Our House: the genesis

If you ask, we will reply that we have been thinking about this house since nearly 20 years ...


Of course, from our first thoughts (the log houses, discovered during our stay in Seattle), the drifts to modules based on shipping containers (desire of compactness, recycling of a trivial and universal material), the "environmentalists" sensitivities (fantasy: to save the planet all alone?!...), and finally learning what is a passive house (a German concept), the final "soup" includes a little of each of these "vegetables", which have long simmered over the years!


First: wood.
Uh, what to say more? Ancestral material fully adaptable and responsive to the constrains of modern (and future!) construction, it combines great flexibility of use with an unbeatable environmental friendliness.
But, also, we must admit: we have taken into horror (that's the word!) the "parpaing" (cinder block), this disgusting concrete cube, typically French!
What could be more paradoxical to it than wood?
Why wood, then? Probably a simple mental allergy to cinderblock ...


Then: the container.
Yes, yes, THE shipping container, the "tin box" found in all ports around the world!
Living in a container?... At first glance, the idea is not stupid: for a few dollars, one gets a floor, 4 walls and a roof, transportable on a truck, a little toying with a crane, and presto: a house! ...
Except ...
Let's be reasonable: it's just a raw box of sheet metal, nothing else, and a "metallic tunnel", moreover, 6 or 12 meters long and 2.50 m wide only.
It's not livable, 2.50 m wide! ...
But ...
Being able to reuse one way or an other this "container" that carries 90% (!) of world trade, a vital tool in this economy that goes too fast, but which also feed us, seems a little challenge, a way of diverting from its original usage and highlighting a object vital to our "civilization" but completely ignored by the majority ...


Ecology:
Ok, we had our "greeen!" period... Ho, just a bit, enough to realize that there are many other ways to make, move, build, buy, eat, ...
The result of this period: we will not save the world, but let give us the means to save ourselves, choosing the "common sense" alternatives.
Selfishness? Well, by showing to others, through this blog, if we can convince only ONE family to put into question the "established order" and change a little (it does not take much! ) its lifestyle, we would be proud of having shown these people that other solutions exist.


A precision. We are saying loud and clear that we are not "ecologists" or acting purely "for the good of the planet"!
We would like to be as pragmatic as possible and take into account the solutions and tools that allow us to:
- not depend entirely on a “system” (energy, pensions, etc. ...)
- live a healthier lifestyle, to pay more attention to what surrounds us, and to avoid "being dirty" just because we do not want to make any effort.
If the result is close to an "environmentalist" attitude, the better, but it is not out of “green” conviction that we act.
Only common sense.




Passive House:
We are now at the heart of the matter!


The discovery of this concept (no fear, it is only common sense, once again!) was a great move towards the answer to our questions.


What then is a passive house?


3 principles:
- A house and rooms layout favoring the recovery and storage of the heat from the sun (Principle No. 1: as long as it shines, why not take advantage of this free heat?)
- An excellent thermal insulation and air-tightness (Principle No. 2: keep the heat in)
- A ventilation system to recover most of this heat (Principle No. 3: one MUST renew the air of a home, but we try to avoid "heating the clouds" with our air at 20 ° C)


Solutions to implement these principles:
- Orientation and openings taking into account the path of the sun (note: a calculation or estimation is necessary, especially to avoid overheating in summer!), with massive and heat-absorbent material inside the house to store the heat collected,
- An insulation as thick as possible (30 or 40 cm of insulation is the norm!), while taking the greatest care possible to prevent "air leakages", the points of entry of cold air and the passages through which the hot air escape (by taping each joint, and with greater attention to construction quality)
- "Double flux" ventilation to recover, through a heat exchanger, the heat of the “used” hot air, and to warm the “fresh” air (in both senses) brought in the house. A yield of 90% is generally cited for these devices.


“Fully loaded” with all these information, stored in our minds, we were finally able to bring these concepts into our project when we decided to "throw anchor" in northern Germany.


We promise to unveil the result very soon!