![A pencil and ruler sit on drawing paper - architectural building plans A pencil and ruler sit on drawing paper - architectural building plans](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2846a5e2-9f0a-43a1-9b38-b050a2b2dd59_6000x4000.jpeg)
Following the last list - if I could rebuild my house, or travel back in time to be present while it was built, but change *anything* - here are the items I would do, fix, or improve.
Organized from largest to smallest, just like A Pattern Language.
Better Site Design
![Sunshine falls on a stone castle - six buildings, towers, and high walls all made out of stone. The castle is surrounded by forest. A small road runs in the foreground Sunshine falls on a stone castle - six buildings, towers, and high walls all made out of stone. The castle is surrounded by forest. A small road runs in the foreground](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F75219b0e-a879-4d21-93fd-66601086896b_4000x2250.jpeg)
Face solar noon. Collect free heat from the sun to stay warm in winter.
Put the driveway run on the north side of the house, not the south side.
Plant more trees on the north to block cold winter winds.
You can and should do a lot to set yourself up for success before you even start building. I would love to get a professional appraisal done and find the best location to sit the house on the land, but I actually think the pioneers who chose the place did pretty well. It's well suited below a big hill so you block wind from one side. It gets fairly good sun. And it's easy to see anyone approaching up the long driveway. There are trees to block the cold north winds. Great job. Thanks. 9/10.
Doing good site design is a whole field unto itself. Following Ben Falk’s permaculture and the first chapter of Pretty Good House is a good start.
Rammed Earth Walls
![Packed sand and dirt are shaped into archways, creating the earthen walls of a house. A blue sky sits above Packed sand and dirt are shaped into archways, creating the earthen walls of a house. A blue sky sits above](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2f076b26-9e5d-4964-8a07-1e55f00f812a_4032x3024.jpeg)
Rammed earth is a technique where you compress sand, gravel, and clay to create a shaped wall. As you can imagine - it’s as strong, boring, and reliable as dirt. Fire proof. Pest proof. Mold proof. Strong. Well insulated with good thermal mass. Lasts hundreds of years. What’s not to love.
Building with rammed earth is also “high manual labour, low monetary cost”, which sounds good in this time of inflation.
An item on my bucket list is: find a rammed earth house or hotel and stay a couple of nights to see how it is.
Simple, Correct Roof Line
![A small triangular wooden cabin sits in the woods. There is a wooden porch out front. The cabin has three small windows and a door. A small triangular wooden cabin sits in the woods. There is a wooden porch out front. The cabin has three small windows and a door.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb57b95f7-1f5a-411e-9f59-a483deb567eb_4032x3024.jpeg)
A single peak, breaking north/south, so you have good facing for solar panels in the future. Our roof is complex, and mostly breaks east/west, which is not as good.
As mentioned in the last list, you probably want a stone or metal roof.
Large Rainwater Storage
![A large, round metal container sits atop a wooden stand. A rain pipe ends just above the container A large, round metal container sits atop a wooden stand. A rain pipe ends just above the container](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F138156a9-1af2-429d-ba36-3119cc7ee4d6_4000x6000.jpeg)
A ten billion gallon tank, easy to collect and use. Having one big cistern built in would be easier than setting up and taking down rain barrels each season.
My grandfather's house had water collection built in to the downspouts, which pulled water into an underground cistern. But it was removed later during renovation. I would love to have something like that.
Soapstone Wood Stove
![A fireplace made from many stones sits in the middle of a more modern, wooden walled house. The floor is black tile and the walls are painted white A fireplace made from many stones sits in the middle of a more modern, wooden walled house. The floor is black tile and the walls are painted white](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc4c88fc9-771a-43ce-901a-29e48f4ec77c_3648x5472.jpeg)
If you want to stay warm without using power - a wood stove is a great option. Soapstone is supposed to provide a nice, easy, gentle heat that dissipates evenly. We have a neighbour who loves theirs.
You may want to have some type of modern heat source as well, but putting in a wood stove seems like the house should be designed around it, not done as an afterthought.
Small “Hot Water Rectangle”
![Black-and-white photo of five metal water pipes running along a ceiling. The pipes each turn and curve in an elbow, changing from running left/right to running up/down Black-and-white photo of five metal water pipes running along a ceiling. The pipes each turn and curve in an elbow, changing from running left/right to running up/down](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1386e81f-9c9c-48c5-b5bc-63a3d0c0f7b8_7864x5200.jpeg)
Group all of the plumbing together, likely in the center. You want the shortest possible length of pipes. Less distance means you get hot water faster - as soon as you turn on the tap. Plus you avoid wasting energy by losing heat through long, cold, metal pipes.
