older homes really were made with some beautiful wood. Doors, windows, hardwood, roof trusses… you name it, we tried to give it all a second life.

See below some photos of the dismantling process:

Some questions we were asked about the dismantling process:

Q: What was not able to be reused or recycled?

A: The items we didn’t recycle or reuse were drywall (Yes, there is a location in Calgary that can recycle it, however, when weighing the benefits of recycling against the fuel and transportation, we chose not to), fibreglass insulation, shingles, and the chimney. We were very impressed at how much was taken by people completing DIY projects around the city, including the most surprising to us – wood chip attic insulation!

Q: Did this add a lot of time to the project?

A: Honestly, yes. We knew at the onset of the project that environmental impact would be a priority. With the expectation in mind that we wouldn’t cut corners to simplify or speed up construction, we were able to view this process as the only way to achieve our goals. By adjusting our expectations we were not deterred by the time. That being said, our total time to dismantle was approximately 16 weeks for the interior, 3 weeks for the exterior/structure, and 3 days for the foundation.

The Idea

We would finally like to introduce the world to a project that has been in the works within the Red Frog office since the winter of 2016. As a member of the interior design community for over 10 years now, I have seen how much damage we can create to the environment as humans. The desire for beautiful, awe-inspiring spaces is a consistent request, but with a priority placed on being economical, not sustainable. This being said, I have also seen an alternative path presented. It was with the idea in mind to help make a positive impact; a group of people came together and began with one house!

We started here!

This 1952-built corner lot home in the Highlands neighbourhood was in desperate need of attention. Unfortunately, the existing exterior walls were not salvageable due to some long term insect inhabitants. Located on the boulevard, the view of the Edmonton river valley was too good to pass up!

The Inspiration

While travelling in New Zealand a few months after we acquired the property, we were inspired by this home and the way it pulled together many elements we love. The glass and visibility to the river valley were a priority (and would also become one of the harder compromises - more on that later). The I-beams paired with the warm wood gave me many ideas on pairing natural elements with a modern flair that I hadn’t seen much in Alberta at that point.

The Concept

After many layouts and revamps, our team came to a consensus. Our priorities were to help increase density in a desirable area, to provide the best possible views of the green space across the boulevard, and to build as environmentally conscious as we could while showing that the aesthetic and open concept didn’t need to be sacrificed. The build will include a main house with an attached garage and a separate garden suite as shown in the rendering (Thanks Jade Technologies for turning our design and sketches into this initial rendering).

I am looking forward to taking you all on our journey as we build this beautiful home. From design decisions, to what is net zero, and explaining the construction process along the way – Hopefully we have plenty of good, bad and unexpected to share that can be of value to you. We would love to hear your thoughts and questions along the way, so please reach out!