We. Have. WALLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I could either stay in Richmond and be sick, achy and contagious, or I could go to the net zero off grid modern house kit and be sick, achy and contagious.
Easy choice.

I just could not bear to be away another week, knowing that Bobby Hirsh, the carpenter, had reused and built actual WALLS out of VMI's old basketball court. Honeychile, this t'ain't yer Chinese drywall...

So I grabbed a box of Kleenex and headed out, sick and feverish, to the net zero passive solar SIPs house kit.

We rounded the drive and saw the field was still covered with snow... yet in the distance, the house kit shone happily, a beacon for our car to aim for through the mud.

We tumbled out, and the children and dogs proceeded to do exactly what I feared: splash through the mud puddles, roll in the snow (and no dry change of clothes with us), and chase each other, slushing through soil and ice, round and round the prefab. *Sigh*

As I surveyed this certainly disastrous scenario, Handsome Husband slipped away to peek inside the house kit and returned quickly: "Wow."

I hurriedly went to inspect. 
So: A year ago we had purchased VMI's basketball court, and now here it would be in our prefab as walls? Creating rooms with recycled, beautiful 100% maple floorboards instead of using drywall?!? Handsome Husband warned me that due to our carpenter, who is a Mennonite minister, being called back to Haiti (where he and his family lived for five years before moving here), he had not been able to completely finish the walls. But who cares, I just want to SEE the walls!

I could tell you all about it, but... c'mon and see it for yourself.
I was taping when I walked in for the first time, and it probably conveys to you more than anything I could type. 
(I love how I keep trying to be informative, glib, and then I see the walls and GASP...)

Prefab Green Home Update: Recycled Reused Wood On The Walls!


Prefab House: Interior Walls: Recycled Reused Wood: VMI's Basketball Court!

We told Bobby to cut wood inside since the temperatures have been so frigid this month, and to leave any scraps behind so we could recycle them.  In preparation, Handsome Husband had moved all the furniture in the corner and covered it all with a sheet. So we spent the day in the prefab house kit sweeping, sorting wood scraps, sweeping some more, dragging back the furniture piece by piece, and... sweeping.

Y'know, all we do out there are chores it seems, but we are all SO HAPPY, so busily content, feeling the sun on our faces, smelling the crisp air  that only happens when it has touched snow, seeing progress as we proceed on every little thing we do in the prefab house kit.  We are so grateful to all of the craftsmen who have helped us, and it is so satisfying that we also have a hand in it, that our children will remember this slow process as we move towards our sustainable goal.

 

To refresh your memory of this journey: We started with purchasing land, then awhile later bought a 1960s camper where we would brave the spring ticks, the summer heat, the late autumn frost (all with our children still in diapers)... then the house kit was erected and suddenly we had shelter, REAL SHELTER.

And now we have walls.
And even CLOSETS.

For the first year ever, we have been out there in 1. January and 2. February, and out there, in the dead of winter, 3. *comfortably*!

If I hadn't been so feverish I would have suggested we stay and spend the night.  But I also know I need to get better and that the better thing to do is install the ERV / off grid systems so we can seek respite even more efficiently and comfortably than the makeshift ways we've been visiting for years.

But in the meantime...? We appreciate every. single. thing. 
And don't miss what we lack in the prefab house kit, because we've never had it there.
Makin' something outta nothin' is not a hobby, it's a philosophy.  I am fine with my children being raised how to be comfortable, knowledgeable and practical in raw weather and conditions, and I think these experiences make them better for it.

 

Prefab Green Home: 1st Energy Audit Of The SIPs House Kit!

This is the FIRST of two energy audits.

Energy Audit #1, today's energy audit of the prefab modern house, is as we're at the "This is the modern house kit + cladding + the homeowner sealing around the windows stage", the second will be once we're "done, finished, kaput, as in done, done, done, done, don't ever want to think about anything construction related for at least another week DONE."


Our mission is to create tight, energy efficient, gorgeous passive solar house kits.  I admire rated, certified, even more stringent approaches, like Passive House standards, maybe we'll do this in the future, but we achieve what we want in an energy efficient home while incorporating great modern design on an average, reasonable budget.

