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Gil (also to Manfred),
The house you're building would fit in among
innovative houses being built 'outside the box' for various reasons - occupant
health is usually the driving force, while for others it may be energy
efficiency or sustainability.
Do you have a mechanical ventilation system or will
it be passive ventilation? Where do you intend to put your cellar?
I work with the Research Division of Canada's
housing agency, specializing in housing for sensitive people and indoor air
quality. One of my colleagues has been working on the electromagnetic
fields in houses. The study found that as long as the wiring is installed
properly and grounded, the fields measured are low.
I was in Salt Spring Island in British Columbia
last year and visited a very solidly built mansion with rammed earth
foundation, walls and floor. I was pleasantly surprised to find the
air quality good, contrary to what I had expected. You do have
pioneers in Australia on this type of construction. Manfred, if you are
interested, the name of the builder in BC is Meror Krayenhoff. His floors
and foundations are massive and insulated, though some cement cannot be
avoided.
Eighteen years ago, my husband and I built an
unconventional house, though it has some conventional features -
fiberglass batts for walls and rock wool in the attic in an airtight
envelope, built to R-2000 standards. The compelling reason for building was
our two daughters who were very sick - asthma, ecsema, severe
allergies. The younger one had to stay at home for four years on home
schooling. The house we lived in (a standard bungalow with basement, which
I later found had mold problems typical of the majority of basements) did
not help. We were very fortunate to find a builder who was willing to build
with no basement, ceramic tile floors on cement without any additives,
old-fashioned plaster walls and ceilings, solid wood (no pressed woods -
particle board, chipboard or plywood), a stucco exterior without
additives and a metal roof. The house has a balanced ventilation system,
which runs continuously. Alternative energy sources were not a
consideration when we built (ours was a family of five on one
income). We now have an energy efficient woodstove in the attached
greenhouse primarily as a backup when needed.
When we moved in, the house was a little more than
a shell - no interior doors, bare cement floor, and minimum of cabinets.
It took years to complete the interior finishing.
As a low-pollution home, it has survived the test
of time. Needless to say, moving into the house was extremely beneficial
and supportive of the innumerable alternative therapies I've put my children
through over the years.
Manfred, we can discuss off-line building materials
and techniques that work and to avoid. Yesterday, I received a phone call
(among countless others) of a young couple who bought their first home (new) 1
1/2 years ago, only to find that he has developed asthma (he didn't even have
allergies before), his wife's asthma has aggravated, and their young baby has
had recurrent infections since fall. Because of how this house was
constructed, it would not be easy to rehabilitate.
Virginia
Sent: Monday, March 04, 2002 11:53
AM
Subject: New thread:- enlightened
incorporated features of new house?
Hi! Manfred,
I was going to answer off list, but this may
be of interest to others. If not you know where the delete button is.
My house is symbolic as much as shelter, which annoys the crap out of my
wife as she would like to live in it. It has been nearly finished for five
years and I keep getting side tracked. (I will save the list the boredom of my
dalliances).
We have had the land for coming up twenty six years. It was a dream
property that took ten years to change to our ownership.
We have been down most paths of different construction methodologies. I
also had fourteen years in the construction industry, so came to it with a
good general background.
We have designed dozens of houses for the land, even having had several
redrawn by architects and approved by Council.
Our big problem was that we though we needed much more house than
practical. Several would have been unmanageable without staff. When we looked
critically at the different homes we lived in, we found we actually only lived
in part of them.
We found that house design was the worst part of our relationship. When
Fran was living away for six months, I designed the house and we communicated
by Fax and finally got a plan we could afford and still have room to live in.
We had it built to lock up by the company I once worked for and we set out to
finnish it our self. All went well until nearly the finish of the job and my
health went down hill and I ran out of money. So we are paying rent and the
house is still nearly finished.
The design features of interest are:-
* It is Solar Passive, but not oriented the right way. This because, to the
east is a multi million dollar view. (I joke not - based on nearby land sales,
the site is worth around the two million mark.) We are on the break of the
range, just back from the coast on Port Lincoln Harbour and overlook the
Spencer Gulf and the many Islands and bays. To correct this we have positioned
another build to the west and parallel. We will bridge between the two and
this will have a glass house on the north (sun side - we in the southern
hemisphere), and shade house in the south for full passive solar.
* We built on concrete stumps with a suspended timber supported floor with
21 mm spandeck floor, with 12 mm slate on top. Slate right through except bath
and toilet.
* Walls stud, Gyprock (plaster board) inside, Hardifex (cement sheet)
outside.
* Roof colourbond.
* All walls and ceiling heavily insulated. (one a half times recommended
for local conditions) Walls also have vapour barrier.
* Frame and windows are cyclone grade, as is the studs, strapping and tie
downs. This is partly as we are on the wind shear at the top of the range and
choose to live there, so must build to suit.
* The wiring is designed to not make coils or circuits. Example there are
two lighting runs and two power runs, one around each part of the house,
terminating in each of the two bedrooms, so no passing power. There is another
power run to the fridges. Also three 12 V DC, for small appliances and some
lighting. All wiring runs are in the ceiling, with drop downs to power points
and switches, no horizontal wiring. Low energy lights run off custom
built inverters from 12 V DC, so do not use 240, so much less trouble. Also
use only about one third of actual power.
* Heating is from a Bosky Wood stove, which gives cooking, hot water (with
solar panels) and heating via water radiators in each room.
* Toilet is a waterless composting from Clivus Multrum - saves ten thousand
gallons per year per person of each water to flush and black water to be
processed.
* A "cool cupboard" as per David Holmgrem, will reduce refrigeration needs
and we will try just a bar fridge and leave the freezer in town with
relatives, until we get a bigger power supply. We will also have a cellar. We
have turned to dry a lot of things we used to bottle or freeze, this reduces
energy needs and storage a great deal. We are also aiming to eat as much as
possible that which is in season. Thus instead of storing a lot of food, we
hope to largely produce as required, which in our clement climate is possible.
We know people who actually do it.
* Window size and position and over hangs are intended for
energy efficiency. Colours are also to this end, including white walls and
ceilings for maximum light use, while outside colours are designed to blend in
and not heat the building in summer.
* Established tree plantings shelter from the bad winds, but allow the
cooling sea breeze.
* Twenty thousand gallons of rain water supply the house. Dam water for all
else.
* Fire wood is all hard wood from the property.
* We produce our own meat, some fruit, some veg, mushrooms, some nuts, but
more once we are actually living there.
- With strawbale, some bamboo and some timbers have tensile strength that
can replace steel. In South America there are five story buildings with
bamboo reinforcing. I think one could use "wattle and dorb" with small
sticks or splits to plaster to, instead of chicken wire. Good footings can
be made with granite and concrete in a trench and Earth floors are OK, I
have lived with them.
I assume you are in the US. We have a lot of published material on
these things here, that I think is more up to date that that offered over
there. Some Australian material is on the Acres USA list. But could post Oz
addresses if required.
Gil
Manfred Palmer wrote:
Gil:
If you have time, would you describe in
detail some more enlightened
incorporated features of your new
house?
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