Foliage plants for removing indoor air pollutants from energy-efficient homes

My husband Jan found this interesting paper on using foliage plants to remove pollutants from air-tight energy efficient homes that will be useful to many of us homeowners. It is important for the house to not only be eco-friendly and energy efficient, but to also be healthy. Even though our foam SIP walls (EPS sandwiched between 2 OSB boards) won't offgas, the furniture you may have can "leak" formaldehyde and other pollutants. Plants are a beautiful and economical way to cleanse the air of your house.

Here is a snippet from the paper written by B.C. Wolverton, McDonald and Watkins, Jr.:

"Under conditions of this study, the spider plant proved most efficient by sorbing and/or effecting the removal of up to 2.27 microgram formaldehyde per cm2 leaf surface area in 6 hours of exposure. The immediate application of this new botanical air-purification system should be in energy-efficient homes that have a high risk of this organic concentrating in the air, due to outgassing of area-formaldehyde foam insulation, particleboard, fabrics and various other synthetic materials."

You can download the paper here:
http://www.sjodinweb.com/house/foliage_air.pdf

Or go to these links to look at the following studies on plant effects:

http://www.gdrc.org/uem/stat-plants.html

http://www.cleanairgardening.com/houseplants.html

http://www.oxford.net/~steve/sick.htm

More SIPs cheering and info on proper installation and flashing of windows

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.

I have a few pictures of how it was done, but the step by step manual can be downloaded from here:

See "Dupont Flashing Systems Installation Guide" and go to pages 4-8.
http://www2.dupont.com/Residential_Construction/en_US/knowledgeCenter/
or download here from my site.

It's not easy to find this information yourself as a homeowner or owner builder, so we appreciated getting information like this at the SIP class. The guy doing the window demo said you might get resistance from the window installer (usually your framer subcontractor), but MAKE SURE YOU DO IT THIS WAY because this is the official and best way to install and seal your windows. You don't want to get rot and it's very expensive to fix these problems at a later point !

Here are a few pictures if you need to see more than the diagrams in the installation guide.

First, you should do an upside down martini glass cut on the Tyvek wrap where the window opening is, NOT THE TYPICAL "X" FORMATION, and fold the Tyvek around the window opening and secure with nails.



The guys are using Protecto wrap at the bottom of window opening to create a sort of "shower pan" sealing of the bottom, then the window is placed in the hole.


Once the window is set in, you put Protecto Wrap on the the other sides on top of the window edges and Protecto Wrap on bottom of the window so that it is completely sealed from moisture. The Tyvek you see left at the top sticking out is to allow for the run off to go outside the ProtectoWrap.



This entire demo took about 15 minutes to put in one window this way. So, you can safely calculate this number x number of windows for time estimatation purposes.

By the way, we are of course going to be getting low e, argon filled dual pane windows which are very energy efficient. Right now, we are deciding to get fiberglass windows and aluminum windows for a few awning type windows. We haven't decided yet.

Yeah, it was great to learn some new things. Also, I met some great new contacts, and that's always a plus!

Updated floorplans and elevations!

These actually have measurements on them! And by request of my architect, I toned down the colors a bit :-), so it will be more of this dark slate colored concrete (believe it or not, it looks beautiful in reality with the wood and stone accents). Actually, we will not treat or paint the stucco so the concrete will be its natural color.

I've included a description of our plans to give you the background of why we designed it the way it is. A lot of it is for practical reasons!

SITE PLAN
Here's the site plan of our 3 acre, Hill Country lot, 8 miles W past Bee Cave on 71W. We're practically Willie Nelson's neighbor :-).



