Thursday, March 26, 2009

Bracing up and roof framing going on

The great purchase of recycled laminated hardwood beams continues to supply materials. Lengths have been lifted into place on the front roof for rafters. Due to their random, rustic nature, the soffits and eaves will be lined to give a cleaner finish, in keeping with the design (and to simplify long-term maintenance).
























Masonite bracing gives more of a sense of the volumes of the spaces and with the s00n-to-be-installed roof, will give a better impression of the overall form.

Bluestone walls to the boundaries and front garden bed are now complete.

4 comments:

porl said...

Awsome, how come no solar panels? I live down the road off Montague, my 1kw solar panel system on a sunny day generates more than half of my daily consumption (average daily consumption 6.7Kw, average daily solar input into grid over last 3 months 4.7Kw).

And the car, well they can buy a fully electric mitsubishi next year so make sure there's a good 15amp hour connection in the garage that can be downgraded to a 10amp hours connnection if that's what's required.

Maybe even whack in a Compressed Natural Gas possibility connection in the garage just in case that car beats the electrics to market.

Emma Scragg said...

Hi Porl
There will be 3.2kW of solar panels on the roof facing the street (and north). We've increased the roof pitch to 20 degrees (5 degrees steeper than original design) to maximise efficiency. The intention is that this will cover the daily energy needs of the household, assuming non-electrical or bicycle transportation.

We'll keep in mind your advice on the electric car charging point - a good tip!

Liquid Roof said...

Design is amazing, And will all house electricity will be get through Solar plates.

Emma Scragg said...

The intention is that the solar panels will supply the full needs of the house, using the main electricity grid as storage. This will, of course, depend on how the occupants use energy. We did look into a small bank of batteries to keep essentials running during brownouts or blackouts but the maintenance, cost and environmental cost (batteries) outweighed the benefits.