The Objective
Nestled in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, this Modern Mountain Escape custom home was designed with a focus on combining sleek modern aesthetics with the natural beauty of the surrounding landscape. The client envisioned a contemporary mountain retreat that would capture breathtaking views of the rolling hills while providing a comfortable, minimalist living space. Large windows, open floor plans, and clean lines were central to their vision, ensuring the home would feel spacious, light-filled, and connected to nature.
Project Details
The Challenges
Building at high altitudes posed a series of challenges. Wind shear and steep slopes had to be carefully accounted for in both the structural design and construction process.
Steep mountain slopes – the street in front of the house slopes right to left and the grade falls sharply away from the street. Positioning the house allowed street level access, with the ability to use the garage. Neighborhood approval allowed us to pull the house to the front property line, but the steep grade still made the back of the garage slab 37 feet above the ground at the rear. To put that in perspective, the two and half car garage has a full movie theater underneath it. Underneath the movie theater is a crawlspace that could be used for another level.
Because of the incredibly steep slope, deep foundation support was required. Micropiles were ultimately selected as the best option and over 250 micropiles hold the home vertically and horizontally to the mountainside.
The front foundation wall of the home required almost 200 yards of concrete and had to be poured in a single to prevent cold joints. Because of the steep mountainside, the concrete trucks had to run at 2⁄3’s capacity to prevent concrete from spilling out the top onto the community roads. Only one truck had an incident of all the trucks that ran up and down the mountain that day.
The use of micropiles, concrete and structural steel takes a lot of coordination. Our team worked collaboratively with the structural engineer, steel fabrication company, and the carpenters. This house is designed and built to withstand the forces of nature and provide an amazing experience.
The team had to engineer the foundation to withstand these environmental pressures while ensuring the home maintained a level of aesthetic integrity. Additionally, creating large, panoramic windows while preserving energy efficiency and structural integrity required meticulous planning and the use of specialized materials to withstand mountain weather conditions.
The Result
A flawless integration of modern design and natural beauty. The open floor plan, combined with expansive windows, floods the home with natural light and frames the stunning mountain vistas. The use of natural stone and wood elements, combined with sleek, contemporary lines, creates a perfect balance between warmth and modernity. The exterior’s blend of stone and metal complements the rugged mountain terrain while providing a striking contrast to the home’s smooth interior finishes.
This project showcases Sineath Construction’s ability to marry innovative engineering with high-end aesthetics, resulting in a home that is as functional as it is beautiful. The Modern Mountain Escape home perfectly reflects the client’s vision of modern mountain living, effortlessly blending style, functionality, and the awe-inspiring surroundings.
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Simplified Summary
Sineath Construction built a sleek, modern home on a steep mountain with huge windows to capture stunning views. To keep it safe and sturdy, they used 250+ micropiles and tons of concrete and steel. The result? A strong, stylish home that blends nature and modern design perfectly.
