Q+A with David and Anne Daniel, owners of the Lean Too House in Brunswick

Architect David Matero designed the Lean Too House as an energy-efficient and affordable 2,000 square-foot spec home, with a projected LEED Gold certification, for a small development in Brunswick. We asked the Daniels about their experience as the first Lean Too homeowners.

Photo courtesy David Matero

Q: What do you like most about your home’s efficient features?
 A: We like the many high-efficiency windows, especially the corner windows that are so unique. When we Skype with our family they always comment on how bright it looks in the house, even on a cold winter day. When we come home after being away, the house is still at 60 degrees thanks to the passive solar gain and well insulated R-38 walls and R-60 roof. Within 5-7 minutes of turning up the heat, it’s at temperature and stays there for some time. In the summer months, the Douglas Fir sun shades over the windows keep it cool, even when it’s 90 degrees outside, so we don’t need A/C.

Q: What helpful things did you learn during the construction process?
A: The home is so top quality in the design that we felt compelled to go with higher end, energy-efficient appliances and finishes, so we could have used more allowances than we had initially. We also found that snow slides off the metal roof and hits the sun shades in winter, so they put snow stops on the roof and that really helped.

Photo courtesy David Matero

Q: What’s next?
A: We plan to add a sunroom/hot tub room as the house was designed for easy additions, and it’s sited and set up for solar panels whenever we’re ready.

Learn more at davidmatero.com and share your thoughts here.