Inexpensive Home Building

Efficient HVAC Plumbing: Levittown Family of 5 in 750sqft: Inexpensive Floor Plans Part 3

2009-07-09T08:25:00.014-04:00

Previous: Maximize Living Space without Hallways: Inexpensive Floor Plans Part 2A Family of 5 in 750sqftHow did they do it? The first Levittown house (the icon of post-WWII prosperity) had no garage, no basement, no finished 2nd floor and fit the entire family on one floor of 750sqft with one bathroom.The American Dream for Baby Boomer families and postwar affluence (first Levittown house, 1947

House Square Feet Per Person: Surprisingly Little Needed

2009-05-02T07:18:00.016-04:00

You only need about 150 square feet per person (150sqftpp).150sqftpp is a core or baseline that was not unusual for over a century in America until the strange McMansion culture of the late 20th Century and 21st Century housing bubble.Source: NPRAverage Square Feet of US New Single Family Home (NPR, Census Dept., medians slightly lower)2007 = 2,5212000 = 2,2661990 = 2,0801980 = 1,7401970 =

Lower High Home Heating Costs, How To Cope with Rising Fuel Prices (#2 Fuel Oil, etc.)

2008-07-13T21:32:00.003-04:00

Some people muse idly about the coming winter's fuel costs as if it were a storm over which they have no control. However, you do control your heat costs. Moreover, if everyone did these smart actions, lower demand would put downward pressure on fuel prices.Insulate: What would you think if someone left his/her front door wide open all winter and then complained about his/her heating costs? Lax

Dubai Burj-al-Taqa "Energy Tower" Wind-Solar Powered Skyscraper

2008-06-24T17:26:00.000-04:00

German architect Echhard Gerber is planning zero-emmission buildings in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, and designed the Burj al-Taqa (Energy Tower) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)."Wind And Solar Powered Dubai SkyscraperSkyscraper to be built in Dubai will generate 100% of its energy needs with wind and solar power""The Burj al-Taqa (Energy Tower) to be build in Dubai will produce 100% of

Maximize Living Space without Hallways: Inexpensive Floor Plans Part 2

2007-11-30T21:17:00.000-05:00

Previous: Maximize Home Space Cheapest Cubic Space: Inexpensive Floor Plans Part 1Hallways: The Living Space ThiefHallways rank among the worst design features:Create narrow, claustrophobic feel.Create traffic blockages with open closet doors, etc.Can (transversely) impair flows of light, heat, ventilation, view, etc.Can rob you of at least a closet and possibly a small room when compared to an

California Fire-Proof Concrete Roofs

2007-10-26T07:13:00.000-04:00

NPR this morning belatedly did a story about how concrete buildings are more fire-resistant and might have prevented fire losses of homes in the California wildfires from the seasonal Santa Ana winds.Readers of this site (IHB) know that I have advocated concrete for some time. See:"Concrete, Wood, Steel, in New Construction"Concrete has high compressive strength (downward pressure on walls) but

Soddies, Sod Houses, Pithouses, Dugout Houses, Sunken Buildings, Earth Houses, Earthsheltered Homes

2007-10-16T13:05:00.000-04:00

Simple Science and Ancient Wisdom from the Vikings to Dick CheneyLynne Cheney (wife of Vice President Dick Cheney) mentioned in recent interviews about growing up in Wyoming that a relative lived in a "soddy"/"soddie" (sod house made of sod "Nebraska bricks") and her grandparents lived in a dugout house (dig into a hillside and cover the opening with Nebraska bricks or a wooden frame). A pithouse

American Foursquare, Prairie Box, Box House: A Classic Efficiency

2007-09-13T08:23:00.000-04:00

A Row of American Foursquare Craftsmen, Louisville Kentucky, May 2006 (W. Marsh)Previous: Maximize Home Space Cheapest Cubic Space: Inexpensive Floor Plans Part 1 Celebrating the Classic American Foursquare (“Prairie Box” or “Box House”) 1890-1930The classic American “Four-Square” architectural style is the closest example of the pragmatic cube. This simple “box house” often starts with 4 rooms

