PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Owners wanted a casual, spacious, and easy to maintain home in a Southwest/Texas hill country motif. With two young boys and one of the owner's parents living with them the home had to meet varied need to allow easy family interaction yet maintain privacy for the Owners, as well as the mother-in-law. Their needs were met and exceeded with the construction of this special home that is representative of current "Green" building techniques.

The home is built to be energy efficient, fire resistant (due its setting miles from the nearest rural fire station), relies on rain water catchment for its water needs, and makes extensive use of post consumer recycled building products. Even it's septic system "gray" water is recycled to provide landscape watering.

The home's water system consists of a rooftop collection system that stores the water in a large 35,000 gallon concrete cistern in the back yard that provides for shelter from tornadoes and will someday double as a covered outdoor gazebo. Water quality tests show it to be four times as clean, and one twentieth as hard, as that from municipal drinking water systems.

Massive recycled oak timber frame trusses span the Great Room and Rear covered porch - which also makes use of oak columns with tapered limestone bases. Careful site placement allows the home, and it's screened porch to capture the prevailing breezes. Passive solar design principles keep it naturally warm in the winter and very comfortable on all but the hottest of the Texas summer days. The metal roof contains a self venting radiant barrier.

Home built by: Oliver Custom Homes