Have you lived in several homes in your lifetime, either renting or paying a mortgage? Have any of these dwellings been what you consider your dream home? Have you been driven to remodel or move every 7-10 years to keep up with having the latest trend or fad? Can you drive through neighborhoods and tell when those houses were built based on former trends in design.
Have you felt like you should be a better steward of the earth, our fragile island home? Are you ready to build using sustainable/renewable materials and integrating renewable energy systems to reduce your carbon footprint, by honestly reducing your impact on the environment?
Have you had the misfortune of owning a house that seems like a money pit with replacing elements like windows, doors, siding and roofing which has robbed you of the expected equity you thought you would earn in being a homeowner?
Perhaps you feel you are ready to design and build your last house or the last house for a long time. Maybe you are looking to design and build the house that meets the best requirements to raise a family. Maybe you have raised your children and now you are ready to design and build the house that will best serve you in your golden years.
If you answered yes to any of these questions, perhaps you know what you want and need by now and are ready to build your dream home, but you are asking yourself where do I start and how daunting is this path? I am guessing you have looked at 100’s of stock floor plans and have a sense by now of the spaces you want, but nothing is quite right to meet your taste and specific needs or wants.
What I would propose is you need a well-seasoned designer to work alongside you to navigate this exciting journey from design, construction and completion. When setting out to design your custom home you should have a seasoned designer who has seen what has come and gone in fashion and can guide you to make your own hallmarks in design with both interior and exterior features that prove to be timeless and can appeal to future generations.
If you think you are ready to design and build your own custom home, then you need to work with a professional that not only helps you stay in budget, but more importantly understands lifetime cost in repairs and energy costs. Eco-Sustainable Home Designs has a rare combination of skills and experience to help guide you in designing your own custom home.
We have more than 30 years’ experience in a diverse background of a hands-on approach to designing and resolving problems in old and new construction. Our master designer and master builder has worked at the drawing board and in the field implementing his construction. He has a background in historical restoration bringing grand old houses back to their original glory while yet suiting them with modern features and amenities to serve the needs of many generations to come.
He also has a background in repairing and remodeling modern houses that have failed due to poor design and workmanship. His role in remedial construction has been to find permanent solutions for his clients’ homes whether it be fundamental issues like faulty foundations or roofs that fail and cause very costly repairs to the structure of the house or replacing rotten windowsills using advanced non deteriorating materials.
At heart he is a problem solver and has used his experience and skills to design and build custom homes that overcome the typical issues he has addressed in old to modern structures. From his experience he has seen what does and does not work and designs houses to be low cost to maintain, highly energy efficient and to withstand natural disasters that can be expected in various regions and to design and build houses that can reliably serve the needs of many generations.
Unlike most architectural design firms he has more than 3 decades experience in the field, training crews and working alongside them to make sure his creations are put together the way he has intended. He is also a master craftsman in carpentry, cabinet and furniture making, tile and stone design and stucco as well as all masonry construction. He has worked in all the crafts related to constructing a structure from plumbing, electrical and heating and air.
He is a design/build expert in the following forms of construction:
1. Framed construction both in wood and light gauge steel and favors light gauge steel over wood, because of the environmental impact of stripping our forests for wood framing demand and because steel framing provides the opportunity for an optimal thermal mass structure by integrating solid insulation which makes for a healthier home and reduces your energy costs.
2. Insulated Concrete Form (ICF) construction which is super strong and has a high thermal mass. It can withstand high winds, floods and even earthquakes while saving you a bundle in energy costs especially as compared to stick frame construction.
3. Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC) which has the highest thermal efficiency being at least 2-3 times that of conventional framed construction. It is super strong, fireproof, insect proof and can withstand high winds, wildfires, earthquakes and floods while saving you over 60-75% in energy costs over conventional construction. It has proven itself to be durable, reliable and completely renewable and sustainable material over a 100 years in use.
4. Earth bermed construction which utilizes the thermal properties of the earth to significantly reduce energy costs while also being super strong and can withstand the worse conditions when properly designed and built and utilizes the heating qualities of the sun through passive solar gain.
5. Rammed Earth construction, which is suitable for some regions. It is a modernized approach to an ancient form of construction which is seen in adobe block construction. This approach to construction is a house built with the elements present on your building site such as clay, fine aggregates, straw and cement. This type of construction is very strong and has a higher thermal mass than conventional stick framed construction.