Maximize Home Space Cheapest Cubic Space: Inexpensive Floor Plans Part 1

2007-08-31T09:33:00.000-04:00

Maximize Home Living Space and Energy EfficiencyGet the maximum interior space for the minimum perimeter (home exterior). Minimum perimeter means lower construction costs in wall footage, roofing, foundation, and insulation. It also means lower operating costs from lower energy consumption (radiators have fins to maximize surface area to transfer heat, so minimizing external surface area

84 Square Foot (84sqft) Home on Wheels

2007-07-21T03:48:00.000-04:00

Dee Williams' 84-square-foot houseThe adult on the porch shows the scale better than the foreground children do.This site (IHB) often has mentioned simple homes, tiny houses, micro houses, or little houses. A recent story of a woman, 44-year-old hazardous-waste inspector Dee Williams, who scrap-built an 84 square-foot (84sqft) cabin on a trailer frame, made it onto the Yahoo.com home page. Her

Beware Salespeople's Estimates Sizing HVAC and other Housing Features

2007-07-19T00:40:00.000-04:00

This homeowner's furnace trouble reminds us of 2 important principles.Sasknelli at LittleHouses wrote about her furnance-buying experience:These guys were very condescending. I was shocked to discover that some of these salesmen didn't even know the difference between 2speed and 2 stage and yet they talk down to you as if you know nothing. I did finally find a knowledgeable salesperson who was

Personal Independence Day Built Affordable Home

2007-07-04T07:53:00.000-04:00

The Solution to the Housing Bubble: Modest Houses and Simple LivingThe Simple Life: Thoreau's Cabin at Walden PondHenry David Thoreau reportedly marched into the woods on the 4th of July, Independence Day, in 1845 to begin his experiment in simple living at Walden Pond, near Concord, Massachusetts. Thoreau's action was his personal Declaration of Independence.Throreau's do-it-yourself (DIY) 10x15

How To Make a 12V DC Power System Easy as 1-2-3

2007-06-22T15:40:00.000-04:00

Get cheap energy, energy independence, and energy security by generating your own power at home. To do so, 12-volt Direct Current (12V DC) is a good choice for local power, which is why it is used in small, self-contained systems such as cars and boats. Alternating Current (AC) is better for transmission over long distances (which is why it is used) but most consumer products “rectify” the power

Passive Cooling Solar Cooling: Use Heat To Cool

2007-05-09T09:06:00.000-04:00

Previous: "Best Ways To Cool Your Home."The previous article covered how the best "cooling" is not to heat in the first place (avoiding heat, so actual cooling is unecessary). This article now covers how to remove any heat that does occur, using as many passive cooling techniques as possible.Solar heat for home heating is fine but you tend to want more of it when there is less of it (in winter).

"Cool Roof" High Albedo Reflects Sunlight

2007-05-01T09:28:00.000-04:00

Part of: "Best Ways To Cool Your Home."A "cool roof" combines high solar-light reflectance (albedo) with high thermal emmittance. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates the following savings in money ($ dollars) and electricity (kWh): The EPA labeled these figures as "annual" savings although that seems low compared to its other statement that a cool roof can save 20-70% of annual

Ancient Egyptian Air Conditioner: Cheops Ships in 2600 BC Egypt

2007-04-22T08:05:00.000-04:00

Part of: "What Is a Fly Roof? How To Build a Flying Roof."Ancient Egyptian Air Conditioner over 4,000 Years OldAncient Egyptians of 2600 BC during the Old Kingdom buried 2 ships near the Great Pyramid of Pharaoh Cheops (Khufu) and the ships are known as “Cheops boats,” Cheops ships,” “Khufu ships,” or “solar ships.” The papyriform “Cheops 1” (the only one excavated) shows a cabin that used a

What is a Fly Roof? How To Build a Flying Roof

2007-04-18T19:39:00.000-04:00

Part of: "Best Ways To Cool Your Home."A fly roof (or flying roof) functions as a parasol by blocking sun or other weather without trapping heated air in or against the main structure. Another function is to vent the interior of the structure, such as a fly roof over industrial "smoke stacks" or the more familiar chimney cap (rain cap) on residential homes. A fly roof is like a chimney cap over

