SB: An introduction and two questions.......

["Andy Higgs" <wntrblt@telusplanet.net>]

Hi everyone,

My name is Andy. I have been lurking on the list for a while and thought it
was probably about time to introduce myself.

We have recently bought a 1956 Cedar wood log cabin in Harvie Heights,
Alberta, Canada.  Albert is a great location for SB construction.  We have
cold, dry winters, hot dry summers, and no straw eating bugs.  Humidity is
very low and 60% of the year's precipitation falls as snow.

Harvie Heights is about 15km east of Banff, on the north side of the Bow
Valley.  The 980 sf cabin is made completely of cedar, by Panabode
http://www.panabode.com/, from the floors to the shakes on the pitched roof.
It is single story, built on piles with a crawl space, facing southwest.
The lot is a 75' x 100', on a gentle slope, with well drained soil, at an
altitude of 4,750 ft.

We have two children and would like to roughly double the size of the house.
We recently had a design  put together by a friend, Paul.  It provides the
required number of extra rooms (a kitchen, three bedrooms and a bathroom) in
a nice small footprint.  Currently we are looking at a FPSF, a single story
post and beam structure, with bale infill, an R40 steel roof and cement slab
with infloor heating.  The lumber will be all stripped trunks, notched and
bolted together to provide the frame.  Paul has generously donated all the
lumber to the project as this summer he is clearing out quite a number of
trees from his wood lot.

I have been very impressed by the patience and knowledge displayed on this
list and wondered if anyone could help me with two question....

1)  The lot is south west facing, very warm and sunny even in the winter.
The proposed bale extension will sit on the colder, north side of the house.
I'd really like to take advantage of the potential for solar gain and
benefit from the high insulating properties of the bales.  I have thought
about a run of clerestory window along the roof ridge but I am wondering if
the added complexity of the roof line and the potential heat loss through
the glass at night would outweigh any benefits.  Has anyone on the list
successfully tied the infloor, radiant heating system into some form of
solar collector.....?

2)  A lot of SB structures seem to be free standing.  Our extension requires
that we tie the ends of the bale walls onto the existing cedar structure.
What guidance does everyone have regarding the design this joint....?

We really appreciate any advice you might be able to give us.

Best wishes

Andy and Sue Higgs
(wntrblt@telusplanet.net)
Harvie Heights, Alberta, Canada




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