6. For those who live on or near the coast might consider an ancient building system using tabby. When properly reinforced this building system can be very strong and easily withstand hurricanes, flooding and fires. This is another building system that utilizes the resources present upon your building site or close by. This system will last for centuries and can be designed for a high thermal mass to reduce your energy costs.
7. Timber framed construction for those who have a large, wooded lot can consider utilizing their present natural resources by cutting the necessary timber off the building lot and milling the lumber and strip stacking to dry on the building site. Timber framing using proper joinery can be a very strong structure and can be insulated with solid installation panels to highly reduce energy costs.
Many who are considering designing and building their own custom home ask where do I start? This is a difficult question to answer to fit all who launch out to begin the process.
For some picking out a floor plan either from a stock plan or starting from scratch with a designer to lay out a plan based on your needs and unique preferences. It is critical that when working with a designer you tell him/her your construction budget so they can work accordingly. Our company, having had a long background in both designing and building custom homes using the methods mentioned above, knows the costs per square foot to build these eco-sustainable homes and can reign you in when your plans will exceed your budget. If this is the approach you choose on this exciting journey, then you need to know several parameters before you search for a lot to build your dream home.
- What is the total footprint for your house? The footprint has to do with the total length and width of the house. You must also take into account the width of your driveway and walks. You must know the municipal regulations for the distance required for your setbacks. This means how far you are required to set your house away from the front, back, and sides of your lot and add that to your house’s total footprint.
- Do you want a single-story house on a monolithic slab foundation? If so, when looking for a lot, you need a level or gentle sloped lot.
- Are you wanting a multi-story house? If so, you should consider living and storage space in a basement which saves you about 40% over building a second story, and your lot should be amenable to having a deep basement which can accommodate all your mechanicals like ductwork to have optimal ceiling heights for your planned living space for a basement story. You should also consider a basement as a heating and cooling sink to optimize natural convection airflow throughout the house to significantly reduce energy consumption.
- When considering a lot, you should consider the natural resources present to the property. At the least, save as many trees as you can and salvage as much of the timber you must cut down to clear for your house’s footprint. We recommend processing and milling this timber on-site to be used for beams, moldings, cabinets, doors, flooring, wall paneling, and wainscoting.
- On some lots, other resources are present, such as stone that can be used for stack stone siding over face stone veneers.
- If your lot is large enough, you can utilize earth ground tubes which provide a constant airflow of between 58-64 degrees, which can save you as much as 45% over the significant cost savings you are already getting in our designs that utilize optimal thermal mass and specialized heating and cooling systems. On one property, we were able to heat and cool the house with deep cave air.
- You should also consider deep-bored wells for geothermal cooling and heating for very energy-efficient heat pumps for heating and cooling.
- Another important consideration is how to orient your house, especially for the sun, to optimize the use of Evacuated Tube Solar Thermal collectors as well as photovoltaic collectors.
- For earth-bermed houses, orientation is critical. You need a lot where you can excavate into a hill or mountain and have a south face to provide natural light into the structure and maximize passive solar heating.
- Another consideration is the prospect of harnessing wind power for electric generation. This is especially a resource you should consider if you are building on a mountain or on the coast. On a mountain lot, air flows up the mountain all day long and falls down the mountain all night. On the coast, you have a breeze off the ocean most of the time.
For many, the best course of action is to select several lots in an area you would like to live, and we will evaluate each one for you based on the criteria you have shared with us and most of the elements we have enumerated above. Then we will begin the design process of developing a building plan that best fits your criteria and for the lot you have chosen. There is nothing more important than developing comprehensive building plans that fit the lot and your unique design features. It is far better to spend time at the drawing board and then when it is just right to do a comprehensive estimate to know what it is going to cost.
It is always more expensive to make changes after construction has begun. We believe the most important part of building a custom home is in the structure and in making sure it will be low maintenance, highly energy-efficient, and able to withstand the natural elements and weather extremes to serve the needs for many generations to come. These are the things we believe should not be compromised, and thus it is critical to know what these costs will be so we can adjust the interior finishing features once your home is completely closed in. Your builder should at this point give you a budget allowance for finishing out the interior, including such elements as plumbing fixtures, electrical fixtures, door and cabinet hardware, cabinets and countertops, and wall and floor coverings.