Some highly energy efficient homes incorporate two door chambers to prevent temperature loss.
I picture the way I live, and it is just too chaotic and messy to make such an entrance successful.  Can you imagine a couple struggling with the stroller, dogs still on the leash, juggling a bag of groceries and a baby on one hip, getting the key in the door lock then screaming to the spouse...
"Quick honey, seal the chamber, we're losing LEED points!"
Obviously if you live in a severe climate, it makes sense. But we're in Normal Rest-o'-Tha-World here.

We're a muddy, raggedy bunch here... why do ya think we're bandits?
You can increase the thickness of the house kit panels, choose even more efficient doors and windows (our casa ti prefab green home is spec'd for Jeld-Wen and our, SIPs house kit with two stories, The R1 Residential, is spec'd for Marvin Integrity), seal it up even tighter... but my focus is on affordable energy efficiency in our prefab green homes, so we chose great solutions that fit within a moderate budget.

The average quote for the casa ti windows is currently about $9,000-$10,500. If you would like to spend more on windows to make 'em nano-crazy-efficient, go for it, we can adjust the shop drawings. But expect the added cost.

We hired energy rater Guy DuBois, of No Energy Loss, to come out and inspect the modern prefab house kit. 
These are the notes I jotted down during his cell phone call to me en route from the land. Mr. DuBois will guest blog later this week with more real data, but here are his initial verbal impressions of the still-under-construction, still-not-completely-sealed house kit:

"Well, we certainly smoked up your house quite a bit, there was nowhere for it to go!"

(Copeland's note: Ummmm, I assume he means it was some kind of smoke air test thingy? I hope he didn't mean he smoked in mah house?!?)

Ok, on to Mr. DuBois:

"Those windows - they are worth the money, they were very well sealed."

Copeland's note: Handsome Husband also sealed around the frames... OK FINE I will just stop commenting and just TYPE what he said!

"Your husband did a good job of sealing around the windows... there are two areas he also could look at if he wanted to seal further- along the south eave and that back door threshold.

It is surprisingly tight. I don't know why I say surprising, but I guess I didn't expect it to be so tight, even though I should have."

[Copeland's note: Um, yeah, thanks Mr. DuBois... ; ) OK, OK I'll stop commenting!]

"I'll go back at completion and run more tests.  This was a good time to go out there because if there were problems you could address them before everything was closed up.

As you know, it's so tight you really must have mechanical ventilation, which you will be installing (HRV), which is critical in these energy efficient homes. Most homes, most traditionally-built homes, leak willy-nilly so you don't ever have to worry about air quality, but in energy efficient homes like these they're so air-tight that air-exchange is imperative.

I saw very little air leakage... there is some thermal bridging you can address if you want but you certainly won't have a problem heating and maintaining good energy efficiency, that's for sure. How does it compare to a "normal" house? Superior!"

To continue to seal even further, concentrate on the areas where there is lumber vs. SIP (structural insulated panels)- the doorway header, add insulation around wooden framing, and if you're in really severe climates, you could add an exterior seal.

Mr. DuBois makes a good point:

"But you have to consider the climate- maybe if you're in Alaska or really south Florida you would want to consider that, but... we're in Virginia, how much gain will you really get by doing all that?!? You already know that with your off grid systems, comfort will never be an issue.

I will be punching in everything I did today and coming back with some data next week... you're not trying to get this house certified, so this is just more FYI info, but it will be cool to compare today with when you're done at the end of the project."

He also said that the amount of leakage currently (we're still not done sealing) in the prefab SIPs passive solar home is equivalent to about 6 x 6 inches, smaller than a basketball. Handsome Husband is chasing that number, with sealant in hand.


Later, Handsome Husband arrived home, and I had all these pictures and video to look at... and share with you now.

HOUSE KIT ENERGY AUDIT VIDEOS:
Mr. DuBois sets up...