FIRST FLOOR PLAN
Downstairs features a guest bedroom almost completely separate from the rest of the house. We did this on purpose, as this would be convenient for my elderly parents (no climbing of stairs). Whenever guests stay over, they have a more private area and a beautiful patio area where they can sunbathe nude if they want to :-D (there are big bushy trees surrounding the guest patio). The living room is open to above and has an open layout, combining the living, dining, breakfast nook and kitchen. We wanted to avoid walls, as I don't like having a very compartmentalized house. Also, we used a spiral stair to conserve space for a stairwell. The kitchen will be made of IKEA cabinets and have a hidden large pantry to hide ugly appliances. We will have only drawers there, as cabinets are impractical (ever try to get something at the back of a cabinet?). One amazing experience, as Ted calls it, is that when you look down the countertop, it goes from inside to out in one continuous countertop material (probably concrete). There is an exit to this floor in the mudroom that leads to the separate garage port. Our utility room is very large to accomodate for the geothermal system and a laundry room with Jan's little private "dirty" work area and my work storage. Our chem-free, Eco-Smarte swimming pool is made out of fiberglass for low maintenance and will be 16' wide by 40' long. I intend to use it a lot for exercise and cooling myself off in this heat! Notice that the green area is how the 2nd story is placed above the first story.

SECOND FLOOR PLAN
One of our wishes was to open the door to an indoor balcony, and this moderately sloping lot calls for a catwalk to lead into the 2nd story of our house. When you open the door you are lead to the indoor balcony that overlooks our open living room. When you look to your left, you will be greeted by our roof garden where we'll grow lots of organic vegetables and herbs. Our masterbedroom is modest sized, but has a parting divider to our master bath (the wall doesn't go all the way up to the ceiling, and is only 90% up). We plan to have all showers in the guest bathrooms (who uses those rinky dink tubs that get so filthy anyway?) and in our master bath, we want to do a "slate" tiled shower/japanese style soaking tub. There will be sliding doors to the 2nd bedroom for when a little one comes and we can opt to remove the door and make it into a separate room. The exercise (or bedroom 3) and office (or common area) are separated by a chic sliding door wall divider. The remarkable part of this 2nd story are the two balconies, both north and south that are nice when you want to get some fresh air.


SOUTH ELEVATION
The catwalk leads to the 2nd story of our house (see purple door) and you see a view of the master bedroom's balcony.

WEST ELEVATION
Here you see the side of the house where the roof garden is located and a large trellis where the guest suite's private patio is. Feels like a B&B. :-)

NORTH ELEVATION
Here's the back side of the house where you see the 2nd story overhang the pool lounge area. The balcony shown on the 2nd floor here belongs to the common area/office.
EAST ELEVATION
Here's the other side of the house which shows the side where the swimming pool and pool lounge are under the 2nd story overhang of the house.


The exterior uses stucco, wood siding and gabion walls (wire baskets that contain stone). This style is called a Hill Country Contemporary home, which is beautiful against the landscape of the surrounding area. Here's a pic of a gabion wall with bench. I like this idea a lot:

Keep your house clean & green with flooring, products

Yet another fabulous shopping weekend looking at eco-friendly products for the house. We discovered the Eco-wise store, which got the Best of Austin 2007 award for the most eco-friendly, green store. Good for them!

We met a very animated, yet friendly sales guy giving us the scoop on eco-friendly/sustainable flooring, countertops and rainwater collection.

Basically, there are several types of flooring that are "in" nowadays:

• Bamboo flooring, which is a fast growing type of grass that is easily grown and harvested, but shipped from China. Bamboo is hard, resilient and can be made into many different beautiful patterns. There's a variety of quality, so be careful what you pay for!
• Cork flooring, which is made from the bark of cork oak trees, and when stripped, does not destroy the tree. Advantages are that they are softer on the feet, especially in an area where you stand a lot (i.e., kitchen), and are recycled and have no VOCs (volatile organic compounds).
• Linoleum flooring, which is an all natural, non-toxic flooring made of linseed oil, produced by pressing seeds from flax, an easy to cultivate and abundant plant. They are usually warm and softer on the feet than cold tile flooring and come in a variety of colors. The problem is the look of it, in my opinion, as it has that 70s retro look that doesn't evoke beauty to me, but hey, beauty is the eye of the beholder :-).
• Local or reclaimed wood, specific to your area. Check out wood that has been taken from buildings that were demolished. You can sometimes find great deals in reusing it for your flooring, banisters, ceiling beams, etc! We are checking out using hickory, which is a near diamond hard wood that is found in Arkansas and milled locally in the Hill Country. It is a beautiful wood that can be stained to your desired color and will last decades.
• Stained concrete with fly ash, which is basically the mineral residue resulting from coal plants and when mixed your concrete, greatly reduces cement production and therefore eliminating much of the carbon emissions. They are quite fashionable in homes nowadays, as it can make your home look very modern by staining or creating patterns in the concrete. It also provide a large thermal mass for your home. A thermal mass is some sort of structure (i.e. stone) that keeps a constant temperature and thereby positively affects the temperature in your home. Concrete floors are relatively cheap, as they can be part of your foundation, and you can then stain it, and then instantly have your floor ready. You can easily repair them if they crack and are durable, but the only problem is that concrete can be hard on the feet and unforgiving if you drop something on the floor.