Real Power Usage of Appliances (Wattage)

2007-04-04T22:00:00.000-04:00

Do not estimate when you can measure.Guessing can cost you money.The Kill-A-Watt meter recorded the following results:The “1875W” hairdryer used only 1360W on high and 390W on low.The toaster-oven and coffee-maker were the next biggest loads, in the neighborhood of a kilowatt (kW), but, like the hairdryer's load, these are short duration uses. Brewing 4 cups (1/3 pot) took 5 minutes and the hot

Best Ways To Cool Your Home

2007-03-31T13:17:00.000-04:00

The Best Cooling Is Not Heating in the First Place Just like the best energy efficiency is conservation (not burning fuel), the best “cooling” is avoiding unnecessary heat in the first place. “Cool from inside” by turning off unnecessary electric devices, etc. (each one is an electric heater) but the big winner is “cooling from the outside” (stopping external heat

Live Better by Spending Less: Avoid this Unlivable Luxury Home

2007-03-28T18:53:00.000-04:00

An upscale family fled their large luxury home because it stank like a sewer. The reason is a lesson in the folly of expensive home-building.The family members made the mistake of closing doors. Apparently, the doors were merely decorative and actually using the doors to shut a room filled the home with septic vapors. According to the post-mortem of this design disaster, the closed room

Cheap Wall Border Accents Room

2007-03-22T00:10:00.000-04:00

A quick and cheap way to add oomph to or rejuvenate a room is to add a cheap wall border. Instead of wallpapering the entire wall, go with a simple base paint and then add a cheap wall border that accents the base color or appliance/furniture colors.You can add a sunny flower wall border to a country-style kitchen, for instance. You also can get cheap wall borders with leaf and scroll, nature,

Piezo Electricity Co-Gen Idea

2007-03-19T09:02:00.000-04:00

1. The usual internal-combustion engine (ICE) co-generation idea tries to put a waste byproduct (heat) to use.2. Another engine waste product is noise (vibration).3. A piezo-electric generator would (a) put the waste noise to use(extracting electricity from sound) and (b) dampen the noise nuisance(law of conservation of energy; absorb vibration).4. Funnels or concentrators might focus sound onto

Housing Boom's Shoddy Construction Buying Frenzy

2007-02-24T12:23:00.000-05:00

CNN/Money magazine finally did an article to warn home-buyers that homes built during booms are often slipshod because builders rush to the next overpriced paycheck while buyers frenzily outbid each other on new construction that can be inferior to an older home built during leaner times."The house is essentially splitting in two.""He said the walls were life-threateningly out of plumb."

The Difference between Energy and Power: Do Not Confuse

2007-02-22T11:19:00.000-05:00

"Work" Preface: A joule is used as either a unit of energy or a unit of work. Technically, energy is the ability to do work (effort or input for potential work) while work is the measured effect of applied energy (accomplishment or result or output); directional mechanical work = force * distance and the motively similar thermodynamic work = energy transferred. Your electric bill measures what

Myth of Photo-Voltaic Solar Power?

2007-02-19T18:46:00.000-05:00

I felt that this part of a previous post deserved promotion to its own post:The Myth of Photo-Voltaic Solar Power?Solar power provides about 1,000W (1kW) per square meter at the equator's sea level. However, typical photo-voltaic (PV) solar panels are only 15% efficient so a square meter of solar panels provides only 150W. Further, even compact fluorescent lights (CFL) are only 20% efficient

Electric Hotel 1905

2007-02-13T23:40:00.000-05:00

A post about 19th-Century solar power reminded me of Spanish film pioneer Segundo de Chomon's Hotel Electrico (1905, sometimes dated 1908), which uses Wright-Brothers-era stop-motion special effects to show a cross between Popular Science's The Kitchen of Tomorrow and a haunted house.View The Electric Hotel on YouTube.comhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmLJvLP34okEnjoy.La Casa Hechizada (1906)

