We've Been Framed!!

The images accompanying this blog show the latest progress on the green home. One of the key green features of this home is the use of advanced framing techniques. The goal of these techniques is to minimize energy consumption by using less wood and more insulation. This approach uses 2x6s rather than 2x4s, thereby allowing for more insulation. The studs are installed further apart--24 inches on center--rather than 16 inches on center as occurs in converntional framing. The average insulating value of a wall using advanced framing techniques is R-16.0 (compared with R-15.1 with standard framing).

The first image posted above also illustrates two other important green features of this home--passive solar heating and the use of natural daylighting. The two large windows, which open onto the great room on the main floor, are oriented south-southeast so as to take advantage of sunshine during the winter months. Eventually a sunshelf will be installed above the windows to block sunshine during the summer months when the sun is higher in the sky. The lower level continues this concept with large windows opening onto a family room. The space outside the lower level windows will be terraced with stone and xeriscaped. (More on that much later). Although it is not depicted in these images, the home will also have several solar tubes that provide intense natural lighting. Finally, the lower levels have large windows with window wells in each of the rooms, again allowing more natural light to enter. In later posts, I will describe another exciting feature of this home--a clerestory that provides further natural lighting, as well as air circulation, to the rooms on the main floor.