2023 Title Sponsor: GOP Limited - Chad Estes
Project Overview
Project Name: Meyer Residence
Owner: Justin and Erin Meyer
Structural Engineer: GOP Limited
Project Details: Meyer Residence
Every now and again a project comes to you that is truly different. When close friends of the firm, Justin and Erin Meyer, brought their home project to me at GOP Limited, I jumped at the opportunity.
I had some experience in residential design and layout early in my career, so I agreed to help document their dream home. They already had a well-developed vision, a skilled construction team in place, and a home pad ready for construction. My only task was to ask questions and commit it to paper (and complete the structural design, of course).
The family owns Avenue Fabricating in Clermont County so structural steel was not only on the table but encouraged. The home was completed in December of 2022 and sits on an 18-acre wooded, hill-side lot they call ‘Dark Horse Acres’. It is located on old Kellogg Road overlooking the Ohio River.
The Meyers have a great appreciation for eco-friendly design and incorporated many green aspects into the project. The home is not connected to municipal water and instead relies on a rainwater harvesting and treatment system with UV disinfection. The roof is engineered for future solar panels and the electrical panel is solar ready. The vertical and horizontal envelope are over-insulated approximately 50% higher than is required by code. Other features include UV air treatment, eco-sense fixtures, and recycled materials throughout.
The home features a 12-foot cantilevered, wrap-around balcony set beneath a seven-foot roof overhang. The stair is artfully steel-framed with 2” thick walnut treads sourced from trees within the surrounding home site. The window sills, the credenza, the sofa, and many other furnishings are custom pieces Justin made in his wood shop located in the lower level, again from walnut and other hardwoods sourced from the home site.
Although this project doesn’t represent our ‘day job’ at GOP, it was a fun and rewarding experience that we, and the Meyers, were excited to be able to share.
About Chad Estes
In 2021 Chad Estes was named partner at GOP Limited, the only Cincinnati engineering firm that has continuously provided structural engineering design services for over 100 years.
Chad Estes is a registered Professional Engineer with 13 years of structural design and project management experience. His experience includes educational, multi-story office towers, hospitality, large scale mixed-use developments, and a broad range of commercial, retail, industrial, municipal, up to $100 million in size. He specializes in developing cost effective and practical structural solutions, managing complicated projects, and coordinating structural systems with other building systems.
About GOP Limited
GOP Limited is a nine-person structural engineering firm located in Cincinnati. Since 1920, the firm has provided structural engineering consulting services for projects in the Greater Cincinnati area and across the country.
GOP Limited is a longtime supporter of AIA Cincinnati. Learn more at gopltd.com.