Despite a cramped lot and a tricky slope, local designers will leverage new building methods to construct the dream retreat for a pair of artistic sisters at Beckett Point.

Ever since Katharine Weissmann and her sister, Mary Gemmill, fell in love with the area of Beckett Point, the question has been how to go about building a house that can be accommodated by a 3,800-square-foot lot.

And in turn, how to design such a small place that can also accommodate Weissmann and Gemmill themselves.    

But why even go through the trouble of jumping through the hoops of constructing a small home on a tiny property with a difficult slope? Well, for Weissmann, the answer can be found in simplicity and beauty. 

“It basically came down to wanting to have a very simple life and downsize and create a really nice living environment that was going to be conducive to writing and creating,” she said.

“We just wanted something that was small and was kind of inspirational in where it was.”

And it’s hard to beat the scenery. 

“It’s an amazing view,” Weissmann said. “There might be land, but there’s not a lot of exceptional view lots available in Port Townsend.”

The location boasts commanding views of the Salish Sea, Protection Island, Diamond Point and all the marine traffic that comes with living at the mouth of a major shipping channel. 

Planning for the home took about a year and a half, but what emerged from their efforts will be an artist’s escape, a space for creativity and a home away from home, all in one compact package. 

“We really had to try to figure out something to make it work because it was so small,” Weissmann said. “Sometimes you need to do something extraordinary … I ended up only being able to do a 570-square-foot footprint.” 

Given the cramped quarters, Weissmann – who currently resides in Carlsbad, California — said she and her husband would likely alternate occupancy with Gemmill simply due to the shortage of space at the residence.

Space wasn’t the only concern at the location, though. After consulting with a geotechnical engineer, Weissmann learned that building the foundation would not be feasible using traditional construction methods, due to the particularly sandy conditions at the site.

Without the ability to dig out the footprint of the home to form a concrete footing and build up from there, the team was left to figure out how to form a strong foundation without destabilizing the hillside with heavy excavation.

Enter the Diamond pier.

Diamond piers resemble something a bit closer to an object you would find on the beaches of Normandy circa 1944 than something you would have holding up your home.

Sebastian Eggert, the owner of Rain Shadow Woodworks, the group tapped to construct the Beckett Point home, said there was no other way to go.

“The foundation has to be shallow so that we don’t dig into the soil any more than is necessary for structural reasons,” Eggert said.

“If you can imagine how a climber would use crampons on their boots to climb up an icy slope, the piers are like crampons for the house. Rather than dig deeply at the site to establish a conventional foundation — which could de-stabilize the site by allowing water to permeate into the soil – this basically tip-toes across the site.”

Essentially, each pier is a concrete diamond with four steel pins that are sunk several feet into the earth with the help of an electric breaker hammer. Once the pins are snugly in place, and the concrete head is level, framing can begin — all without having to pour any concrete or the need for extensive onsite excavation.

Eggert noted that down-slope neighbors who have expressed concern for the new home’s construction should be able to rest easy because, when coupled with adequate de-watering infrastructure on the property, Weissmann’s home should stay put for centuries to come.

“We don’t want the house to slide any more than [they] do,” he added. “We’re applying the best techniques that we know are certified by the engineers.” 

Weissmann’s push for increased simplicity in her life and to downsize her living situation harmonized with Eggert’s personal outlook toward building.

“My goal as a builder is to be less impactful on the planet,” he explained.

“It’s easy to talk about how green you are but it’s incredibly difficult to really put it into practice. Probably the most important thing is to not take up so much space,” he said. “This is an example of a house that requires simplicity both in the design of the house itself and how the house is used by the people that live there.”