We also looked into concrete countertops with varying degrees of recycled glass in them or using sorghum or bamboo as a countertop as opposed to concrete. There are even countertops made of recycled paper that are even stain, scratch and heat resistant! You have a lot of options to create the look you desire.

Then you must also remember to keep your sealants and paints healthy and VOC free. Off-gasing is the culprit, and you don't often see or smell these toxins anymore, as people forget that they are even around, but unfortunately always attack you. Ever wonder about mysterious allergies or the seemingly healthy/athletes that get cancer?? I personally believe that a lot of it is in your house environment. The Eco-wise salesguy mentioned that if you're on a budget and are ever going to "green" anything, you should start with your bedroom and work your way to every room in your house. That includes paint, adhesives, light bulbs, cleaning products, flooring, sheets, mattresses, etc!

We also looked at smaller barrels for rainwater collection for the roof garden of our house. A 55 gallon rain barrel costs about $55 and is terrific for watering your plants. These are some of the things you can add to an existing home that will help you start conserving without investing huge amounts of money. If only everyone can do something, even no matter how little it is, things can change drastically overall.

Our project estimate - do you really want to know?

I have created a spreadsheet of our house construction costs for those to see. It's still just a ballpark estimate, but you can see where we are putting our money into (Note: IKEA kitchen and bathrooms vs. rainwater collection, geothermal HVAC, swimming pool and SIPs).

The total comes out to $527K, but note that includes our soft costs, lot and swimming pool. We may decide to swallow designer fees (pay it out of our own pocket), as we are trying to get close to $500K as much as possible.
(4/3/08 - updating our budget right now)
I will update this when we get real numbers in and see if this number rises or falls!

Details and photos of residential flat roof in action

Some folks have asked us how the roof will be constructed, since there aren't too many of the flat roofs on houses around here. Well, you actually do see them everywhere, but they are found on commercial buildings and according to the roofer guy we talked to (Pepe at Pro-tect Roofing Services), they are much better made and last 5 times more than the conventional, heat absorbing dark gray asphalt tiled roofs. They are a little more expensive to build, but not enough to offset the energy efficient and durability benefits of this roof. I will post prices once I get them from Pepe.

I was lucky enough to be able to get on top of a roof while it was being done. Pepe let me see his work and he's a prospective roofing sub that we want to hire. He was very knowledgeable, as well as nice and helpful and not condescending like many of them can be - especially to a female. He wanted me to witness his workmanship in person, which says a lot about him. Anyway, I took some photos to help you understand how this will be done (and it WON'T leak!). I took some pictures of the roof he's working on (not our house in these pics, sorry!). This is called a commercial grade, residential flat roof/low slope taper roof system using a single-ply membrane:


First, our roof will be an 8.5" SIP panel (foam sandwiched between OSB wood boards, see earlier post about this), then styrofoam wedges (see A) are attached to the SIP that will give a pitch or slope (see B).

