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The Spec Library

Architecture. Material. Hardware. Systems.

A working library of the products and materials that meet our standard — across the envelope, the surfaces, what your hand touches, and the systems that make the home run. Updated as the team evaluates, verifies, and edits.
Search the library

Find a product, brand, or attribute across all four domains.

01 — Principles

Decisions, not preferences.

  1. 01

    Natural materials over synthetic when performance is equivalent.

  2. 02

    Craft and provenance traceable to a maker, not a brand.

  3. 03

    Patina path: surfaces should age into the project, not against it.

  4. 04

    Embodied carbon counts; specify the lower-carbon option when it performs.

  5. 05

    Red List awareness; Living Building Challenge alignment as direction of travel.

  6. 06

    Repairability and longevity over replacement cycles.

  7. 07

    WUI Class A compliance non-negotiable in fire-rebuild zones.

02 — Browse by principle

Filter the library by what matters.

Cut across the four domains by the criteria that drove the spec — Red List health, embodied carbon, fire compliance, FSC certification, California provenance.

04 — What we don’t spec

Exclusions are part of the standard.

Some categories carry exclusions. High-silica engineered stones — Caesarstone, Cambria — are off-spec on health and regulatory grounds; California is considering a ban after 542 confirmed silicosis cases since 2019, with 29 deaths. Spray-foam insulation, XPS foam, Red-List-flagged WRBs (Henry Blueskin), and standard PVC vinyl flooring are excluded for off-gassing, embodied carbon, or Red List concerns. Indoor wood-burning fireplaces are prohibited under SCAQMD Rule 445 across most LA-area jurisdictions. Where a client requires an excluded product, we document the override and the rationale.

Have a specific spec question, or a material you want us to evaluate?

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