Design Elements

Before we began our strawbale endeavor, Scott and I attended a strawbale workshop presented by Bill and Athena Steen at their home in Canelo, Arizona. Over the course of eight days, we learned how to retie bales, built a small bale structure, toured several strawbale homes in the area, got our hands into plaster, asked lots of questions and came away with the feeling that we could really build a house of straw.

During those eight days, all of the participants asked questions, more questions and even more questions. Many of the questions focused on what to do if this problem or that problem arose. Athena, who is a very funny and incredibly creative person, gave quick advice: turn that problem into a design element. At the time, it didn’t feel like she was really addressing the concerns, but now we know what she meant. We have to roll with the punches. That’s because there is something of a serendipitous nature to strawbale construction, and we regularly find ourselves following Athena’s advice to the letter. We turn problems into design elements. A perfect example happened this week.

When the foundation for the house was poured two summers ago, we didn’t fully understand what the plans were telling us. We also didn’t realize how a little cement missing from a threshold would effect the way the door, the walls and the finished earthen floor would come together.

Monday, as Scott and Doug were framing the door for the entryway, we realized what that missing bit of cement would do. Suddenly we needed Athena’s design element solution, so I drove half a block down the road to ask our neighbor, Wade Hansen, if he could help. Wade is an extremely talented stone mason who has done a lot of work in our state. Luckily for us, he was able to come right over. Once Scott explained what we needed, Wade had a solution - place a stone in the floor where there should have been cement. 

A piece of inlaid sandstone will become another beautiful design element and will, in fact,be better than the original plan.

First Things First

Two weeks ago we arrived back in Torrey for the third summer of building. Our initial plan was to have our entire house completed by the end of this year. But, as every book we read cautioned and as every person we talked with told us, building your own home takes far more time and much more money than you think. Still, this is the season our house will really begin to look like a house. You know, with with walls, windows and even doors. I am anxious for our bales of straw to make the short journey from their temporary home in the garage to their permanent location in the walls of our house.

First things first though. We had to frame all of the window and door bucks. These are the wooden frames that provide the rough opening and structure into which our Serious Windows and Thermatru Doors (with Serious Glass) will be installed. Scott and Doug completed those this week! With nail guns in hand, they transformed piles of 2X6s and 4X4s, into the openings for 14 windows and 6 doors. These few words make that task seem rather simple, but aching backs, creaking joints and not just a few sore muscles attest to the effort this took.

You can see some of their handiwork here.

Season Three Begins

In the first week of May, Scott and I headed to Torrey for our first attempt at gearing up for the new building season. The long winter and reluctant spring sent us south with hopes for a few warm days to, among other things, plant more new trees and to oversee the installation of siding to the gables and sides above the porch. We drove in and out of showers and cold wind and arose the first morning to two inches of snow. This was not what we had in mind.

 Despite the frigid start, the days gradually warmed, and Kirk and Butch had our siding on in no time at all. In fact, in this movie, you can see that it only took them one minute and forty-two seconds, or two days in real time. By the time we left, our short chore list, was complete.

Sunday we head back to Torrey. This is the summer our house will begin to look like a house instead of a fancy picnic pavilion. By fall, we’ll have the straw bale walls erected and at least one coat of plaster on the exterior and the interior.

We hope the weather gods are watching over us and are in a benevolent mood.

Taxes

This week, like so many other folks, Scott and I completed our 2010 income tax return. Since we have put so much planning and money into the solar water heating system of our house, we were actually looking forward to a small portion of the process - form 5695, Residential Energy Credits. Since we were already aware of the limitations of the tax credit, we were not surprised when we read step one of part one which asks... Were the qualified energy efficiency improvements or residential energy property costs for your main home located in the United States... and then cautions... If you checked the “No” box, you cannot claim the non-business energy property credit. Do not complete Part 1. That section of the form only applies to existing homes that are primary residences. Once our Torrey house is finished, we'll sell our Logan house and move. Until that time, however, Part 1 of form 5695 does not apply to us.

It is the other side of the form, Part 2 - Residential Energy Efficient Property Credit - that addresses our situation, new construction. We were able to receive a credit in the amount of 30% of the 2010 cost of our system. Hooray! And we’ll be able to receive 30% of our 2011 expenses when we file next year’s tax return.

Sometimes the government passes legislation that helps the little guys. Hooray again!

Back Surgery

An update on the home front...

Scott had back surgery last Monday, February 28. He has been dealing with congenital spinal stenosis for almost 20 years. To put off bone-removing surgery, he had an X-Stop implant five years ago. We chose that option because we hoped to postpone such radical surgery until the medical field had made dramatic and less-invasive methods for treating the condition. However, it became apparent, especially in October, that things were not going well because Scott's feet were falling asleep and not waking up. In addition, he could only walk thirty steps before he had to stoop down, bend over and relieve the pressure in his back.