SIPs House Kit Energy Audit #1 of 2

They start do to the smoke test and pressurize the modern house kit. SUDDENLY, a clerestory window pops wide open!  It had looked closed, but hadn't been closed totally, which certainly that had also contributed to our loss of temperature this winter at night!  It is securely locked now... : )

Smoke And Open Windows In The Affordable Prefab SIPs House

So, they pressurize again...

Energy-Audit-#1 of 2 In The Affordable Prefab Green Home

And then....they freakin' fill mah house up with SMOKE!
Note the comment about the south edge- later they discovered that when the door was installed they didn't put any sealant under that south door.  You as a home owner can seal that more if you live in a severe climate area. I knew the windows worked really well for our budget, but am pleased with how impressed he is! : )

Energy Audit 1 of 2: Smoke And Windows

Here Handsome Husband decides he's going to track down that durned elusive number.


Energy Audit 1 of 2: Husband Wants Passive Perfect

Then they go tramp around outside looking for leaks.
If there were gaps, you'd see the smoke drifting out.

Energy Audit #1 of 2 of the Prefab Net Zero Energy Green House

Check out what it looks like when they crack the door (and how hard it was to open because of the pressurization - because the house kit was so tight!).

Energy-Audit-Of-Green-House-Kit

...And then they start calculating...
Which Mr. DuBois will go into more in his guest post soon.

Energy-Audit-01-16-2010-36 from Copeland Casati on Vimeo.

And thaz it, the latest from our passive solar green home!

Here is Handsome Husband's summary:

"This wraps up the initial test of the house kit. We now know what simple steps we have left to optimize the envelope of the SIPs house, and we look forward to the final testing after construction is (finally) completed. The general goal and idea of the casa ti has passed Mr. DuBois's testing with flying colors, as we already suspected in the prefab house kit's performance over the last few weekends where the design and structure were able to give us relative comfort in a hostile climate.

The great thing about the delays in this project is that we're able to thoroughly test the house kit without further improvements, this allows us to confirm the performance a passive solar house kit built with SIPs."

 

Prefab Green Home Takes On The Wind Chill. And The Passive Solar Net Zero Prefab Fabulously Triumphs.

Wind chill of 14? Actually, I was corrected: The wind chill was FOUR. 
It's a windy day at the prefab green home.

As long term readers might notice, during extreme weather our favorite game in the net zero modern prefab (still with no heating / power systems installed) is to compare the outdoor temperature with the indoor temperature.

We have no heat. We have no electricity.
But we certainly have fun measuring the effectiveness of the structural insulated panels + passive solar design in the prefab house kit on a dinky (one arrow missing that's supposed to indicate humidity) thermometer.

A Lovely Lady From Leeds : )  asked,

Mel, I don't know. We certainly can (and should) have someone measure it, but because it is our private home despite my being the founder, well, I previously thought, "Eh. It's more fun doing the dial-y thermometer thang."

Your interest has prompted me to take it more seriously and add it to the "to do's."

[I have a similar attitude towards LEED accreditation. Don't kill me! (The firms are all LEED accredited; I just don't see the benefit for the consumer to certify a house they don't intend to sell, and am approaching this house as an "average" consumer of my own house kit. ]


This is all stuff we as professionals know, documented by passive haus, passive houses, SIPs manufacturers, etc., but when I (even though we intelligently know it) put it into practice by turning a thermometer into a family game... oh, it's so much more fun. : )

In summer, we marveled at 100° harsh heat in the fields, yet inside the off grid prefab green home, it was a comfortable 85°, and the cross breezes from the open windows made it even more pleasant.  Now we test the prefab house kit in icy, bitter temps with a few intermittent days of overcast skies.


Handsome Husband reports: "Windchill is 4°.  Last night it went down to 18°, today's highs will be 27°.  Yet the prefab green house kit is 45° on arrival."

Yes, that's cold.
But it has been overcast for days in temperatures in the teens and twenties. This proves that despite daily temperatures being such, the interior of the prefab green home will not freeze.  This is great news.


