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Hi everyone Looking to build a somewhat passive solar home--on a budget you would surely laugh at (on my own land). Need some help:
1) Latitude of 44degrees 11minutes--how do I plug this into an equation to find the right pitch for a roof (metal) that will have optimum sun exposure if I decide to get solar panels in the future? (and be relatively snow-maintenance free)
2) How much of an overhang do I need on each side of the home?
3) If I were to build a home 20x30 feet, two stories and a walkout basement, how many windows on each side (is it 7%?) and where to place them? --Or a 25'x52' home
4) Where is the cheapest place to get building materials and (I have heard there is a liquidators in Bradford?)
5) Is a 20x30 walkout basement *that* much cheaper than say, a, 25'x52' walkout basement?
6)Any suggestions on how to cut costs is much appreciated--I'm looking for a box-like structure with a porch that will be relatively easy to assemble for my friend (from Landmark Kit homes)
--I'm interested in a large living-room and three bedrooms. I have no idea if two bathrooms are necessary. And if anyone wants to compose a rough sketch--that'd be awesome!
How much did you want to pay? I bought a kit house that I put up myself, that was 20 x 24, two floors which was is now about $35,000 delivered. Its just a shell.
Check them out. My son and wife and I put up the house from the kit and instructions. I'd never built anything bigger than a dog house before this. My contractor friend was astounded, since he'd never actually built a whole house. I think he was jealous; I couldn't get him to come over even though he only lived 2 miles away.
You can do it if I did. And I built the whole thing without electricity or scaffolding. With electrictity and scaffodling it would have been much faster. Took 10 days to start on a vacation and then 8 2 day weekends to get it done. The posts had to be within 1/4 inch on a 32 foot diagonal, so I had my contractor friend do that, and it was getting toward winter so he put the shingles on the roof in a morning. But I did everything else.
2) How much of an overhang do I need on each side of the home?
One foot is enough for moisture purposes, but for passive solar you need to figure in the height of your windows to take advantage of shade in the summer.
3) If I were to build a home 20x30 feet, two stories and a walkout basement, how many windows on each side (is it 7%?) and where to place them? --Or a 25'x52' home
A 20 x 30 would have 70 feet of foundation wall. The 25 x 52 would have 102 feet of foundation wall. The 20 x 30 is less costly.
4) Where is the cheapest place to get building materials and (I have heard there is a liquidators in Bradford?)
You can get a very economical post and beam kit from Distinctive Timber Building Kits Inc.. I don't represent this company, just know a whole lot of satisfied customers.
5) Is a 20x30 walkout basement *that* much cheaper than say, a, 25'x52' walkout basement?
Yes. Less foundation perimeter.
6)Any suggestions on how to cut costs is much appreciated--I'm looking for a box-like structure with a porch that will be relatively easy to assemble for my friend (from Landmark Kit homes)
Your farmer's porch should face south if possible and have the correct angle to shade your windows in summer and allow sunlight in during the winter for passive solar. You can do the same on both levels.
Hi everyone Looking to build a somewhat passive solar home--on a budget you would surely laugh at (on my own land).
I have seen some homes that were extremely low cost to build.
Our house had an eave overhang of about 3 inches, until 2 years ago. Then I extended it out 8 foot all around. That has been a fantastic feature. We can walk outside without stepping into snow.
Generally for good Passive Solar you only want windows on the South side of the house. You can put in as many, or as few as you want. We toyed with the idea of sky-lights also.
After a lot of years living underwater, I decided that I like big windows. We found that the lowest price large window is actually a sliding glass door replacement door. They are triple-pane, argon-filled, and low-E. When I got our windows they were $116 a piece. 6 foot wide and 3 foot tall they look great. We have thirteen of them in our house.
We have a friend who lives in Belfast, who got all of the materials for her house that their town dump, for free.
When we did it, our research led us to see that a steel building may be a lot lower priced than most wood-stick construction, in a per square-foot cost basis.
after a lot of years living underwater, i decided that i like big windows. We found that the lowest price large window is actually a sliding glass door replacement door. They are triple-pane, argon-filled, and low-e. When i got our windows they were $116 a piece. 6 foot wide and 3 foot tall they look great. we have thirteen of them in our house.
A family member building a camp on the back part of our 33 acres has found a very inexpensive answer to this problem, and one that allowed him to "move in" (without too many conveniences, but still, it was a place to stay) from day one. It started out as a mobile home that he found for free, for just the cost of hauling. Not in the best shape inside, but workable, he figured.
In a post on another forum, I described how he gutted it, punched out one long side, doubled the width, redesigned the whole (doubled) interior, and added a gable roof. You would never know what this thing started out as. It is 24' x 62' which gives him almost 1500 sq ft, whereas our ranch built last summer on the same parcel, is only 1120 sq ft, and I'm embarrassed to say that it cost us about double to build (compared to the mobile home).
If you want solar, this mobile home is oriented to the south on the "new" side (built side, not the mobile home side). Lots of big windows, and since the whole structure was re-sided, lots of insulation packed in. You can't do better than adding onto a 'single-wide', if you want cheap. The place is really much nicer than I imagined it would be.
I've been using Google SketchUp to help me create new house designs. You can download it free from Google, and with their tutorials, it's not too hard to learn. The best part is that you can input your exact location for your house to go. They have a shadow engine which will show you how the sun travels over the house throughout the year allowing you to plan windows and overhangs easily.
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Looking to build a somewhat passive solar home--on a budget you would surely laugh at 
(on my own land). Need some help: 
