The tour of the House of Arden began with a quick look at the exterior and then a walk through the upper level, and then the main level. The visitor is left standing at the top of the stairs in the back of the workroom to the lower level, wondering why there is a stairway going down under the garage.
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At first I am puzzled why there is a stairway going down under the garage from the workroom. Then, I recall the practice of excavating under the garage and using pre-cast concrete spans for the garage floor. This extra space is relatively economical to build because you have to excavate down 4 feet to below the frost line anyway for the footings. Plus, with the garage floor over a conditioned space, the garage floor is protected from heaving and cracking due to the temperature extremes of the seasons resulting in the eventual need for replacement. What is unusual about this set up, however, is that most other garage basements I've seen have been in walkout basements with access directly from the back yard. In this case access is by stairs from the workroom.
At the bottom of the stairs is a door to the right, which goes to a cool storage cellar. (Click on image 1 of 2 to enlarge.) As we enter the cellar, the air feels cool from the un-insulated walls and floor. The cellar is lined with shelves filled with canning supplies, emptied jars, jars filled with preserved fruits and vegetables, bags of dried fruit, and now empty crates that were once filled with apples, potatoes, carrots, squash, and other fall cool-storage crops.
At the north end of the cellar and under the stairs is the pump room. Pump room? Yes, filling about a third of the space under the garage and workroom is a concrete cistern that fills with rainwater collected from the roof. The city water here is very high in dissolved minerals. While good for drinking, water with high mineral content is not ideal for irrigation and washing. My hostess explains that this is probably not the most cost effective feature of the house design, with water so plentiful and inexpensive in Minnesota, but "is part of our effort to make the house as self-sufficient as possible." In addition to providing water for irrigation, toilet flushing, and dish and clothes washing, the cistern does prevent rainwater runoff from going into the city storm sewer system – which is important in a river town. "We get 20-some inches of rain during an average year, and are able to capture about 30,000 gallons of water annually. The cistern holds about 15,000 gallons. If we are careful, we could get by on cistern water alone – if we wanted to."
At the south end of the "garage basement" is the mechanical space. All the hydronic heating equipment is located here – the geothermal heat pump, buffer tank, domestic hot water, solar storage tanks, and all of the pumps, valves, and piping to move heated water from and to the right places at the right time. Putting this equipment under the garage makes good sense, as it frees up more valuable basement space for other things. The hostess explains, "With the insulated concrete form (ICF) construction, geothermal heat pump, and in-floor radiant heat, we can heat and cool the house for about half that of a conventionally constructed house. With the addition of solar heat, we can lower our heating costs by another 50 to 75% depending on available sun. On a good solar day, we can capture about 300,000-400,000 BTUs of heat energy." I don't remember seeing solar collectors on the house, I'll have to check out the roof again as I leave.
Leaving the "garage basement," we are now under the main house. This section of the lower level remains semi-finished with stud walls, electrical and pluming roughed in, and gypsum board in place. First we pass through what will become the exercise room. Then, we moved into the future game room (or family room). (Click on image 2 of 2 to enlarge.) Stepping from the game room we enter the hallway where the back stairs drops into the lower level. This hallway connects the game room, bedroom, and the bathroom with the back stairs.
The bathroom is referred to as the "men's room," because it features a urinal. "We encourage the men to use the 'men's room' to reduce the water needed for flushing toilets, and our grandsons really get a kick out of it." In addition to the urinal, a toilet, and sink, this bathroom has a small corner shower. At this time, this is the only room in the lower level that is actually finished. At the back of the bathroom is a space for a future sauna. "Of course, if the sauna ever gets built, then, we'll keep the men out!"
To get to the main hallway, you can either go through the game room or step through the bedroom. We choose the bedroom route. Here there is some evidence of future construction and what looks like boxes of floor tile, doors, and trim boards waiting to be installed. The main hallway connects the game room, bedroom, mechanical room, the home theater, some storage, and the front stairway to the main level. We step into the mechanical room where my hostess points out that, "Because most of the mechanical is under the garage or above in the attic, this room's primary purpose is to serve as the main distribution hub for the local utilities: electricity, natural gas, telephone, cable, sanitary sewer, and city water. Future plans for this space includes a hobby or craft center with counters and a small sink." Back out in the hallway my hostess points out the closet, "Affectionately called the 'Harry Potter' closet – the closet under the stairs."
After glancing into the now stark home theater, we head back to the main level, where we find the other guests, mingling in the foyer, where they are getting ready to head out for the afternoon. After accepting their thanks she sends them off and invites me into the dinette, where a wedge of warm Winter Apple Pie is waiting for me. It is made with canned apples and snipped dried cherries and apricots, accompanied by a cup of mint herbal tea. While enjoying this special treat, I observe chickadees and nuthatches scrambling for sunflower seeds on the bird feeder just outside the windows. When I finished, I bring my dish into the kitchen and thank the hostess. She then invites me for a quick tour of the yard and gardens. We walk to the foyer, where I put on my shoes and retrieve my jacket.
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The Mid-Winter Dream continues with a tour of the yard and gardens.
© 2006, Gary L. Engstrom
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