Pennsylvania Home Design Project – Part 3

Posted on: May 20th, 2011 | 4 Comments


John & Matthew continue their discussion of Nancy & Sam’s home by discussing within a historical perspective.

  • Terri

    John and Matthew,

    Thanks for your interesting overview of the Usonian home design. I’d wanted to know more when Nancy and Sam’s house was discussed as being Usonian.
    From this vantage point, some 80 years hence, it’s interesting to see what elements have been retained into the present and which have not. These homes require spacious lots and cheap energy–not something all could afford (just like today)–but their expression of openness and simplicity can be adapted for our energy-conscious and space-limited times. 

  • Nancy & Sam

    Terri,

    Two things.  

    The original house had its shape dictated by the small, long lot if you look at the aerial view posted with Part 2. With the additional area from 1976 we still have only .43 acre (.17 hectare). Spacious for its location downtown perhaps.

    In terms of energy use – considering the age and longitudinal shape – it is not bad. The in-floor radiant heat allows a much lower setting 62ºF (17ºC) in our case. The original part of the house had moderate insulation, with more added in the available space in the roof.  The 1987 addition is super insulated with 6″ (15cm) walls and 12″ (30 cm) overhead. For the  2350 sq ft (218 sq m) we used 192 dekatherms in the past 12 months.

    Nancy & Sam

  • Terri

    Hi Nancy & Sam,
    I didn’t mean to imply that your home wasn’t smart with energy–you did explain about the in-floor heating, which sounded fairly efficient to me. And it looks like you don’t have an overabundance of glazing. Single-pane glass was the norm in the 1930s, and would not be today. The right orientation might be key with this configuration (as with any Slow Home, for that matter!).

  • Nancy & Sam

    Terri,

    No offense taken.  This house has a plethora of glass, which makes it light and airy every day. Miraculously the big windows are original 1951 thermopane. All the casements have secondary interior glazing applied.  In the big glass doors to  the dining terrace,  which  were single glazed, we were able to have the local glass company make argon filled 3/4″ inserts. The clerestory windows above the living room were single glazed but we applied 1″ 5 ply (R 3.5) Polygal to them. We installed new storm doors. The list goes on.  When it was built it was not as efficient as it is now.

    Nancy & Sam