homestead designs suitable for permaculture

Hi, I'm new here and am looking for help and sharing with members in the areas of sustainable housing/gardening, homesteading etc. I'm in the Blackland Prairie region of Texas, 8a (Collin and Fannin counties).

At this point, I'm swamped with info on possibilities vs practicalities. I'd like to see real world examples esp. in my region.
If anyone knows the forum/resource that has info on homestead designs suitable for permaculture e.g. with  metal roof designs for rainwater capture, passive heating/cooling, efficient supplemental heating/cooling (geothermal heatpumps, insulated attic etc.), I'd appreciate it.

Frank, welcome to the forums!

At what stage are you with your homestead?  Just starting out or another stage?

When we had our homestead we lived on the Blackland Prairie so If you have a specific question I can help you with, just ask.

metal roof designs for rainwater capture, passive heating/cooling

I can help some with these kinds of questions.

Where we live now we have a metal roof water catchment system and our house is passive solar.

Just ask and if I don't have an answer I am sure some of the other members will have an answer.

Anne Miller wrote:Frank, welcome to the forums!

At what stage are you with your homestead?  Just starting out or another stage?

When we had our homestead we lived on the Blackland Prairie so If you have a specific question I can help you with, just ask.

metal roof designs for rainwater capture, passive heating/cooling

I can help some with these kinds of questions.

Where we live now we have a metal roof water catchment system and our house is passive solar.

Just ask and if I don't have an answer I am sure some of the other members will have an answer.

Anne, thanks for the quick response. I'm just starting out after acquiring the rural land. All the acreage is currently set
for hay production and grazing. A couple of acres including the pond will be fenced off for the homestead next year. Later on, more areas will be used for permaculture.  Looking to build next year so currently researching. I'd love to see more details of your  water catchment system and passive solar system, if possible. I haven't seen much in the way of passive cooling or efficient cooling esp in the hot Summer Texas region I'm in.  Builders here waste a lot of energy not thinking of passive means, so all heating and cooling are done with huge costly HVAC systems, cooling/heating rooms/attic regardless of occupancy.

I'm currently in a small suburban lot so my permaculture experiments are either behind fences or subtle without attracting too much attention from the neighbors.

You will probably enjoy Rebecca's journey building a passive solar home and a rainwater catchment system.

She is in the design stage which is why you will find these threads enjoyable.

https://permies.com/t/174169/Passive-Solar-Design-Roof-Overhang

https://permies.com/t/160167/Rainwater-Catchment-System-Potable-Water

Thanks for the tip.

Don't know where you are in terms of site planning, but that's where I'd start. It really helps to figure out the big picture, and then you can zoom in on smaller pieces and figure them out, without losing site of the big picture stuff.

So, what are you "swamped" with (possibilities-wise), and what do you want in terms of practicalities (floor plans, site plans, others in your area who are possibly already doing what you want to do)? Without a bunch of details (words from you), all I would know to do is "google it".

At a high level, you know where the hay production & grazing areas are, and where the homestead is. Does the site have all the site issues figured out, like roads, fencing, water flow, wildfire protection, etc.? One lightning strike or one downed wire, and all your hay is burning, and possibly headed towards your house.

Do you know for sure how much area will be needed for all the systems in the homesteading area, like home, garage & barn(s) or related structures, garden areas, water storage, etc.? How will all these systems interact, and where do they need to be for the best interaction?

On the home itself, as you are in TX (a state I used to live in), passive solar *is* a huge design consideration. Why builders haven't fully embraced it is beyond me. You've got to avoid "heat" for upwards of 9 months, whereas, where I'm at now (S. Colorado, at elevation in the front range foothills), I've got to avoid "cold" for upwards of 9 months.

Avoiding heat gain is a big thing, and yet making it through times of disaster (recent TX winter events, and the almost inevitable tornado) is another, of *many* considerations that you uniquely face. I'm off-grid, and you may not want to be, but given the utility grid in TX, you may want to be closer to off-grid than you originally thought.

