Hawaiian Bungalows

[Blakeyboy1]

Good point Rob. But to preclude one building technique based on a uniform code still seems wrong to me. I know from researching about revitalization of downtown Hilo that many efforts there have been averted by uniform codes that apply one set of rules across the Hawaiian islands without taking into account many unique things specific to location. Something that may apply to say Lahaina or Kona may not necessarily apply to Hilo Town. I am as "green" as they come and fully support efforts in this direction but realize that locations, like individuals, are different and one set of rules should not necessarily apply to all.

As I told Mike at Hawaiian Bungalows (if I use that enough Google is sure to eventually pic it up if this site indexes), I want a home that takes full advantage of its location and is designed to work with the climate. We are moving to pursue a more simple lifestyle and our eventual home needs to work within that philosophy.

Mahalo.


-Blake
http://www.theboysgreatescape.blogspot.com/

[Wao nahele kane]

Blake,
Single wall construction being illegal is a strong word to use and highly unlikely, single wall construction cannot be removed from Hawaii or other States as not all homes use heaters or air conditioners, therefore they are exempt from the double wall (default) standards set forth in the energy code with regard to insulation. The energy code becomes largely null and void under a couple situations.
If the home is using site generated renewable energy sources, not using deletable fuel sources for heating or ac systems, and or omitting/not using heating and cooling, then the energy code becomes non-applicable with regard to the corresponding consideration.
Even building codes have to meet to a low level standard of rational application.

Just remember, if you're not going with a single wall house and not using AC/heat, make sure you get a great deal of natural ventilation throughout the house. IMO, it's not possible to get good ventilation with a double wall house in Hawaii unless each cavity is ventilated and every room is well ventilated as well @ 24/7.

I've been in many homes in Hawaii and to be perfectly honest... Hawaii will be facing some serious revisions in the near future that go far beyond the current IBC standards. The air quality in most homes in Hawaii is substandard at best and most the house designs have 0 business being in Hawaii though some even meet current IBC standards.





E ho'a'o no i pau kuhihewa.

[Blakeyboy1]

LOL and peace Wao nahele kane. I am not trying to throw out fighting words and am no expert on the subject. I am simply repeating something I was told. I fully support green and energy efficient codes although single wall construction is such a great tradition on the islands. It saddens me that it could possibly change. Like solar water heating in 2010, I was told it may soon be impossible to get permits for single wall structures. Guess we'll see.



-Blake
http://www.theboysgreatescape.blogspot.com/

[Bob Orts]

quote:

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Originally posted by Blakeyboy1

I was at a party in Hilo on the 23rd of December and was told by a builder that single wall construction would soon be illegal in 2010 due to national energy codes. I find that to be just awful considering the climate in Hawai'i.

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Blake, FYI, the County of Hawaii can adopt anything they want. Currently if you read Chapter 5 (HCC) you will see it references the County Building Code as UBC 1991. But the following 170+ pages are revisions. Some whole sections of the UBC are deleted and other sections amended to address the special needs of Hawaii. Even if Hawaii adopts the IECC, they can revise it as they please. Single wall construction may be allowed if they feel it serves the needs of Hawaii. []

[Blakeyboy1]

I really must defer to those with more knowledge of this than I. I don't want to foolishly debate something I am not an expert in. Thank you all for the great discussion on the subject. I hope to learn more and the discussion continues.





-Blake
http://www.theboysgreatescape.blogspot.com/

[Rob Tucker]

I do know that there are many who value and appreciate single wall plantation style homes. I lived in one for two years though and really didn't care for it. Hot and sweaty with a tin roof, noisy in the rain and no insulation and acoustically like living in a paper bag. If you love the chirping of coqui then single wall is for you.

I really don't want to denigrate that building style except that I think it is not as well understood as it could be.

Those single wall plantation homes are a relic of what was provided by the "company". Think Company Store. Sugar plantation profits, just like with the coal mines in Appalachia and the slave shacks in the south, were propped up by keeping the investment in the workers welfare at a minimum. So the single wall methods are mere models of economic efficiency more than anything else. Cheap to build was their main feature.

The thing that gave some of them a reasonable lifespan, why we see surviving plantation homes today, was a simple accident. Back then old growth redwood was shipped in from the west coast for many of these homes. Not because it was valued as a high grade material (which it accidentally happened to be) but because it was cheap.

The style or design itself can be built better, stronger, more comfortable, more durable, etc. But marveling over them as a cultural aesthetic is a mistake I think.

