Structural

Balance strength, efficiency and comfort by tying the structure to its thermal performance.

$152,912structure, envelope and site

7 ftnorth earth berm

17triple-pane Phius windows

R-49roof insulation

Budget: $152,912 of $135,000, $17,912 over. Power: 0 kWh a day.

Spencer Elwart Team lead

Structural lead. Floor plan, walls, windows, slab

Home remodeling, and drive-by-wire work on military vehicles.

1,200sq ft inside

0.353window SHGC

$152,912team budget

Laid out the ranch plan: 1,200 sq ft inside a 62 x 22 ft shell, all three bedrooms on the sunny south face, and a 6 x 6 ft airlock for snowy boots.
Moved the team to ICF on all four walls after finding cinder block only reaches R-2.5.
Had Vetta design and quote 17 triple-pane, Phius-certified windows at SHGC 0.353.
Talked the kitchen, living room and master suite through with interior designers.
Built the house in Revit and drew the West Elevation with the 28 ft long, 7 ft tall berm.
Kept the structural budget: $152,911.84, about $4,000 lighter after a framing cut on April 16.

In the chatI think we should move forward with ICF brick construction. Also the cost isn't terrible...

Apr 18Woke from a 10 PM nap wide awake and wrote most of his final paper overnight.

CodesIRC Ch. 3 to 6, ACI 318, ACI 332, ASCE 7

Envelope heat loss, materials, roof support

Helped his parents build their own concrete-slab Morton house.

2,264Btu/h net average loss

10,013Btu/h on a 105°F day

23%better than cinder block

Built the heat-loss workbook every other team designed against: 40.68 MBtu a year out, 20.84 back in through the windows.
Showed ICF walls beat a cinder block and stud mix by 23%.
Added real window solar gain from Springfield weather data, which cut the computed heat loss roughly in half.
Specified the slab with 4 ft ICF stem walls, and sized the LVL beams and 2x12 rafters at 12 in on center.
Priced the pergola and French drain, then 3D-printed the house for the final presentation.

In the chatHow did we end up basically building Mr Londrigan's house?! Knarly!

Apr 27Printed the model overnight, swapping filament after PLA refused to bond to PETG.

CodesIRC R302, R304, R310, R311, R317, R318, R401, R402, R405, R506, R702, R703, Ch. 8 and 9

Loads, orientation, roof, driveway, shed

Grew up repairing and building things, and helped remodel his family home.

10.92psf snow load

25.08psf wind load

2.35°west of north

Ran the roof loads to ASCE 7: 10.92 psf of sloped snow and 25.08 psf of wind.
Turned the house 2.35° west of magnetic north so the glass faces true south.
Set the roof pitch from the sun: 68° in July for shade, 28° in January for heat.
Designed the 200 ft crushed asphalt driveway, crowned so it sheds water.
Picked the 14 x 31 ft steel shed and specified the roof assembly down to its dead load.
Modeled the shed, driveway and berm in Revit.

In the chatI don't really wanna do all the basement work and now we know how to calculate heat loss through a slab

Mar 10Checked the house angle against the North Star, then matched it to the software's 2°.

CodesASCE/SEI 7-10 Ch. 7, 26, 27, IRC R905.4.4.1

Ranch plan with a clerestory roofA second row of south glass for winter sun, and every room gets daylight.
7 ft north bermSteady ground temperature cuts heat loss, and the cisterns ride inside it.
ICF walls on all four sidesStrong enough to hold the berm back, and R-28 where cinder block managed 2.5.
Slab on grade, 4 ft ICF stem wallsNo crawl space for rodents or mildew, and below the frost line.
Metal roofNo shingle grit washing into the drinking water.
Crushed asphalt drivewayLess dust than limestone, so the solar panels stay clean.

~~Crawl space or basement~~Humidity, mold, animals and extra height.
~~Cinder block north wall~~ICF came out 23% more efficient.
~~Partly underground house~~Drainage problems ruled it out in a day.
~~Closed-cell spray foam roof~~About $10k to $16k. R-49 batts did it for $3,077.

Sheet A112, West Elevation

Sheet A202, South Elevation. Clerestory glass above, bedroom windows below.