The closer you work within your structural budget, the more money you will have to add your own hallmarks of design to your interior finishes, such as special features for your kitchen, baths, and primary living spaces. This is another time to work with your designer to make your interior your special spaces rather than the homogenous interiors you see in every cookie-cutter house in every subdivision.
Make sure that in your designs you include outside living spaces with covered porches, patios, and decks where you can enjoy nature and have expansive spaces to entertain guests. We have a landscape architect that can develop a plan for special features and beautiful gardens to enhance your views from your living spaces with lots of windows and doors that open to your gardens.
I invite you to peruse the photos and captions that follow that might strike a chord with you of the things you could include in your dream home.
Autoclaved Aerated Concrete
Here is an all-concrete house with cast in place concrete foundation walls which are mostly below grade making the basement a heat/cool sink to reduce energy loads and utilities’ cost. The top two stories are made of high thermal mass Autoclaved Aerated Concrete. AAC is a product invented in Sweden and widely used for over a century. It has proved itself well in every kind of clime
Here is the finished house of AAC and is an historical classical Federal Farmhouse.
All Concrete Mountain Lodge
This four-story lodge has two stories that are mostly below grade and they are made with Insulated Concrete Forms. The top two stories are high thermal mass Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC). All the floors are made with AAC floor panels which are not only high thermal mass but have a high sound isolation sound proofing between floors. The bottom two floors being mostly undergrade provide a natural constant temperature heat/cool sink which through natural convection reduce heating and cooling loads for the top two stories.
Notice the finished details of this all-concrete house: The corner and window details are all made with AAC. They are all cut, shaped and installed on site. There are drip cap details between each of the floors which is also made from AAC. The cornice has shaped dentil brackets made from non-deteriorating PVC material. The stack stone veneer under the drip cap is made from a combination of stone collected on the site as well as other regional stone. The walls and the detail pieces are finished with color integrated lightweight stucco actually made of AAC biproduct and adds additional thermal value to the walls. This mountain mansion has a total thermal mass envelope that exceeds R-32 which is more than 3 times that of conventional homes.
This is the back side of this four-story mountain lodge. The bottom three stories have a ground level entrance and covered back porches to enjoy the magnificent views. The roof is an architectural non-exposed fastener standing seam metal roof. These roof panels are actually made with galvanized steel plated with copper and a permanent clear coat so the copper never turns.
Here AAC floor panels are being set in place. Below are shaped roof corbels for the installation of AAC Roof Panels so when finished the walls and roof will have a high thermal mass of R-32.
Here is a section of Earth Ground Tubes as a part of a natural convection air flow system to greatly reduce heating and cooling loads. The air that flows through these tubes averages 58-64 degrees which reduces the energy threshold to bring the temperatures up or down for heating and cooling. While all our stock plans are designed to optimal thermal mass to reduce your heating and cooling cost over standard stick framed construction this installation can reduce that cost by another 40-50%.
Here shows the earth tubes are to rise to the top of the clerestory which provides for natural convection air flow. The cooled air in the tubes rises to the highest point in the house as in the clerestory. In the clerestory there are automated vent windows which release the hot air in the summer and the cool air from the earth tubes falls and cools the house.
These pictures show cold formed light gauge steel framing.
Here is light gauge cold formed framed construction. Most of our stock plans are designed for this type of framed construction. Steel farming is more sustainable than wood framing and saves our precious forests. It does not rot, or vulnerable to insect infestation and can achieve higher thermal mass using superior solid foam insulation that is not suitable for wood frame construction. This type of insulated wall with 2 lb. density foam sprayed between the studs and 1” thick panels on the outside achieve R-22 thermal value as compared to wood frame walls at R-13. Not only is this type of insulation superior to fiberglass insulation but is healthier and has terrific sound isolation for a quiet home.
This mountain lodge is set in the middle of a 14-acre old forest. The cabinets, wall panels, flooring, doors, wainscoting and molding are made from the timber that was cut to clear for this lodge. We had Oak, Black Walnut, Cherry, Maple, Poplar, Birch and Locust that we processed on site. The stacked stone fireplace is from stone collected on the site. Three stories have this controlled draft, low emission, catalytic wood burning stove inserts. During construction we set a fire in the ground floor stove and even on the coldest days it kept the inside heated between 58-72 degrees on all 4 stories.
