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Houzz Tour: California Cabin Ditches the Power Grid
Solar energy powers a modern, expandable vacation house among the trees for a family with two children
Welcome to an experiment in off-the-grid living in the Northern California forest. Its owners, a family with two kids, see it as a first step toward living full-time in a house that produces all of its own energy.
David Arkin and his team at Arkin Tilt Architects designed an essential core building at an elevation of 4,000 square feet that could be expanded later. Mounted solar panels, a solar heating system, concrete flooring and straw-bale walls give it the ability to produce and maintain its own energy all year.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A weekend and vacation home for a couple and two young sons
Location: East of Nevada City, California
Size: 872 square feet; 1 sleeping loft, 1 bathroom
David Arkin and his team at Arkin Tilt Architects designed an essential core building at an elevation of 4,000 square feet that could be expanded later. Mounted solar panels, a solar heating system, concrete flooring and straw-bale walls give it the ability to produce and maintain its own energy all year.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A weekend and vacation home for a couple and two young sons
Location: East of Nevada City, California
Size: 872 square feet; 1 sleeping loft, 1 bathroom
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| Keeping the home small and under budget were the team's biggest priorities. Since it was designed to be a part-time residence, material selection was kept to a minimum. Construction was based around simple and durable materials, such as the home's metal roof and concrete floors. Salvaged wood siding was used for part of the exterior, while the panels between the windows and the exterior of the raised bathroom and entry area are made from cement fiberboard that's stained to look like wood. |
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| The design process began with understanding the environment and coming up with strategies to heat, cool and protect the house. One of the home's more innovative materials is the use of PISE (pneumatically impacted stabilized earth) cement, filled with rice straw bales for a durable and health- and environment-friendly structure. |
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Glycol solution, which prevents freezing, is pumped through solar hot water panels and into a heat exchanger in a domestic hot water tank and then on into a sand bed under the concrete floors to warm the house. Electricity is provided through a roof-mounted photovoltaic (PV) panel system.
The roof eave is extended to shade the house in the summer, and block rain and snow from hitting the walls in the winter. The eave itself is relatively thin despite the thick structural insulated panels (SIPs) used for roof insulation. Arkin and his team worked carefully to extend the SIP spines so they could support the 4-foot overhang.
The roof eave is extended to shade the house in the summer, and block rain and snow from hitting the walls in the winter. The eave itself is relatively thin despite the thick structural insulated panels (SIPs) used for roof insulation. Arkin and his team worked carefully to extend the SIP spines so they could support the 4-foot overhang.
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| Since this home is currently a part-time residence, it's important that it can withstand extended periods without maintenance. The solar heating system disperses heat into the deep sand bed beneath the floors to keep the pipes from freezing. |
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The living room is tucked into the hillside, a half level lower than the entry and bathroom. A built-in sleeping platform temporarily eliminates the need for another sleeping space.
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The lot slopes gently toward the south, so part of the living room wall retains about 4 feet of earth. An insulated framed wall inside the concrete retaining wall supports the wider straw bales set above the hillside. Some of this framing was left exposed and doubles as a bookshelf.
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| The sleeping loft — the only private sleeping space — sits above the kitchen. The base of the loft (and kitchen ceiling) is made of terra mai, a salvaged wood product from Asia. The ceiling panels are made of knotty pine plywood throughout the rest of the house. Water-based sealers were used on the interior woodwork. |
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| The family members did a lot of the finishing decision making on their own — primarily in the kitchen. Most of the interior materials are either prefinished or not finished at all to better the interior air quality. The PISE wall finish has a light grout wash but no other sealer, and the floor is polished concrete. |
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| The smaller portion of the cabin is oriented toward the south for the roof's solar panels. This section has an entry, a mudroom and a bathroom. The larger portion of the cabin steps down from the entryway into a great room with large windows that open up to maximize passive solar gain. Photography by Eric Millette |
Comments
alanab Cost? Vocation of the owners?
10 months ago · Like
typingmonkey I've seen this house before, but a treat to see more photos of this inside! Absolute perfection.
10 months ago · Like
Jerry Tucker I'd love to know more details about this place....It is too cool!!!!
10 months ago · Like
olldbobbi I'm not sure where in Northern California Nevada City is, but with Northern California being prone to earthquakes I worry about homes being built on sand beds. It was this that brought down San Francisco's Marina District in the big earthquake of 1989 because sand beds tend to liquify. Does the PISE eliminate this issue? Did the owners have to take any special earthquake precautions? The metal roof is a great idea for fire-proofing, especially living in the forest. And I'll be it sounds great in a rainstorm! I'm also curious about the cost of going solar, and how long it takes to return the investment with power savings.
10 months ago · Like
stargazer51 Bobbi - Nevada City is inland on the western slope of the Sierras. While there are smaller faults in this area, large earthquakes are located along the coast several hundred miles away. The concern in this area is forest fires which the owners have dealt with by providing the gravel expanse between the house and the trees.
10 months ago · Like
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asiyap14 I want this house!!!
10 months ago · Like
Cathy Stanz Number of people for which this is intended? Out door gardening? Thank you! Beautiful house! Storage? Charging station for electric car?
10 months ago · Like
Fine Art & Portraits by Laurel Bobbi, the liquifaction you're talking about happens when a large area (like a whole city, not a single home) is not resting on bedrock. Most of Newport Beach and Huntington Beach, in Southern California, is in this position. Nevada City is in the north, in a mountainous area, entirely different soil composition.
10 months ago · Like
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shawnaleeah A dream vacation home :)
10 months ago · Like
woodgrain That's a great looking place and a good start on making a comfortable home. A vacation home is a nice experiment. We plan on building, our main home off the grid as well. I like to be inspired by others ideas. THANK YOU!!!!
10 months ago · Like
stormyweather Vanessa, thanks for the article. It's a great home and I hope we can see more written about this type of project, and in even more depth.
10 months ago · Like
mishottie I would love more information about this house/floorplans. I am looking to do something off the grid in Northern Arizona on our 40 acre property but money is a key concern.
10 months ago · Like
lucymulder I'm drawing this house for my Visual Communications class final rendering project :)
10 months ago · Like
davisbj Wow! Awesome! Wish I could see more of it.
9 months ago · Like
Ideabook updated on Aug. 2, 2012.
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