Tahoe Ski House

Practical needs as well as aesthetic desires drove the total exterior makeover of this Tahoe ski house. A vestibule was added on the north facade to buffer the cold winds from the nearby ski slope, and the roof pitch was altered to bear the weight of heavy snow loads.

The original ski house was designed for the owner’s father by William Wurster in the mid-1950′s. Its roof pitch was too shallow to bear the heavy winter snow load and its perimeter insulation was failing.

A new gabled roof was created as a three hinged arch using the existing shed roof surface as a tension tie. The cavity between the surfaces was vented as a traditional “cold roof” to prevent heat from the house from escaping to melt the lower-most layer of snow, later turning into ice and pulling off the roof.