My Houzz: A Country House for 2 in the Blink of an Eye
Assembled in only a day and finished in 2 months, this Russian home has everything a retired couple needs
As a gift to his parents, Dmitry Kanunov decided to replace their old dacha with a new house on the same plot of land in the Zhavoronki area just outside Moscow. He chose a prefab frame house and entrusted the design to architect Tigran Badalyan. The structure grew before their eyes. The project was started in December and by early spring, the happy owners were enjoying the view from the windows of their fully furnished summer home.
“The whole job took a total of two months, with a break for the New Year’s holidays [about a week and a half] … A huge crane moved the [43-foot-long] walls, carrying them past the tree canopy and mounting them on the preassembled base. First, floor panels were placed on a foundation of metallic screw piles [hollow steel pipes drilled into the ground], then the walls were attached and, finally, the house was covered with roof panels. Utility systems, including electricity and water, had been preinstalled in the floor and walls. We just had to connect them and plug them into external supply lines, which had already been extended to the construction site. In March 2016, we walked into a fully furnished house,” Popov says.
“There comes a time in everyone’s life when your children are grown, you have passed the peak of your career and you need to slow down to enjoy every day you are given. This is exactly my parents’ case,” Kanunov says.
Popov, who holds a doctorate in the technical sciences, used to work as metallurgical engineer in the field of refractory metal and silver powders for microelectronics. Kanunova had a career as a semiconductor engineer in a research institute. “My parents are researchers, who started their own business during Perestroika,” says Kanunov, a construction industry professional. “They decided to put an end to their entrepreneurial journey at last and replace business with the enjoyment of nature in the countryside.
“I had the task of building a house that would be their primary residence. I had to build it in the winter, though, so as not to deprive my parents of the pleasure of summer or autumn relaxation outside the city. I suggested using prefab technology, in which houses are made in a factory, delivered to the site and assembled there.”
Popov, who holds a doctorate in the technical sciences, used to work as metallurgical engineer in the field of refractory metal and silver powders for microelectronics. Kanunova had a career as a semiconductor engineer in a research institute. “My parents are researchers, who started their own business during Perestroika,” says Kanunov, a construction industry professional. “They decided to put an end to their entrepreneurial journey at last and replace business with the enjoyment of nature in the countryside.
“I had the task of building a house that would be their primary residence. I had to build it in the winter, though, so as not to deprive my parents of the pleasure of summer or autumn relaxation outside the city. I suggested using prefab technology, in which houses are made in a factory, delivered to the site and assembled there.”
Previously, in the center of the plot, close to the neighbors’ house, was a typical dacha, similar to those you might find throughout the Moscow Region. “My great-grandmother received this land in 1932. The forest that was here at the time scared her, so she chose the area closer to the railway,” Kanunova says. “We still have the deed for the [79-acre] plot. Later, my grandmother sold the half of the lot closest to the railroad tracks, keeping for herself the quieter, more distant part that was more intimate and had the huge trees.”
They chose to build the house on one end of the plot, leaving the middle for relaxing in the shade of the large trees. All the windows face south. They can’t hear the noise from the train inside their new abode.
A giant lime tree grows in the center of the plot. “There used to be a lot of bees. In the spring, the whole tree would buzz,” Kanunova says. Roses thrive near the house. On the other side stands a massive maple. “We planted a pine and a fir. Thanks to the big trees, the summer sun doesn’t wear us out. Squirrels and tits run on the terrace, and a woodpecker often visits us too,” Popov says.
A giant lime tree grows in the center of the plot. “There used to be a lot of bees. In the spring, the whole tree would buzz,” Kanunova says. Roses thrive near the house. On the other side stands a massive maple. “We planted a pine and a fir. Thanks to the big trees, the summer sun doesn’t wear us out. Squirrels and tits run on the terrace, and a woodpecker often visits us too,” Popov says.
The terrace is roomy at 13 by 43 feet. “At first, we wanted to put up a railing, but then we decided not to obstruct the view of the garden,” Popov says.
“We’re used to living in a house with a terrace, which makes you feel as if you’re in the garden,” Kanunova says. “In the morning, we do our exercises here.” Starting the day with a workout is common in Russia. “In the afternoon, the sun comes to our windows, but it isn’t hot in here thanks to the large awning.”
“We’re used to living in a house with a terrace, which makes you feel as if you’re in the garden,” Kanunova says. “In the morning, we do our exercises here.” Starting the day with a workout is common in Russia. “In the afternoon, the sun comes to our windows, but it isn’t hot in here thanks to the large awning.”
Each of the living room’s panoramic windows measures 8 by 6 feet. “The house features underfloor heating, air conditioning, electric convector heaters, water and a sewage system,” Kanunov says. “At minus 31 degrees Fahrenheit, for example, the house uses 4.5 kilowatts of electricity. In the spring, summer and autumn, it’s warmed by a heater, which is three times cheaper still.”
