#baselinehome

At the beginning of last week, we divided and conquered: half of the team worked on site, finishing up trim work, while the other half stayed in Red Barn, researching wall assemblies.

We all spent Thursday in studio, prepping for Friday’s review with the Pete Landon of Landon Bone Baker Architects. Pete was our third and final reviewer before Pre-Stress Test, so we were anxious to receive feedback. Luckily, by the time Friday morning rolled around, we had just concluded our wall assembly experiment. We presented those results to Pete, and he shared his valuable expertise in affordable construction details. Pete also pushed us to select durable materials that will save homeowners in the cost of things like maintenance and upkeep. Because our 20Kv22 Home project focuses on decreasing construction and living expenses, we’ll need to study the the long-term consequence of each of our design decisions.

Surprise! Following an important discussion during Friday’s review, we’ve decided to consider Spencer House’s and Chantilly’s properties again as potential sites for the Revised Home. Tune in next week for an update on site selection and a surprise visitor.

Happy International Women’s Day,

The week after neck downs was equally as strenuous as the one before it. We hit the ground driving on Monday, with a visiting tour of the 20K Homes. At each stop along our road trip, we met with the homeowner and asked them to fill out a short survey for us that asked them how much they pay for their utility bills and what kinds of appliances they own. By knowing how much utilities cost the average homeowner in this area, we can get a better picture of how much our Revised Home can save every month!

Apart from our first Wednesday-morning Permaculture class with Eric Ball, we spent the rest of the week locking down which energy parameter tests we’ll be completing before Pre-Stress Test. To effectively site Dave’s Baseline Home, we began our research with a focus on orientation and landscape, looking to Victor Olgyay (our climate-design god) and Climate Consultant for help. Throughout this stage of our project, we’ll also turn to our trusty consultants Adam Pyrek and Justin Miller to verify the accuracy of our tests and research.

The rest of the experiments will involve testing and researching the critical design decisions that will make the Revised Home so much more energy efficient than the Baseline Home. While the floor plan and layout of the Dave’s Home that we all know and love will not change much, we are looking to innovate the color, materiality, roof assembly, wall assembly, structure, fenestration, and shading of the building envelope through evidence-based research. We’ll also reevaluate the foundation, roof form, floor type, finish, and shear wall assembly. Regarding thermal comfort, we hope to maximize the advantage of thermal and passive strategies.

Each design decision will be evaluated according to its short/long term cost analysis, its contribution to the reduction of utility bills, and its impact on indoor air quality (as compared to several highly-regarded residential energy standards).

While we were hard at work in studio, Shane the Sheet-rockstar™ and his crew were busy putting up drywall in Dave’s Model Home. When he finishes up, we’ll be ready to paint, finish the electrical work, and begin installing cabinetry!

Adam Levet, we’re yours,