I confess that, back in the '80s, I might have done the same thing this couple did. I remember reading Mother Earth News and Practical Homeowner magazine articles about folks who collected discarded materials to use in their existing homes or to build a new one. Take that man in Colorado, for example, who had a materials stash big enough to build a whole, nice-sized house for only $5000. That was cool! Since then, however, I've learned why I would have regretted building a house resembling what you see below.

According to the Inhabitat article where I read about this foolishness, the couple in the photo above "take their dreams very seriously." Unfortunately, they didn't take them seriously enough to learn a little building science, or even the lessons of those who made similar mistakes in the '70s and '80s.

But that's fine. I know a thing or two about learning to swim by jumping into the deep end of the pool.

My prediction about their 'love nest'

My prediction is that this couple will either abandon their 'love nest,' as Inhabitat called it, or be forced to spend serious money fixing it. Why? Because this house will be:

Too cold in winter. West Virginia gets cold, and single pane windows do little to stop the home's heat from moving right out. Also, from the other photos in the article, it looks like the rustic wood walls may have no insulation at all.

West Virginia gets cold, and single pane windows do little to stop the home's heat from moving right out. Also, from the other photos in the article, it looks like the rustic wood walls may have no insulation at all. Too hot in winter, spring, summer, and fall. If they have a view of the sunset when they sit in that open window, then the house is likely to bake on sunny days. Even on warmer winter days, all that direct solar gain could overheat the small space.

If they have a view of the sunset when they sit in that open window, then the house is likely to bake on sunny days. Even on warmer winter days, all that direct solar gain could overheat the small space. Too leaky. I'd be very surprised if they haven't already mopped up water from that window quilt with no overhang. A good thunderstorm blowing through will probably...well...blow right through. I'm sure the place leaks a lot of air, too, making it drafty and uncomfortable.

Perhaps they thought, as I did in the past, that it's good to have lots of windows facing the Sun so you can take advantage of that free, passive solar heating in the winter. As Martin Holladay wrote in his article, Solar Versus Superinsulation, that contest was won long ago by superinsulation. His quote from Steve Bliss, an editor at Solar Age magazine in the early '80s, is illuminating:

For one of my first articles for Solar Age, I interviewed two college professors living in a solar house in the Boston suburbs,” Bliss recalled. “When I got there, they were sitting in the house freezing — they were wearing down booties and down vests. They were suing their architect, who had used solar glazing formulas developed for houses in the Southwest.

So if you want to scrounge materials to build your own rustic cabin in the woods, go for the insulation and stay far away from the single pane windows.

Kudos to them for doing something, but...

I'm not trying to belittle the couple who built the house. They'll discover their mistakes quickly enough—if they haven't already—and get some valuable building science lessons firsthand. I admire the couple for going out and building the house. They made their dream come to life and will probably make some good memories there. They're also going to learn why people say to be careful what you wish for.

The real culprit here is Inhabitat for promoting this house as something admirable without a word about the design flaws. They've gotten nearly 1000 likes and over 100 shares by posting a photo of the house on their Facebook page, thus spreading the nonsense further to people who write things like, "Perfect! I love it" and "my dream."

And this from an organization whose tag line is "design will save the world."

Related articles

A Good Window Is Still a Poor Wall

Rain Barrels, Chickens, and Walking the Sustainable Living Talk

Naked People Need Building Science

Photo from Inhabitat article on recycled window love nest.