This floor perimeter detail is rock hard Maple against the wall with Black Walnut then Cherry and Walnut. The diagonal flooring is a mix of soft Maple and Birch.
Note the distinct details. The wainscoting is raised panels of Cherry and framed with Black Walnut. The stair Newel posts for the stairs are also Cherry and Walnut. The stair treads are hard Maple and the stair faces are Black Walnut with Maple hand rails. We made all these components onsite.
This is an example of a basement home office. The hardwood panels are made from antique repurposed lumber of Black Walnut and Yellow Poplar. The fireplace is made with regional stone and a stack stone pattern. Adjoining this office is a bar.
This is the adjoining waiting and conference room for this lawyer’s home office with an entrance door opened and installed for private entrance for his clients.
Here are some special features for this small kitchen remodel in a mid-century style. The cutting board is made from scraps left over from the cabinets. This cutting board is made with end grain Maple, Black Walnut, Birch and Cherry with curly Maple frame to match with the curly Birch cabinet doors. Also note that below the cutting block there is a bottom hinged panel that folds down as a tabletop to set a container, plate or dish to scrape off the diced items from the cutting board above. Inside this fold down panel are slide out drawers with a custom knife receptor and other utensils and below that is a slide out for spices. When especially remodeling or equipping a small kitchen as is this, every space is essential. Working onsite with a skilled crafts person these little features make a big difference.
The original kitchen was closed off from the family room. We opened this load bearing wall and the wine bottle grid and open shelves above actually serve as the load beam between rooms.
With this opening into the family room provides a countertop for serving and dinning with the stool height counter. The combination of copper tile and black galaxy granite back splash is a striking contrast.
We design and make our cabinets onsite. This small vanity is made of Cherry and Maple with a Cherry countertop.
We make framed mirrors to match our cabinets. Another feature is the matching Shaker pegs for hanging towels.
Even the toilet seat and toilet paper dispenser are made to match the cabinets. The small decorative box on the water closet tank was made of left over scraps to add one more tie in feature. Also make note the walls are Venetian plaster using 3 color integrated plaster applications.
Here is another bath remodel. The partial surround wall for the shower is made of solid brick and waterproofed plaster in which to install the tile. We always design and install our tile accent patterns onsite.
We design and make all our matching cabinets onsite. This also allows all the cabinets to maximize storage space over stock-made cabinets.
These beautiful cabinets are made of quarter sawn African Mahogany.
The framed mirrors are made of matching lumber with the cabinets.
Notice that the drawer panel is a single wide Maple panel framed with Black Walnut. This hardwood for the cabinets and all the moldings are made from repurposed antique lumber which accounts for having this one wide panel for these drawer fronts. This panel was chosen first and then framed to fit the space. This is one of the advantages of designing, building and installing onsite.
This floor pattern was designed and cut into this pattern using clay and stone tiles left over from previous jobs.
Notice the matching framed mirror and side wall cabinet. The walls are Venetian plaster. This is six coats of plaster with each coat a different color integrated into the plaster.
Here are two wide heart Maple panels framed with Black Walnut.
This once small and dark bathroom is transformed by cutting open this small opening to the outside wall and installing glass block window and a glass block wall. Also note the Venetian plaster of three different colors integrated into each plaster applications to match the tile colors.
We always design, cut and install our tile patterns onsite.
This is a before shot of this exposed grand entrance. Our client had purchased these elegant antique leaded beveled glass panels from an auction in New Orleans. Because this entrance was exposed with no cover over this entrance, the above window and door panels and door were rotten. The glass panels were just barely hanging together. As we carefully took all this apart, we were able to salvage all the antique glass panels. We had to tear out all the brick floor and salvage the brick in order to repair the floor ledgers and joists which were rotten and infested with termites. This is why in our home plans we design covered porches to protect these entrances.
We restored all the antique glass panels by re-leading all the framing. We made the side door panels, transom panel and door from quarter sawn African Mahogany and the same to the window over this entrance. We extended the brick floor using the salvaged brick and mixing it with other bricks to build this portico to protect this grand entrance. The roof is half drum copper, and all exterior materials were shaped and installed using solid PVC materials.