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theSAGE now available!

theSAGE is now available for purchase at our website. Through an exclusive arrangement with the award-winning firm of Arbor South Architecture, PC, we are pleased to offer this 1,447 sq ft, 2 bedroom, 2 bath home.

Also, Arbor South is currently building theSAGE in Eugene, Oregon and it is targeted at LEED Platinum.
Visit the Arbor South Architecture Group on Facebook for pictures and information.
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theSAGE


We are in week six of construction. theSAGE has roof, windows installed and we are now working on interior “infrastructure”. We are targeting LEED Platinum. We are pulling out all the stops — solar PV, solar DHW, massive insulation, small infill site, reclaimed and reused redwood from the Cuthbert Amphitheater benches (it’s incredible wood! Thanks to BRING Recycling for contacting us).

We will be offering the plan for sale on our website soon. 
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theJADE ready for purchase!

Well, finally, we have theJADE plan ready for purchase via download. It took a little longer because demand for crawl space options is high and we wanted to offer the plan either way. You can also now download sample elevation pages for each plan. This will gve you an idea of what each side of the house looks like as well as an idea of the level of detail in our construction documents.

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theJADE ready to preview



Our latest plan, theJADE is ready to preview at our website http://www.thesimplehouse.com

It is 3 bedroom, 2 bath, with an optional den (in lieu of the middle bedroom). Coming in at a lean 1,392 sq ft, it will be the next series of plans in our line-up.
Available for purchase in February.
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theJADE — coming soon!

I’m making progress on theJADE, our second plan series. This plan will be slightly larger at 1,392 sq ft and have 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. It will be oriented with preferred south to the side, rather than the rear. It will have all of the same sustainability features and options with a few new ones (we’re learning all the time).

Still simple, still trying to change our way of thinking.
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theFERN – view from the back

Many of you asked “so what does the fern look like from the OTHER side?” So here it is. 

You can see the covered patio with optional photovoltaic panels, large south glass for passive solar gain and just a nice patio to sit on and sip iced tea.
Click on the image to enlarge.
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additional views of theFERN

I’ve had several requests over the past couple of days saying “I like the front elevation, but what does it look like from the back?”

So, in response to those requests, I’m working on some additional views of theFERN, so you can have a better idea of what it will look like.
Thanks for your input!
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simple design

I guess maybe I should have started with the obvious. These plans are simple. There are a few, understated design elements and themes that carry through; just enough “umph” to give them some pizzaz, but not overdone. 

For so many years we’ve overdone. With the global climate and fossil fuel issues, we can no longer live lives of excess. That doesn’t mean we can’t be comfortable or have style, but within the context of simple, sustainable, responsible housing.
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sip panel construction

Probably one of the key features of our plans is the use of Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs). These are four foot wide panels of oriented strand board sandwiching full, solid insulation. They are more expensive, but eliminate studs and several intermediate steps.

They also eliminate the cold-bridge of studs in a typical wall. So, while a standard 2×6 wall will have R21 insulation, the effective insulating value is much less. (R-value is the resistance to heat loss; the bigger the number, the better). A comparable SIP will have a true value of up to R29 in the same thickness. Likewise on the roof, a 12 1/2″ SIP will achieve R58 or so, while a standard ceiling will only get about R38 to R49.
So, we started there on these houses, believing that conservation at the front end will help make the energy measures we do later much more effective.