They Promote Good Design

In much the same way that small homes compel us to be conscious of clutter, they also encourage smart design. Space limitations challenge our creativity and drive innovation. Small homes designed for versatility are filled with clever surprises: A staircase is built to house a reading nook underneath; a stainless steel utility table is a kitchen countertop on wheels, a home office, and kids' craft area.

          Smart Design  your own  New  Age  Log  Cabin

              Greater values, living in affordable and ecologically responsible smaller home.

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. Many species of Timber:  grow in the forest and each has it attributes and miss giving's, some rot easy and fast, some last 20 times longer  than others , Doug Fir Is the strongest of all softwood also used on doors, hardwood flooring and plywood's.  Spruce, Alpine & Hem Firs grow fast but decay in a few years if damp.  Red wood and Cedar holds up to moisture best but has little structural strength.  Pine is in between,  Lodge pole pine is ideal, Fast growing, sun tolerable,  firm, long and true and plentiful in the  Northern Rockies . Learn more about the Timber here  We use Lodge Pole Pine and Doug Fir for the Wall Logs

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The Ceiling Heights:    A study shows significant differences in low, flat ceiling studies. Increased energy loss  starting with a 7’6” to 8’ and again with a 8’6”  to 9’ of coarse less heat is the best you will have to consider your  benefits or lack there of.  Vaulted is very bad...  When going for most efficient heating bill.

Proposed straw bale structures face considerable barriers, including:

· Local building code approvals

· Building loans

· Mortgages

· Homeowner's insurance

Community acceptance.

Efficient Earth-Sheltered Homes

Earth-sheltered homes can be built underground or burmed, and—when well designed and built—can be comfortable, durable, and energy-efficient.

   The earth’s temperature tends to stay about 55°. If you take warm humid air, bring it inside, and run it up against a wall surface that is 55° it will condense.

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Doors: Air transfer in the largest heat loss of an home “ close the door your born in a barn?” we heard that and its true you may believe it but cant stop it..so slow it down  with smallest useable door, and maybe a double entry  consider how and where you slow down the air transfer, maybe an enclosed porch ? But maybe a storm door system ? I do worry about security about having a recessed entry that's obscured from the street ? How many doors? Cabins just one but consider fire escape “ EGRESS” is a code you need to follow mostly concerning windows. Sliding doors may waste useable floor space, invite cold drafts and require extra furnace to warm a winter day and night. Consider a window or door with window ?

They're Cheaper to Build

Smaller homes are often significantly cheaper to build. A conscious attention to detail can lead to lower materials costs and the option of using higher-grade materials. There’s less foundation to pour, less floor to lay, and less roof to cover.

They Encourage Outdoor Activity

Homes are meant to shelter us from the outside, not to be a substitute for it. Often larger homes can meet all of our needs so completely that we forget there’s a yard around all of those walls. Sometimes feeling compelled to "get out of the house" isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Small homes can inspire us to garden, to get to know our neighbors, and explore other neighborhoods.

they Reduce Maintenance Costs

Larger homes also carry larger price tags for general maintenance like re-roofing, painting, new windows, etc. A commitment to going small also means a commitment to reduced expenses over the life of your home — and a greater chance of affording those "uh-oh" unforeseen expenses.

Taxes

Our property taxes are determined by assessed property value, and value is partly determined by square footage. Though a number of other important factors also affect assessed value, all things being equal, smaller homes equal cheaper property taxes.

Why Smaller Houses Are Smarter

A smaller physical footprint means smaller bills, and a house that’s well designed and well-insulated will always win the numbers game.

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Basement ...

  First  Four corners is the  cheapest foundations, the more corners the cost for footings, labor. Steel, excavation increases .

    Remember  the reason Earth-Sheltered Homes are so efficient is because the ground  medium temperature is  53 degrees,  so Winters  when its -11   outdoors and  inside basement wall is 53 degrees, Summer its 98 outside your basement  walls will be 53 degrees outside .. Use it !   don't insulate it away ? Ever been in a cave in winter ? If your on a hill side its ideal for a walk out basement and /or a garage.  Garage built beneath like this can save 50,000 dollars  over a garage above ground...what/why ? the difference from a garage and a cabin is only  PLUMING AND CABINERS !

                                                                                                                                                                           Earth-sheltered homes

    House Walls:   We want insulation, airtight wall construction, since 1960 Fiberglass insulation is norm ...also useless. When it has 1% humidity it drops 40% of the R-Value, so don't ever take a shower in you home !  You can get a R-21 value in a hollow wall with out pink panther, just make it air tight, fiberglass is NOT AIR TIGHT ...isn't that what we use for air filters !

  Solid wood has been proven by HUD in 1981 to be up to 46% more efficient that R-21 Pink Panther wall.  Solid Material  is Rated on U Values not R

 

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Windows:  Many good windows out there today,  2 pane is good as it gets,  R-value  of 2 pane= 1.8, R-Value of 3 panes = R-3 .

   Get Low E film in them,  Vinyl or wood of coarse we include them in the Kits.  But remember a window, when it comes to R-value, is a hole in the wall!.  So consider the size and how many . Code requires a 5.7 movable SQ.FT. for fire escape. But we can use the cranking window where you need that code require but only have room for a small opening...cranking cost more.  You have to decide on your home for your View, Winter Sun, Wind Furniture indoor Light.  I have been guilty of letting people put in to many windows...to big under porch roofs and on the shady side of homes...  And consider this to sane energy costs Passive solar home design takes advantage of climatic and site conditions to provide heating in the winter and cooling in the summer. The Pioneeres had small windows for light and they were cost prohibitive .

Cool roofs use highly reflective materials to reflect more light and absorb less heat from sunlight, which keeps homes cooler during hot weather. Southern hot in summer States may want to consider...again design and build for you region. North States, high elevations ..not so much, Dark attracts the heat from, use the solar effect.  But there again Snow is insulation ! Ask a bear or Eskimo.  I welcome deep snow around the bottom and on my roof in winter.

 Optional plan for each home, you design your own, we will work to make it fit.

Model Little Larch 800 sq.ft.

10 x 14

20 x 30

Single level Steel roof + snow + no porch roofs = house buried in snow = with deck destruction, but you have extra insulation