This 1,800-square-foot home is nestled at the base of Mount Abram. It is being built as a vacation home for a Maine couple who are avid skiers and mountain bikers. The clients’ two main goals for the design were to maximize the views of the mountain and create a high-performance home.

The structure sits on a slab-on-grade foundation with radiant heat throughout. The two-story home has three bedrooms and two and a half baths. Inside the main entry there is a large gear room designed to store bikes and skis, and finished concrete flooring is used throughout to endure the clients’ active lifestyle. Not having a full basement and keeping the footprint as small as possible allowed the house to be very airtight. An energy recovery ventilator is used to make sure that the building has an adequate exchange of air each hour. Heat pumps throughout the home provide heating and cooling.

The house is constructed using highly insulated assemblies. The exterior walls are two-by-sixes with horizontal two-by-fours, which allows for R-38 insulation. The roof has 18 inches of blown-in cellulose, which came out to R-68. The windows throughout the home are high-performance triple-glazed; the front door and patio doors are made of the same materials. This home will be sure to keep all occupants comfortable, whether they are just getting in from the slopes or relaxing on a hot summer day.