interiordd.com Blog

Tree guys working on the back of the lot.

Besides creating a barrier-free layout for the home, my client also wanted to explore options to keep the construction as green as possible.  One of the ideas we wanted to explore was radiant heat flooring.  This form of heat is very quiet, and it is also energy efficient over a long period of time.  The down side is that it is expensive to install, and should there be any maintenance issues, it is difficult to access for repairs.  The idea of this heating is to install flexible tubing in the zone to be heated.  After the tubing is installed the concrete slab is poured.  Then heated water is pumped through the tubing to heat the concrete and the floor above.  There is also an electrical version of this that can be installed over a substrate.  Rather than water running through the tubes, electrical wires that are suspended in a flexible grid are laid upon the base floor.  The finished floor is then installed over the grid.  The electrical method of heating is much easier to install, but the heated zones are usually much smaller.  After much research we determined that the electrical method of radiant heating will be a stronger choice for my client.  With her elderly mother sharing her home it is necessary to create smaller control zones so that both people can be comfortable sharing the same space. 

Besides radiant heating we are also exploring extremely energy efficient windows and doors.  This will assist my client in having the natural lighting that she loves without sacrificing her heating and cooling to the exterior.  We are still exploring our options on this, and we will let you know we decide.

In addition we are exploring our options on recycling the rainwater.  We have found a lot of information regarding this, but we haven’t determined what direction will work best for us.  My client’s primary use for this water is to irrigate flowers and landscaping.  Gardening is one of her passions, and she doesn’t want to sacrifice this pleasure should summer heat and water shortage be an issue.  We are hoping to find a way to utilize the rainwater and natural runoff and contain it in some type of reservoir until it is needed for irrigation.  If anyone has any resources on this I would love to hear from you.

Our next topic is low maintenance exteriors.