COAST TO COAST LOG AND TIMBER BUILDING DESIGN
Over ten years ago, I met Chris Hedderson from Rocky Mountain environment Technologies outside the Denver log home show. Chris had an outside booth with a masonry stove (modular refractory kit) fired up within a large tent. While it was a very cold weekend, I recall how toasty warm it was inside that tent. I kept his business card and after much research, knew that one day I would install my own stove.
Three main solar energy systems are available for household energy needs.
1-Photovoltaic power generation systems are designed to produce electricity when sunlight hits photovoltaic panels usually installed on roof slopes with southern exposure.
Those systems may cost up to $100 000.00 for an average size home to meet its energy needs. Performance drops sharply to negligible level for cloudy days.
Earthquake and wind forces act on a building in the lateral direction or parallel to the ground. Engineers call this lateral loading.
Earthquake and wind are natural phenomena laterally acting on a building.
However, they are fundamentally very different forces that call for unique and specific design solutions.
According to US National Fire Association, leading causes of occupancy related home fires start:
1-In the kitchen when cooking is left unattended
2-From heating systems that are not professionally checked and maintained.
3-From bad smoking habits resulting in bedding or couch/armchair smoldering.
– Fire resistance of solid log/timber homes
As a designer of log homes, I often encountered difficulties convincing local building departments all over North America of the great fire resistance of log walls.
Those of us who have had a chance to live in a log home describe the experience as one of security and serenity.
The massive log walls surrounding us muffle the exterior noises and make us feel calm. More than any other type of construction, a log home is a healthy sanctuary, exuding strength and stability, protecting us from nature’s extremes.
Wood is a renewable energy resource and contrary to general belief wood burning does not contribute to the catastrophic climate changes we are starting to witness around the planet. Fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal which are extracted from deep beneath the earth surface are the main source of greenhouse gases that destroys the environment. Trees recycle CO2 from the air to grow, using the carbon to build its structure to about half the weight of wood. When the tree dies, it rots on the forest floor and slowly releases the carbon back in the air completing the natural carbon cycle. When wood is burned, it quickly releases similar amount of carbon in the form of CO2 thus completing the same carbon cycle.
Selecting the building site for your future log or timber home is your first and most critical design decision.
Choosing the appropriate site for your dream home is a lengthy complex process not to be taken lightly.
A/Before you buy a property…you need to ask many questions.
In North America about 2 million people live in a wheel chair.
Wheelchair and walking aid users live in 30% of households.
One out of five of us have one or more disability.
Our population is aging rapidly.
In 2040 one in four will be 65 or older!
Basic terminology:
ADA (American with Disabilities Act 1990) applies to public and multi-family buildings accessibility mainly for people with mobility and agility disabilities.
Handcrafted log homes use a natural log without the bark keeping the unique character of the original tree. The tools used are the chainsaw, scriber, chisel and axe. All the work is done by hand and thus very labor intensive. The minimum midspan diameter size is 11” but 12” to 14” diameter is most common.
The roof is the building, its contents and occupants’ primary protection against rain, snow, hail, wind, cold, sun light and sun heat.
Basic terminology:
The roof pitch is the angle at which the roof rises from its lowest support (pitch plate) to its highest point (Example: the ridge).