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RobertSmalls · 04-20-12, 08:17 PM

I've sketched out a few hypothetical houses myself. Maybe I'll make one of them into reality in a few years.

I was explaining the "tiny house" concept to a co-worker, and he told me about all the time he spends on his sailboat. In a boat, as in a tiny house, it's more about cubic feet than square feet. By utilizing the full height of a kitchen, having tall bookshelves (with electronics on the middle shelves, perhaps), and having a sleeping loft instead of a bedroom, you can get a lot more value out of each square foot. I see too many houses where there is nothing of utility on the top half of each floor. With a good floorplan and some efficient furniture, I wouldn't have a use for more than about 400ft².

The front yard is strictly for curb appeal. I'd place the house close to the street, and keep the small front yard looking good. There would be room for a few fruit trees in the front yard. I wonder how well a blueberry hedge would work. The street would be on the north side of the house, so that most of my windows would look out on the garden.

For me, the challenge is building a house that's far more efficient than a conventional house, but making it look very ordinary. The house has to look good from the street, and I'll have to make it look bigger than it is. Landscaping can help, as would 12" thick walls. I'd also use an attached garage to my advantage.

I want at least a two car garage, but I don't want two thirds of the front of the house to be garage doors. I like the idea of having the garage doors on the side of the house. I could add a large window with nice curtains to the side of the garage, to make it look like the house is bigger than it really is. This works especially well if I were to go with a "double deep" 2x2 car garage/lab. The garage would have concrete + epoxy floors, 2x4 construction with insulation behind OSB instead of drywall to keep costs and mantainence down. I would install an ordinary 45000BTU/hr furnace in the garage, to heat it quickly on demand. Maybe the south wall would be solar collectors for the house and DHW.

You should do the math on how much energy you use in the house vs. the car, and let us know how long a commute could get before cancelling out the savings.

I've always wondered, what drives recommendations for >R50 in the attic? Would it be different if you had a good heat-rejecting roof, such as one made of shiny metal, painted white, or covered in solar collectors?

04-20-12, 08:17 PM	#19
RobertSmalls Journeyman EcoRenovator Join Date: May 2009 Location: Buffalo, NY Posts: 344 Thanks: 3 Thanked 17 Times in 15 Posts	I've sketched out a few hypothetical houses myself. Maybe I'll make one of them into reality in a few years. I was explaining the "tiny house" concept to a co-worker, and he told me about all the time he spends on his sailboat. In a boat, as in a tiny house, it's more about cubic feet than square feet. By utilizing the full height of a kitchen, having tall bookshelves (with electronics on the middle shelves, perhaps), and having a sleeping loft instead of a bedroom, you can get a lot more value out of each square foot. I see too many houses where there is nothing of utility on the top half of each floor. With a good floorplan and some efficient furniture, I wouldn't have a use for more than about 400ft². The front yard is strictly for curb appeal. I'd place the house close to the street, and keep the small front yard looking good. There would be room for a few fruit trees in the front yard. I wonder how well a blueberry hedge would work. The street would be on the north side of the house, so that most of my windows would look out on the garden. For me, the challenge is building a house that's far more efficient than a conventional house, but making it look very ordinary. The house has to look good from the street, and I'll have to make it look bigger than it is. Landscaping can help, as would 12" thick walls. I'd also use an attached garage to my advantage. I want at least a two car garage, but I don't want two thirds of the front of the house to be garage doors. I like the idea of having the garage doors on the side of the house. I could add a large window with nice curtains to the side of the garage, to make it look like the house is bigger than it really is. This works especially well if I were to go with a "double deep" 2x2 car garage/lab. The garage would have concrete + epoxy floors, 2x4 construction with insulation behind OSB instead of drywall to keep costs and mantainence down. I would install an ordinary 45000BTU/hr furnace in the garage, to heat it quickly on demand. Maybe the south wall would be solar collectors for the house and DHW. You should do the math on how much energy you use in the house vs. the car, and let us know how long a commute could get before cancelling out the savings. I've always wondered, what drives recommendations for >R50 in the attic? Would it be different if you had a good heat-rejecting roof, such as one made of shiny metal, painted white, or covered in solar collectors?