Flow Rates, Shower, Faucet, Bathroom, Kitchen

2007-02-07T00:52:00.000-05:00

New fixtures should comply with the Federal Energy Policy Act of 1992.From About Home Repair:Lavatory Faucet Low Flow: 0.5 -1.5 GPMMeets Code / 1992 Standard: 2.2 GPMPre-1992 Faucet: 3.0 - 5.0 GPMKitchen FaucetLow Flow: Not appropriate for dish cleaningMeets Code / 1992 Standard: 2.2 GPMPre-1992 Faucet: 3.0 - 7.0 GPMShower HeadLow Flow: 1.0 - 2.0 GPMMeets Code / 1992 Standard: 2.2 GPMPre-1992

Per Capita Daily Water Use

2007-02-07T00:46:00.000-05:00

From Aquacraft.com:Mean daily per capita water use, 12 study sites Fixture/EndUse Avg. gallons per capita per day Avg. liters per capita per day Indoor use percent Total use percent

Domestic DC Water Pumps Price GPH

2007-02-06T20:07:00.000-05:00

Can Direct Current (DC) boat "bilge pumps" move your household water economically?Bilge pumps specialize in:Short-durationHigh-volume (gallons per hour, gph)Little head/lift This niche is quite different from high head/lift well pumps or continuous-run solar pumps.Rule of thumb = A DC bilge pump can lift half its rated gph a distance of 1 foot per 100gph of its rating (caution: very rough

Fraud: Energy Star Efficiency Compliance

2007-02-06T04:57:00.000-05:00

Home Energy magazine wrote about manufacturers overstating product capacity and governments doing flawed efficiency tests and issuing misleading "green" recommendations:"An insidious, new form of noncompliance has recently emerged. Thanks to microprocessor controls, some appliances now recognize when they are being tested and switch into a low-energy mode. According to Consumer Reports, this

How To Identify Old Insulation

2007-02-06T04:18:00.000-05:00

From Home Energy magazine: Identifying Old Insulation Material Description R-Valueper Inch* Fiberglass batts Pink, yellow, or white; blanketlike 3.0 Loose-fill fiberglass Pink, yellow, or white loose fibrous material 2.5 Loose-fill rock wool Denser than fiberglass, "wooly," usually gray with black specks (some newer products are white) 2.8 Loose-fill

Candles Beat High-Tech Solar Photovoltaic?

2007-02-04T14:26:00.000-05:00

Candles=solid-fuel energy sticksIt’s difficult to beat the price of grid power if you already are connected but new home builders might face the choice of paying to connect versus paying to set up an off-grid system.The first step is to “daylight” (maximize natural lighting) as described in the last post and here’s why:The Myth of Photo-Voltaic Solar Power?Solar power provides about 1,000W (1kW)

DayLighting; Sun Tubes, Solar, PV, CFL

2007-02-01T17:04:00.000-05:00

Minimize infrastructure, minimize moving parts, and minimize operating costs.Even a cloudy day can illuminate your entire home if you design it correctly to bypass the electronic hardware, and during the summer even indirect natural light through canopied windows can illuminate the home without adding undue heat.Daylighting (passive solar natural light):Design the home with south-facing windows

Human-Powered Electricity Generators

2007-01-28T14:34:00.000-05:00

Some people buy expensive exercise machines that consume electricity while their muscle power is wasted but you can reverse that and generate electricity while doing the exercises that you would do anyway. It's not practical to self-power average daily electricity consumption but it's good to know what you can do at least for emergency backup. One advantage of a bicycle-generator in the

Energy Efficient Home Design Update

2007-01-03T00:38:00.000-05:00

Please comment on the current thinking for a cost-effective home in a primarily cold climate:Concrete block (steel reinforced and concrete filled) with either reinforced concrete roof or structural steel roof.Earth-sheltered, walk-out-basement-style (exposed south side).Integral garage buffers exposed side from living area.Passive solar gain for exposed south side; dark colors for exterior

Low-Watt Computers Offgrid Energy Efficiency

2006-12-29T17:35:00.000-05:00

Save Money with Efficient Low-Power Computers The airplane passenger’s computing problem is a microcosm of an off-grid system so we can use the jetsetter’s high-tech demands for our frugal needs. The choice is an old one: Increase computing by (1) increasing power (of the battery), or (2) decreasing usage (by the computer). We all know that conservation (minimizing load) is best. Minimize demand

