Altor Prefabricated BathI was staying overnight in Glasgow, waiting for a flight. It was a spanking new hotel. The room was very small. If I were leaning toward obese, I would have been disappointed, but I was okay with small. I had everything I needed. A comfortable bed, good room temperature, lovely natural light with a view, a clothes rack, room for my suitcase, and even a TV, although TV programming in the UK is even worse than in the USA. What caught my attention and held it until I got home was the bathroom. It was brilliant! So I Googled it when I got home. Here they are. The brilliant company who figured out how to design prefabricated bathroom units that install in one hour, you can hose them down to clean them, are as small as they can possible be for a human being, and yet can qualify as a handicap accessible bathroom. I have been waiting for these for years.
Even the handicap bath only takes up 6 feet by 7.8 feet. The others average about 6.8 feet by 5.7 feet. My favorite is the Omega, topping out at 3.6 feet by 7.6 feet. Very tidy, and does not feel small inside. To clean them, you just need to hose them down inside. It all goes down the drain.
It is a French company. If you want one of these for your house, the shipping cost might be discouraging. But if you want 10 of them, I bet you would save many thousands of dollars by designing them into your project. PencilJazz plans to use them in future projects. Perhaps someone here in the USA also supply them. I will look into that. Here is the web address of the manufacturer. Bravo Altor!
BellaWood Bamboo FlooringManufactured, composite, laminate, engineered; there are a lot of terms thrown around to label this type of finish flooring. There are a few manufacturing techniques available.
The categories of choices are Engineered, Domestic, Exotic, Handscraped, and Stained, and all are not the same price, but close. You may be able to afford something exotic such as bamboo. It is not solid wood. It is a composite wood simulation with the wear resistant plastic surface that is barely distinguishable from solid wood. The same floor in solid wood could cost 3 to 5 times more per square foot. These materials run from $3 to $9 per square foot of coverage, before installation labor. When installed expertly, these are tough and beautiful floors that install more quickly and can more easily be repaired when damaged. For those of you who wince at synthetics, swallow your pride, fewer trees were cut and recycled materials are often used, so it can be “greener”.BellaWood Hickory Flooring
John Mansville AP Foil Faced Rigid FoamJohn Mansville AP Foil Faced Rigid Foam is a popular insulation applied to the exterior of an otherwise fiberglass insulated stud wall. At 2 inches thick, it has an insulation value of R-13. Added to an R-10, fiber batt insulated, 5.5 inch stud wall, you can achieve an R-33 wall. But you will need extension jambs on all doors and windows, and you have to apply vertical strapping to all foam surfaces, fastened to the studs behind them, so that you have something on which to fasten you clapboard, shingles or other finish siding.
There is some question about the benefit of foil facing. In many climates, there will be times during the Summer when the foil will create too much heat behind the finish siding, which will shorten the life of the siding, or even damage it on occasion. However, there may be an advantage to facing the foil to the interior to reflect heat from the inside back into the room. Still, the vapor barrier provided by the foil is useful pointed to the exterior. The alternative is to apply Typar or Tyvek building wrap.
StyroFoam Rigid Insulation by DowDow has a line of rigid foam board insulation in a number of thicknesses from .5 inch to 3 inches, with various ways of being joined at the edges. There is a board with grooves to be used for wrapping neatly around curved surfaces. With 3.5 inches of Ownes Corning’s CoreBond spray in foam between 2 x 4 studs, then 1.5 inches of StryroFoam applied outside the exterior sheathing, you would have a 5.5 inch wall with an R-30+ insulation value. You will save a little money on lumber, and CoreBond, but you have to buy the StyroFoam. It still could be a better choice than 5.5 inches of CoreBond in some circumstances.
Rinnai BoilerThey are called “On Demand Boilers” and they begin heating the water at the moment you turn on the faucet. The rest of the day, no energy is being consumed keeping a tank of water up to temperature. It makes sense. Winterizing a house is easier too. You don’t have to empty the water tank. Just the pipes. This model of Rennai burns either propane or natural gas. This is their light duty model. They have models for a number of use loads. Rinnai also produces gas fired whole-house heating units for circulating water or air. This is not the only reputable manufacturer of these components. But its a nice website for learning your options.
Core Bond InsulationThe minimum R-value for a LEED certified, energy efficient home is about to reach R-30. In a conventional stick framed home with 5.5 inch studs, fiberglass doesn’t offer this level of insulation. Many add 2 inches of rigid foam insulation to the outside of the studs. This works. You can achieve an R-35, but you buy both fiber batt and the rigid foam and have to apply both. Seems to me, the added expense of using CoreBond blown in foam insulation is roughly the same price, and really quite an elegant solution. You won’t even have to buy extension jambs for the windows because the walls are 2 inches thicker, and end up with tunnel vision in the window openings, which also block solar gain to a detectable degree. So, I recommend CoreBond insulation.
JM Corbond III closed-cell spray polyurethane foam (SPF) is a premium insulation solution, creating an advanced thermal, air and moisture barrier. This powerful insulation offers a maximum lift thickness of up to three inches in a single pass, providing an R-value of 19 at 3 inches and R-39 at 6 inches. JM Corbond III® SPF has one of the highest-yields of any closed-cell foam insulation and can be installed in temperatures as low as 25 degrees
RefrigeratorAs it happens, your refrigerator is one of the three largest consumers of electricity in a small home. A new refrigerator that is Energy Star rating compliant will require roughly 400 kwh/year. At regional rates, that might range between $50 and $100 per year on your electric bill. A 20 year old refrigerator could consume twice the power. Might be time to upgrade.
It is more energy efficient with the freezer on top or below. Icemakers use more power, do you really need one? Automatic defrosters are a good invention, but it doubles the energy consumption. What’s it worth to you?
When you are shopping for a chest freezer to store a bulk of frozen goods, note again that the auto defroster will double consumption, but the lift-up doors tend not to let warm air in, because warm air rises. So they are more efficient than your refrigerator that is opened and closed sideways all day. If a refrigerator gets dirty, it will burn more electricity, and won’t work as well either. Also, an empty refrigerator will consume more power than a full one. If yours is half empty, fill the rest with juice containers of clear water. They will store the cold and assist.
