Water Tight

The owners of this Minneapolis house thought of their attic as more than just a place to store dusty boxes. They dreamed of snoozing, working, reading, and bathing under the eaves, so they turned to architect Timothy Quigley. “It’s practically an efficiency apartment with a bedroom, his-and-her closets, a work area, a sitting room with gas fireplace, and a full bath all shoehorned under the slate roof,” says Quigley. “And next to the brick chimney was the only place a shower was going to fit.” In order to carry elements of the 1930s house into the attic suite, the decision was made to leave the old brick exposed. Now arose the challenge of preventing rough, unsealed, and porous brick from getting damp and moldy. Quigley’s first thought was to install a simple sheet of glass across the back of the shower. It met the criteria of exhibiting the brick while protecting it, but cleaning behind the glass would be tricky at best. “Ultimately we had the ‘Eureka!’ moment where we thought of repeating the frameless glass doors,” brags Quigley. The brick is saved and cleaning is a breeze. Since the limestone-clad shower did have to be slightly separated from the chimney, lost space was reclaimed by triangulating the entry doors.