Carbon Footprints and Embodied Energy in Materials Choice

2006-12-28T15:53:00.000-05:00

Some people have used straw*-bale walls for inexpensive building but I wonder about long-term strength, fire, rot, and infestation with straw.*Some people choose straw* for a lower life-cycle impact or "footprint" on the environment. In practice, an efficiency goal often will overlap with low "embodied energy" (the resources needed to get your house ready for occupancy, including fuel costs to

How Appliances Affect Home Cost

2006-12-27T19:31:00.000-05:00

Your appliance purchases are not afterthoughts. They are part of your home design. Not only do appliances from refrigerators to computers affect your operating costs (electric bills, etc.), but appliances can add considerable construction costs to an off-grid home to "size" your power system to your needs.Lights: Maximize natural lighting ("daylighting"), supplemented by compact fluorescents,

Best Insulation System, Home Wall and Roof?

2006-12-18T15:56:00.000-05:00

"Stick-built" wood construction requires a cage of "studs" (vertical 2x4 or 2x6 beams) at regular intervals for structural support. The later insulation problem is:The studs "go through" the typical insulation (inside wall to outside wall) and bleed heat to outside like fins on a radiator.Each rectangle (between studs) is its own insulation project with a full perimeter to be sealed. Not

Wood Species Energy BTU per Cord

2006-12-17T11:05:00.000-05:00

Not all trees are created equal. Hard wood has more energy than soft wood does. The sapless, hardest woods are best for wood stoves. White Oak has double the energy of White Cedar.The U.S. Forest Products Laboratory rated wood species energy in BTU per cord of seasoned, 20%-moisture wood, which I sorted with the highest-energy wood first: Wood Species Cord Weight Lbs.

Starting Your Car in Freezing Winter Weather

2006-12-16T18:27:00.000-05:00

Batteries do not work well at low temperatures. A Battery blanket is an electric blanket for your installed car battery. Plug it in overnight to insure your car starts on a freezing cold morning. The electric warming is for convenience or peace of mind and not to save energy. Insulation, even parking in an unheated garage, car port, or other sheltered area, helps a lot.

The Myth of Geothermal Heating Efficiency?

2006-12-13T19:26:00.000-05:00

Geothermal heat taps the Earth's heat "for free." An example of a passive system is a vertical tube driven below the frost line so the constant non-freezing temperature beneath most populated areas rises through the tube--simple to keep cattle's outside water trough from freezing. However, the typical home would use an active system:Boosting the ballpark 50-ish-degree* earth temperature to

Home Mortgage Costs Relative to Salary

2006-12-11T19:27:00.000-05:00

Thanks to The Boston Housing Market, here is an interesting site on historical trends in home mortgage costs relative to salary (excluding taxes).I would like to see similar trend data withincome to sale price (i.e. excluding loan cost)per square foot (finished and unfinished, to account for growth in average house size)

Heating Homes with Wood Stoves

2006-12-10T17:33:00.000-05:00

Earlier Post: Wood Stove Heating SystemsAn angled flue pipe that meanders through the living area transfers more heat to the living area than a vertical fluepipe, although some say that you get a cleaner burn with a vertical pipe.Magnetic flue-pipe thermometers are an easy way to monitor heating temperature.Below is an excerpt from a useful webpage on home-heating with wood (which says that

Ameriquest Mortgage Refinancing

2006-12-09T11:47:00.000-05:00

I found this Wikipedia article interesting:Ameriquest is one of the United States's leading wholesale sub-prime lenders. It is a private company, owned by Roland Arnall, founded in 1979, in Orange County, California, as a bank, Long Beach Savings & Loan. The bank moved to Orange County in 1991 and was converted to a pure mortgage lender in 1994, renamed Long Beach Mortgage Co. In 1997, the

Housing Bubble: More abandoned house construction and home renovations in real estate MLS listings

2006-12-08T13:16:00.000-05:00

Abandoned house construction and home renovationPerhaps as another symptom of the bursting real estate housing bubble, I have noticed more MLS ads where realtors cheerily advertise for you to "finish as you want," not mentioning the implication that some poor soul or unskilled "house flipper" ran out of money and walked away.This is a clear lesson to avoid over-extending yourself, anticipate cost

