Puna homes - light and venilation question

[olin137]

Hi folks,

I'm curious about the design of most houses I see being built in Puna. For a climate like Puna's I would have expected more windows for light and venilation; i.e., many look like a typical mainland house with heating/cooling factors. Am I missing something? Thanks.

Olin

[leilaniguy]

Aloha olin, I think it's partly economics, It's cheaper to put in stock slider windows with 8' walls, and maybe a lot of the buyers expect their new house to look the same as they had on the mainland.

[Hotzcatz]

Aloha,

Other than folks building what they are used to, windows are more expensive than walls.

The building code requires ten percent of the floor area of each room in "glazed exterior openings" with five percent of the square footage of the room in openable ventilation.

You can save on your window budget by installing several windows of fixed glass. Just loosely frame in a sheet of glass with wood, then caulk it to hold it in place and weather seal it. (The loose frame is to keep it from cracking in earthquakes.) No screens necessary, a lot cheaper than windows and the view is great. Add louvers above, to the side or below for ventilation.

For Puna climate, the best way to keep your house cool is with wide eave overhangs. Three feet should be a MINIMUM overhang. Ideally would probably be lanais all the way around or at least on the side which gets the sun.

A hui hou,
Cathy

[HADave]

That is good news about windows I thought I might have a problem with something other than manufactured windows. I build all my own windows for my out buildings single hung with ropes, cement weights and pulleys they look and work as good as any you would buy and cost next to nothing. Perhaps this code business won't be so bad after all.

HADave



Edited by - HADave on 02/19/2006 09:10:55

[Royall]

The house kit that we have comes with vinyl sliders. I was going to upgrade to jalousie or awning type windows all the way around to keep the wind from blowing rain in. Talk about sticker shock when the bid came in!!! We ended up just replacing the three sliders in the east facing bay window of the master bedroom. Those three are not protected by the eves as with the rest of the windows. I couldn’t stand the thought of having to get up at night to close the windows every time it starts raining. Slider window are cheap. I think Home Depot told me they would average about $150.00 each for all the windows in the house. Just the three awning window for our bay was just over $2100.00!

Royall

What goes around comes around!

[olin137]

Thanks for the useful responses, particularly about windows issues. I was also interested in Cathy's comment that ideally there would be a covered lanai around the whole house. I can see the advantages for cooling and keeping the rain away from windows and doors. I don't know about completely around the house because it would also cut down of the total light that gets in, but I've been surprised how few houses I see with extensive lanais
- most seem to have a small one on one side of the house, and many cases evidently none at all. I guess my naive expectation was they would be more common. In planning our house we have been thinking of a large lanai at least along one side of the house
- possibly more, and possible a combination of open and screened. This would increase costs, but are there other reasons not to emphasize lanais other than personal prefernces; i.e., too many bugs to sit out outside, etc?

Olin

[allensylves]

Olin,
The lanais definitely do cut down on the amount of light in the house. Our house in HPP has lanais with quadruple sliders in the front (+/- east) and double sliders in the back (+/- west) of the open living/dining room and it is quite dim inside. I would seriously look into fiberglas panels for at least part of the roofs of lanais to lighten things up, where eventual leaks would not be so critical. We had to extend the roof in front a few years ago because the rain was causing too much damage to the front lanai/porch.
Skylights would be nice, but cost more and are prone to leak.
Allen

[Carey]

Olin, There are many reasons for the lack of lanais, but one of the big factors is cost and permitting. A lanai has a cost less that interior space, but not a lot less. Many older homes had wrap around lanais, or at least front proches. These outdoor spaces are vastly reduces, or even eliminated in homes around Hilo built from the 50's through the 80's. Most of the plan homes are adding more lanais to the plans, and more builders are adding them. Even without a formal lanai, most families entertain large groups in their carports, and many carports from houses built in the lanai-less years haven't hosted a car in years, as they are the lanai. Aloha, Carey

[Hotzcatz]

We don't even call it a "carport" anymore, it is now a "workshop". I think we put the truck in it once and took a picture real quick just to prove that a car would fit in it.

[olin137]

Yes, but not just "carports" - our 2-car garage in northern California never had more than one car in it, and none the last 6-8 months - storing materials for terracing part of the back yard, general storage, etc.

Sounds like formal garages are not a priority in Puna. I was wondering if a semi-closed garage might turn into a mold attraction in Puna - ?

From the other messages, my impression we would think of a house plan something like a big lanai across the more northern side of the house (depending on how it situates), and well sealed windows/doors on the sides that get more sun - plus some significant eaves. Oh yes, and windows/doors that can be opened, when desired, to allow air flow.

Speaking of air flow, from other postings it sounds like you need to either be in a relatively open area if on a first floor, or a second floor above much of the vegetation to get regular breezes across a lanai and through the house - ?

Olin