Sustainable Design
Construction of this collaborative design between my partner and myself was completed in 2015. The 880 square foot design integrates heavy timber with a modified stud wall construction. It is built exclusively with locally harvested Amish rough cut lumber and densly-packed recycled paper insulation. The design is not traditional passive solar because it does not incorporate a mass storage element (like a cement slab foundation) to retain solar heat because we couldn't convince a cement truck to drive up our hill. Instead, the house depends on a wood stove as a renewable heating source and rests on an elevated pier foundation that we poured ourselves to keep concrete, foam, and polymer based moisture barriers to a minimum. The majority of the windows are oriented along the southern and western walls for solar exposure in winter, while the long southern porch shades out the steeper angled rays of the sun in summer. The lighting and major appliances (fridge, water pump) are wired with 24 Volt DC to bypass the solar power inverter while outlets and minor appliances (washing machine, fans) run on 24 Volt AC for compatibility. The plumbing lines run from a small tank in the attic positioned directly above the kitchen & bathroom area, while the waste lines run to an alternative greywater mound system with separate composting toilet.