Introduction

Welcome to the Beagle Brook blog! Aspen Design Inc. is a custom home design/build company that focuses on design that appeals to the style and taste of our clients while maintaining a sustainable and green approach. We invite you to join us on the journey as we build the “Beagle Brook Farm” home, a passive solar structure in Northeast Ohio. The goal of this blog is to accomplish three things. First, we want to introduce our company and the service we provide to our readers. Second, we want to share our passion for building a more sustainable future, and third, we want your feedback. We look forward to reading your comments and questions, so please share them with us.


Wikipedia defines a passive solar building as one that aims to maintain interior thermal comfort throughout the sun’s daily and annual cycles while reducing the requirement for active heating and cooling systems. Our main objective in designing Beagle Brook was to produce a passive solar home with a thermally comfortable interior environment that expends minimal energy to support the mechanical heating and cooling systems. Healthy indoor air quality and reduced utility bills are important to the homeowners. Working with them, we determined that the direct gain system was the best approach for Beagle Brook. The main principles that are incorporated with the direct gain system are:

1) Allow maximum solar radiation to reach the interior during the colder months.

2) Shade the interior from solar radiation during the warmer months.

3) Use thermal mass to control and disperse the solar radiation, and

4) Design a well-insulated structure to control the different interior and exterior environments.

During our Beagle Brook journey, we will explain how these principles guided our design decisions and highlight some of the special details and features we are using to create a well-insulated structure.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Finish Update

Sorry for not posting anything in awhile. We have been working on the interior finishes and getting the kitchen cabinets built. The roof has been installed which is an asphalt comp. shingle and really makes the Azek trim pop out. Next week the siding should start to get up and the deck will be built along with that. On the interior the beams, posts and collar ties have been wrapped in knotty pine and stained dark to contrast the white ceiling and give weight to the soaring two story living space. We have been working inside quite a bit and on these cold fall days the passive design of this home has really been a blessing. We do not need lights or any heat source of any kind to work throughout the day. The insulation and airtightness of the building have kept the interior at a comfortable temperature without the use of mechanical equipment.
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