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Floor Plans: A Federal Farmhouse With Built-In Sustainability
Project:
Panelized Home
Manufacturer:
Connor Homes
Builder:
Columbia Country Historic Homes
About 30 miles from Albany, N.Y., on a hidden parcel of land in Chatham sits a new, “old” panelized construction-built farmhouse using sustainable green materials and systems and accented with salvaged lumber and other recycled materials.
The home owners wanted to use both passive and solar energy to power the home, so they worked to design and site the farmhouse for maximum solar gain.
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A solar grid on the south facing roof provides heat and hot water while passive solar heat is generated through the windows, doors and transoms. | To meet the home owners’ needs, Connor Homes, based in Middlebury, Vt., enlarged its custom-milled kit, the Emmaline Gabrielle Farmhouse, with a slightly larger mudroom and larger second floor master suite bathroom. The manufacturer also added an attached barn that serves as a two-car garage — with enough second-story space for a future loft studio. The location of the “barn” provides a courtyard feel toward the front door.
Federal-inspired detailing is found in the asymmetrical front entry and fireplace, generous overhangs, 12/12 window patterns and 10/12 roof pitch.
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A louvered cupola sits atop the barn/garage finished with vertical board shiplap siding. | While the Emmaline Gabrielle Farmhouse plan with its wrap-around porch was the original inspiration for the home, the porch for the Chatham home was only carried along the north side to protect the entry doors. On the other sides of the home, the glass and doors were exposed so they could take full advantage of the sun’s path.
Columbia County Historic Homes, a local, full-service general contractor, began excavation in November 2005 and the house was framed less than three months later. Since the home was being built during the winter months in upstate New York, Connor Homes built the walls in its factory as the home's ICF insulation foundation was being installed to ensure that the home could be erected quickly once the foundation was completed.
Exterior trim finishes include energy-efficient Green Mountain Windows, insulated glass doors, vertical grain hemlock siding on the house and vertical board pine siding on the barn. A covered porch protects the main entrance and the mudroom door and a louvered Connor Homes cupola sits atop the barn.
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The dining/living room space features ample southern exposure and salvaged heart pine flooring. | A mix of materials and furnishings accents the interior. The home owners found salvaged wood floors from Antique & Vintage Woods of America and placed reclaimed light fixtures — many of them family heirlooms — throughout the house. These and other reclaimed materials in the home helped to reduce the amount of construction waste that would otherwise have been shipped to the landfill.
The general contractor created the cherry kitchen cabinets and custom library by milling locally harvested cherry on site. Connor Homes provided the stairs, doors and interior trim.
The home owners chose several sustainable features when designing and building their home. They specified large, double hung windows and triple French doors, both with overhead transoms, to allow plenty of natural light and warmth to flood the house.
The home features two types of solar panels installed on its southern roof exposure to provide solar heating and domestic hot water.
The Energy Star-rated farmhouse also has grid-tied photovoltaics, a heat recovery ventilation system, radiant floor heating, a high-efficiency propane boiler, low-flow toilets, energy-efficient appliances, an insulated ICF foundation and Icynene foam wall insulation.
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The kitchen was created using locally milled cherry. |
Because the house was built to be so tight and energy-efficient, when finishing the interior, the home owners used only non-toxic and low-VOC finishes to maintian a healthy air quality.
Th finished house is the product of the home owners, manufacturer and general contractor working together to blend green technologies with classic New England design to create an energy-efficient and attractive one-of-a-kind home.
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The living room features one of two fireplaces in the home. The other is in the study. |
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Reclaimed mushroom floors were installed in the entry hallway. |
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The screened porch is top with a tongue and groove ceiling. |
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First Floor
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Second floor
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Features and Specifications |
- Federal-style farmhouse with attached New England-style barn
- 3,328 square-foot home with 624 square-foot barn, 624 square-foot studio and 324 square-foot screened porch
- Durable wood siding, trim, windows and doors with standing seam roof
- Green Mountain Window with simulated divided lites and argon-insulated Low-E windows
- Reclaimed light fixtures with energy-efficient bulbs
- Doors with reproduction glass knobs
- Home Recovery Ventilator (HRV) whole house system to keep indoor air fresh
- Solar hot water/thermal, solar photovoltaics
- Passive solar heating featuring maximum southern exposure to French doors and triple window units with transoms
- Energy Star-rated home
- Reclaimed wood floors of mushroom wood, heart pine, larch and fir
- Cork flooring in attic
- Sprayed Icynene insulation
- Radiant heating/ HVAC: Munchkin boiler, Lifebreath Heat Recovery Ventilation
- Kitchen and library woodwork milled on site from native cherry harvested locally
- Arxx ICF foundation
- Minimal site disturbance — worked with natural contours, no clearing of trees
- Low-VOC interior paint
- Reclaimed landscaping stones
Manufactured by Connor Homes, Middlebury, Vt. |
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