NORTH WALL SECTION

This drawing shows some of the best aspects of the project:

1. RUBBLE TRENCH FOUNDATION - first popularized by Frank Llyod Wright for the Imperial Palace in Tokoyo this type of foundation has a reputation for helping building survive earthquake and saves yards and yards of concrete in deep frost sites (our frost line is 36" below grade)

2. RADIENT HEAT - heating tubes filled with hot water run cicles through the floor providing warmth from the toes upwards. Many people have noticed that the human body loves heat that travels to us in long energy waves rather than through conduction as in a typical forced air system.

3. ADOBE WALL - thanks to a vibrant and living vernacular building tradition in New Mexico we are able to have code approved earth walls that carry the load of our roof. This 10" of earth provides significant mass that stabalizes the temperature and humidity within the house.

4. STRAW BALE INSULATION - we wrap the north, east and west walls in insulation to protect the adobe mass walls from heat loss during our cold and snowy winter. Various sources cite insulative qualities of strawbale from R-35 to R-55. Reguardless, its miles ahead of typical 2x4 construction that runs about R-13.