Taos Red Willow Project

Let's get small..

2006-03-18T12:45:00.000-05:00

The March 13, 2006 Newsweek has an article about Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan, a New York interior designer, who believes people can live comfortable in smaller spaces if they choose furniture and possessions sparingly and arrange them wisely.

What?

You mean bigger isn't always better?

In fact, he is having the second annual contest for The Smallest, Coolest Apartment for small apartments and homes in the lower 48 states under 650 square feet.

Wanna breathe some fresh air? Strawbale walls!

2005-05-10T21:51:00.000-04:00

Indoor Air Quality, Healthy Buildings, and Breathing Walls

Most people in America spend 90% of their time indoors.

The quality of the air inside your home directly impacts your health, due to the amount of time spent there.

Just ask "Dear Abby" just how bad mothballs in your home is for the air quality...

Good indoor air quality is determined by design, controlled ventilation and the use of appropriate healthy building materials.

Designed properly, strawbale walls are vapor-permeable "breathable" walls.

Strawbale walls allow vapor to quickly pass through, practically eliminating the potential for fungal growth on building surfaces.

Controlled mechanical ventilation is also important for good indoor air quality. A bathroom ventilation fan can also reduce humidity and mold in the home.

In the kitchen, cooking with a gas stove produces carbon monoxide.

Carbon monoxide poisoning can make you sick and give you flu-like symptoms.

It's important for good air quality to have a kitchen exhaust hood over a gas stove.

Personally, I happen to like the "chimney" style kitchen exhaust hoods vs. the ones that fit under your cabinets...

What this planet needs is...more concrete???

2005-05-07T13:21:00.000-04:00

No, not really. Concrete uses a lot of energy, so the less the better.

How to build a foundation with only the minimum of concrete?

"Rubble Trench Foundations" can be simple and effective foundations for strawbale.

Various forms of the rubble trench foundation have
been used for thousands of years in construction.

Buildnaturally.com has the step-by-step process of making a rubble trench foundation.

Q: How do I help the planet?

2005-03-29T15:25:00.000-05:00

A: Build smaller houses.

From "Independent Builder: Designing & Building a House Your Own Way" by Sam Clark:

"The most obvious way to conserve land, energy, and building resources, especially wood, is to build smaller houses. A smaller house uses less materials, and causes less pollution, at every stage...this is the point most often ignored by people who talk sustainability."

Smaller houses are more sustainable, use less energy and cause less pollution...

If you really want to help the planet, "downsize" the size of your house.

Garage: The Most Versatile Room Not in the House?

2005-03-17T23:05:00.000-05:00

Kira Obolensky says think of the garage as a "place that can capture the changes with which life presents us."

The garage can be nothing more than a container for our cars, bicycles and gardening equipment.

Or the garage can be a reflection of our present day "dreams and passions".

Kira notes that the garage is a "highly personal space, not usually intended for public viewing."

But it could also be used for a guest cottage, office, art studio, teenager's hangout, greenhouse, library, museum, soundstage or playroom.

And as one of the host's of NPR's "Car Talk" radio show notes, the versatility of the garage "becomes especially important when your wife throws you out of the house."

Strawbale.Homes is now on "Google" Groups

2005-01-06T20:23:00.000-05:00

Strawbale.Homes "Group" can be read on Google now

Groups are a "hidden" community of people on the Net that's been around longer than the "www" part that we all now think of as "the web"...

	Strawbale.Homes
	Browse Archives at groups-beta.google.com

Houses That Sing...

2005-01-06T19:39:00.000-05:00

Bill and Athena Steen are righteous Strawbale "people".

They do a project every year in Mexico showing people you don't need a lot of money to live in a nice house.

You just need to build each other's homes.

Casas Que Cantan - Houses That Sing

A $500 strawbale home, Xochitl neighborhood of Cuidad Obregon, Mexico

The "I need a big garage for my SUVs, a big kitchen cause we never cook, and big bathrooms for my big, fat American arse" crowd...

2005-01-06T19:08:00.000-05:00

Geez.

Who wants to live in a one-of-a-kind house, conceived by the iconic architect, in a private, peaceful, bucolic setting?

Like...where am I gonna put my 3 SUVs and all my crap I never use anymore?

"Frank Lloyd Wright Homes a Tough Sell"

Got Hot Water?

2004-11-12T22:21:00.000-05:00

The conventional tank water heater that is found in the standard American home is like leaving your car running in your garage in case you might use it.

You heat up a whole tank full of water just in case you might want to use it.

You could use a solar hot water system instead. But a solar system only heats the water when the sun is shining.

Or you could use a propane (or natural gas) powered Tankless water heater.

Because a Tankless Water Heater heats the water up whenever you want to use it.

When you turn on the hot water faucet, the pressure drops and a microswitch in the heater kicks on and ignites the flame with a pizeo-electric crystal lighter, so no energy is used for the pilot light.

The flame heats the water as it goes through a tiny capilary tube. Because the water is heated as it is used, nothing is wasted.

A water barrel, painted black, inside a well-insulated passive solar glass box enclosure could be a simple way to preheat the source water for the tankless heater.

Technical Corner

Aquastar 125B

*"Constant hot water supply" of the Bosch Aquastar 125B tankless water heater can support a single shower, or smaller multiple fixtures simultaneously.

*"82% efficiency rating".

