Design Build Energy Efficient Loft Home Design CAD drawings and Build Notes for Brick Home LEED Rated Project:
- Exposed Brick Interior Walls- Soulard Red Mortar
- 2nd Floor Loft Railings will reflect the design chosen for the finishes- Modern, Rustic, Traditional, etc.
- Fireplace, Mantle, Smoke Stack- Final Design chosen to match existing finishings and the exposed brick walls.
- 3 Bedroom
- Master Bed w/Bath ea floor
- 2 Full Bath,
- 2-1/2 bath,
- Open Floor Plan-Kitchen,
- Utility Room,
- Dining,
- Great Room,
- 1st Floor Sun Room/Study,
- 2nd Floor Office/Spare Bedroom,
- 2nd Floor Deck,
Design Build Energy Efficient Loft Home Design CAD drawing
I propose:
- Make Fireplace focal point of front room and second floor Loft Area
- Loft removing 1/2 of the front room ceiling and floor system.
- This opens the entire floor plan up and gives options for incorporating fireplace, mantle, and smoke stack up the wall for Vertical Appeal.
- 2 Draw Backs to this design:
- a: it is not as energy efficient to have ceilings that tall, windows that large and numerous.
- b: the size of the opening is about the size of a bedroom. So you lose a bedroom.
- On the Adjacent Wall- copy the existing design of where the Glass Block in the 1st Floor to Ceiling. Directly above- copy and build this set up into the 2nd Floor as well. This will tie the vertical space together.
- Glass Block or:
- Stained Glass- would or could also be used for accent options.
- Since the existing flooring is damaged in the center of the room on the first floor; I also suggest to incorporate a design into the floor as an accent in front of the fireplace. Matching the existing floor could prove to be a challenge- here's an example
- If you choose to use the fireplace for more than looks and for actual heating purposes, it wouldn't be too big of a deal to channel that hot air back into the rooms.
Energy Efficiency:
- Exposed Brick walls have little to no insulation value.
- If insulation is desired you have to insulate the outside or build walls on the inside.
- I have additional energy saving design tricks for brick walls up my sleeve that I will share at a later date.
- I say sacrifice the R Value for Koolness factor,
- To combat the energy loss from the walls means that whatever makes the heat needs to run cheap and use no fossil fuels.
- Geothermal is my first choice,
- Solar w/ Instantaneous is 2nd choice
- Full Insulation in Attic/Ceiling as well as
- Basement Walls and Ceiling (full ins)
- Geothermal Infloor heating or radiant floor heating with electric are heating options to minimize the HVAC heating.
- Fireplace- Emergency use or heating choice (high efficiency insert into a fireplace for increased energy efficiency- could be ducted into existing hvac ducts and used to heat home.)
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