Architectural drawings for log cabins / timber frame houses.

[agg221]

Some thoughts:

 

'Best' depends on your criteria (best price, best performance, best durability, best aesthetics etc). You presumably need to comply with building regs, but you could go further and go for Passivhaus.

One way to justify your choices is to use a spider diagram - choose your criteria and set them out at the ends of spokes of a wheel. Then draw a series of 10 rings around them so it looks like a spider's web. You can then score each criterion out of 10 (use data where possible, e.g. thermal conductivity values or price) and mark off each criterion on its spoke so 1 is the innermost ring, 10 the outermost. The bigger the area covered, the better the choice, but you can justify it against whichever criteria you select as the most important.

The best thermal performance material on the market is aerogel blanket, supplied by Aspen. This means that you can use it at the lowest thickness for a given performance. If you want to go green and decide on a bungalow rather than a log cabin, try looking at Modcell's construction which locks up the maximum possible carbon.

One thing which often gets overlooked is that building comfort is a combination of temperature and humidity. Water vapour management is essential and the easiest way to maintain this is through breathable construction. Thermal mass is also important for temperature stability. Concrete is not very green but is the easiest way to achieve it.

Managing solar gain is also important - you want heat and light from the sun but it is no use if the building overheats in summer and you need aircon to manage it.

You could consider building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) as a roofing solution - there are now photovoltaic roof tiles available.

 

Sounds like a good project!

 

Alec

[harvey b davison]

Cheers Alec. Yes i'm really looking forward to getting stuck into this project, so i will be asking lots of questions. I have been looking at the britshlogcabins website and found some useful stuff. I now have it in my head that i want a 1000mm high stone wall around the perimeter and then sit my log cabin on that. This is the first thing i have properly decided, and im going to work everything else around this.

 

I really fancy a grass roof but also want to incorporate solar into it as well.

 

What about a thatched roof ?

[SteveA]

Would be good to see your final design!....

cheers, steve

[roys]

Are you going with a wood / coal burner inside, if so personally I would not go with a thatched roof, tooooo risky, seen a couple burnt down now. I know you can get spark arresters but for me it's nit worth it. I like slate roofs.

I would be interested to hear feedback on the solar slates or tiles that you can get.

Sounds like a good interesting project, good luck.

[harvey b davison]

Hi roy, good point re fire. I am still thinking about roof, but if i do go with an 'alternate' roof design, i might put a full length porch on the front / side and put solar tiles on that.

[Peat]

Sounds like a good project.

 

I've done a few builds with living roofs and am not that convinced. They are very heavy and the structure needs to be beefed up to account for this (although log cabin construction is generally very strong anyway) and a green roof is effectively a plastic/rubber roof but made inaccessable by having tons of earth piled on top of it. If you have any leaks down the line then you are in trouble. Sedum is a lighterweight alternative as you don't need soil (or not so much anyway), you can use shredded carpet or similar. I'd go for slate, tiles, cleft shingles or sheet metal.

 

For anyone who doesn't have access to cad software. Google sketchup is a good free 3d modelling program that works well for architectural drawings and more besides

[harvey b davison]

Cheers for the info peat. Yes it is a good project, but one that i feel is going to be frustrating as well.

 

As for the roof materials, i only have experience with slate. How does shingles and tin compare. Wouldnt tin be loud and echoy in the rain.

 

cheers.

[matelot]

I usually find material suppliers are keen to supply detail drawings to show how their product should be used. I'd be emailing the suppliers for the "standard details", it's then just a copy/paste exercise.

 

Have you looked at the "Spons" book for construction costs? It's the bible for quantity surveyors. It costs about £150 but your college should have one.

 

I'd be specifying an insulated tin roof. It's two layers of aluminium with insulation in between, it should be cheaper and more environmentally friendly than most other roofs. You shouldn't hear the rain on it either.

 

If you want to complement your other environmental ideas consider a reed bed to polish the water coming from your septic tank.

 

How about a heat pump?

[harvey b davison]

Hi matelot, sounds an interesting idea about the tin roof.

 

Regarding a heat pump, thats one idea i am going to look at closely. Its just weather i can run one in conjunction with a wood / log / chip bio / burner.

[agg221]

Are you going with a wood / coal burner inside, if so personally I would not go with a thatched roof, tooooo risky, seen a couple burnt down now. I know you can get spark arresters but for me it's nit worth it. I like slate roofs.

I would be interested to hear feedback on the solar slates or tiles that you can get.

Sounds like a good interesting project, good luck.

 

There is quite a lot of misunderstanding around thatched roofing and fires.

 

The usual causes of fire are mice chewing wires (which is why new wiring is discouraged and has to be armoured cable or in conduit) or idiot plumbers with blowtorches (yes, really!)

 

The issue with fires is not sparks but creosote soaking through old brickwork and mortar which can eventually be ignited, smoulder right through and set the thatch slight from the inside. Open fires, being inefficient, pass hot gas up the flue so the creosote doesn't condense. Log burners have much cooler smoke so the creosote condenses more easily. The solution is simple - use a liner. Spark arresters are actually discouraged as they tend to clog up and either cause problems with draw or the soot can catch fire.

 

Alec