Prefab Green Passive Solar House Kits: Green Modern Kits!
Prefab Passive Solar Modern House Kits- My own net zero energy off grid house kit construction blog. See affordable house kits at www.GreenModernKits.com / www.GreenCottageKits.com and www.GreenCabinKits.com.
About Me
Name: Copeland
Location: Richmond, Virginia, United States
I'm tired of seeing great design beyond my grasp. So I thought I'd go kidnap some architects and make them do my affordable housing bidding. ; )
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...
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...)
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.
Save The Date! The Prefab Net Zero Energy Passive Solar House Kit Will Be Open For Tours April 10th!
[Well, it is SNOWING UP A STORM, at least 8" deep at this point.
What else was I supposed to do on such an impassible day?
Dream of spring in the prefab house kit, and therefore, the upcoming Prefab Open House! ]
Like last time, we scheduled the house kit open house to coincide with historic and fun events showcasing this rural, beautiful, historic area of Virginia. So mark your calenders! Here's what's going on during that weekend that we know of so far:
April 08, 2010 – April 12, 2010145th Anniversary of the Surrender
Appomattox Court House National Historical Park
Appomattox, VA 24522
434-352-8987 www.nps.gov/apco
Special programs related to the surrender, including 1st person living history offered each day from April 8 to April 12.
April 09, 2010 – April 11, 2010
Appomattox History Weekend
Clover Hill Village
Appomattox, VA 24522
145th Anniversary of Lee's surrender to Grant to be held at Clover Hill Village. 1 mile from actual surrender site. Living historians will be portraying Generals Lee & Grant and their lieutenants will recreate historic moments of the final days leading up to and including the surrender. Activities include: Lee's last war counsel, General Gordon's attempted break-out, Lee-Grant meeting, stacking of arms and reduction of colors. Reenactors limited. Military host: Lee's Lieutenants, contact Al Stone at astoneasrelee@suddenlink.net or (304) 466-2030. Civilian host: contact Ms. Carolyn Davis at casonclee@aol.com Cost: $10 for adults, $5 for children under 12.
April 12, 2010 – April 12, 2010
Holiday Open House
Appomattox Court House National Historical Park
Appomattox, VA 24522
434-352-8987 www.nps.gov/apco
Join the park staff for an festive afternoon of music, refreshments and holiday activiies with a historic flare!
We hope you use the opportunity to travel to the prefab house kit to explore and see more of historic Virginia. ...Make a weekend of it!
(And hopefully it wont rain in torrents like last time!)
For accommodations and more history, see here:
(Because if you're a design geek, you're also a history geek.
Welcome to the crowd!)
Currently, we are all, humans, dogs, feral cat, and especially our chickens, officially snowed in. And the snow is still coming down strong!
The Colorado prefab green home begins this spring after their snow melts, sometime in mid-March... we will keep you posted on that house kit construction!
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...
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... : )
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! : )
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!).
"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."
Modern Interior Design For A Net Zero Prefab : About Reuse
While I embrace clean cutting-edge new modern design, I also adore any opportunity to reuse and repurpose old items in another way, and am happily recycling many reclaimed items for our own modern prefab green home.
We really shouldn't be dragging out furniture to the net zero prefab modern house yet while the interior is under construction. I know better, I do. Just know that.
Our most recent find was a teak modern Danish bed we found in Restore (RVA's Habitat for Humanity's salvaged materials / donated items outlet), now recycled into our bedroom in the still-unfinished prefab green home.
Now that we're installing a wood stove, I am going back to my original idea of that south-east space: grouping floor pillows around the more casual comfort of the wood stove, surrounded with old Popular Mechanics books, Countrywide Magazines, and "How to do XYZ" books where you can lounge around and... learn how to do stuff.
Facing the "view," the south end of that room will be more "ring in the cocktail hour!" - More formal, here you will find hardbound vintage books on mid-century architecture, style, as well as books on off grid living and prefab architecture.
I began to look for some modern floor pillows for the area around the wood stove. Within minutes, I discovered one modern retailer that was selling a floor pillow for... $590.
To throw on the floor. A pillow.
Mod retailer: You are kidding me. Oh but you aren't. You're selling $590 *floor* *pillows* and you're not embarrassed?!?
A friend jokingly responded: "Are we in the wrong businesses? We should look at floor pillows again...sounds like there's potential!"
You need to know that $590 floor pillow was UGLY.
Floor pillows. *A* floor pillow for $590.
And it would just get stained, scuffed, worn out being scraped along a floor... there must be a better way to create a floor pillow that is stylish, inexpensive, modern, yet durable. I stewed a moment, then came up with a solution:
1. Ok. 1st you get some scrap wood. Build a mod, sleek, low frame (preferably with a handle, and yes it needs a bottom). For ours, I will reuse some of the VMI basketball flooring to build a low, 2"-ish high frame.
2. Fill the frame with rows of tightly rolled old clothes that now have holes (I have 10 shirts that just died after ONLY fifteen years of use, *sob!*)... It will give a modern effect of Missoni-ish lines/fabric while reusing clothes you can't even donate to a thrift store! The more different fabrics, the more interesting and mod the pattern!
3. Pack it in tightly so it's sleek and smooth and there ya go: A high-end, modern, chic and didja hear it was by the *coveted brand* Green Modern Kits DESIGNER free floor pillow! ; )
[Now I can use my fave shirt (which I still never threw out despite 6+ holes, reused, at the net zero SIPs prefab!)]
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.
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!]
“Just read the #2 on systems. It brings up what I was saying - where the heck are you going to put two 80 gallon water tanks? The plans shown on-line do not have space for 1 much less 2 water tanks. Are you putting them outside? Where are the PEX tubes for the floor terminated (meaning where do they come out of the concrete? In a closet somewhere or outside the house)? You'll need a pump for each loop and they take up a fair amount of space also (about the size of a coffee machine mounted on the wall).
Here is a detailed view of the cabinet that houses our net zero, off grid systems.
We are keeping the footprint the same but are converting storage to system space to accommodate the prefab house’s added solar tanks and radiant heat needs.
Space needs vary between different heating and DHW solutions and in our case where we are off grid we are dedicating more space to the system needs than others might.
But then again, we are going off grid all the way and are willing to create that lost storage in furniture instead.
I will post the corresponding system specs over the next few days once I have transferred them to digital media.”
So, like many other consumers, we took the prefab architect’s suggested floor plan for the prefab house kit and modified it for our own needs with our contractor.
Not only did we move the kitchen from the west to the center of the south room, but we also adjusted the green building architect’s suggested dimensions for closet space to accommodate our net zero off grid needs.
Here are some pictures so you can see how easy this is to do with your contractor as the bedroom dimensions are currently just laid out / framed:
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 thoseprefab 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.
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.
While I embrace clean cutting-edge new modern design, I also adore any opportunity to reuse and repurpose old items in another way, and am happily recycling many reclaimed items for our own 
