Sustainable Rebuilding in the Fire Zone
Posted on December 12, 2007
Filed Under Eco-Tips |
Steve Rypins and Michelle Risdon never wanted to build a new house.
They had been living contentedly with their son, Clyde, and dog Luna in their small house at the end of Iron Mountain Circle.
All that changed tragically and abruptly on June 24th when the Angora Fire roared through.
The fire spared all the homes on the inside of the circle but not the Rypins-Risdon house. Now, a mere three months after the fire, the focus is on rebuilding, and rebuilding an energy efficient, passive solar, sustainable house.
“We were perfectly happy in our old house,” says Rypins. “It wasn’t the greatest layout and we lost a lot of heat through the 2×4 walls and aluminum clad windows, but we loved our spot and I’d been working on it steadily since we bought it in 1999.”
“The community outpouring of support has been unbelievable, and our insurance (Capital Insurance Group) has so far done a few positive things for us that have allowed us to focus on rebuilding,” adds Risdon. “We’re trying to turn this huge loss into an opportunity to build a better house and maybe, if we can get our rebuild going quickly, show others there are alternatives to traditional, wood-framed construction.”
A Sustainable Building Exposition held July 21st at Lake Tahoe Community College introduced Rypins and Risdon to a variety of alternative building materials and processes. Among other presentations, Rypins attended a presentation by Eric Juhl of Amvic-Pacific, makers of Insulated Concrete Forms (ICFs). “Michelle’s aunt and uncle had built an ICF house in Washington and we had stayed there once,” said Rypins, “so we knew what they were all about.” That same day they also met Architect David Goldman of Environmental Architecture who had recently returned to Tahoe after several years away furthering his education and experience.
With the help of Goldman they came up with a design using the Amvic ICFs for their wall system, as they wanted a super-insulated house without the traditional waste associated with wood-framing. They also decided to do a slightly different floor plan, elongating the south-facing aspect of the house for better solar exposure and building a partial second story to increase the heating efficiency of the house. “We couldn’t have done it without the help of the County (El Dorado County Building Department) who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to assist us,” says Rypins. “As the grading deadline approached, they offered Foundation-Only and Expedited Early Excavation permits that allowed us to break ground.”
Rypins and Risdon decided on an open floor plan centered on a masonry heater. “The masonry heater is a traditional method used for centuries in Northern Europe,” says architect Goldman. “The design involves burning a wood fire at very high temperatures and then routing the heat through a convoluted flue wrapped in masonry. The fire goes out quickly, but the masonry collects the heat and radiates it to the house throughout the day (or night). It’s a very efficient system that creates far less pollution than most wood stoves. There are several EPA-approved masonry heater kits available, but we’re looking into getting TRPA approval for a site built unit.” The masonery hearter will also collect and store heat from the sun to be released in the evening.
Rypins and Risdon have also consulted with Tahoe Solar Designs and hope to pump water into rooftop solar panels to help heat their domestic hot water, radiant floor hydronics and, by way of a heat exchanger, their hot tub. Like many homes in the fire zone, their property has good southern exposure. They’re also hoping to get plenty of passive solar heat with the south facing windows and lots of interior concrete in the floors and walls.
Excavation on the Rypins-Risdon house began on October 1st. Rypins and Risdon are still mourning the loss of their home and the fire damage to the surrounding forest, but they are hopeful. “Of course we’re very sad about losing our house, and it’s a lot more project than we ever wanted, but we’re also excited about being in a position to try something new.”
Geoff Clarke is a South Shore general contractor and co-owner of Natural Energy Designs and certified Green Building Professional and GreenPoint Rater. To learn more about NED, please visit their website at http://www.naturalenergydesigns.com/
Masonry Heather photo courtesy of Masonry Stone Builders.