The house frame is made of laminated wood. “Laminate is more expensive than ordinary wood, but it’s free from internal stress, and its form doesn’t change. It’s an important aspect of frame houses because it guarantees the shape and integrity of the structure and membranes and reduces the formation of cracks,” Kanunov says. The heat insulation material — cellulose fiber — is enclosed on both sides with OSB boards covered with wood on the outside and with plasterboard on the inside.
“Ventilation is important for this house because the walls and roof are equipped with vapor barriers,” Kanunov says. “The roof is covered with asphalt shingles. Ventilation valves have been installed at the floor level and in the roof. This way, the house is properly ventilated — the vapor pressure is reduced, and steam does not penetrate the walls or the insulation.”
The house has an open-plan design: On the right is a kitchen-living room with a sofa and a built-in closet behind the louvered doors. Across from the hall area is a bathroom, and to the left of that is the door to the bedroom. “There’s a peculiarity in the layout — the bathroom is entirely ‘wrapped’ in closets, which enhances sound insulation. For small houses, this is a very useful solution,” Kanunov says.
“Although we went for the minimum size and cost, this house has everything a couple needs. When our son Dmitry comes to visit us with the children, they stay in a small summer house on the lot,” Popov says.
“Although we went for the minimum size and cost, this house has everything a couple needs. When our son Dmitry comes to visit us with the children, they stay in a small summer house on the lot,” Popov says.
The kitchen-living room and bedroom floors are laminate, and the hall and bathroom floors are tiled. The owners decided a small induction stove and a microwave oven would work for them. Their grandchildren, 5-year-old Dasha and 3-year-old Savva, sometimes spend the night on the foldout sofa.
A storage water heater sits under the bathroom sink, and a second one is in the kitchen. “The water flows in very easily: We chose not to use a driven well [in which a pipe penetrates the ground, and a pump, located above the well or in the house, propels water] but to install a submersible pump with a check valve in the well instead. The expansion tank [which stores the water] and the pressure switch are hidden in the cabinet under the bathroom countertop. The path to the well passes underground and is insulated,” Kanunov says.
In the bedroom, the bed sits opposite two floor-to-ceiling windows, seen in the next photo.
Between the windows is an Ikea dresser adorned with a family heirloom: a porcelain figurine Kanunova inherited.
“My grandmother was a dressmaker, and she got this statuette as a gift for her 50th birthday.”
Photo from Viktor Popov and Yelena Kanunova
The entire home, complete with a kitchen, bathroom, furnishings, plumbing and wiring, cost the owners about $35,400.
“Of course, the project had its difficulties,” Kanunov says. “We’d planned for the construction of the house to take place during the most severe frost, so the ground would be frozen and the heavy machinery would not spoil the lawn. But, as fate would have it, the frost didn’t come. The house’s huge panels had begun to interfere with other work in the factory, so we decided to start construction on December 26 regardless of the weather. It wasn’t easy to get the truck to the site. We’d also already built the new fence, but it had to be almost completely dismantled so the equipment could enter. In the spring, I had to buy [413 cubic feet] of earth to repair the impact of the heavy hardware on the plot. Other than that, prefab technology has shown its effectiveness and promise in construction.”
The entire home, complete with a kitchen, bathroom, furnishings, plumbing and wiring, cost the owners about $35,400.
“Of course, the project had its difficulties,” Kanunov says. “We’d planned for the construction of the house to take place during the most severe frost, so the ground would be frozen and the heavy machinery would not spoil the lawn. But, as fate would have it, the frost didn’t come. The house’s huge panels had begun to interfere with other work in the factory, so we decided to start construction on December 26 regardless of the weather. It wasn’t easy to get the truck to the site. We’d also already built the new fence, but it had to be almost completely dismantled so the equipment could enter. In the spring, I had to buy [413 cubic feet] of earth to repair the impact of the heavy hardware on the plot. Other than that, prefab technology has shown its effectiveness and promise in construction.”
Photo from Viktor Popov and Yelena Kanunova
“We want to try to live here all year round,” Popov says. “We’ve realized that, at some point, you need to stop doing certain things and start enjoying life.”
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“We want to try to live here all year round,” Popov says. “We’ve realized that, at some point, you need to stop doing certain things and start enjoying life.”
Browse more homes by style: Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Small Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Viktor Popov and his wife, Yelena Kanunova
Location: Zhavoronki, Moscow Region, Russia
Size: 480 square feet (45 square meters)
Budget: $35,400, including furnishings and utility systems
Year built: 2016
Architect: Tigran Badalyan of Studio-TA
“We retirees can’t spend the whole summer building a house,” Kanunova says. What with caring for grandchildren, gardening and other work around the dacha, it’s a busy season. “Construction began in late December 2015,” Kanunova says. “The house was built within a day: They started at 7 a.m., and by 11 p.m., it was fully assembled.”