HOUSE BEAUTIFUL
Owner dreamed of living on the bay
“I wanted to maximize the wonderful views and basically, we have that from every room now, with very large floor-to-ceiling windows,” Gill said. “And because it’s slab-on-grade with radiant heat, it stays really warm. We also have a heat-recovery system and gain passive solar reflection off the ocean.
“It’s always windy here and can be cool, which is why I also used a lot of spray foam insulation.”
He explained that all the joist ends, where joists meet exterior walls, were generously sprayed with foam, as was the whole upper ceiling and some exterior walls, too.
“You never get a complete seal if you only use bats of insulation. You will always have heat loss on the joist ends, for sure.”
Gill said he has long wanted to live on this attractive bay.
Four years ago, he was sitting on a bench directly across from this property, taking in the gorgeous setting and noticing an older house that then stood on the site and was up for sale.
“I was thinking about how much I wanted to live in this area … because the view is so amazing … of the mountains, and at night, when you can see Port Angeles. It’s really a lovely area … and I like to jog a lot and there are good schools nearby.”
Proximity to the water on a low-lying lot is always a concern, “and Oak Bay requires geotechnical planning and elevation calculations for a potential 100-year flood. So we did that and we have extra drainage at the front, extra provisions,” Gill said.
The 3,450-square-foot home, which stands more than two metres above the high-tide line, was designed by Seba’s in-house designer, Tim Rodier of Outline Home Design.
His primary concern was to highlight the water and mountain views: “Our whole goal was about how to make it feel connected to those views and the ocean.
“On the main floor, the owners can see some cars coming and going, and they have some visibility themselves from the road, so we made a conscious effort to push the house forward on the lot and create a private, outdoor living space at the rear,” Gill said.
Along with an outdoor entertaining area, the property includes a separate office at the back of the house, which also helps enclose and define the private outdoor living space.
Rodier said the central floating staircase, built by Bradshaw Woodworking, reflects a concept he really believes in, because it helps a family stay connected.
“It’s a way to stay close together, while also joining the upstairs and downstairs. It’s about integration and ensuring all the living spaces flow well.”
The previous home had a partial basement, but the new owners — bearing in mind the potential of rising water levels due to global warming and more intense storms — decided not to have one, and to build above grade on slab instead.