The Tyvek house wrap goes above and over the parapet wall (see C). Then the single-ply membrane is rolled over the styrofoam wedges and attached using screw attachments (see silver round attachments in D-E). Pieces of the membrane are layed up on top of the parapet wall (see H on the left parapet wall) and also cover the screw attachments (see E) and then roofing adhesive is used to adhere the membrane to the parapet (see F-H). Finally, all edges and seams are heat-sealed using this hot melding tool (see I, sorry, I don't know the official name of this thing!).

It has a 1/4" slope for every foot, so it's VERY gradual, but enough to drain out the water on the roof. Since we are doing rainwater collection, this is very important and the single-ply membrane must be safe for drinking water. We found a really good brand called Duro-Last that is a reinforced polyvinyl chloride polymer and comes in 40 mil and 50 mil thickness, which is safe for rainwater collection. If you go on their website, there is a lot of technical specs for those that need to know the chemical makeup and information on finding a contractor near you.

If you look carefully at the far edge (click on the picture to enlarge), you can kinda see the low slope in the following photo. Also, we will have a much higher parapet wall then this house, but it gives you a good idea:

Pepe says this is a superior construction to using tiled roofs. The ceramic tiles you see on Mediterranean homes are VERY expensive and high maintenance, and this one in comparison is very low maintenance and lasts 5 times longer. Not only that, but the foam adds added insulation to your roof (even if not using SIPs) and the white or light colored single-ply membrane reflects a lot of heat giving you a very sweet, energy efficient home.

Here's a pic of how it looks on the side of the house (see A) and see how nice and clean it looks, as you don't see an ugly roof when you look at the house (I am biased towards not showing roofs, and don't care for the A-line/many gables look). Also look at how creative you can be with the underside (see B) of the roof, by adding lights or wood siding to give it an architectural element.



You can also mount solar panels on here as well as have rain water collection, adding to the greenness of your home. Note that if you do add solar panels, make sure a professional roofer is on hand with commercial experience to seal the attachments of the solar panels with the same method explained above with the parapet wall. You don't want your single-ply membrane to be punctured or damaged!

Natural stucco, wood siding, our masonry...

We went to a house on the Austin AIA's Homes Tour, and we actually picked a SIP home that has an exterior similar to ours. The stucco on this house is not colored or treated, so it has a natural sand color. We think the stained wood and this stucco look beautiful and very organic. The effect looks like this:


You don't see this of course, but the wood panels and stucco is set over a gap to allow for venting and water drainage.

Later, I will write more about roofing, rainwater collecting and more details and pics of our project.

My Fabulous (Window) Shopping Weekend & My Favorite Part of Houseowning... FURNITURE!!!!

This weekend was really my weekend, as I love to window shop and Jan was even willing to look around for furniture. Jan is working on a model of our house and we are needing to check to see that all the furniture we desire fits in the rooms. It's so much fun! I'm totally in my element right now.... too bad that I have extremely expensive taste in furniture. :-) I can't help but love my Danish, Italian and French design.

We discovered this fabulous store called Motif in (of all places) hickville Kyle, TX which is 15 miles south of Austin. It really has awesome, affordable and modern furniture that definitely fits our style. They even deliver all over the U.S.!

It's difficult to find modern furniture that doesn't look like that cheezy, Nagelesque 80's zany modern look that is so distasteful (nice modern stuff is NOT black lacquer with gold trim, sofas shaped like lips, frosted glass with aluminum legs, etc.). This stuff looks like high quality stuff, but at half or more of the price! Here are a few pics of some of my favorite pieces that I want to get:

Love this oh so chic bed, and looks very zen-like to me, and not bad at $999 for a King...

This sweet little sofa is on sale for $599!!!

Also, I totally dig this square dining table where you can converse with everyone at the table ($999):

.... And debating whether to get this sofa at $1799???
or this Italian beauty at $7200 at the Nest store (which I absolutely love love love, but need to choose between it and another car :-) hehe.... YES! ;-)

I am totally into that firm and very tight fabric over chunky, cubic sofas, as well as oak colored woods at the moment. I just enjoy the clean lines and minimalist design that go with our lifestyle and attitudes of life. And while I would love to buy all eco-friendly furniture to go with our green home, at the moment it is still very much out of our price range, unfortunately. For example, sofas made of organic cotton and formaldehyde-free binding is still in the $4000 and up category. We saw some really nice ones that you can order online at Vivavi. Maybe we'll build up our eco-friendly furniture slowly....