So we found ourselves at the University of Utah hospital on Monday for a procedure called laminectomy. In Scott's case, this involved four levels in his back - L2 through L5. The two-hour surgery turned into a 4 1/2-hour surgery, but everything went well. Scott came home to Logan on Wednesday.

The doctors said the best physical therapy would be to walk as much as possible. As of yesterday, even with pain from the surgery, Scott walked a little over four miles. If his improvement trends to the positive as much as it has so far, we plan to be back in Torrey working on straw bale walls in June. Hooray for modern medicine!

Drainback Solar Heating System

There are two types of solar heating systems appropriate for cold climates: glycol and drainback closed-loop systems. We chose to use the drainback system because it best fit our application. Rather than explain this system myself, I think this is the best internet site to begin learning the details involved in it. Our system is essentially designed on the same principals found at this site. However, our system only has one tank, which acts as both the drainback tank and the storage tank.

The article found at the referenced link explains that a drainback solar water heater is not able to provide 100% of the hot water we will need. So we have paired our system with a tankless heater. This will provide any additional heat we may need on the coldest and cloudiest days in Torrey.

This is the mechanical room for both the culinary water and the radiant floor. Heat for both will be provided by the drainback solar heating system. The tankless heater that provides any necessary supplemental heat is the gray box in the upper right hand corner of this photo.




For us, the negative aspect of this whole system was the type of solar panels we could use. As you can see, they are big and architecturally unattractive. The fact that we will ultimately use minimal propane for heat resulting in very small utility bills, will make them more and more attractive as time goes by. With a closed-loop glycol system, it is possible to use panels that can be mounted flush with a roof, but the glycol system appeared unworkable for what we needed.

I did have to laugh a little when reading one internet site that said, "... the drainback solar system is relatively cheap and simple to install and maintain." I'm just not quite sure what it's cheap relative to.

Solar Heating System

It’s funny how ostensibly minor events are, in truth, milestones. Today that small event was a drive to the post office to mail an envelope containing the documentation showing our solar heating system is now installed and working. It’s the details that led to this moment that paint the larger picture.

Detail number one: In early May of 2010, Wayne, our architect, visited us in Torrey for a few days in order to help us work on our timber frame. Serendipitously, during that week, Phillip, our plumber stopped by our yurt to discuss the installation of the water tank for our solar heating system. Because they both happened to be there at the same time, they sat down together and devised a much-improved plan that would store our hot water in an underground tank and would preserve storage space inside our house.

Detail number two: Not long after, Dura Crete, a Salt Lake company, manufactured that water tank and delivered it to Torrey where it was easily installed in a hole beside our house. On the same day, Phillip and company completed that portion of the solar heating system by, among other things, placing copper heat exchangers inside the tank.

Detail number three: At the same time, Scott, Doug, Shanna and I laid out the PEX tubing which will allow the hot water from the buried tank to circulate throughout the house providing heat when we need it. Once that was done, Tyler and crew poured our cement floor.

Detail number four: In August, we raised the timber frame and built the porch in September and October.

Detail number five: Tyler’s crews spent any time they had between jobs from October to the first week of January building the roof to the point when Scott would be able to blow in 10,000 pounds of insulation, which he did from January 11-14.

Detail number six: The weather was cooperative so, once again, Tyler and crews ? into action and put the exterior metal sheathing on the entire house (except the porch) and installed the tubular skylight  in the main bathroom.

Detail number seven: With the weather still cooperating, Phillip and Paul had the perfect window to put our six solar panels on the roof and complete the entire heating system.

Detail number eight: Scott and I drove to Torrey last Friday, met will Phillip to gather signatures, and we took photos of the entire heating system in order to provide the required documentation for our Utah Renewable Energy Rebate...due on March 7.

Detail number nine: Scott spent two days preparing the final paperwork for the rebate and put the whole affair in the mail this morning.

Why a milestone? We’ve made the deadline with time to spare. But even more importantly, Scott is scheduled for back surgery on February 28. We’ll take a hiatus until he’s back in building shape, and we have no looming deadlines to meet. Whew!

Phillip and Paul working on the copper heat exchangers.

Scott down the access hole to the control "room" of our water tank.

Scott receiving instruction from Phillip.

Six solar panels on the roof.

 Scott stroking the panels.

Scott, Phillip and the panels.










Insulated pipes bring water from the panels to the tank and back.

Phillip teaching Scott how the system is regulated from the mechanical closet.

The panels at work bringing the water up to a perfect 140 degrees.