After spending a day researching modern supercoolio wood stoves after discovering the promised family wood stove was mine no longer, I admit defeat: Why would I spend $1,500-$3,500 on a modern, cool  wood stove we will use so little in the energy efficient, passive solar SIPs house?

Yet the wood stove is comforting as back up once our solar systems are installed, there to dry wet mittens and sopping snow clothes and to cook on if need be.

It's 11:00. Handsome Husband calls to say the prefab house is already 49-50° from him just moving around. Imagine how fast a big wood stove would heat that efficient, insulated space...and then overheat. If it's easily 50s inside when the temperature outside will not rise above freezing today, our original concern is correct - we would easily overheat the house with a big stove.

I researched battery-powered heaters, but they were either too small or not exactly safe for indoor use. [Understaaaaaatement!]


So... we bought a wood stove.
It's ugly. It's not a nostalgic family hand-me-down.

It's definitely not modern. 
Handsome Husband is consoling me with, "Well, you could kinda cook on it..."
*sob*

After spending the past 24 hours frantically researching what new products have come on the market since I last looked (a lot of nice modern wood stoves now), in the end I said, "Fine, solve the issue NOW, let's pay someone to install this NOW, so we can freaking enjoy our prefab modern house kit NOW."

Each dollar we spend on something unexpected (like the unexpected cost of a $1,000+ wood stove) is a dollar that should be going to off grid solar systems and hiring local labor to install them.

We will now bemusedly note how many years the original, "free" wood stove given to me will sit in my parent's basement until Mr. Wil "I Will Sue You For Everything You Own" Sakowski claims it... IF he ever does.


[Readers: Please bear with me in these last two posts as bitterness tinged these references... My life, and my dear, lifelong friends are an entirely happy different story. It's all good. : ) Besides, being a bandit is much more rewarding and adventurous. ]

Handsome Husband calls:
"I'm leaving! And in the prefab house kit it's 54 degrees." (3:40 p.m.)
Me: "What'd you do?"
[Understaaaaatement!]

He...

• Met with the roofers
  
• Unloaded the modern bed and put it together
• Installed the Danish mid-century daybed
  
• Drove to Appomattox and bought a wood stove
• Examined the scouting camera (Awwww, Bambi!)
• Sorted some of the VMI basketball wood
  

Y'know. That's all... ; )
Stay tuned...
The next post is where I rearrange all the furniture.

 

Prefab Green Home Contractor Meeting Rescheduled.

I have just rescheduled the meeting (previously cancelled due to snow last week) with our contractor in the prefab green home for Saturday.

Of course, the next comment from my coworker, Amy, was, "Did you hear they're calling for more snow?"

We. Shall. See.

In the meantime, we had Gwendolyn & Damon Pearson over for dinner last night.  You may already be aware of Damon Pearson, our Princeton-trained architect, partner in the fabulous design and fabrication firm, Tektonics, and designer of our sister modern prefab site, Green Cabin Kits. 

We have some upcoming big news on those prefab green homes – we are now modifying them to be fabricated like the rest of our prefab house kits (modern prefab at Green Modern Kits, and prefab cottages at Green Cottage Kits) – already passive solar, and built with SIPs, the prefab cabins will now be fabricated at plants throughout the United States, not just Tektonics.  We will be publishing those new designs in January.

I am also adding new voices to Green Cabin Kits – the Pearsons.

Gwendolyn will provide a counter point to the industrial and prefab design / technical voice that Damon, as the architect, will add.  Oh, she will be off topic (and likely off color) – but leads such an interesting life as an environmental educator for a national nonprofit that I want to share her daily musings with the world.  There were *so* many tales told over the table last evening it certainly could provide fodder for months of postings!  (Ask her about the bucket of eels…)

Of course, when there was a wane in conversation, we always had the dogs to entertain us… (see below video…)

That’s all I can say for now… in the meantime, I hope you enjoy the food pics from dinners this week!

And more exciting news on all our prefab house kits coming after the New Year.

 

 

Prefab Green Home Systems Post #1 For A Net Zero Off Grid Modern House Kit!