*Standard models will modulate gas flame down to approximately 20,000 Btu;

*“S” models will modulate down to zero for preheated water. Get the “S” model if you have, or plan to have, a solar or woodstove preheating system, which will not affect normal operation (but costs lots more to add as a retrofit).

*The 125B model also has a new “L” option for low-flow or recirculation applications such as hot tub or slab floor heating.

*Aquastar now offers a pilotless “X” version of the 125. This model does away with the standing pilot light, uses electronic ignition, and significantly boosts energy efficiency.

*No electric plug is required, the ignition is powered by a tiny electric turbine that spins up when the water starts flowing.

*All other specifications are identical to the standard 125 B model.

*Mfg. warranty: 15 years on Host exchanger, 2 years on all else.

*29.75½ H x 18.25½ W x 8.75½ D, 44 lb. Portugal.

• Btu Input: 117,000

• 55°F Temp. Rise: 3.3 gpm
• 75°F Temp. Rise: 2.4 gpm
• 90°F Temp. Rise: 2.0 gpm

• Minimum Flow: 0.5 gpm

• Vent Size: 5½ Type B gas vent

• Water Connections: 1.2½ NPT

• Min. Gas Supply Line: 3.4½ NPT

• Min. Water Pressure: 15 psi

Doing More with Less in Connecticut...

2004-11-09T20:27:00.000-05:00

In "Creating the Not So Big House", architect Sarah Susanka talks about how an architect made a small summer cottage on a small lot in Connecticut into a full-time home for 4 people. The house was converted into 3 stories, but using the orginal footprint with only 2 small "bumpouts". Each level every bit of space was used and filled without feeling claustrophobic. How was this done?

Main Level

The main level consists of 500 square feet room used for entering, sitting, cooking, eating and going up or downstairs. If walls were added to partition according to function, rooms would seems small. But if the space is left completely open, there is little distinction between one area and another, and this also makes the space feel small.

The solution?

Walls around the refrigerator creates a "pod space" which breaks up the kitchen and living room by partially obscuring the view. The wall also acts as a column, in the center of the bay window, giving symetry. The ceilings were also lowered over the kitchen and dining areas to further separate them from the living room area.

*Oversized bay window in living room area makes main level feel larger
*Refrigerator wall creates "pod of space"
*Bumpout for kitchen cabinets and stove
*Unconventional materials used-roof tin for wall covering in entry, oars used for stair rails
*Spacial layering of different ceiling heights create separation between areas

Second Level

On the second level floor plan, the master bedroom looks like a square. But by using spatial layering of different ceiling heights the bedroom gives a very differnt impression.

*Exposed ceiling beams above sleeping area to support third level
*Vaulted ceiling following roof for other end of room.

Third Level

Above the children's bedroom closets are transom windows which are above the roof line, making the doors look like exits to the outdoors. The bedroom is topped with a vaulted ceiling with a blue sky painted with stars, making it look like the bedroom is open to the sky.

Creating the "Not So Big House"...

2004-11-08T22:09:00.000-05:00

Not So Big House

*Spaces for daily living
*Spaces have shared functions
*Variety of ceiling heights
*Interior views--longest are diagonal
*Occupants have special personal spaces

The key to creating a "Not so big house" is learning a new design language. This language includes concepts such as "pod of space", visual weight, framed openings, spatial layering, the 3rd dimension, and themes and variations

Theme and variations
*Develope a theme and variations throughout the design to gives house "integrity" and at least some of its personality.

*If you want a house to have unique characteristics that make it more than just an assemblage of spaces, you can adopt a few special shapes or materials that are repeated throughout the house.

********

The 3rd Dimension
*Human scale & detailing create comfort

Pod of Space
*Cozy corners

Spatial Layering
*Openings (real & implied) & surfaces break up areas

Framed Openings
*Separates spaces from another
*Cased archways between rooms
*Wider moldings, more separation

Visual Weight
*Darker, more textured ceiling seems lower, heavier, more human scale
*Lighter, smooth, flat ceiling seems taller, less human scale

The Not So Big House

2004-11-06T11:43:00.000-05:00

Minneapolis architect Sarah Susanka calls her ideal "Not So Big House", one which favors quality of design over quantity of space. She dares ask the question "are bigger houses really better?" Many Americans are searching for an alternative to a house defined as square footage and the number of rooms. Does having a bathroom the size of some people's bedrooms give you a feeling of power? Or does it make you feel empty inside?

Not So Big House

*A house is more than square footage. Every room is used everyday.
*Floorplan inspired by informal lifestyle not way our grandparents lived.
*House for the future and still embrace concepts from the past.

*Each space in use every day--don't spend $$ on space seldom used
*Formal dining room seldom used.
*Formal living room ("parlor") is idea from Victorian age and is seldom used.
*Not just a small house--it's filled with special details, ideally designed for the occupant's lifestyle.

Comfort

What makes an impression are the details, such as beautiful stair railing, well-crafted moldings around windows and doors and useful built-ins. More space does not equal more comfort. In most very large homes, much space is rarely used. One definition of comfort is "fitted to give tranquil enjoyment".

Arts and Crafts home movement

*Featured large fireplaces and built-in bookshelfs and cabinets
*In 1926 Sears sold a prebuilt 2 br. bungelow with front porch for $626 (assembly required).

Goals

2004-09-19T21:21:00.000-04:00

This blog is about the
experience
of learning
how to build
a
space
conscious,
eco.nomical,
strawbale,
adobe
appropriate
technology
home.