Fairhill Home Project

This home has been built using basic “green” and vernacular strategies. It is designed to fit in with its wooded lot and provide an inexpensive, energy-efficient home for a family of 4-5 people. It is only 1200 square feet in size with 3 bedrooms and 1 ½ baths, to fit in with its neighboring houses.

Unused or lightly used spaces such as a formal living room and dining room have been eliminated. Minimizing site impact, the footprint has been limited to 800 sq. ft and the home is situated near the road using only a short semi-permeable bluestone driveway. Only one moderately-sized tree was removed to build this home, leaving a wooded lot, connected to a wooded stream corridor. The deciduous trees provide a reduced air temperature surrounding the home and shade in the warm weather.

The home is situated on the north side of the lot, to maximize this shading effect. The trees shed their leaves in the colder weather to allow direct sunlight to reach the structure. The home has most of its glazing on the south and east sides and is elongated along the east-west axis to maximize interior solar gain. To minimize heat loss it has maximum insulation and minimal glazing on the north and west sides, where the winter winds come from. Small windows on the north and west (that facilitate the creation of a Venturi Effect) and the single room width of the house provide excellent cross-ventilation for all rooms, reducing the need for air conditioning to under a month per year. The narrow construction and southern glazing also provide ample daylighting to reduce the need for artificial lighting.

Durable, low-maintenance materials are used, such as the stained cedar siding and mahogany on the counter edges and handrails. The historic heart-pine flooring is recycled from old buildings and is finished with a Monocoat low-VOC finish that can be spot repaired when damaged. The concrete foundation is insulated on the outside to provide a thermal heat sink for the home. Supplemental heat is provided by an efficient wood stove. Fallen trees from the lot and surrounding neighbors have provided more than enough wood for heating.

The house is only one block from a bus stop and walking distance to a Metro station, freeing the owners from dependency on a car.