In Virginia it is 22 degrees. Handsome Husband is off cavorting in Florida (Ok, fine, it's work, but *I'm* stuck with the chilluns, dawgs, chickens, fish, and feral cat!), so I will not be visiting the net zero off grid prefab green home this weekend as the logistics to do so alone are overwhelming.

So here come the net zero off grid prefab systems posts, guest written by Handsome Husband: Part One: Rain Water Systems.

**NOTE*: *OUR* systems choices are so minimal and bare bones, you will almost certainly want to consider the more robust packages our partners offer. But our focus as a family is to do as much as possible with as little as possible.**

"I will post our system choices for the casa ti prefab over the next few days. Every post will focus on a subject, beginning with how we plan on supplying the casa ti with water.

We will use rain water collection as the water source. In our area in central Virginia we receive sufficient annual precipitation to easily provide water for a 4 person house hold without having to dig a well. Rainwater collection begins with the choice of roofing materials. Asphalt shingles are not the material of choice as new shingles could leach petroleum products and contaminate the rain water - we chose a metal roof on the southern side of the house for this reason. The northern half of the roof is wrapped in a rubber membrane as a basis for the green roof (vegetation that is as everything seems to carry the term "green" these days). Rainwater from the vegetated roof area should not be used for potable uses but can be used for irrigation and other non potable needs.

We will use a WISY WFF 100 as the primary rainwater filter. This filter receives the rainwater from the downspouts, and separates debris from the water routed to the cistern. We will need to design the downspouts so that they all merge into this single filter. http://www.rainwatermanagement.com/product.php

Next comes the cistern. The first choice is between an above-ground cistern and one that is buried. We are considering going in between in that we would place the cistern in the root cellar. Root cellars are semi-buried structures that enjoy some of the same benefits as geothermal heating: In the winter the stay above freezing and in the summer they don't heat up as much as the ambient temperature. The same will be true for our water!

We plan on using a 1500 gallon polytank intended for freshwater storage (http://www.watertanks.com/products/0005-028.asp).

Now that we have collected, filtered and stored the water we need to pump it into the house. We will extract the best quality of water from the tank which is just below the surface using a floating inlet filter. This type of filter is connected to a floating ball and collects water 4 " below the water surface and comes with 8' of hose to connect to the pump http://www.rainwatermanagement.com/product.php.

Next we will install whole house sediment filter. Given the design of the inlet filter I don't expect this filter to collect much of anything but hey, these filters are relatively cheap and collect objects down to 1 micron. (http://www.purewaterforless.com/site/675488/product/PE-SPF-34)

There is some debate about the need for UV light as an additional purification method. We will have the water quality tested once the system is installed and will see, whether this will be necessary in our application. Until then we will bring bottled water and just cook/shower with water collected from the sky. As with any water system, it is important to have the water tested for water quality. Additional filtration may be necessary once the system is installed and tested. Any water system including wells should be tested at least annually to ensure the water quality remains at the highest level for human consumption.

That's it for this first systems post for the net zero SIPs passive solar prefab, casa ti! Our next post will describe our approach for heating the water (DHW)."

There you have it, straight from the Handsome Husband's mouth.
Now if only he'd only hurry home so I can take a break!
We will be visiting the prefab next weekend as we have a meeting with our Fabulous Contractor regarding our next steps for the net zero prefab green home.

 

Modern Reused Bed For A Modern Green Prefab Home

We had hot soup at my parents, on an icy, sleeting, miserable downpour of a winter day.
As you could see in the previous post, even the chickens wanted to come inside!

And even better than the delicious soup, we left the children behind!
What to do with the freedom? 

Honeychile we hot-footed it to our favorite Richmond thrift stores, to browse lazily without having to scold and watch and hurry the little ones!

At Restore (RVA's Habitat For Humanity recycled and reused material goods store on Roane Street) we found a pristine Danish modern bed made of teak with drawers underneath to reuse, recycle into our modern prefab green home! We were so pleased with its simple, clean modern lines, the simplicity, the functionality, the practical uses for our bedroom in the prefab green home and... that it cost...
$349.

It did.

We also found a sink!

