I have land and I wish to build something this cool on the land by myself. I've only before built beds and desks, simple wood designs, saw, drill, screws. Is it possible for me to even undertake such as task? Would I need tons of help and mentorship? Or can I use youtube videos to learn? Does PrepHole have a local group in Arizona where fellow PrepHole'ers meet? Happy to travel. I would love to pick y'alls brain. Thank you.
that shit is fricking IMPOSSIBLE to keep cool in the summer or warm in the winter
good point. perhaps I need to put it in the shade and install a brick fireplace
If you’re in the northern hemisphere, I think you could get away with it if you did the expensive insulated impact type glass and made sure that glass wall faced north. Possibly northeast. But if it faced west or south, you would get cooked in the summer afternoons.
What are blinds?
Why would you build with that view to have it blocked out most of the time?
Maybe the lake faces south. And in winter you will be happy to have extra daylight.
With some adjustments it's unironically a really easy to cool/heat.
>Entire glazing has to be shaded in summer
Assumes northern hemisphere, south facing. Shade either with seasonal foliage or properly angled exterior shading that allows (low) winter sun but blocks (high) summer sun.
>Insulation and thermal mass
Berm the entire brick wall (south) with dirt, bury as much of it as possible. Allows for ample heat storage and for...
>Geo cooling
Slap some vents in the roof and some ground pipes earthship style into the dirt out back. Draws cool underground air down low and vents it out of the ceiling.
>Heating
If the sun isn't enough you can put a large masonry heater in there and take advantage of the thermal mass and open concept design.
>Air tightness, insulation
Obviously none of this works without controlled air flow. Entire space should be air tight with an active heat exchanger (forgot the name) to condition incoming and outgoing air.
With all of the above you'd have a great, easy to maintain home.
Brick on the north not south my bad. Whatever shade side of the house.
>With some adjustments it's unironically a really easy to cool/heat
lol. no, moron.
It's tried and tested for the last 80 plus years...
Contractor here I don't completely agree.
If the glass had a strong heat blocking tint and all the seams and corners of the unit were well sealed and insulated, you could have good HVAC performance like a normal home.
general engineer here,
I did not even consider the glass as my primary concern when posting that.
the 20ft tall ceilings alone will be a disaster for HVAC design and effectiveness.
i think it is impossible to have any less than a significant difference in temperature between the bed area and the rest of the house
I mean there will be extreme differences of like 20c or more unless the home is 24/7 climate controlled
Who cares? Wear less clothing in the summer, and more clothes in the winter. This idea that houses should be the same temperature year round is extremely feminine
start small.
Sweet! I can do that. Its like building a gigantic bed. I built beds befo'
Watch some bush radical videos, he makes some simple yet practical small cabins alone in the middle of nowhere. See if you can do something similar. Fricking around with I beams at first is not very smart.
Ok
The problem is that youtubers are idiots like everyone else.
You can learn a lot from them, but watch 50 vids, read the comments of people critiquing the info, and take the best practices from everything while eliminating the worst to from a start to finish game plan.
There is big strength in the phrase "Know the end before you start the beginning." If you go out there with nothing but a plucky attitude and a random youtube tutorial you'll probably end up with a shit shack that won't last.
Also make sure you know what parts you actually want to do. No problem paying some schmuck to dig the hole if your only passion is to lay the pavers.
>There is big strength in the phrase "Know the end before you start the beginning." If you go out there with nothing but a plucky attitude and a random youtube tutorial you'll probably end up with a shit shack that won't last.
based
I am building a small cabin for the first time with a girlfriend on some land we bought and basically this is the approach we use. One thing that I suggest is insulate, insulate, insulate. No one ever complains about using too little insulation. Also you can get crazy deals if you take your time to find them. Just don't skimp on certain things like your windows and roof is also important. In a place like arizona I'd pay special attention to roof material. Try to get something with good. Near us is a place that makes shingles with good reflectivity ratings called envirocool. The cost is more but not as much as I expected. There are probably similar things near OP. I'd really recommend. Also using the ground as a temperature moderator is also very useful if you can build down into it effectively. A lot of interesting science videos out there too, since I'm a physicist I keep an eye out for useful concepts. Using mechanically stabilized earth for footings so we will see how that actually works out. We're trying a lot of weird stuff out on this first build since it's a learning experience. Some will work some won't
sorry I meant complains about using too much insulation.
I bought land in 2013.
Built a 96 sq foot tiny house to skirt town codes
2018 got opportunity to take apart a building set to be demod
Have since build small house in woods with that stuff. Bought new windows and siding and stuff.
Its possible.
Id start small. The tiny house I build on a 12x12 deck set on concrete blocks is still doing great.
A pickaxe, loppers, wheelbarrow and shovel were my humble beginnings. Appalachia hardwoods and arizona are prolly different tho.
>Built a 96 sq foot tiny house to skirt town codes
based
If you can do basic carpentry you can build a cabin or treehouse easily enough.
And a small outpost is just a cabin with some insulated walls and electrical wiring.
>build something this cool
It actually looks warm and cozy, with lots of natural sunlight.
Are you suggesting that this living space is refrigerated, and that you would like to live in a similar environment?
1 is it possible yes
it actually super simple
2. if you can do it withought dealing with permits
or eve with permits
3just build one giant brick room
or like garage room , insulation windows
thats all enviormental
but properly oriented is a must
then hirea metal dude ora carpenter to make that loft thing insid
its just stairs and loft a
any woodworking guy can build that
or metal guy
the hard part is building the big room
or you can finance a metal garage too