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egouin
Joined: 15 Dec 2007
Posts: 3
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 Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2007 8:34 am Post subject: STRUGGLING to build an affordable, energy efficient house |
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My wife and I have been STRUGGLING to build an affordable, energy efficient house for nearly three years. The VAST MAJORITY of contractors out there do not understand (or care to understand) why doing things a little differently would be beneficial to the home owner (and the planet).
One contractor I spoke with ONLY builds with 2x4 lumber and R11 fiberglass. When I asked for 2x6 and spray foam, you would have thought I'd asked him to dance naked in the snow! Next.
Another contractor REFUSED to build a non-vented roof assembly despite the case studies and building science articles I gave him. He said, "it's my license on the line, and I am not doing it!" Next.
When I asked one contractor about Geothermal heating and cooling, you would have thought I asked him to wrap the house in gold. He exclaimed, "That’s an $80,000 system and you don't have it in your budget!" Next.
We spoke with several modular dealers about the possibility of replacing the standard wall insulation (R19 fiberglass) with spray foam. Some factories flat out said, "No." A few dealers said, "yes", but when we seriously engaged the factory, the real answer was, "NO!" Next. Next. Next. Next...
We actually had one contractor/modular dealer lead us on for 6 months! Yes, you can have spray foam. Yes, yes, yes... Oh wait, you can't. Our reply was, "goodbye."
About two hours after we said goodbye, the contractor called be back. He said, the factory would like to know if you would like to use SIPs (structural insulated panels). Having previously determined that site building with SIPs in my area was just too expensive, I answered with a resounding - YES!
The short story here is that this contractor didn't really want to build a house like this. When the pricing came back, the house was $80,000+ more than the same house built with 2x6 lumber. It didn't make sense or fit our budget.
Out of pure frustration, we - almost - signed a deal for a standard modular home. However, close scrutiny of the contract showed that the contractor left out some very important items that we would have to pay for if we wanted to live in this house. He left out - front stairs, a deck, and flooring. Less important, but still missing were gutters and downspouts, shutters, and a few other small details. The situation spiraled downward until we finally said, "next!"
At this point, I was so excited about combining efficient modular construction with energy efficient SIPs that I was actually responsible for introducing a high quality SIP manufacturer with the modular home factory. Everyone wanted to see a home built this way - except - the previously mentioned contractor.
I contacted the vice president of sales at the modular home company and the vice president of sales at the panel manufacturer and asked if we could make this happen at a price that made sense for the consumer. They both agreed that it - should - make a lot of sense, but that they had no control over the final pricing coming from the dealer.
I asked the modular factory for the name of one of their local dealers that could get this job done. Low and behold, three months later we are getting ready to break ground on the world's first SIP / modular hybrid home!
It has been a long frustrating road, but if this house performs the way we are all expecting, it will all have been worth it. We are talking about a factory built home that has the potential to reduce heating and holing costs by over 80% AND do so at a price that should be a “no brainer” for increasingly energy cost conscious consumers.
After three years of struggling, extensive research, learning, and trying to educate ignorant contractors – we finally have something that will be too good to keep to ourselves. I created the website www.GouinGreen.com to showcase this house to the world. My hope is that others will see this and build something like it for themselves.
Here’s the water… feel free to drink.
Ed |
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lekizz
millennium club
Joined: 11 Jan 2006
Posts: 1104
Location: UK
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| Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2007 3:59 am Post subject: |
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Interesting. And thanks for the plans and elevations on your blog.
But I am a bit unsure what you have done that is revolutionary. From what I understand, SIP's have been used in housing for decades. To all intents and purposes the house looks quite conventional, though no doubt that suited your family. Is it orientated to make full use of sunlight/local conditions? Did you work with an architect to come up with your design? |
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egouin
Joined: 15 Dec 2007
Posts: 3
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| Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2007 7:26 am Post subject: The Revolutionary part... |
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I believe this house is revolutionary in its hybrid construction process, not in design (there is no doubt, it is a boxy colonial). While both SIPs and modular construction have been around for decades, they have never been combined at the factory level before. The combination creates a super insulated shell at an affordable, mainstream, price the average consumer can afford.
To give you an idea of the dramatic effect this could have on the housing industry in general…
The main part of our house is 2,744 square feet plus 288 square foot bonus space. I received a few quotes for roughly the same dimension/design using site built SIPs. The cost to me for an assembled structural shell with R23 EPS SIPs with engineered floors, on my foundation, no windows, doors, roof, siding, interior, or even house wrap was $182,000 last year.
The house built in a modular factory with R40 polyurethane SIPs – complete with solid wood kitchen, 3.5 baths, finished roof, mostly finished interior, gas fireplace, electric baseboard, and super windows – set and weather tight on my foundation - $217,000 (after dealer markup!). Seems pretty revolutionary to me! Note that the super windows are ~$25,000 of the added cost.
Incidentally, the cost to us for R40 SIP/modular construction is ~$3,000 more than the cost of the same house built in the “traditional” modular fashion with 2x6 walls. “Standard” plans from the modular company are likely to cost less. Costs would be further reduced for EPS SIPs (which are R23).
We personally designed this house from the ground up. Here are some of the things we’ve taken into account:
The long axis (front) of the house faces solar south. The south facing windows have an SHGC of 0.65 with U=0.19 (other orientations are SHGC 0.40 U=0.16 or better). For the most part, heavily used rooms are located on the southern side of the house. Overhangs are designed to shade these windows in the summer months. Electric baseboard heat allows for room-by-room heat control. The windows are located for cross and stack effect ventilation. Ventilation is provided by an ERV (intake air – may – be tempered by an underground run). The wet rooms are tightly grouped to reduce plumbing costs and keep hot water runs short. Roof pitch is increased to provide for additional usable living space and for optimal solar orientation for future PV and solar hot water. All lighting and appliances will be Energy Star rated. |
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