Background on the project

                The project:  We wanted a retirement home after traveling  full-time in an RV for ten years.  Our travels covered all of the lower 48 states and we considered many possible retirement locations.  However, when it was time for a decision we ended up back in northeast Georgia where I grew up, not far north of Atlanta where we worked before retirement.

                The building lot:  In 2010 we bought ten acres in a rural setting 70 miles northeast of Atlanta.  We wanted a place accessible to Atlanta:  google maps would have one believe that it is a hour trip to I-285, Atlanta’s perimeter highway. The land is heavily forested with very little underbrush.  It is accessed by a private road, shared by six families.  An old logging road, probably dating back to the 1930s, leads from the private road to near the logical home site.  There is a mix of pine, oak and hickory trees, with an understory of dogwoods, native blueberries, scuppernongs and a scattering of native azaleas.  The natural place for the house is in a small draw which faces directly south.     Higher ground to the north and west, combined with the heavy tree cover, provides protection against the summer sun.  Since a portion of the forest is deciduous we can still benefit from the winter sun.

Open Mixed Forest

Future Driveway

Future Home Site

                Our initial work on the property involved cutting trees for the driveway, clearing and fencing a garden/orchard and locating the best site for the house.  By June 2011 we had a driveway, well, septic system and power and were able to bring the RV to the property for the first time.  It was time to turn to designing the house.

Grading the driveway

Finishing the driveway

Drilling the well

The RV onsite for the first time

               Design parameters:  We wanted a small home with everything we need on the main floor, handicapped accessible for step-free living.  We wanted a walkout basement which could function as a caretaker apartment so that we could ‘age in place’ a bit easier when the time comes.  We also wanted a loft for additional sleeping space and a workroom.   The detached garage would be to the east and we would enter through a mudroom. Design, both in terms of the interior and the exterior, would focus on low maintenance.  Given the lay of the land and the house site we wanted the dining room on the east, for sunlight with our morning coffee.  The kitchen would be central to the open floor plan and the living room would be to the west.   The open floor plan would have lots of windows facing south, with a deck on that side as well.  That left the north side of the house for the master bedroom, bath and closet. The house would be energy-efficient, designed to maximize solar heating in the winter and minimize it in the summer.  We would look for a super-insulated, tight envelope with high-performance windows and lots of thermal mass.  The roof design would need to facilitate either solar hot water or photo-voltaic panels.  We plan to continue to travel in the RV, especially in the winter, so the house should require minimal energy when we are not home.   There should be minimal wood in the project, since all the downed trees on the property are infested with termites.   We wanted to keep as many trees as possible around the homesite.

The key to the design process happened early in the process.  I had been looking at farmhouses, taking pictures of designs I liked and researching the historical origins of the local farmhouses.  I was really taken with the idea of building a modern version of a dogtrot cabin.  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogtrot_house)  The Chair of the Design Committee brought me back to reality: “You keep looking at farmhouses but we don’t own a farm.  We have trees so you need to start  thinking about treehouses.”

                The local climate:  although most would think of north Georgia as a cooling-dominated climate the local data does not support that:   Annual heating degree days over the last three years show an average of 3360 HDD and a high of 3864 HDD, last winter.  Cooling degree days averaged 1551 CDD with a high of 1705 CDD over the same period.  Since we do not plan to spend all winter in the house our concern is primarily with cooling the home.  (Data from http://www.degreedays.net/)

                The process: We took several years to investigate options for the building envelope, windows and other basic details.  We looked at options ranging from totally new concepts to double-stud walls to SIPS and SCIPS.  Visited window dealers, read everything we could get our hands on.  Alton Keown, who came onboard early in the process, was of invaluable assistance in working our way through the possibilities.

                The decisions:  We settled on

• Walls and roof of Structural Concrete Insulated Panels (SCIPS) from Gulf Concrete Technology. http://www.gulfconcretechnology.com/
• U-PVC windows and doors by Intus. http://www.intuswindows.com/products/entrance-doors-u-pvc-eforte/
• FastFoot footings from FabForm.  http://www.fab-form.com/fastfoot/fastfootOverview.php

        The team:

Builder:  Larry Stouffer,

LVS Green Builders, Inc.

Dahlonega GA

lvsgreen@windstream.net

706.864.0790

Architecture and Space Planning:

Architect:  Joe Martin, LEED AP, Assoc. AIA   
Happy Baker

Chattanooga, TN

joemartin@epbfi.com

423.664.3970

happybaker@msn.com

423.664.3525

Design:
Judith Rickard, ASID
Phoenix, AZ
jdrickard@cox.net 
602.268.0365

Gulf Concrete Technology
Scott Miller,   technical advisor/sales  
smiller@gctm2.com
904.742.4175

Structural Engineer:   Baku Patel, PE LEED AP

baku.patel@pecga.com

Jr. Structural Engineer:  Srikanth Bajaj, EIT

srikanth.bajaj@pecga.com

Palmer Engineering Company
3581 Habersham at Northlake, Building M
Tucker, Georgia 30084
www.PalmerEngineeringCompany.com

770.908.9908

Construction Technology Consultant:   Alton Keown

Auburn, AL

keownac@auburn.edu

334.826.3979