Take a look at this beautiful side buffet made of this interesting sustainable wood called Kirei. The kirei doors are made from the reclaimed stalks of the sorghum plant and made using a formaldehyde-free adhesive. People are also using it as wall or accent wall treatments. It's gorgeous and has a much more interesting pattern than bamboo....

And even rugs made with Finnish paper! It's very tough, stain resilient and eco-friendly, and I may even sell it some day on my online Scandinavian store, Aktuella.net. Check out Woodnotes:

Renewable Energy Roundup Thoughts & Lots of Green Goodies

Yeehaw, that was a great roundup in Fredericksburg! I didn't bump into anyone I knew, but I met some people and learned a lot in the 2 short days there. It went fast and furious, and the people were very interesting. I was overall impressed by the level of advice and amount of information that was presented for so little money ($20 for all 3 days!), which is very much what we believe in. This information should be had by all! We also felt the hippy vibe there, and everyone was friendly and really wanting to share the information in true Texan spirit.

Here are some highlights of the event. Jan and I tried to split up and cover as much ground as possible. He leaned towards the highly technical parts and landscaping lectures, and I towards the more understandable and design lectures :-).

• The LEED program - (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) A non-profit agency created to rate your home based on a number of criteria such as location (how and where you build, close to public transit, amenities, agriculture areas?), sustainability (site stewardship, landscaping, non-toxic pest control, surface water mgmt.), water efficiency (water reuse like graywater and irrigation system), indoor environmental (humidity control, combustion venting, no VOC paints), energy and atmosphere (Energy Star home, light fixtures), materials and resources (home size compared to number of inhabitants, local sources of building materials, material efficiency), and site recycling and reuse (materials that can be reused for landscaping, driveway sidewalks, building materials). It costs a few thousand dollars to be LEED rated and the criteria can be tough, but it might raise property values or make it more desirable to prospective home buyers since you are getting an official "stamp" on your house for green design building and sustainability.
  
• Sizing the A/C in your home properly - 30% of all homes in the U.S. have airconditioning units that are oversized for its home. ACCA studies have shown that the average A/C installed is 150% bigger than what it should be. When you shop for an A/C unit, the "normal" standard A/C guys will quote you is 300-400 sf of your airconditioned space in your house per ton (A/C units go by number of tons, for example, 3 ton A/C unit), but depending on your windows, insulation values, etc, you can sometimes go 600 and up sf/ton of your home or even 900-1200sf/ton for a foam home. Our home will be made of SIP walls and roofs and have low e windows, so we can get away with probably over 900 sf per ton!!!! You should always do a manual J load calculation, a software program that is used to measure your A/C load and has a built in 15% buffer. This means that you shouldn't round up too much. Also, the main reason you don't want to purchase too big of an A/C unit is that it will not dehumidify the air properly if it shuts off too quickly. The A/C unit must run for at least 15 minutes before it can properly remove moisture from the air. If your unit is too large, it will cool and shut down too quickly, not allowing the time to dehumidify. Moisture is a big no-no, because it can be uncomfortable, inefficient and cause mold in your home. The big misnomer in A/C design is "bigger is better" but its simply not true. Even A/C installers don't know or don't want YOU to know about this. One other thing to check for is duct leaks, because 25-30% of the air can be escaping from leaks in ducts. This will also lower the A/C efficiency by a considerable amount. The lecturer, Doug Garrett, highly recommends you go over seals, seams, and joins with MASTIC tape, not duct tape. You should try your hardest to have a tight home and good ventilation to greatly improve energy efficiency and lower bills.
• The Unforeseen movie, directed by Austinite Laura Dunn and produced by Robert Redford, this film is a moving and beautifully filmed story about the rise and demise of Austin developer, Gary Bradley, and how his development detrimentally impacted a natural spring, Barton Springs, and the areas around Austin. It showed how the laws were changed and how development encroached on a simple farmer who wanted to be in the country but found himself in a suburban jungle. What was also shocking to see was people marching for property rights who don't want to follow the protection laws of natural preserves and this ridiculous woman saying "human first, then birds, then reptiles". DUH.... I felt our evolution cycle back a few hundred years when I heard that one. >:-( Then the icing on the cake was to see Baby Bush lift the law that says that developers can basically build whatever and wherever they want and can grandfather back in order to circumvent the current environmental laws. Argghhh... that's FRUSTRATING!!!!!
  