At another local thrift store we found some large, hardy wine and beer glasses with a thumb print design for 75 cents apiece.

Again, this is in keeping with my careful, treasure hunting philosophy that it is more fun, more stylish, and more sensible to reuse and recycle than buy out of the box.  Seriously, think of the modern prefabs / homes you visit: What are they furnished with? Ikea. Not completely dissing Ikea, but... my home looks like my home because it has no pattern, and why the heck not reuse and hunt through thrift store's treasures so they don't end up in landfills? Serious fun, folks, but it also takes patience and planning.

The patience and planning and scouring for good modern furniture finds is so much fun, and so worth it... we don't look like everybody else, and I love that by shopping at Restore in RVA, I am not only recycling and reusing materials but helping a great cause, affordable housing.

Enjoy! Here's the bed!


And here's more on Restore in RVA:

"Why Should I Shop at ReStore?
Shopping at ReStore is an adventure! Every day we have new inventory to choose from, including furniture, flooring, architectural items, cabinetry, fixtures, wallpaper, appliances and more—at prices up to 90% below retail!  Some items are new, some gently used, and others come from deconstruction.  Not only can you find some beautiful items and great bargains, but you are helping the environment and low-income families at the same time.

It is estimated that Virginia landfills will reach maximum capacity in the next 5-10 years. Approximately 20% of these materials are construction and demolition debris.  In fact, a single Virginia landfill can receive over 50,000 tons of such materials in one year."

 

Landscape Architecture For The Prefab Modern House Kit: The Root Cellar, and More. Guest Blog Post!

We will begin to have guest bloggers (weren't you tired of listening to me anyhow?), people who know a heck of a lot more than I on the next steps of the prefab SIPs house kit as it goes from a modern house kit shell to a sustainable modern homestead in the years to come.

Please welcome Heather Barber, founder of Topos, LLC, a landscape design studio dedicated to purposeful design through creating unique natural environments in Richmond, Virginia. The sustainable landscape plan by Topos was earlier mentioned here; today, she talks about visiting the off grid prefab modern house for the first time, and how sustainability is connected in the kitchen.

The rest of the post is her own.

turning the page on sustainability and the sufficient garden...

Sustainability and landscape go hand in hand, but to really understand sustainability from a livable principal you must put form in the background and set the focus on function. The two do not have to live entirely separately, but the thing that has driven landscape design for centuries must become secondary to to the primary purpose of function. A sustainable landscape does not have to leave beauty out of the picture, but it is there for many more reasons than just aesthetics.

Let’s take green modern kits casa ti as a prototype for understanding the adaptation of the built object to the site rather than the normal process of site adaptation to accommodate the built object. casa ti is a melding of modern living principles with a centuries old notion of living with the land, off the land, and of the land. casa ti is sited in the middle of rural farmland in Virginia.

At first sight, it seems as though there is a modern box sitting in the middle of this soft, rolling earth...still viable earth that is now a repository for a very static looking building. Understanding modern sustainability will turn this perception on it’s ear. casa ti, a prefabricated green modern kit home is actually a very dynamic part of the earth and a living, breathing entity that sustains the land it inhabits. The landscape that surrounds casa ti becomes a fulcrum that allows the exchange between the site, the building and the family that lives on the land.


So many of the sustainable landscape principals are the functional values that have been used in farming and land use for thousands of years. Many have been abandoned to the contemporary notions of density, aesthetics and convenience. Having the opportunity to attend the first casa ti open house I found it absolutely astounding that many of the local farmers grasp the notion of the sustainable system (being the building, the land, and the functions of the land, the landscape) and yet many of us ‘designers’ don’t really fully understand. I learned a tremendous amount about the importance of function from the resident farmers who came to support casa ti.

It also sparked a conversation with my father, a celebrated Landscape Architect whose heyday of design was in the 60’s and 70’s, pre autocad and plotters and computerized land forming programs. Now in his 70’s, Dad still uses a sepia printer (a ‘brown’ print machine) and a typewriter and still understands working within the natural systems of the earth rather than contriving them to fit the design. All of this being said, I have really re-approached my ideals of sustainable design and casa ti this week.

