Canyon Culture: A House Built into a Rock Wall

By Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
Published on September 1, 2001
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The rusted red roof and pine board-and-batten walls of Dan’s home blend with the cliff.
The rusted red roof and pine board-and-batten walls of Dan’s home blend with the cliff.
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Dan’s furnishings were selected for scale and texture. The dark rattan sofa and chair are lightweight so he can move them around when he’s using the space to host clients. “The feel is not frou-frou,” says his designer, Arlene F. Bernard. “But neither is Dan.”
Dan’s furnishings were selected for scale and texture. The dark rattan sofa and chair are lightweight so he can move them around when he’s using the space to host clients. “The feel is not frou-frou,” says his designer, Arlene F. Bernard. “But neither is Dan.”
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Dan designed a cozy nook in the recess of the cliff, as it recedes toward the home’s center. A sheepskin rug thrown over the naturally formed reclining seat makes it a welcoming spot for reading and relaxing.
Dan designed a cozy nook in the recess of the cliff, as it recedes toward the home’s center. A sheepskin rug thrown over the naturally formed reclining seat makes it a welcoming spot for reading and relaxing.
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To make the bathroom feel more spacious, Dan opted against an enclosed shower. Instead, he installed the showerhead in the wall and enclosed the bathing area with a shallow circle of sandstone rocks found on the property. The effect of bathing in this open shower, with a rock cliff on one side and the skylight above, is like showering in ­an indoor waterfall.
To make the bathroom feel more spacious, Dan opted against an enclosed shower. Instead, he installed the showerhead in the wall and enclosed the bathing area with a shallow circle of sandstone rocks found on the property. The effect of bathing in this open shower, with a rock cliff on one side and the skylight above, is like showering in ­an indoor waterfall.
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Within a few feet of Dan’s living room are the small remains of an Anasazi dwelling.
Within a few feet of Dan’s living room are the small remains of an Anasazi dwelling.
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One of Dan’s practical concerns about building a home into the cliffside was that the rock could slough into his home. Before construction, he water blasted the wall, then buffed it with a natural brush. After framing the house, he sprayed the rock with a water-based sealer used as a preservative for old brick buildings. To prevent water from leaking in where the roof and rock meet, Dan designed a shed-style roof made of corrugated heavy-gauge steel. He cut a three-inch slot into the cliff with a diamond saw, then slipped the roofing material into the groove with no flashing. To further weatherproof the roof, he used expandable insulating spray foam and sloped the roof down from the incision.
One of Dan’s practical concerns about building a home into the cliffside was that the rock could slough into his home. Before construction, he water blasted the wall, then buffed it with a natural brush. After framing the house, he sprayed the rock with a water-based sealer used as a preservative for old brick buildings. To prevent water from leaking in where the roof and rock meet, Dan designed a shed-style roof made of corrugated heavy-gauge steel. He cut a three-inch slot into the cliff with a diamond saw, then slipped the roofing material into the groove with no flashing. To further weatherproof the roof, he used expandable insulating spray foam and sloped the roof down from the incision.
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Ancient petroglyphs are chiseled into the soft stone near Dan’s home.
Ancient petroglyphs are chiseled into the soft stone near Dan’s home.
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The rusted red roof and pine board-and-batten walls of Dan’s home blend with the cliff.
The rusted red roof and pine board-and-batten walls of Dan’s home blend with the cliff.

The oldtimers say that McElmo Canyon breathes. By day, the wind blows east through the high sandstone cliffs toward Cortez. By night, it turns west, following the meandering McElmo Creek to the vastness of Utah’s desert. Between the cliffs, fertile sandy soil supports tall cottonwoods, gnarled piñon pines, unruly yellow rabbitbrush, and pungent silver sage. Deer, bears, and mountain lions come here to drink, and the canyon swallows make their mud homes in the cliff wall cracks.

In the middle of this wide canyon, at the end of a long dirt road, is a tiny house, tucked into one of McElmo’s many amphitheaters. If you don’t look closely, you might not see the building at all. Dan Petersen, the owner, intended that effect. His rusted red roof blends in with the crimson rock–in fact, it adjoins the rock–and the pine board-and-batten walls resemble the cliff’s own blond markings.

A house built into a rock wall? The concept wasn’t so uncommon to the Ancestral Puebloan People who once thrived in this high desert locale. Often referred to as the Anasazi, these indigenous people built homes in overhangs and against south-facing walls using sandstone rocks mortared with mud and grass. Thousands of their dwellings and structures remain in the area, although the Ancestral Puebloans disappeared by 1300 a.d. without a trace. In the late 1800s, farmers and ranchers moved to McElmo, drawn by the crop-friendly climate, and a new canyon culture was born.

Outside in

Dan’s home is a testament to his appreciation and respect for his environment. “He wanted the house to be one with nature,” says designer and stylist Arlene F. Bernard. “There’s a sacred feeling to the land here, and we wanted to integrate that feeling.”

With his cliffside back wall, Dan literally brought the outside in. The reddish sandstone, once the bottom of an ocean, is water-carved and wind-weathered. Now a smooth, undulating surface, streaked black with “desert varnish” mineral deposits, the cliff’s textures and colors define the small space.

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