A Super-Green House With...Dirt Floors? (Updated)

Last Friday The Oregonian's Gail Kinsey Hill reported on a house in Portland being designed and built by two brothers, Dustin and Garrett Moon, that will achieve a level of green that even substantially bests the US Green Building Council's LEED ratings. It will be an almost entirely self-sufficient, truly sustainable home. And as Hill's report indicated, these aren't top local architects doing this project, but a couple of young guys (22 and 30) heretofore unknown in the architecture/building community.

[In the image above, which I took from the Oregonian article, the numbers denote several individual features: (1) green roof, (2) rain capture system, (3) translucent movable roof, (4) a movable wall, (5) insulating concrete walls, (6) photovoltaic modules, and (7) a shop and garden.]

The house used as its guide the Cascadia USGBC chapter's Living Building Challenge, which favors simple performance measurements over the point system of LEED. Their project may be the first in the country to meet these more stringent standards.

Historic preservation fans may cringe at the fact that Dustin and Garrett are tearing down an old Southeast Portland home to build this new version. But as they explained in the article, the solar orientation was all wrong. This will be a very glassy home wrapped around a courtyard. It'll also have composting toilets and even a movable roof and interior walls. (The photo at left is by Stephanie Yao of the Oregonian.)

One of the admirable aspects of the project is that the brothers are building the house themselves as well, using lots of recycled supplies from places like The Rebuilding Center. The whole thing will only cost them about $200,000.

However, one thing that made me scratch my head was that Dustin and Garrett's cost-saving measure to have bedrooms with dirt floors.

Sustainable design and construction has always had this aspect to it. I think of the cob benches I see at various co-op groceries, bike shops and the occasional cafe around town. Or the rammed-earth projects one reads about in various rural locales. You don't get much more basic and sustainable than using the ground beneath our feet for architectural purposes.

Still, I keep saying to myself, "Dirt floors?" When I think of those few conservatives out there who are skeptical about green building, cob benches and dirt floors are to me precisely the kind of stuff they'll ridicule.

I absolutely love Dustin and Garrett's chutzpah making a do-it-yourself project into one of the nation's most sustainable homes, all on a tiny budget and lots of their own sweat. Yet if you're spending $200,000 on your future house, which is cheap by most standards but still a huge amount of money, couldn't you just spend the extra few hundred dollars for some simple flooring? If they want to stay green, there are countless fine options in bamboo, true linoleum, cork, etc.

Imagine their mom staying there and saying, "You boys are grown men and you're still tracking dirt all over the house. Wipe your feet!" And they of course retort, "But mom, it's our floors!" Maybe it's just the neat freak in me, but I'm with mom on this one.

UPDATE 4-18-08: As many have already read in the comments to this post, it's not really dirt floors that will be in the Moons' house. Rather, it's an earthenware flooring that is more akin to hardened clay. Regardless, I was being at least partially tongue-in-cheek when I harped as much as I did about these guys' floors. I just am not fond of the cob and rammed-earth aesthetic, although I certainly can't fault the function and sustainability of these age-old practices. As one commenter said, earthenware floors are a lot less weird when you think about it than cheap synthetic manufactured linoleum leaking chemicals into the air of our homes. And above the floor in the Moons' house is an aesthetic (and a function) I do love: lots of glass. So whether it's dirt or earthenware beneath their feet, nice going fellas!

Comments

[Mike]

When I read the article, I assumed that the guys were going to use a cobb floor. I've seen a couple in place, and done properly, there not bad!

Done well, they appear much like a concrete slab, although somewhat softer and with warmer color.

[eileen]

This is a nifty project. I look forward to seeing it unfold. Look-wise, it's pleasing at times. I'm not as big a fan of the "wings" as they are. I like the games with the ground plane.

I agree with Brian on the dirt floor proposition...especially in light of this quote from their web site, "Shoes will be removed in the airlock thereby sequestering incoming dirt."

I expect the dirt floors to be damp.

[goose]

not just damp, but muddy. i say if they want dirt floors, let them enjoy them. it's their house. of course segregating inside dirt from outside dirt seems silly....and yet, somehow practical.

[Chris]

Wow... Reading this at first leaves me with an image of a barn floor. I'm grossed out and want to have nothing to do with these dirty hippies who want to live in the earth.

Investigated a little further and the NYTimes describes it (with pictures) A LOT better:

NYTimes Article 'Down and Dirty' 2/8/2007

The floor — which, in addition to the basic ingredient, included lime and sand, two classic components of concrete — would take a few weeks to dry, a period when the couple would camp out in their living room. But once sealed with a mixture of linseed oil and beeswax, it would theoretically be firm and water-repellent. Fans of such floors say that soapy water will clean them without turning them to mud, and that another coat of oil can renew the shine.