In addition, we visited booths covering everything from German rainwater filters to creating a wildlife habitat in your own backyard to a SIP manufacturer to looking at chem-free products to viewing eco-friendly and healthy materials and seeing cars that run on corn oil or electric. They also had all natural/organic food and drinks and cooking presentations. There were a few bands playing music too. It felt like a county fair there but much more informative! We got a chance to find a good metal roof for our garage port, which is safe for drinking water and rainwater collection. Also, they displayed the latest in LED lights (that use VERY little energy and last forever), where they now come with dimming options! There was also a Geothermal guy there that seemed smart and will be giving us a quote on our system. We covered a lot of what we need for the house, so I'm very happy.

Ted, our architect, also came with us, so he was able to help guide us to some great lectures. We ate dinner at the Nest, which seemed like a perfect ending to a very glorious day.

Getting it together for the ACC and what to do next!

It's been a rough few weeks, with getting everything done and together and then having work and family calling our attention, it's great that we were able to finally submit our houseplans and forms to the Architectural Control Committee (ACC).

For those unfamiliar, all the hard work you put into the design, your lot and specifications now lies in the hands of the architect who was hired by your neighborhood homeowner's association (HOA) to review your plans and elevations to approve it for the subdivision or neighborhood where you will build your house.

First, we submitted our permit applications for the building, septic and driveways to the county office (Travis). Then, we had to take copies of these receipts, our completed houseplans (not the structural engineering), and forms from the HOA to the architect hired for the ACC. Every month they have a meeting to discuss houseplans of houses that will be built and will either approve or disapprove your plans and make recommendations.

Simultaneously, our structural engineer is working on the structural plans. Once those are all done, we can submit all our plans to the U-Build It guy who will go and get a preliminary bid for us from sub-contractors they know are good and use frequently. It is completely optional to use their sub-contractor bids or get our own bids for subs. We might get a few extra bids for a few line items (for example, plumbing, SIPs installation/framing, etc.) , but might keep some bids from our rainwater collection and geothermal system which have a lot fewer subcontractors.

Next, the financing begins, and in order to do that, you have to get your bids/budget for the house done, get your documentation together (like your paystubs, tax forms, etc. if you go for a full doc loan) and make sure your credit is repaired or already good so that you can get your construction loan. The construction loan will be modified at the completion of the house to a mortgage. It's a slightly different process, which will be explained in greater detail in a future post.

Overall, things are going smoothly! I am going to update the houseplans with dimensions for those interested. Also, we are just waiting to get our permits, financing and then we are ready to go! I plan to also document everything in better detail for an e-book that I've decided to make more affordable since I am going to base it off how things are in Austin. But feel free to get it to get an idea of costs, as well as our trials and tribulations! I think it will be an overall happy journey!!! Can't wait :-).

P.S. I just read on Yahoo News that Austin is the 2nd largest Green city!!! Hurrah!

Green screen used for climbing plants, trellis, possible pebble wall use

I happened upon this great looking Green Screen wall that can be used for climbing plants, trellises and possibly even a pebble wall. The best part is that they are made of recyclable material. They would look terrific on our landscape, and we're hoping they are affordable. I'll call them up and see then will post prices on my blog. Here's the link and photos below:
http://www.greenscreen.com

I love the look of climbing plants, giving a "soul" to the house. Here are some preview pics:

Good Questions on SIPs and using a Designer/Architect

Sorry it's been awhile since I last posted, but I'm about to start a flurry of new posts because of all the activity happening with the house. Add that to the fact that I've been swamped at work. Anyway, no more excuses! :-) I am about to get this party started, and we're so excited!

