Month: September 2017

Ground-Floor Reveal: Windows to the Future

We’ve got eyes on the future with this house, and plenty of windows to see it coming.

Revealed new concrete shows a rhythm of textures and subtle color shifts.

These hold things together
East Picture window. Young man indicates scale.
2-story stairway window on right, house venting ports
Mid-day sun, August
North; lilacs out the Atelier
West: swing door left, slider on right
West wall: will be the largest wall section on 1st floor
South window/door wall
8″ concrete goes inside this space
See the top edge’s off-set tooth joints?
The teeth interlock with the next panel.
Stabilizers hold corners steady when the concrete is poured. (concrete is VERY HEAVY)
This is a volunteer ground-cover, holding back the soil piles. Yes, it’s a weed.

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Dandylions are still blooming and seeding.

The leaflet-branches all around this flower are shoots from a storm-damaged locust tree.

 

Sometimes things look different from a long view.  We won’t see the North side rooms like this after the walls go up.

Bridge/combs ready for 2nd floor
Looking at East Wall
North-West Corner: Kitchen & Atelier
West Doors
South Window Wall
Simple tool for significant impact
Whole clans of nails
Looking down to the East
Looking down to the North
Looking in from the West: golden morning light
South window/door wall
Autumn brings ripeness and rot

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The creeping charlie makes a lovely, deep-green backdrop for a interesting boulder.

Que Pasa – Passive House?

What is a Passive House and why did we choose it?                 19274923_423632261351954_682332954014530840_n

We did not set out to build a Passive House.  After years of looking for ways to improve upon standard construction, owning and renovating several homes from new to 100+ years old we learned about Passive Houses.  We spoke with experts, visited a few examples, then decided to proceed.

  • Passive House (capital P, capital H) is a building standard.
    Originating in Germany in about 1988, it is a construction concept that can be applied by anyone and has stood the test of time.  Passive House standards have design and construction techniques for insulating, strategic placement of special windows & shades, and ventilation for year-round comfort and minimal costs.
  • Passive Houses are comfortable places to live and work.
    Interior walls and floors stay much closer to indoor air temperature than in a traditional home — no cold feet or drafts in the winter.  Construction techniques retain heat during winter, and keep it out during summer, so temperatures stay pleasant.  A  ventilation system continuously supplies fresh air, making for superior air quality without causing unpleasant drafts.
  • Passive Houses are energy-efficient.
    With heating and cooling energy savings up to 90%, compared with current building code, Passive Houses have a light touch on the environment.  Very high R-value windows are strategically placed for maximum heat gain in cold weather, minimum in warm.  Energy from inside the building (such as body heat, or solar heat through windows) is retained by high-performance insulation, so less heating is required.  A high-efficiency heat recovery unit captures heat from exhaust-air in winter, and coolness in summer.
    Passive Houses are affordable.                                                 piggy_bank_8881
    All of these advantages come at a cost roughly 10% to 15% more than a code-built house on first day of ownership*.  Energy savings over the life of the house will more than pay for those extra costs.

Here are some online resources for learning more about the Passive House standard and how buildings make use of it to improve their performance.

 

*For homes built to current building code in most cities in the USA.  We’ve read that for a home built to the more stringent regulations in Ireland, for example, Passive House is the same price or an even less expensive way to meet the energy standards in their building laws than conventional techniques.