We are working on many planes with the prefab house nestled in the rural landscape. Foremost, casa ti is a structure drawn from modern design tenets. It is constructed in a way that would blow the doors off of most LEED and Earthcraft rated buildings. The siting (the location of casa ti) in a rural, traditional farming community is a great opportunity and hindrance equally. It allows casa ti to function as intended, as a fully self supporting, energy producing entity that forms a relationship with the land, the profile, the context, the climate, the macro and micro environments. The challenge is finding the craftsmen, the materials and the technology to make it all happen in a natural and budgetary way. It is all a learning process and I am honored to be a part of it.


So, how do we meld the aesthetics and function of the modern style prefabricated green modern kit home with a traditional rural site?

Again, we look at many of the sustainable attributes that already lie within the site. The immediate area around casa ti will become an extension of the living space and reflect the modern form / aesthetic. The people who live here want to live in a healthy way without sacrificing comfort and enjoyment and that is an absolute. Clipped hedges, exterior fireplaces, large planes for dining, and family entertainment areas will all be designed to express the modern style. The choices of plant material and hardscape materials will lend to the functionary aspect. The true beauty lies in how these areas are also those which sustain the mechanical, solar, and water treatment for casa ti.

The secondary environs become the threshold that allows the aesthetic transition between modern style and traditional farm style. Open space, groves, and more naturalized land forms set up view shed and flow into the actual working land and forested areas of the site. Again using native plant material and land forms from recycled earth becomes the functional aspect. They lend to the shade value and thermal support of casa ti, and provide sustenance.
Water harvesting and recharging will reduce the necessity for potable water waste on gardens and cyclical necessities within the residence. Vegetable gardens and fruit trees will be planted down hill and irrigated with the traditional agricultural flooding methods. Green walls add to the thermal value of the home and earthen berms protect the home from energy stripping climatic effects. A small pool will be used to house and recharge the water supply. UV filtering and a baffled rill will do the actual recharging. Seasonal crops will be used in the larger fields, always cycled one season with a green crop for essential nitrogen restoration. Seasonal fruit trees, berry shrubs, vegetables will be planted for 3 1/2 seasons of additional food stores.

A root cellar (which has been the most logical, yet baffling part of the design) will serve many functions. It will house the minimal mechanical equipment needed for casa ti, as well as add natural storage for vegetables and fruits, thus minimizing loss and the need for refrigeration.

This lends to another necessary discussion...the contemporary kitchen in a sustainable setting. The things that are of the utmost importance are storage, accessibility to the edible landscape and waste. Composting areas need to be close in order to minimize unnecessary waste in the kitchen, yet need the space and the ‘privacy’ to be their ugly smelly selves. The kitchen is also a great area for the collection of gray water for non potable use, and relatively economical to make happen. The kitchen garden must fulfill a certain portion of the food supply for at least 3 1/2 seasons. Sorry, you’re not going to get much out of this garden when the surprise March blanketing of snow occurs. Enter root cellar...again, the proximity to the house is important, but equally the type is too. Banked into grade change allows light and airflow and doesn’t turn it into the dungeon (horrors), but equally allows the proper amount of moisture to circulate so your carrots and potatoes don’t turn to chalk or worse. Of course, dependent on the size and location, additional venting and drainage is necessary. I’ve found several articles helpful, posted below for your reading pleasure. It truly is fun stuff.

As the casa ti plans evolve, the next chat will be about addressing other aspects of the sustainable site, such as parking courts, natives vs. invasives, and positive drainage for maximum water efficiency.

Relevant links:

• www.organicgardening.com/feature/0,7518,s1-5-19-173,00.html
• http://oldfashionedliving.com/rootcellar.html
• www.motherearthnews.com/Modern-Homesteading/1980-07-01/How-To-Build-Root-Cellar.aspx

-- Heather Barber, Topos LLC
    GLA, ASLA
    Richmond, Virginia
     http://www.ToposLLC.net

 

Modern Prefab Update:

It is morning in the net zero prefab house kit.
I am blearily sipping coffee, and the 5 year old just walked up and said,
"Momma? This feels like home."