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).

Q: We took a 6 week class offered by the Owner Builder Network at ACC and were thinking about going with them. Why did you choose U-Build It program over OBN?
A: We researched Owner Builder Network, Owner Built Custom Homes, and U-Build It and found not only was U-Build It the most professional, organized, and responsive, but they were cheaper fee wise. They charge by only the A/C square footage and don't count patios, decks, garage ports etc. More details at this link. Not only that, but the classes we found to be unnecessary. We thought the most important factors were the support, the fact that we don't pay the entire fee up front but in installments and the 20 site visits.

Q: Did you get quotes on what the cost difference was between traditional framing and SIPs?
A: Yes, we certainly did a cost analysis, and basically, 2x4 or 2x6 stick built wood framing costs approximately $5.50-$6.50/sq ft for labor+material versus SIPs that would cost about $9-10/sq ft. HOWEVER, if you were to at best save 50-60% on your cooling costs, through time, SIPs pay themselves off and are cheaper to maintain, as well as extremely energy efficient. Basically, much of green building is a higher upfront cost, but cheaper in the long run in use and maintenance. Besides, we all need to think about global warming and our planet! :-) When deciding on a getting a SIP home, you are investing in more than just your house value, but in a legacy home that will last forever and be cheaper to maintain for years to come.

Q: We like the flat roof idea. Do you have any details on how much weight a SIPs roof support?
A: One of the videos we saw about SIPs has a huge pick up truck on top of a SIP roof to show their strength and they really are that sturdy. They are the choice material to use in hurricane prone areas, because they have actually shown several SIP homes that have survived against massive hurricanes while their stick frame counterparts were obliterated. SIP design meets or exceeds windstorm code which means its design withstands a 5 times stronger windstorm than a conventional new home. All the information about SIPs can be found here: http://www.sipweb.com/learningcenter/default.asp When getting a flat or low-slope roof, make sure you get a COMMERCIAL grade flat roof, lined with a single ply membrane up to and including the parapet wall. And don't let anyone tell you they will leak! They won't if you design them correctly and to commercial grade. If you will notice, 99% of all commercial buildings have flat/low slope roofs, so if they don't leak, yours won't either.

Q: I noticed that your designer is based in Houston. Do you feel like this distance was in any way a drawback to the process?
A: Honestly, yes, it was a bit of a drawback but not too bad because my parents live in Houston and our designer allowed us to see him on the weekends. I'm a telecommuter, so I work on the computer by trade, and it was easy to get stuff via computer from him, which I'm used to.

Q: Why didn't you go with a designer in Austin? Which ones did you look at?
A: We searched far and wide for a designer who would design a "SIP-friendly" home, and the closest SIP designer was in Houston. I found Ted through the SIPA organization directory. We were determined to get one who had SIP experience and was amiable towards this alternative building method. He fit the bill. The one remarkable thing about him, is that he's VERY frugal and has suggested ways for us to cut costs without compromising quality and the look we are after (like the flat roof design).

Q. In your research, did you get a sense for what the average cost per sq/ft one would pay for the design?
A: A designer/architect can cost about $8-10/sq ft to custom design your house. Depending on how many projects are going on for your designer/architect, it can take 6 mos. to a year to properly design it according to your lot and your specifications. You could also opt to buy a "stock plan" that can range from $1500-5000 which are all over the Internet, however, I don't recommend it because it's not the same thought and process that goes into doing your own design. The advantage is that you can place things in a more space, energy or sound efficient way, tailor the plan to your lifestyle, and get cost saving tips from your designer/architect during your building process. Believe it or not, it actually is advantageous that your designer/architect is independent from the subcontractors or builder (General Contractor) you work with, because your designer/architect can act as your personal consultant, letting you know if something isn't built or done correctly as opposed to your GC "hiding" imperfections or cutting corners you don't want cut.