Time to find an architect?

Today's Democrat and Chronicle's Real Estate and Rental section had a helpful column about home building. It's actually part of a series that started last week, but I thought this week's installment was more useful for our purposes than what I read last week. You can read it here (or if that link stops working, as D&C links are apt to do after a week or so, I've also uploaded a copy).

Basically the article outlines the importance of hiring an architect. There wasn't necessarily a lot of information I didn't already know, but I really need some direction, so I found it useful. One thing I was surprised by was the author's estimation that a new custom designed house would cost about $200-$300 / sq ft - and that was with only "good" materials. I must admit, I did not expect costs to be that high - I wonder whether his definition of "good" is different than mine; if he assumes most custom houses are more extravagant than what we're thinking; or if I'm way under-estimating how much this whole venture is going to cost. If you use for example a 1500 sq ft house in the middle of that estimate, you're looking at $375K - wow. I would definitely like a cost breakdown on that estimate and more information on the assumptions made besides "good" materials.

The author also emphasizes how house design is a lengthy process, and that if we want to start building next summer we need to get the ball rolling now. While we want to get started right away anyways, we weren't necessarily feeling a sense of urgency before. Since we already have a plot of land picked out, as well as a number of ideas in mind, I'm hoping we are at least a little ways into the process already. On the other hand, I am feeling a bit of a mental roadblock trying to picture how everything will come together. (My situation reminds me of that point in the wedding-planning process that I decided it was worth hiring a wedding planner.)

It is quickly becoming apparent that we need to get moving on finding an architect. Do you know any architects that seem like they would resonate with some of the ideas mentioned in our last post? Please share names and contact info in the comments!

On a final note, I do appreciate the second-to-last paragraph in the article: 

"With most of today’s new homes designed by builders in order to maximize profits, it is no wonder that there is a proliferation of look-a-like boxes that sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Just how many gables does a roof need, anyway? Why are there no windows on the south side elevations to let in sunlight? Why is there wasted space in huge, two-story entryways with lighting fixtures and windows that one needs an extension ladder or scaffolding to reach?"

My thoughts, exactly.

Questioning the Status Quo

We already have some overreaching house plans in mind which would obviously have major implications on what other decisions we make. After visiting the Greentopia EcoFest and doing other research, we have a better idea for some of the basic specifications we plan to employ (with a short explanation of our reasoning):

• 30-35º roof pitch on a true-south facing roof (to maximize solar panel efficiency; numbers are specific to our region)
• Raised seam steel roofing (allows for solar panel attachment without any drilling or nailing; requires practically no maintenance)
• Single level floorplan, no attic or basement (keeps costs way down, uses fewer materials; maximizes space; more efficient for heating)
• Radiant heating (uses less energy; maintains more constant/consistent temperature)
• Basic rectangular shape (no unnecessary corners which create more work, more places to seal/insulate, etc.; full 180º-270º views from all sides/corners with no blocking)
• 8' ceilings, no cathedral or vaulted ceilings (height of drywall, so allows for efficient material usage; no wasted space, more efficient for heating; though, may want to also investigate other heights since other dimensions are available)
• Trusses to support the roof (sturdy, allows for next bullet point)
• ~4ft overhang of roof on N/S sides (will block summer sun but allow winter sun angle; blocks rain, may not even need gutters)
• <2,000 sq ft (we really have no need for anything more than that... even that much seems rather extravagant for us)
• Lots of insulation and sealing (obvious reasons; insulation material undecided as of yet)
• And then all the obvious things you can get energy efficient upgrades on - triple pane windows, front loading washer/dryer, energy star refrigerator, low flush toilet, low flow shower head, CFL/LED lighting, etc. (again, obvious reasons)

You might notice that some of the things described above sound a little bit goofy, or at least unconventional. Through our research and brainstorming we have had to do quite a lot of questioning the norm. If you had asked us a few months ago what we wanted, our answers probably would have been quite different: 2 floors, attic and basement, 2 or 2.5 baths, so on. But along the process we have been forced to reassess what is really necessary and what really makes sense. Do we really need an attic and basement, or is that just what we're used to? What is the real motivation behind 2 floors, and is building up really necessary when you have basically limitless surface area to spread out over? How much does the house really matter in comparison to the "estate" as a whole? Our adventure is growing from your basic building-a-dream-home to a full on experiment (which we see as a good thing).

This list is by no means comprehensive, nor is any of it set in stone. This is basically an overview of many of the ideas we have come up with that seem to maximize efficiency, solve problems, and follow logic. Many of these ideas will probably get their own blog posts with more detailed explanations of how we came up with them. Any feedback, suggestions, ideas, or constructive criticisms you may have now or along the way are most certainly welcome in the comments - after all, we are still just feeling this out ourselves. Not all of our ideas are necessarily good ones.

The little icon for this blog is actually drawn to scale according to ideas described above,
including a 33.7º roof pitch, 4' overhang, and 8' ceilings.

Geothermal Infrastructure Considerations

Besides the cost considerations I mentioned in my last blog post, there are also infrastructure considerations to take into account with geothermal. Do we want to bother with ducts and forced air? Or do we just want radiant heating (floor or otherwise)? If we want to take advantage of a geothermal system's ability to air condition, we would have to have ducts. But do we even actually care about that?

I have never had A/C at home (save for that one summer I lived in a desert), and I have to say I don't particularly care for it. There are only a handful of nights out of the year that I feel really uncomfortable, but for the most part that's only an issue when trying to sleep. When we get really desperate, we install a window A/C unit in the bedroom and that's sufficient. But even with the record high heat seen in 2012, we managed to get by with open windows and fans.

