SIPs

Hi everyone!!!

I am thrilled to announce our prefab Green Cottage Kit design is here!

Although a modern enthusiast, I grew up (and my parents still reside) in a home built in 1801. A Virginia native, I appreciate old farmhouses, Victorian brownstones, colonial and happy, yes, exuberantly happy cottage architecture.

So, when people came to me on GreenModernKits.com asking for a cottage, I understood.

So I kidnapped Eric Drivdahl, an award winning architect with a heart of gold, and he designed a gorgeous, passive solar, SIPs, cottage kit with so many thoughtful details:

- 2,000 sq. ft. (and less: this house has 3 configurations)

- 3 bedrooms (or less)

- Structural Insulated Panels (SIP) for energy efficiency

- Passive Solar

- Trombe Wall

- Nooks and Crannies where you can curl up and read your books!

We haven't even named it yet, but we're so happy.

If you have any names you'd like to suggest, we'd love to hear them!

Sincerely yours,

Copeland

aka Green Modern Kits! : )

Well, my fabulous contractor, Ron Bernaldo of Giant Oaks Construction just called to tell me...

He has the building permit for our modern plan casa ti house kit in his hand!

Now the fun begins!

Stay tuned!

If you'd like to follow along, you can also check regularly on my modern prefab green building project page and my blog for our own casa ti house kit.

You may have noticed I've been musing on lighting.

Despite silly recycled lamps documentation, I am technical in nature and have been mulling over lighting, wiring, and outlets for our off grid casa ti we're building as soon as it's warm enough to pour the foundation.

Here are my thoughts:

We are doing everything possible to minimize expense and maximize efficiency.

By advance planning for outlets/wiring, we can designate it into our SIPs panels, therefore increasing efficiency and decreasing further labor.

As an off grid house, by using DC power wherever possible (not just in lighting), it is more efficient than using the inverter and eliminating the less efficient pull between the power source and power consumer.

By proposing in advance where you need lighting, you benefit by using lower voltage.

We plan to further expedite efficiency by hanging our lights from the ceiling where needed-- but the switch is not in the wall, it is in the wiring to the lamp itself! (Swag lighting) That bypasses all of the complexity of wiring, saving energy daily in use, as well as initial construction expense.

Think of the flexibility! If you want to move the dining table (uhm, I do that sometimes...) and then, the light, you simply move the hook in the ceiling and re-hang the light.

On a design note, this is a perfect opportunity to use interesting wires/steel cables that are so popular with halogen systems for visual *and* practical effect.

Taaaa-daaaa! (stands up, brushes off jeans with a satisfied smile)
Whew. My lighting musings are over.
Onward!

As we finish the systems design and wait for warm weather (it is currently too cold to pour) I thought I'd start a project blog on building our off grid house in Charlotte County, Green Modern Kit's casa ti.

So, if you're interested (or just bored!) head on over to...

Other blogs will become available on each upcoming project soon- The R1 Residence in Mountain View, for instance.

I'll post those blogs here as the links become available.

We just came back from a very informative and intelligently put together SIP class at EH Systems. They are a SIP manufacturer that we are definitely considering to buy our panels from, as they offer great customer service, are within a 100 mile radius of Austin (so I can knock on their door if I need to), and hopefully will have prices that are reasonable.

If you're STILL not convinced that SIPs aren't the best way to go, please research and read up on the SIPA website and Oak Ridge Laboratories (government agency). There are tons of articles and technical information for you skeptics, proving its energy efficiency, structural integrity, superiority and payoffs. Yes, they cost a little bit more to build than conventional stick framing, but you can get your money back after 4-5 years of energy savings on your electric bill!!! As I've said many times before, green building costs more upfront, but the money comes back to you in several ways. You are putting your money in your house rather than utility company's pockets, you are saving on electric bills and you are more comfortable in your house, period. Just read about my raves on the Owner Builder Book's forums, you'll see I'm quite the SIP activist :-).

Anyway, the class was free and we got a free hot (and delicious!) lunch and a tour of their plant where they build the SIP walls and roofs. Here's a pic of Jan (who is 6'1" but looks short here!) at the SIP plant with all the panels stacked.

I learned a lot about SIPs, and how they are put together and framed. As a mechanically challenged female, it seemed pretty easy! It sort of goes in like LEGOs. I guess all that practice putting together IKEA furniture paid off in some way. :-).

One of the most useful tips we learned today is about properly installing and flashing windows using ProtectoWrap and Tyvek wrap. This method can be used on any wall system, but is the way that windows SHOULD be installed to allow proper water sealing and drainage. This is especially important on SIP panels because you will not be able to know about water damage as easily, and rot can still happen under your masonry if things get wet and aren't channeled for water drainage....MORE HERE

A gentlemen here in Austin wrote me with some good questions on SIPs, so I thought I might post with my answers. He and his wife are wanting to custom build their home, and I thought to give them my unbiased take. Remember, costs and the permitting process information mostly applies to the Austin area, but it still gives you a good idea (I'm not afraid to post costs for things, as I like getting and giving the idea of what you'd be getting into cost-wise)... READ MORE HERE

As our design is coming together under our structural engineer, I thought I should explain how and why we chose SIP walls and a residential "flat" roof design. They are mostly because of cost-effective and energy efficient reasons, and I'll explain why in layman's terms.

First, SIPs are a composite building material. They consist of a sandwich of two layers of structural board with an insulating layer of foam in between. The board is usually Oriented Strand Board (OSB) and the foam either expanded polystyrene foam(EPS), extruded polystyrene foam (XPS) or polyurethane foam.... READ MORE on sjodindreamhome.blogspot.com

Do you need some tips on the whole "owner-builder" building process and you want to get with the Green kick and learn about eco-friendly, healthy or energy efficient features and methods that are in use today? Visit this blog by clicking the icon below!



http://sjodindreamhome.blogspot.com

We want to implement the latest and best green design principles in the most cost-effective and/or affordable way. We are in the process of building our home in Austin Texas (one of the hottest places in the U.S.) and feel we will be a good test case being in such warm climate where we live in energy-sucking, air-conditioned abodes.

We will blog as often as possible - letting you know our successes and pitfalls (hopefully very few!) as well as tips and non-sales biased reviews of materials or products we want to use.

Here are the green design features we hope to have for our home:
- Rainwater collection
- Structural Insulated Panel (SIP) walls and roof
- Solar water heating
- Geothermal cooling/heating
- Geothermal mass
- PVs (Solar panels)
- Stained concrete floors with fly ash
- Bamboo flooring
- Space efficient design (2419 a/c sf, 4 bedroom, 3 bath space)
- House orientation to sun
- No VOC paints
- Graywater use
- Compost use
- Dual, low e windows
- Use of recycled materials (for our concrete countertops and catwalk)
- Eco-smarte chlorine-free pool sanitation

We want to do a lot ourselves (DIY) and are trying our hardest to minimize costs without compromising quality. It's not an easy feat, but we are up for the challenge! Please visit our blog and feel free to contact me with questions or suggestions!