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The Sanctuary House

The Sanctuary House · Build Story

From Bare Desert to a Healthy Home

The Sanctuary House in Catalina, Arizona, phase by phase: the site and foundation, insulated concrete form walls, the roof, shielding and insulation, the health systems, and the testing that verified it all before move-in.

Phase 01

Site and Groundwork

The lot on its hill below the Santa Catalina Mountains, cleared, graded, and trenched for footings.

The undeveloped desert lot with the Santa Catalina Mountains behind — The lot before work began, with the Catalinas behind.

Cleared building pad with the mountains in the distance — The building pad cleared.

Loader grading the building pad — Grading the pad.

Graded building pad on the hilltop — The finished pad, ready for layout.

Footing trench with rebar set — Footing trenches with the rebar set.

Crew pouring concrete into the footings — Pouring the footings.

Phase 02

Foundation

The slab is formed, reinforced, and poured in one long day.

Slab formwork laid out on the pad — Slab forms laid out on the pad.

Crew working the slab pour — The crew working the pour.

Concrete being placed across the slab — Concrete placed across the slab.

Concrete truck at the site — A concrete truck at the site.

Crew screeding the wet slab — Screeding the slab.

Power troweling the slab — Power troweling the finish.

The finished slab with wall rebar standing — The finished slab, with wall rebar standing.

Phase 03

Insulated Concrete Form Walls

The walls are insulated concrete forms (ICF): foam blocks stacked, braced, reinforced, and filled with concrete, for a quiet, thermally stable mass wall.

First courses of white ICF blocks on the slab — The first courses of ICF block.

Looking down an ICF wall at the rebar inside — Rebar inside the forms.

ICF walls rising around the slab — Walls rising around the slab.

Crew member stacking ICF blocks — Stacking block.

ICF walls braced with steel alignment bracing — Walls braced for the pour.

Tall braced ICF wall — A tall wall, braced and plumbed.

Window opening in an ICF wall framing the mountains — A window opening framing the mountains.

Looking straight down the reinforced core of an ICF wall — Down the core of a wall before the pour.

Wood window bucks set into the ICF walls — Window bucks set in the walls.

Top of an ICF corner ready for concrete — A corner ready for concrete.

Concrete pump boom over the walls — The pump boom placing concrete.

Inside the poured ICF walls — Inside the finished walls.

Phase 04

Framing and Roof

Interior framing, the roof structure, and the roof membrane go on over the mass walls.

Interior wood framing inside the ICF shell — Interior framing inside the concrete shell.

Roof framing with the mountains through the openings — Roof framing, open to the mountains.

Block column rising at the entry — An entry column going up.

Exterior with entry columns and roof framing — The entry columns and roofline taking shape.

Aerial view of the sheathed roof — The sheathed roof from above.

Framing for the entry canopy — Framing the entry canopy.

Crew member working on the roof sheathing — Roof sheathing going down.

Great room shell with ICF walls and window openings — The great room shell.

White roof membrane at sunrise — The roof membrane at sunrise.

Phase 05

Rough-In and Insulation

Wiring, plumbing, and ductwork are routed, then the roof deck and walls are insulated.

HVAC refrigerant lines and ductwork roughed in — Refrigerant lines and ductwork roughed in.

Plumbing and wiring chased into the ICF foam — Plumbing and wiring chased into the foam.

Water supply rough-in on the wall — The water supply rough-in.

Large window opening framing the desert — A view window before trim.

Insulation installed at the walls and ceiling — Insulation going in.

Insulated ceiling framing — The insulated ceiling.

Spray foam sealing the roof deck — Spray foam sealing the roof deck.

Wood soffit under the roof overhang — The wood soffit under the overhang.

Rainbow over the house under construction — A rainbow over the build.

Phase 06

Drywall and Shielding

After drywall, the walls and ceilings get a carbon-based shielding coat, grounded at the boxes, before the finish paint.

Drywall hung in the great room — Drywall hung in the great room.

Hallway in drywall — The hallway in drywall.

Taped and mudded drywall — Taped and finished drywall.

Bottle of YSHIELD GK5 shielding paint on the job site — YSHIELD GK5 shielding paint on site.

Room coated in black shielding paint — A room in its black shielding coat.

Painter spraying the shielding coat — Spraying the shielding coat.

Grounding tape at a ceiling fixture box — Grounding tape tying the coat to ground at a fixture box.

Phase 07

Site Work and Utilities

Retaining walls, utility trenches, and service lines go in around the house.

Excavation around the finished shell — Site work around the shell.

Loader moving rock on site — Moving rock for the site work.

Utility trench with conduit, measured — Conduit laid in the utility trench.

Utility work at the service pole — Service work at the pole.

Block retaining wall footing in a trench — A retaining wall footing.

Concrete truck pouring the retaining wall — Pouring the retaining wall.

Phase 08

Health Systems

The systems that make it a healthy home: filtered and structured water, air handling, hot water, and clean power.

Three-stage water filtration with UV treatment on the wall — Whole-home filtration with UV treatment.

Structured water filtration assembly — The structured water filtration assembly.

Natural Action Technologies HD Series structured water units — Natural Action Technologies structured water units.

Natural Action structured water units on the supply line — Structured water units on the supply line.

HVAC air handler in the mechanical closet — The air handler.

Tankless water heater on the wall — The tankless water heater.

Electrical panels and disconnects — The electrical service.

Laundry Pro 2.0 unit in the laundry cabinet — Laundry Pro 2.0, for laundry without detergent chemicals.

Phase 09

The Finished Home

Stone, wood, glass, and the light of the Catalinas.

The finished Sanctuary House exterior — The finished house.

Entry canopy with tall columns — The entry canopy.

Stacked-stone fireplace wall — The stacked-stone fireplace wall.

Kitchen island with pendant lights — The kitchen.

Steam room lit in violet — The steam room.

Soaking tub under a wall of windows — The primary bath.

Walk-in shower with a pebble floor — The walk-in shower.

Hallway with a wood ceiling — The hallway.

Floor-to-ceiling glass facing the mountains — Glass facing the mountains.

Rainbow over the finished house — A rainbow over the finished house.

The house lit at night — The house at night.

Phase 10

Testing and Verification

Before move-in, the house is tested: air tightness, electric and radio frequency fields, light, air, and water.

Blower door test at the front door — A blower door test measures air tightness.

Checking an outlet with an electric field meter — Checking outlets for electric fields.

Radio frequency meter in hand — Measuring radio frequency levels.

Light spectrum meter showing a CIE 1931 chart at 1702 K — Light spectrum: 1702 K, a warm evening color temperature.

Brian Johnson testing with a meter on a tripod — Brian testing the living spaces.

Brian Johnson testing in the kitchen — Testing in the kitchen.

Laptops and meters set up for testing — The testing setup.

The finished whole-home water system — The finished water system.

Meters used to verify the home — The meters used to verify the home.

Sunset over the Catalina foothills from the site — The view the house was built for.

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