Punchlist Home Inspection: How To Do

2006-11-11T18:49:00.000-05:00

A "punch list" is the list of mistakes that you find after the house is supposed to be "turn key" finished (ready to move in)--a list of things that make you want to punch the contractor.Do it. Do it right.Do not rush. Do not be too "nice" (a pushover).Do not rely on anyone's "preferred" inspectors: House problems mean a lower price which means a lower commission for your realtor, so some

Home-Building Glossary

2006-10-22T01:26:00.000-04:00

A Public-Private Partnership for Advancing Housing Technology (PATH) provides a useful glossary of jargon and definitions:AAV: Air admittance valve. This mechanical venting port is used in the plumbing system to eliminate the need for conventional pipe venting and roof penetrations. It saves time and money on plumbing while improving the performance of the roof. ACH: Air changes per hour.

Building Costs Estimates

2006-10-19T12:37:00.000-04:00

Livable space (finished, heated) costs $100 per square foot as a ballpark entry-level (fancy materials naturally add cost).http://www.home-cost.com/template.php?sectionID=10&pageID=44A concrete foundation costs $2.75 per square foot plus $11.50 per linear foot of footings (on the perimeter).http://www.absoluterv.com/concrete-foundation-requirements.htmStar Group provides this useful list of

Air Ventilation Via Passive Geothermal Convection?

2006-10-15T05:53:00.000-04:00

First you need to insulate your home and then you then you need to poke holes so your home can breathe. The bad part is that you spent much effort to heat (or cool) the air and then you trade it for a temperature that you dislike and start over again. You can use a heat exchanger to have the exiting air moderate the incoming air but your incoming air is still starting at an extreme temperature

Wood Stove Heating Systems

2006-10-15T05:11:00.000-04:00

Fireplaces, wood stoves, wood pellet stoves, and coal stoves have a certain charm and can be viable heating methods. They require more attention to stoke and clean and keep the water kettle full to re-humidify the air. If not part of an elaborate duct system, they work best when centrally located in a home that is basically a single, open area. These methods work, not by the flames briefly

Small, Modular, or Kit Homes

2006-10-14T08:05:00.000-04:00

You can go minimalist in many ways. The military has containerized housing units, some people use galvanized steel sections of drainage pipe, upscale fashionistas design pricey modernist cubes, and others design quaint cottages on wheels with a gypsy flair.The last link is a whole page of links--but I hope that some of those designers make their homes better than they design their

Concrete, Wood, Steel, in New Construction

2006-10-12T02:18:00.000-04:00

Most construction (even a "steel" basement) involves concrete at least for the foundation and footings. Builders often use wood for above-ground ("stick-built") for many reasons but wood has drawbacks too. Concrete is rot resistant, flame resistant, and provides a "thermal mass" that moderates indoor temperatures by storing and releasing heat (the mass should be inside the insulation envelope).

New Home Insulation: Extreme to Basic

2006-10-09T22:45:00.000-04:00

The space shuttle must insulate from ice-cold space to infernal re-entry up to 3,000 degrees F. You might have insulation blankets ("batts") in your current home and the shuttle uses up to 7 layers of insulating blankets (unfortunately, I have not been able to find the effective R value (standard measure of insulating effect) of shuttle insulation).A quilting machine makes insulation blankets

Lower Home buying Loan Debt with Zero-Based Budgeting

2006-10-09T22:23:00.000-04:00

Zero-based budgeting is a fiscal management tool to eliminate loans and debt. Reformers often propose it for government spending but it can help you in your household budget also. I will use it to analyze and evaluate home-building options. For instance, the typical buyer starts with the assumption that the house "should" cost $200,000 and then figures to "save" $1,000 by eliminating a window

Welcome

2006-03-03T20:35:00.000-05:00

Hello. This blog is designed to cut through the jargon and nonsense of home building and house construction by starting from zero dollars and trying to figure best-value bang-for-your-buck when choosing construction methods or construction materials.Consider me a fellow home builder. My research might answer some of your questions and at other times perhaps you have the knowledge or experience to