PAGE 14C — HOME Energy Saving Living a special section of the Addison Independent, Thursday, March 12, 2015
Hexagon (Continued from Page 13C) Enabled in part by this generational transition on the farm, Frances and Paul developed the idea to build their
unique home, largely using very local resources. “All of the wood we used to build the house [primarily white pine] was cut from the property and milled locally at Gagnon Lumber in Pittsford,” Paul Stone said proudly. Each of their three sons and a few local construction experts with experience operating machinery such as the cranes that were needed all pitched their help and the Stones were able to design, build and finish the house themselves. “Everyone had a hand in the building of this house,” said Frances Stone, “from our littlest grandkid — who was three at the time but still wanted to pound the nails in — to our sons who helped tremendously with design and all the details.” It took four years to complete, but the couple moved in to their new home in April of 2014. On the inside, the house has a cozy charm. It features many modern design qualities with an open format and few obvious doors or dividers between spaces, as well as exposed industrial finishes like heavy black steel plates holding the wide beams together, black electrical cords, polished concrete flooring and conduit pipes used for the vertical slats in the railings on the stairway and the loft. But it is quite the opposite of modern spaces you may think of that mimic an uncluttered design with a minimal amount of objects that fill that space. In the Stone’s case, their home is filled with collections of things, organized cleverly into custom-built cabinets, closets, and shelves built by their son Matthew. These collections range from dried insects, butterflies, coral, seaweed, and animals to children’s books, to photographs of ancestors that Frances has organized along with an artifact or piece of art made or collected by that person. “This idea came to me one day and I said, ‘Hey, what a fun idea! It places a face with an object and helps us share these stories with our grandkids in a way that they enjoy.” The Stones also have a gang of animals around the house, ranging from dogs and cats to birds that chirp gaily in a corner to guinea pigs and rabbits kept in the garage, a goat and Banty hens outside. Frances also has a ball python named Leopold, who currently lives at the farmhouse is known around area schools and libraries where Peter and Frances have brought him for “snake shows,” where they try to educate locals on snakes and advocate for their respect and protection. Many of the explanations that the Stones give for the decisions they have made about their home come back to their three children and eight grandchildren — and perhaps the inner child within themselves too. For example, hanging in the center of the house, from the tallest point of the tower (over 30 feet up) is a rope swing. “The kids will take it and climb up to the rafters to jump off from there, swinging across to the other side of the room where they can grab hold of the rafters on the other side” Frances said with a smile, “they can play all day in this house.” PAUL AND FRANCES Stone sit on a bench swing A thick rope ladder, looped in knots spread a couple facing the kitchen in their home. “This is our breakfast of feet apart is slung from the roof to the floor on one swing on most days,” Frances said. Independent photo/Christy Lynn side of the room.
A ROPE LADDER dangles from the rafters, inviting grandchildren (or other visitors) to climb up to the catwalk loft in the Stones’ home. The house was built almost exclusively using white pine cut from the 800acre Orwell farm; 120 steel washers — cut in the shape of pigs — secure bolts and wide structural plates that hold the beams in place.
Independent photo/Christy Lynn
“The older grandkids can make it all the way up to the loft,” Frances says, “the younger ones can only get a couple of knots up the rope, but it certainly gives them something to work for.” What’s the reward for making it all the way up? A small trap door that opens onto the loft, accessible only from the rope. Closets aren’t just closets in the Stone’s house. Instead, they often expose a small square hole in the back of them, covered with thin curtains — the perfect invitation for a small child to crawl into. These carpeted tunnels lead through the unfinished angular attic spaces and out into other rooms or closets, offering perfect opportunities for hide-and-go-seek and other house games. Just plain fun. Well, maybe not just fun. The house is also extremely functional. It was built to very high energy-efficiency standards and has been rated Efficiency Vermont’s Top Energy Rating of “Five Starts Plus,” says Paul. It boasts R-42 walls, constructed using standard 2x4 timber framing and insulated with four inches of rigid foam insulation on the exterior and spray foam blown into the wall cavity. The roof is insulated with eight inches of rigid foam boards, which gives it an R-value of 54. The home is heated using a small and efficient hot water heater that is about the size of a suitcase and is mounted to the wall of their garage.
Due to the tight building envelope and good insulation, there is very little air exchange or heat loss. The Stones also run an air exchanger to help filter clean, fresh air into the house (an important detail when building homes with a very tight thermal envelope). “One of the things I’ve noticed most about living here versus living at the farmhouse is the evenness of the heat,” Frances Stone said, “there are no cold corners.” There are lots of things to love about the house, though, according to the Stones. Build for the purpose of housing them as they approach a later stage of their lives, the Stones considered accessibility and openness with their home. “Everything that’s necessary is on the lower level and there are no lips or steps required to get around,” Frances says. Most of the doors are cubby doors built on tracks that slide into the wall. “We’re trying to make sure there are as few things as possible to run in to if you were navigating a walker or a wheelchair around here.” One of the very best parts of all? For a couple of hours when lying in bed at night, you can see the moon framed in the windows of the tower through the open hole in the ceiling of the bedroom. “In the original design, it was going to be a closed ceiling, but when our son discovered the moon from our bed one night, we knew we couldn’t cover that up,” Frances said with a casual shrug and a smile.