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Show i ; : i IT ' '""' f IT"? . ... wtf; mm CV (. , t, . -t j Jr if r: v:: f - ; ' : : lM:r " ' " v .... j.iL inn i p Tt fTCB tl SOLAR OCTAGONAL HONE The James Stewart Jr. family of Farmington enjoys passive solar home they built themselves and cite $50-$60 yearly energy bills, cheery atrium area among pluses to their uniquely styled residence. By TOM BUSSELBERG FARMINGTON "--"How would it be to have a cord of wood stashed in the cellar with no need to use it and a wood-burning wood-burning stove you plan to re- move because it's warm enough without. THAT'S THE happy dilem- ma faced by the James L. Ste wart Jr. family of Farmington i since they moved into their j new house. No, they didn't in- i stall 10 feet of insulation but yes, they did build the founda- ; tion 12 feet below the ground. And while it doesn't help 5 keep the home any better insu- i lated, they decided on a rather j novel design, for these days- an octagonal shape with the upper level centering around an atrium that fills the house ; with light even though there are few outside windows. ' BUT IF you weren't looking 1 for it you'd probably never i find it. Mr. Stewart, who ' works as an assistant adminis trator and controller at ! McKay-Dee Hospital Center ! in Ogden, says it was planned that way, located on an out-of-the-way cul de sac on the east side of Farmington. ! l The idea for the house, that he estimates cost maybe $60,000 to build, came after the family wanted to buy a house in 1978. After looking at a house built on the same plan as one they'd sold for $26,000 seven years earlier and discovering discov-ering the price tag had risen to $72,000, they decided to do their own thing. THAT MEANT designing and building-except for the foundation-their own house. An entirely new adventure for them, they started work on Pioneer Day, 1978, and completed com-pleted it a year later, to the day. Mr. Stewart says he didn't come into that job with a lifelong life-long background of construction construc-tion experience. "My father never worked with tools. Before Be-fore this home, I'd never done anything like this." IT TOOK some convincing, especially on the part of Bill Terburg, Farmington, who has helped several area residents on their way to building their own homes. "It's a matter of attitude," Mr. Stewart says. "It may mean a lot of questions. It's easy to say you can do any- I thing but it took a long time to decide (to do it)." BUT THE indecision forcibly forc-ibly vanished when three truck-loads of lumber got dumped in the yard, he adds. His wife, the former Earlene Carbine, hails from New Mexico Mex-ico while he comes from Arizona Arizo-na and it was a mixture of their southwestern heritage that inspired in-spired the open-air affect one finds on entering the house, with its focal point centering around the atrium. IT'S CAPPED by a large skylight accented by one-foot wide pine beams stained in dark brown, all hand-cut. The room is filled with chair-swings chair-swings reminiscent of the love-seats love-seats you might find on grandma's grand-ma's porch on a cool summer night. The room's accented by an abundance of ferns and greenery. Each bedroom has a small window facing into the atrium, bringing a warmth through light into much of the house, Mr. Stewart explains. HIS "BETTER half took care of much of the interior design, de-sign, which he says was drawn to fit the family's needs. That meant lots of storage space such as a clothes closet where-each where-each family member has a slot for his or her clean clothes. That way they don't collect in an open spot, such as the stairwell. stair-well. A built-in vacuum makes that chore a lot less of one along with three separate bathrooms, bath-rooms, a window seat and large food storage area. And the family can get away from it all in the game room. EACH FAMILY member took part in the project, although Mr. Stewart says the family felt the need for "a strong foundation," and that was the only portion of the home done professionally, although it took awhile to find someone willing to tackle one for an octagonally-shaped structure. Stephanie, 18; Shauna, 16; Susanne, 15; Wesley, 12; Travis Tra-vis 8 and even 5-year-old Jeramy had assignments, while Mrs. Stewart's father. Earl, Bountiful, spent a lot of time on the home. WORKING ON it every evening and Saturdays, "We took our time," Mr. Stewart recalls. "There were so many things we didn't know how to do. Then somebody'd show up and tell us how to do it," for example, or a sale would seem to pop up just when an item was needed. "It was kind of eerie. I really feel blessed," he emphasizes. "We appreciate people's help, even when they just kept us company." But some brought dinner or pitched in where needed. Others of the extended ex-tended family helped, as well. "A LOT of people when you build a house don't want help. But to us, if people want to come-that's part of it. If someone some-one cuts a board too short, we'll use it somewhere else" he says, outlining their construction-days philosophy. "Sure we made mistakes--but we had no lumber left when we got through. "We had to cut so many darn angles--we did so many things wrong but we just redid them," he adds, noting it just took a lot of perserverance. TODAY, people still ask the family about their unusual, octagonal house. But to the Stewarts', it's become home-and home-and after their toils, hopefully a very sweet one. |