Posted on 05/15/2007 2:12:08 PM PDT by NYer
Asked to design a fitting repository for a client’s valuable collection of J.R.R. Tolkien manuscripts and artifacts, architect Peter Archer went to the source—the fantasy novels that describe the abodes of the diminutive Hobbits.
“I came back my client and said, ‘I’m not going to make this look like Hollywood,’” Archer recalled, choosing to focus instead on a finely-crafted structure embodying a sense of history and tradition.
The site was critical too—and Archer found the perfect one a short walk away from his client’s main house, where an 18th-century dry-laid wall ran through the property. “I thought, wouldn’t it be wonderful to build the structure into the wall?”
Not only did the wall anchor the cottage, but stones from another section were used in the cottages construction. “It literally grew out of the site,” Archer said.
Perhaps stranger things have happened in Tolkien’s world, but few houses in this one go to such lengths to capture a fictional fantasy in the context of architecture. Here are some details.
Inside the cottage, a bench seat rests below the “butterfly” window, so called because its center-hinged panes take on the appearance of the insect’s wings when open. The divided-light look is created with gridwork affixed to both sides of the insulated glass.
Like the butterfly window, the cottage’s round 3-inch-thick front door is made of Spanish cedar by cabinetmaker David Thorngate of Newark, Del. Though the round door is used as an entryway, a more conventionally shaped (and discreetly concealed) 3-ft. x 7-ft. door in the back of the cottage conforms to code and, Archer concedes, makes it easier to get in and out. To the right of the round door, an electrical outlet is disguised under a metal box.
There are ditches between the uphill and the house...all drains away very well. It is all insulated-concrete-formed, 8" concrete walls with in-floor ground-loop geothermal heating. The propane tank feeds the oven and clothes dryer only. There is a second building, similar construction that is a wood shop and summer kitchen for processing vegetables and making beer.
I think the preformed concrete walls are better - but block was cheaper and we were young marrieds . . . 850 square feet heated and cooled space, plus a solarium on the south side with a 12' x 12' x 12' concrete cube in the ground for solar mass . . .
How deep are your wells for the geothermal heating?
Our family church was hammered by a tornado back in the 80s. It was a historic church, so we had it rebuilt out of what was left . . . it was MUCH smaller when we got through but at least it's still there . . . in truncated form. We left all the brick piers to show the original extent of the structure.
We don't use wells, we have 500' of coiled tubes buried 10'. We had a week of -26F this winter and everything worked great. Heating, cooling and hot water are averaging a little over a buck a day. We are adding a fireplace this year as a back-up in case we lose electricity during one of those cold snaps.
Nothing like thinking outside the box!
I can't wait to sell this house once the youngest is out of high school, buy some land, and have another shot at building our own place.
You've given me some more good ideas to put in my steno book of House Thoughts.
My parents got a soapstone prefab fireplace that is a lot more solid than the metal ones that go < clang > when you drop a piece of firewood. They couldn't use a metal one anyway because they live on a salt marsh and it would rust to pieces immediately. The fireplace and flue tiles were made by a Scandinavian firm - if you're interested I can find out more.
I have been thinking about earth-sheltered construction for years, but the advent of the ICF solved all the remaining issues I had. Feel free to freep mail me for some good sources when your next building adventure begins.
PING...if we ever win that lottery..the oldest boys says he would like one of these:-)
We're planning to make use of ICF's when we build a home ourselves, and any house we build in the future will be built by ourselves. The home we're in now was newly built, and there have been ongoing surprises because of shortcuts the builder took in its construction; things that were hidded from view when we bought it. Never again!
A couple of years ago, I picked up a beautiful front door with side panels that someone had special ordered in the wrong size. I don't remember exactly what I paid for it, but it was pennies on the dollar. If you keep your eyes open, there are quite a few bargains to be found.
We haven't had as many as we could have had, because this was a custom house and not a spec job. But every so often I stare at something and say, "What was that *&%$#@&%$%# architect THINKING??????"
The only thing we might consider other than building our own would be restoring a pre-Civil War farmhouse.
Once you drive it off the lot, so to speak, it's "used" anyway. So save a little money up front.
My hubby, SirKit, has become an excellent eBay shopper. We’ve bought a ton of things for construction, including a mini-backhoe/frontloader, sod cutter, tiller, hot tub, windows and doors for the house, a new french door refrigerator, microwave-vent hood, dishwasher, materials for a cable rail deck railing system; all of these for tremendous savings! We got all the appliances that didn’t come from eBay from the Sears Appliance Outlet store. There are some terrific bargains there!
Like they always say, if you want it done right, do it yourself...never more true than in construction. Good luck.
SirKit can do everything we need done. The only thing he doesn’t LIKE doing is taping and floating out of the drywall, and he will leave it to a plumber to connect the house to the town sewer or natural gas supply lines. We’re planning to move to the MS Gulf Coast, and right now, because of the lack of contractors and skilled tradespeople, towns are letting folks do much of the work themselves, even plumbing and electrical, though we do have to have our work inspected, which is as expected. We’ll also be expected to adhere to the most recent International building codes, though SirKit always over engineers things anyway, and we want to build something that’s gonna survive a hurricane.
ICF’s are definately the answer in hurricane-land. We’ve had some big blows where we watch the snow or rain blow horizontally and the trees appear to be preparing for lift-off but the house is quiet and unmoving. The ICF’s with 8” (or whatever) of concrete provide R-50 in insulation value. The 2-1/2” of styrofoam on each side of the concrete can be easily carved out for plumbing and electrical and there are vertical nailing strips every 8” for attaching siding, sheetrock or ... There are cheap ICF’s and expensive ICF’s and, like most things, you get what you pay for. Check out cellox.com for one of the better varieties.
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