All of a sudden this floor sounds pretty cool. And the pictures are gorgeous.

Do you call your pottery at home "dirtware" ? Calling this a "dirt floor" is a real disservice to what it really is, a very eco savvy earthenware floor.

I might look into this flooring for one of my spaces.

[Eileen]

No doubt, I think this is some cool stuff. I still wonder about dampness...a challenge for concrete floors, too. I suppose a vapor barrier could be laid below the floor.

[charles]

We have put earthen (much more accurate description than dirt) floors in a home at the coast and we have never had a problem with moisture, including periodic spills or rain water that get's tracked in. In addition the earthen floors have a much warmer feel than concrete or stone. Maintenance is minimal, we do a light reseal with natural wax every year or two. Both from an ecology standpoint (all very local materials and minimal processing costs) and aesthetically, we and visitors have loved the look and feel of these floors. If you are having someone else install them, they are more expensive than some other alternatives, but competitive with good quality salvaged wood floors.

[eileen]

"Mr. Meyer has used natural pigment to create designs in some floors, and he said some builders add the blood of oxen for maroon coloration."

Now I'm back at 'ew, yucky'.

[Brian Libby]

It wouldn't be my choice, but these earthenware floors at least are within reasonable possibility. Thanks for the info.

[Mike O'Brien]

We have lived on a "dirt" floor for a year, and hundreds of people have visited the house during that time. The floor is still looking great and has had no problems with moisture or sanitation. Because it has a hardener oil in it, it repels spills.

Clay floors are an example of rediscovering vernacular building methods that our ancestors were familiar with, but have been abandoned in our modern society. Instead we have corporate flooring products like sheet vinyl that gives off toxic phthalates, or tiles glued down using asbestos-laden adhesives, or wood composites loaded with formaldehyde. How are these superior to a safe and comfortable clay floor? Is it possible that we have been brainwashed by home porn magazines to believe that these are the only socially acceptable flooring?

Green building is about rethinking the assumptions we hold, and actually asking ourselves why we hold certain beliefs. I really encourage those who question this type of flooring to go visit a house and experience it.

By the way, we also have clay plaster (or "dirt") walls, and clay paints in our house. The colors and feel are warm and beautiful. The clay and sand in the plaster came from the ground right here in Portland, an example of building with local materials and benefiting our local economy.

[really?]

Self sufficient? Really? Aren't they still on City domestic water, and City sewer? Not really self sufficient. Let's not kid ourselves here. Its a neat greenish house, but let's not pretend we can all live off grid in the city. Little problems like sewage and water and 2 million people living here usually get in the way of that fantasy.

[eileen]

Mike,
Where are you buying asbestos laden adhesives? : )

'self-sufficiency'...I suppose one could take any argument to some point of absurdity. Should we require a poop pit in the house before we accept any claims to self-sufficiency. I'm sure these guys are using power tools to do some of the work. Are those run off the grid? Or with gasoline generators? Maybe an Oxen generator? Hey, did they raise the Ox themselves or did they buy it from Wal-Ox? (tongue in cheek)

This project seems plenty commendable to me. Their efforts to get away from industrialized products, to test the limits of one's ability to do so, is good. Lets see how it works. Some things may be unrealistic (like sewer) and others aren't.

For example, is an earthen floor a barbaric notion? Is a roll-up door, which allows a high degree of inside-out interaction, actually a nightmare for the building envelope? Is a mass-wall assembly really a mass-wall assembly when it has insulation on the exterior? How much glass can you provide in the envelope without overwhelming the mass-wall?

[Mike]

Hey Really?,
In the Oregonian article, they say that the brothers plan on using composting toilets and harvesting and purifying rainwater for reuse. Done correctly, they may not need city water. The only waste I can see going in the sewer is graywater, from sinks and showers. While it would be ideal to reprocess this on site, City codes do not allow it. The brothers are doing a remarkable job, and calling the project "a neat greenish house" is really rather unfair.

We could all live off grid in the city. It would require sacrifices, which these guys are making. Just because most of us aren't willing to do what they are doing doesn't mean that we should denigrate their attempt.

[Ace Lamps]

It isnt mentioned, but I am assuming they will be using energy efficient lightbulbs throughout the house. To be even more efficient, LED lighting could be used, saving money and the environment

[kate stevens]

This type of flooring is not something that I'm very partial to myself, but it is their house and they can do whatever they like. Wrought iron doors would look amazing with that type of flooring though.

[[name removed - spam]]

I haven't heard of a dirt floor before. But sure does sounds interesting.