- 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.
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| 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. |
8'0" is probably the lowest reasonable level for residential. I don't know if you are planning on ceiling fans but fans work better at moving air when they aren't tight to the ceiling. Secondly 8' can feel fine if lit well. high reflective finishes and such. However if your saving energy on lighting by cutting back this could make the space seem tight. And energy efficient windows tend to aid in their efficiency decreasing transmittance. check out the %VLT, visual light transmittance. you might get one that only transmits 30% of the light from outside. You may wish to visually inspect windows in person.
ReplyDeleteYes, the 8' ceilings are one part I am quite unsure about. It is important to us to not have a lot of wasted materials or scraps, hence the motivation to make the ceilings at whatever height matches drywall dimensions. But we have been noticing that there are more dimensions available than we at first realized, so hopefully we can explore more options, especially because we do plan on probably having ceiling fans. We are also potentially considering drop ceilings, which would cost a few inches; and we have some ideas for the floor which would also eat a few inches. The ceilings in our current house on the first floor are about 8'3" (whereas upstairs they are under 8', and you can feel the difference), so that's what we're used to. We are also considering engineered wall panels for the walls (http://www.mflumber.com/products/) which can come in 9' height; and we have found that 54" drywall is available. So perhaps we will pursue 9' ceilings instead.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, windows are a pretty complicated issue which we have yet to investigate much of yet. Mostly we know we want to have a lot of them, but we of course want to make sure we don't lose exorbitant amounts of heat by them. Thanks for the tip on %VLT.
Concerning the basement thought The foundation to any house will need to have footers that reach below the frost line. So in any case there will be significant excavation to create the footers and the walls. I'd have to look in the code but the I think the minimum depth is in the area of 5'
ReplyDeleteAlso you site appears to be quite rural. Does this property have a municipal hook up for water and sewer or will you be going with well water and septic system.
Basements serve as good places to stick mechanical you don't want to see. Boilers, hot water heaters, water purification systems all require square footage. Unfortunately with well systems you don't know what kind of water your going to get. Its an unknown in both cost and quality. Also what is your planned fuel source? Oil or propane? which both require tanks. All electric?
On the septic system proper maintenance is key. Else unpleasantness. I have two educational stories concerning sanitary systems and basements that would probably best be told off of the comments section.
We do have some plans for footers and the foundation of the house which I will cover in a later post.
ReplyDeleteThe site is ~31 acres adjacent to the original 15 my parents built on. So luckily we are very familiar with the conditions.
We will have a well and septic. We do not plan on oil/propane; we are going to go either geothermal or electric (probably geothermal, but for radiant heat only). My parents are all electric so we have some good data to work off of (another planned post).