So, if your first priority is figuring out the house (of your homestead), and in the case of passive solar home design, I always start out with the DOE "Passive Solar Handbook" (or any variants, as original was done in 1980), and then start looking around from there. Once the concepts are in place (and you may be there already), move on to plans to see who's done what, and perhaps on to builders who specialize in passive solar (unless you are building/contracting this).

Again, I'd start with a site plan, and label one small piece of it "the passive solar home", in the homestead acreage, and so on ... then start expanding out or zooming in, to fill in the blanks.

Easy enough to google tons of plans for passive solar ... or find a designer or architect who can help.

One last thought ... you've got hay, as in straw-bales, as in straw-bale construction ... what an opportunity for a straw-bale house!

Hope this helps ...

Thanks. You touched on a lot of details, so let's discuss:

Jt Lamb wrote:Don't know where you are in terms of site planning, but that's where I'd start. It really helps to figure out the big picture, and then you can zoom in on smaller pieces and figure them out, without losing site of the big picture stuff.

Big picture:
20+ acres with plans to partition about 7 acres for homestead/permaculture next year (hopefully building costs are
lower)
Sustainable, passive solar small house (2000 sf) , home vegs, fruit forest, aquaculture pond and agricultural pond.
Hay production/sporadic cattle grazing for the rest. Eventually convert it to verdure/wildlife.

Jt Lamb wrote:
So, what are you "swamped" with (possibilities-wise), and what do you want in terms of practicalities (floor plans, site plans, others in your area who are possibly already doing what you want to do)? Without a bunch of details (words from you), all I would know to do is "google it".

Looking for good builder/architect experienced with the above. Likely to have traditional practical Southern style house
with ventilation windows/ porches all around (for cooling),  with greenhouse/sunroom, living areas facing South (for Winter heating) etc.
So I'm looking for floor plans, site plans, others in my area who are possibly already doing what I want to do.

Unfortunately, the building standards here don't consider sustainable/resiliency else millions of Texans won't suffer
periodically from the so called 100 year old ice storms.

Jt Lamb wrote:
At a high level, you know where the hay production & grazing areas are, and where the homestead is. Does the site have all the site issues figured out, like roads, fencing, water flow, wildfire protection, etc.? One lightning strike or one downed wire, and all your hay is burning, and possibly headed towards your house.

Yes. Most of the big issues are figured out. The land is fairly flat and the contour map reveals high points to be around the
2 ponds (1 acre and .4 acre resp).  Hay won't be stored near the house so fire risk is mitigated.  I like the views of the pond but worry about being too near it, so the house will be set apart from it.

Jt Lamb wrote:
Do you know for sure how much area will be needed for all the systems in the homesteading area, like home, garage & barn(s) or related structures, garden areas, water storage, etc.? How will all these systems interact, and where do they need to be for the best interaction?

I know about the relative zones and the placement of the various components. The plan is to start with the selection
of the floorplan of the house with attached greenhouse. Then everything else can be planned around it i.e. although I'm not constrained by area, I want to keep places convenient. Meanwhile during
the planning stages, I'll be planting some essential wind, shady deciduous and fruit trees in the appropriate areas. Marcescent trees are out.

Jt Lamb wrote:

On the home itself, as you are in TX (a state I used to live in), passive solar *is* a huge design consideration. Why builders haven't fully embraced it is beyond me. You've got to avoid "heat" for upwards of 9 months, whereas, where I'm at now (S. Colorado, at elevation in the front range foothills), I've got to avoid "cold" for upwards of 9 months.

Avoiding heat gain is a big thing, and yet making it through times of disaster (recent TX winter events, and the almost inevitable tornado) is another, of *many* considerations that you uniquely face. I'm off-grid, and you may not want to be, but given the utility grid in TX, you may want to be closer to off-grid than you originally thought.

Yes, we face 6 months of heat (and thus the need to cool down) and maybe 3 months of cold, with extreme weather events.
Worst is we have an irresponsible state government so it's up to us citizens to keep ourselves protected from
inclement weather and disastrous loss of service.
The homestead will have access to grid plus propane, wood and solar energy. F-150 Lighting supplemental energy if
I'm lucky enough to buy it.