I don't write the codes. I have lots of experience with the codes though. World wide the building standards are changing. Some of this is good and is intended to steer the planet, country by country, in a more sustainable direction. A lot of it though is corporate greed. Just like the plantation workers had the choice of a cheap single wall shack or sleeping in the rain, the corporate interests want to limit your opportunities and maximize their profits again - but on a larger scale.

For that reason, while I am a strong proponent of new and better building methods, I would always support as many choices as possible. Most especially I would like to see Native Hawaiian building methods incorporated into the code here as they have done on Maui. Bamboo should be just as valid as steel frame. Straw Bale? If that what you want then the code should provide you with a measurable standard to know it is done correctly.

Just know what your options are when you make a decision.

[Wao nahele kane]

Blake,
LOL... no, no, not arguing, I'm just pointing out the factual situation vs. what a contractor in Hawaii may have said. Unfortunately the new codes that Hawaii is about to adopt are rather foreign to a place like Hawaii and the local contractors are not really familiar with how the codes work. Many of us over here on the mainland have been dealing with these newer codes for several years now in some capacity or another.
I rather doubt Hawaii will be saying bye bye to single wall as it's one of it's best techniques to insure good airflow to cope with the humidity.
By all means build what you like, just keep the breathing of your home in mind as the common humidity on the island puts wood and other mold/fungi food sources in jeopardy of invasion without ample airflow.
The humidity factor is also applicable to hardwood floors, many floors will cup due to the high humidity factor differential between the bottom of the boards against the sub-floor sheathing to that of the top surface of the hardwood floor board. Knowledgeable experience with these adverse conditions is very important when designing and specifying finish products for your new home.



E ho'a'o no i pau kuhihewa.

[Rob Tucker]

The airflow theory is a weak one in my opinion. It relates to what I wrote above. It may have appeared that the old shacks survived because of stilt construction and airflow. What was really happening was high quality old growth redwood. Since old growth high quality redwood is pau the best thing to do is simply stop building with wood as much as possible. At least from a structural point of view.

All these designs you like can be built with better materials and methods and produce better homes. That's why I'm curious about this company's use of the phrase "advanced building methods" or some such. What pray tell might they be referring to? Galvanized nails?

[Wao nahele kane]

Double wall construction was birthed from the need to insulate a home and many homes on the mainland were single wall in the distant past. Originally a double wall provided a closed air cavity that provided additional thermal transfer retardation against the exterior air temps. Throughout the years this cavity has been modified with differing insulations, but in a place like Hawaii insulation was not necessary unless one simply disliked looking at the inside of the exterior siding. This all relative to the quality of finish one provided on the inner facing wood surfaces. Today... noisy metal roof panels can be replaced with foam insulated metal roof panels and so on. We've also to consider the present requirement of treating lumber in Hawaii. To back all of this... we've a much larger selection of woods available today and some are impervious to insect invasion as well as mold and fungi. The proper single wall of today is not the single wall of yesterday, not by a long shot.

Also... I'd like to point out that airflow is not a theory, it is fact. It was not presented as a testament to those homes that have survived throughout the years as single wall. It is merely a fact of high humid air vs. dead air spaces.
I've torn several walls apart that have suffered the stillness of air within the interior wall cavity in Hawaii. It's not a pretty sight.. nor does it smell pretty.

E ho'a'o no i pau kuhihewa.

[Rob Tucker]

You're right and I agree that the roof is the place primarily in need of insulation. I have an insulated metal roof on my home and I don't own a fan.

Don't get too confident in the treatment of wood though. The boric acid treatment, tested in the U.H. termite mounds on Oahu, are shown to be effective for about three years. Quality of wood has done nothing but diminish for the past hundred years and the most effective wood treatments have been banned by the EPA. My crews were complaining about the quality of framing lumber in the 1970's - it hasn't gotten better.

Now if your budget allows for importing teak (let's not talk about Indonesian rain forests) as a framing material that is another matter. But the high grade woods are mostly used as occasional trim on yachts these days... and who the heck want to own a wood boat? I do know an architect who framed with teak in Kapoho. Beautiful job. Too bad the siding cupped. Even with teak you have to know what you're doing.

I disagree with your statement: "Double wall construction was birthed from the need to insulate a home"

Stick framing, with or without an inside surface or wood, plaster or drywall, was developed in teh mid to late 1800's as a labor saving system to replace post & beam with it's intense labor and mortise and tenon methods. It took teams of men to raise the large beam house and barn frames. Stick framing with 2x3s, 2x4's or 2x6s could be built with one and two man crews. But anywhere there was poverty there were indeed single wall buildings.