The finalized project

Enough blah blah, we now owe you a picture, so that you finally see this house!
Please see the "View from the South" and "View from the North" posts.


First, be aware that we have drawn almost a hundred "drafts" before the final design becomes evident.
One hundred sketches, location studies of rooms, orientation, movement, and still other changes once the land was purchased and the location of the house set.
Fortunately, an incredible tool has allowed us to chain-draw these drafts, permiting us to change very quickly the layout of rooms and / or the surface, this tool is the free program Google SketchUp.
Eternal Gratitude!


A quick tour of the house?


As explained in the previous post, it marries the concepts we wanted implemented:
- Wood frame
- Use of two containers for “extra rooms”
- The closest to the required specifications to get the title of "passive house" (why not a "true" passive house? We will return on this later)
- And therefore, a very energy efficient and practical home, giving us as much independence as possible.


The house itself is rather compact (100 square meters on two levels total), the children are grown and are “flying” on their own now, no need for 6 additional rooms to build, to heat and to maintain!
It is protected on the north by the stacked containers, which still provide an additional 2x 28 sqm.
The lower container is left as-is, for aesthetic choice, and includes the airlock located in the middle, flanked by a storage area (no basement or attic, it is our choice) and a shop, also accessible through the two large doors of the container.
The one above is isolated (20 cm, it is not the "passive house standard", but how isolated is your own home ?) and it is intended to serve as leisure/hobby room. The doors are removed and replaced by a large window, with another tall, narrow window on the side to bring more light.


The roof is flat, more than 40 cm of insulation, and a film of air between the insulation and the outer membrane to prevent summer overheating.
Solar thermal panels (hot water) will face the sunny star of the day: we will enjoy "energy-independent" showers (as they will not be “free” before the amortization of these panels !)
And the rain water will be stored in a tank of 5 cu.m, to be used for toilets and garden.


After the outside visit, we'll take you soon into the house, and describe the rooms layout.