For this read Energy Vanguard - “Efficient Hot Water Delivery With a Simple Tool”. What a genius idea.
Bigger Entryway / Boot Room
![Two pairs of rubber boots - green and black - stand in front of a wooden chair, outside a doorway entrance Two pairs of rubber boots - green and black - stand in front of a wooden chair, outside a doorway entrance](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc41b910b-c1b5-4705-962b-ab7a465fd3f7_6016x4000.jpeg)
Our entryway is much too narrow - there isn't enough space for all of the coats, boots, and activity as you move through the door.
Our previous house had a fantastic porch room - big enough for 500 coats and boots; a laundry sink where you could wash cats, dogs, and fresh chicken eggs; a washing machine; a dryer; and still enough space left over to bring in a surprise newborn calf in the middle of winter when it needs extra care.
I want a house with a wide entryway.
Root Cellar
![Two wooden shelves are stacked with dozens of glass jars filled with pickles and preserves Two wooden shelves are stacked with dozens of glass jars filled with pickles and preserves](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1637cec1-0d7f-432e-b661-107723d71db5_4970x3314.jpeg)
Cool underground storage to keep food, ferments, and supplies. The book "Root Cellaring: Natural Cold Storage of Fruits & Vegetables" by Mike and Nancy Bubel is a fantastic resource on this. It has examples and diagrams.
My late grandparents have root cellar space in their homesteading house, and I have always felt a big loss in places that don’t have it. As I have gotten much more into fermentation and learning how to create and store more foods later in life, it seems all the more valuable.
For this I would plan from scratch a 10 foot x 10 foot cellar. Enough to sustain a whole family they say.
Bigger Pantry Storage.
![More square wooden shelves are stacked with other jars of food More square wooden shelves are stacked with other jars of food](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd7dc353a-edf2-486e-9bbf-0cebfc295494_3024x3024.jpeg)
Likewise, more pantry. I have storage in the basement but it’s never enough. Let’s do a big storage space.
Short run for dryer vent to outside
![An industrial building has large, long runs of metal air duct An industrial building has large, long runs of metal air duct](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F09f4407f-29d4-4a35-9ee4-713f4e6282c9_3919x2799.jpeg)
A short vent means less maintenance and less fire hazard. Lint can go straight on out. Ideally two feet or less, and metal or course. Or check out a ventless dryer.
Livable At All Life Stages
Design the house so it is good for both young and old. Some designers call this “Universal Design”. This includes things like:
A bedroom and bathroom on the main floor, so you don’t need to use stairs.
Long lever handles on doors, rather than round doorknobs. So you can still use them when you have arthritis or limited mobility.
I would include using lever-handle ball valves for all of your plumbing as well.
Efficient Heat Flows
Modern houses seem to have strange heat uses that fight each other and waste energy. Your fridge is a heat pump that makes it cold inside the box and throws out heat. Heat pump water heaters pull heat out of the air and put it into the water. Could these help each other?
It seems better if you could use the 'waste' heat from the fridge to supply extra heat for your own water. Why waste. But I'm not sure if a house that sat these flows together would also have good design everywhere else. Perhaps an industry question for the future.
Anti-Patterns - Things To Not Do
Not needing a sewer backflow valve
If you live in a low area and have risk of sewage traveling back up your drainage pipes then you definitely want a sewer backflow valve properly installed into your basement. But a much better idea is to just live up higher where you don’t need one.
Don’t Use Skylights
After reading all of the books and blogs I could about home design - skylights seem to be one of the dumbest things you could do. They let heat leak out. They let cold air and moisture leak in. No matter how well you install them they are always a potential source of leaks and water damage. And because hot air rises, when hot air hits the cold skylight it will condense and release moisture, creating moisture and mold problems. Just use an LED.
Phew! A long list. But interesting to think about. If I’ve missed something I would love to hear about it.
References
“The Resilient Farm And Homestead”, Ben Falk
“How To Build A Small Town In Texas”, WrathOfGnon
“How To Build A House That Lasts A Thousand Years”, WrathOfGnon
Timeless materials
Traditional techniques
Shelter and nourish
“A Pattern Language”, by Christopher Alexander
“How Buildings Learn”, by Stewart Brand
Cornell seems to host the full PDF for free on their website
"Root Cellaring: Natural Cold Storage of Fruits & Vegetables" by Mike Bubel and Nancy Bubel.
“Renovation”, by Michael Litchfield
Universal design
Universal Design Homes (neat list but dumb domain name)
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation - Universal Design (PDF)