Jt Lamb wrote:

So, if your first priority is figuring out the house (of your homestead), and in the case of passive solar home design, I always start out with the DOE "Passive Solar Handbook" (or any variants, as original was done in 1980), and then start looking around from there. Once the concepts are in place (and you may be there already), move on to plans to see who's done what, and perhaps on to builders who specialize in passive solar (unless you are building/contracting this).

Again, I'd start with a site plan, and label one small piece of it "the passive solar home", in the homestead acreage, and so on ... then start expanding out or zooming in, to fill in the blanks.

Easy enough to google tons of plans for passive solar ... or find a designer or architect who can help.

I've read a few books and articles on Passive Solar home design so at this point, it's practical advice that's needed e.g. actual
reliable architect/builder that can execute it in my area.  Some issues might be silly but important to me e.g. cooling ventilation without the damn dogwoods/mountain cedar/ragweed pollen, indoor shutoff valve for all external faucets etc.

Jt Lamb wrote:

One last thought ... you've got hay, as in straw-bales, as in straw-bale construction ... what an opportunity for a straw-bale house!
Hope this helps ...

After the primary house and surrounding infrastructure is done, I will experiment. Initially will be hoop greenhouse with N side lined with stock tanks of water for aquaculture. Behind them will be the straw bales if insulation is still a problem.

Thanks for the help. I was pleasantly surprised to find that things I'd done out of expedience/idleness/observation were accepted permaculture "principles" and that there's a community dedicated to it.  Now I don't feel so alone
doing what I'd been doing.

With your details, it sounds like there will be both homesteading (self-sufficiency) and permaculture (food forests, aquaponics, etc.) aspects. Perhaps you'll want to:

- find an architect or builder who specializes in homestead planning; and has at least heard of permaculture (so there's no grief in non-standard stuff they might otherwise have with 95% of their customers)
- find a PDC certified person to perform a permaculture design for the property

The two designs will hopefully get super-imposed, merged, and coordinated so that one (homestead) doesn't step on the other (permaculture). A master plan ...

So, perhaps:

- if not cross-posted already, create a post in the permies regional forum that includes TX, and specifically ask for such an architect or builder, or architect+builder.
- do another such thread in same forum for a certified permaculture designer
- ask the related associations (architect, builder) in the area for recommendations for that area and specializations

Finally, with something like that master plan in place, just create threads for each individual element, when getting around to that piece (on this and other forums). Food forest, aquaponics, greenhouses, etc.

If you agree with the premise "form follows function", the house plans should almost fall right out of the site plan details, per your requirements.

What a project you've got going!

Sustainable, passive solar small house (2000 sf)  

Thats not a small house?
Some ideas;
- collect photos, images of homes you like
- think about having a tall ceiling height, 10ft at least for cooling
- think about a windtower for cooling
- build a central part and have extensions later as needed or cash allows
- look at my signature for rainfall collection ideas.

Thanks. Good advice. I'll look into the regional forums.

Jt Lamb wrote:

- if not cross-posted already, create a post in the permies regional forum that includes TX, and specifically ask for such an architect or builder, or architect+builder.
- do another such thread in same forum for a certified permaculture designer
- ask the related associations (architect, builder) in the area for recommendations for that area and specializations!

Thanks. I will look into the regional forums. A good reply I read here was by an architect who'd advised looking into traditional Southern home designs and not reinventing the wheel, in response to a similar query 10 years ago. Unfortunately he's no longer active here and his ID was grayed out.

John C Daley wrote:

Sustainable, passive solar small house (2000 sf)  

Thats not a small house?
Some ideas;
- collect photos, images of homes you like
- think about having a tall ceiling height, 10ft at least for cooling
- think about a windtower for cooling
- build a central part and have extensions later as needed or cash allows
- look at my signature for rainfall collection ideas.

Yes, we're downsizing for retirement and looking into a small single storied house that's energy efficient, climatically
comfortable and resilient as much as possible.

I'm collecting a list of "design patterns" for good sustainable/passive/resilient house so I'm adding best practices.


High ceiling is a must.
Chunking/Modular design i.e. room for growth, is good.

I like the idea of cross ventilation for cooling e.g. clerestories or windtowers but need to research more on overcoming the horrible dust/pollen issues here.