Ok so it have been awhile and a lot has happened since the last post.

First thing is we changed General Contractors.  Tom is still doing the site work at the farm but Tom Doyle of Doyle Home is now the GC.  Jeff is a custom home builder with 20+ years of experience.  Again no "Green" experience but he has really taken on the challenge and things are moving forward at a fast pace.

Secondly, if you remember we were shooting for an initial HERS (Home Energy Rating System) score of about 40 points.  Keep in mind the average resale home in the United States scores about 130.  A score of 100 is considered the average for new construction built to code.  So an existing home, as an example, is roughly 30% more inefficient than a new home.  So a score of 40 would theoretically make our house 60% more efficient than a new home.  The score is derived from an energy model created by the HERS rater.  The model takes into account all of the wall components, roof components, window U-factors, energy used by appliances etc.  We were then able to utilize the energy model to try out different insulation and material combinations to achieve the best energy efficiency and most bang for the buck.

Having said all of that, our preliminary HERS rating is a 41!  Kudos to the design team and thanks to Scott and Alex for working with us to get the information to us in a timely fashion so we could make our decisions!

Thirdly, we started digging today!  we've got a big hole in the ground but the foundation looks more like a foundaiton for an outhouse with a basement!  Somehow we'll fit.  It's certainly larger than the fifth wheel we're currently in!

As  a side note check  out the pictures from Horse Progress Days.   This was in Clare, MI a couple of weeks.  Two days devoted to Horse Power and the economic viability of horses for use on small farms.  It was a ton of fun, unfortunately my pictures of the 12 horse team didn't take!

Anyway, more to come, we're getting to the good stuff!

House features

Back again!  So here are some of the features of the house.

   The house is small, 32' x 24' footprint that equates to 1536 sf of conditioned space.  We kept the footprint small for several reasons.  First a larger house means we have to buy more stuff to fill it up thus reducing the Funstuff Funds.  We'd rather go play than buy another sofa.  Secondly, if we keep it small we can add other features to the house, LEED certification for instance.  Lastly, LEED rewards smaller homes.  Not suprisingly larger homes consume more resources, not just building materials but also heating and cooling.  They award smaller designs through the Home Size Adjuster (HSA).

   Based on informal studies and published data, within the context of LEED, a 100% increase in home size equates to an increase in annual energy usage of 15% - 50%, depending on the region.  Also the same increase equates to an increase in materials usage of 40% - 90% depending on the design.  So smaller homes can earn extra points towards certification based on the number of bedrooms and square footage.  So the SCF house will 5 points based on the square footage and bedrroms.

   We've tried to keep as many penetrations out of the exterior walls as possible.  You'll notice that the only fixture mounted on an exterior wall is the sink in the Master bath.  Believe me we tried every possible combination to get it off the wall.  The reason we kept out of the exterior walls is that every penetration is a potential air leak.  Air moving inside the thermal barrier sets up all kinds of potential problems with moisture in the walls as well as reducing the efficiency of the walls.

   "Smart Framing" will also be utilized in the construction.  Smart framing incorporates techniques such as aligning roof trusses and wall studs so that the trusses bear directly on the studs.  This eliminates the need for a second top plate on the wall.  Also no headers in non-load bearing walls, sizing headers to the exact size needed, studs and rafters spaced greater than 16" on center and no trimmer studs at window and door openings.  All of this amounts to significant reductions in the amount of wood needed top build the house.  Also less wood in the walls means more room for insulation.

 Well lunch is over, back to the grind.  More to follow.

Design Review

  Alright, alright so it's been a few days, ok weeks since my last post.  My apologies.  What with trying to get hoop houses built, researching and tracking down products, things have been pretty hectic.  The good part is now I have some images to share of our proposed floor plan and a couple of elevations.

  We finished up our design charrette last week with Dave from Lindhout, Tom Boyle, John Boylan of Lakeside Services (HVAC), Tom and Shannon Rau, Joannee and I and our Green Rater, Alex.  We had a really good meeting lots of good discussion about mechanical systems and photovoltaics.  The house has undergone a few iterations since the initial charrette and as a result we hope to pick up 5 more points toward our LEED certification.  But I won't get into the geeky stuff tonight.  I would like to talk the house and maybe some about our product selections so far.

You can see we retained the small footprint of the house, it took a few heart to heart discussions but with some design help from Joannee, Dave and Piet were able to draw out a really fun floorplan on the first floor without expanding the size of the house.  This is important to us because more space means having to spend more money to fill it up, heat it, cool it and clean it 

1. Tulikivi masonry heater is the centerpiece here, literally.  Locating the heater in a central location and with very few walls will allow us to use this as the primary heat source in the winter.  This is a soapstone behemoth weighing in at over 5000 lbs.  The soapstone absorbs the heat from the fire and slowly radiates the heat outward over time.  A 1 1/2 hour burn twice a day will heat the house for about 24 - 30 hours.  Possibly longer with the R-35 walls.
2. Reclaimed wood flooring throughout the house upstairs and down.  We are looking at maple or possibly locust.
3. Recycled brick in the mudroom coming from the garage.  The mudroom was originally going to be the space between the garage and main house.  Thanks to a little sleight of hand from Dave we were able to increase the size of the room in the house.  The original mudroom now becomes a breezeway and a home for the grill.  Also becasue the garage is detached from the house, this improves the indoor air quality and scores 3 points for LEED.  Durability is also a LEED consideration and we have developed a project specific durability checklist.
4. The kitchen is on the south side of the house.  In order for the house to benefit from solar orientation LEED requires 40% of the total glazing area to be on the South side.  A challenge when you have a small house, a fairly steep roof and countertops to work around!  Again, Dave sneaks in the round window in the upstairs bedroom to eek us over the line. We are considering two manufacturers Accurate Dorwin made in Canada and Serious Windows, made in California,  Both exceed Energy Star ratings by almost double.
5. All appliances in the house will be Energy Star rated.  Hopefully we will be able to reduce our electrical load in the house enough to make solar power feasible.

Ok it's late, I'll add more tomorrow.  Oh wait, I said that last month.