An Under-$10,000 Ozarks Home

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WINDOWS AND VENTILATION

In my opinion, windows are expected to do too many jobs at once: to provide light, solar heat, a view, and ventilation, all without becoming sources of excessive heat loss in winter. The result is the modem double-hung window—which I consider an unsatisfactory and expensive compromise. It's better, I think, to position fixed double-pane windows wherever you want light, heat, or a view, and to place vents where they'll do the most good to provide ventilation in the house.

Accordingly, I installed vents low on the downstairs north and east walls, and in the second-story eaves. Natural convection causes the warm air escaping from the upstairs vents to draw in a steady flow of air from the cool sides of the house even when there is no wind.

I made the south-facing windows downstairs from 34" X 76" single-pane safety glass. Two such layers separated by a 1" X 1" board make an acceptable double-pane window for a cost of only about $18. To prevent excessive condensation between the panes, I carefully sealed the inside window with caulk while allowing the outside window to breathe by installing it over felt weather stripping. Also, I placed the windows at a slight slant (leaning outward at the top 1" in 20") to reduce glare and improve interior acoustics. On sunny days after a heavy rain some condensation does appear between the panes, but it dissipates quickly, and we don't consider it objectionable. (We do plan to remove the outside glass once a year to clean between windows, though.)

LIVING ON OUR LAND

I began digging the foundation for our house on May 1, we moved in on October 1, and I finished the interior that winter. Over the past year we've found the house to be open, well-lit, and easy to heat. During sunny winter weather we don't need to fire up the woodstove unless it's unusually cold outside. We burned less than 1-1/2 cords our first winter here (1983-84). At that rate, the wood on our five acres will last indefinitely.

We have no electricity; we use kerosene lamps, a gas range, and a gas refrigerator (a Servel we bought at auction for $35). Our water is collected from the house and shed roofs into open 55-gallon barrels; eventually we'll replace the containers with a large cistern tank. A 2" rain will provide us with more than 1,000 gallons from the house roof alone, and when you consider that the average annual rainfall in the Ozarks is over 40", it's easy to see that we should be able to collect plenty of good water. (During severe droughts, water trucks will deliver 1,000 gallons for about $10.)

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