Last night both children woke up separately, and with them, individually, we finally watched the stars and listened to the coyotes howl together.

It has become habit here for the 5 year old to awake waaaaay after the animals have melted into dawn and sit with me, along the south windows overlooking the trail, loudly chattering while seeking wildlife.

So for her to finally join me before dawn, in the dark, and quietly listen to all the night sounds as I always do, alone, was... so nice to share it with them, for I have been listening for years by myself while the family slumbered... You should have seen her bright eyes and smile: she heard the coyotes, an occasional cow, and many birds of the night.

She even saw her first shooting star. : )



Sooooooooooo... Let's talk about the bedrooms.
We have neglected that middle bedroom while camping in the prefab.

We have two queen sized air mattresses on which we've been staying while camping in the house kit.
We put one in the west bedroom, and one in the east, which is supposed to be our room. Through this sleeping arrangement over the past months, I am now rethinking it- the west bedroom, intended to be the 6 year old's, might actually work better for the adults- we are tending to sit at the dining table at night, so I imagine that might be the "late night talking area" vs. the other side of the common room, and the east bedroom is closer to the bathroom so it might be better for the 6 year old when he has little friends stay the night.

So as we re-think the purpose of the east & west bedrooms, I suggested,
"Why don't y'all sleep in the five year old's middle room tonight, and we'll try out the west bedroom?"

It didn't work out that way.
Somehow a child fell asleep on EACH bed, so the boys were in the west room and the girls in the middle bedroom.

And let me tell you... that middle, overlooked bedroom is FABULOUS.
It is PERFECT for a little wildlife watcher!

When she awoke, instead of leaving the warm bed for the rocking chair along the south windows to seek animals, we just turned over under the covers and looked out that long, vertical window where we had a clear view of the field. I am certain she will see many things over the years from that lovely view.

Because the house kit is made of SIPs (structural insulated panels), the inside sounds tend to... stay inside.

The dogs were being loud- the mastiff-mix happily-with-tail-wagging-and-heavy-breathing his acknowledgment of our nighttime alertness, the other shaking his tail happily and jingling his tags as he greeted us, and Handsome Husband... well...
Handsome Husband was snoring.

So, from the comfort of our bed, I reached out and opened that vertical window, and suddenly the night sounds filtered in.

Similarly, those high windows in each bedroom ROCK. During the day, they allow light in while providing privacy. At night, I tell the children to lie down, heads on pillows, and look up: they are perfectly placed to view the stars!

Although progress has been maddeningly slow (no one's fault but our own), it has really given me time to evaluate how we are *really* using the space, vs. as I had envisioned we would.

Imagine if I wanted to switch rooms after decorating one room very mod and adult, the other decorated for a little boy! So by camping in and using the space thus, I can make sure everything is finished where it is appropriate for YEARS of use and enjoyment.

Now I am off to sweep (again, thank you, myself-in-another-dimension for NOT choosing bamboo and embracing the easy-to-clean concrete with fly ash! My other-self-NOT-in-another-dimension would have LOST IT when the 6yr old decided to give the dogs "dirt baths" whom, after I finished sweeping, came in to flop...and it was awhile before I noticed the piles of dirt here, piles of dirt there... "What the heck?!?" then he 'fessed up...) and organize as Ron will build bathroom walls this week, just in time, for... well, one of my best friends is supposed to visit next week from NEW YAWK CIT-AY and I am taking her camping in the prefab house kit.

Handsome Husband is busy recycling leftover wood from framing to make stairs, and the 6year old has proudly added a um, nice doormat he snatched from the waters of the Bay while sailing last weekend and thinks it's perfect to reuse here.
I support his enthusiasm to reuse! But... um, it's not quite mod.
But, hey, it's reuse, so I applaud.

(So if you come to the Prefab Open House September 26th and notice a faded doormat that's all frilly / West End housewife-y, that's the story behind it. Please tell the 6year old you think it's a *lovely* addition to the decor.)