So right off the bat, if someone asked me whether I want A/C in my new house, my answer would be no. Even besides all the added cost and infrastructure required, I just don't even want it. I don't care about perceived luxury, or resale value. If I had an A/C system, I probably wouldn't even use it. I like having windows open and feeling fresh air flow through my house.

Which brings us back to geothermal. Half the reason why it is an advantageous system is because of the ability to reverse the cycle and air condition your house. If you were planning on replacing heating AND air conditioning with a geothermal system, then it's a total no-brainer. But really, we're only looking for an energy efficient, non-fossil fuel way to heat, not cool. Are all the costs ($, infrastructure) still worth it, then? If an entire geothermal system is comparable to the money costs of just heating, then it's not completely off the table yet. But if it's going to be more expensive money-wise on top of the added infrastructure (ducts, etc.), then I think we might want to explore other alternatives - such as, just go with electric heat and plan for a substantial solar voltaic system to offset those high costs. This requires a lot more investigation, and some number crunching. Stay tuned.

In some ways, geothermal parallels the concept of converting to a hybrid vehicle so you can feel less guilty about driving an oversized, inefficient SUV. When really, I'd rather just have the smaller car that's efficient and gets better gas mileage to begin with. (Well, really I want a fully electric car, but that's a whole different ballgame...)

Geothermal Cost Considerations

One of the systems we have been considering is geothermal. Basically, a geothermal system involves a series of underground pipes through which water is circulated and naturally heated, after which it is transferred to a heat exchanger to concentrate the energy and heat a home. In the summer, the process is reversed so that a house is cooled, rather than heated. (This is an overly-simplistic explanation; I plan on doing more research, just to satisfy my curiosity if nothing else.)

There are a number of reasons right off the bat that a geothermal system seems advantageous - especially because out where we will be building, natural gas hookup is not available. Propane is expensive, and will only go up in cost; plus I've never been very keen on the idea of having a big tank of propane outside of my house. Also, since we will have to drill for a well anyways, why not go ahead and drill/dig for geothermal as well? Plus, it's "green" and a pretty hot thing right now. Seems like a no-brainer.

However, there are some important cost considerations. Most obvious is the upfront cost of installing the system, which is quite expensive. Next, and perhaps even more importantly, is the ongoing cost to run the system - some of the numbers we were getting from vendors about how much electricity it takes to run the system were downright staggering. We also got some conflicting information in this regard - so this point in particular requires much more research.

Another consideration is the infrastructure of the heating/cooling system inside the house - but we'll focus on that in a subsequent post.

In the meantime: Have any of you done much research into geothermal, or perhaps have a system installed already? What have you found with regards to the electricity consumption required to power the system?

Mental Groundbreaking

Yesterday we visited the Greentopia EcoFest with my father, Al. While the EcoFest featured a number of different events and attractions, our main focus was to visit some vendors and get solid information about various green technologies for the home. We had actually been looking forward to EcoFest since our idea to build was just a tiny inkling over 6 months ago... But, not knowing where to even begin back then, we figured this event would be a good jumping off point.

My dad came along for the ride, and in fact you'll be hearing a lot about him on this blog, because he'll be helping out as a sort of adviser throughout the whole project. He designed and helped build his and my mom's house just over 35 years ago, and incorporated a lot of efficient plans and materials for the time. So his house is kind of a test case for us, and there are a lot of lessons learned that we can use to develop a well-informed plan for our futurehome. (Not only that, but my dad is super SUPER intelligent about, well, everything.)

It turned out there were a lot of vendors at the EcoFest, and they were very knowledgeable about all things solar, geothermal, eco-conscious landscaping, and more. My dad was concerned that most vendors would be installers and/or salespeople, but actually they had a lot of detailed information and were able to answer a lot of the technical questions we had. We collected a lot of info, which we will spend later posts analyzing and discussing.

Actually, I think we came as a bit of a surprise to the vendors - they didn't seem to be expecting anyone with actual plans to build, and definitely weren't expecting anyone who wanted to plan their house design around sustainable practices and already had some facts in mind. Rather, many people are looking to retrofit their homes, or they have some kind of "dream home" concept in mind that the technologies need to be adapted to, or they are part of some sort of suburban development where plots are laid according to networks of streets rather than facing any particular direction at a specific angle, etc. And then there were a lot of people at the festival that just wanted some intelligent entertainment (and further, some that were just there because it was free). Numerous vendors praised us for our commitment to sustainability and for being willing to adjust our expectations to follow green practices; but really, we couldn't imagine doing it any other way.

At the end of the day, we came away with a lot of names and contact info for people to get back in touch with later, and more importantly we left more informed than we were when we arrived (which I look forward to exploring more throughout this blog). I highly recommend visiting Greentopia if you have a chance, even if you don't have any specific motivations like we did.

Introduction

Welcome! We have established this blog as a record keeper of all the adventures soon to come as we research, design, and build our Futurehome. Never to be of the "off the rack" type, our home will be fully customized and somewhat of an ongoing experiment as we venture into green and sustainable living. We plan to stick to largely conventional building materials and standards, but will incorporate many of the green technologies that exist and are feasible for our climate and standard of living. It is also our prerogative to maintain a simple, affordable, and most of all efficient space, without an excessive use of materials and resources. This isn't to say, however, that we won't employ some of the design elements we have become accustomed to in our current 1920's Colonial home; we just want to make sure we do things intelligently and logically.

To that end, how can we possibly make all the puzzle pieces fit together? Well, it will certainly be a fun and informative challenge. We hope you will enjoy our journey with us.

Somewhere herein lies Futurehome.