Blog Post 7-7-07

It was just yesterday that our region experienced an early invasion of moisture from the summer "Mexican" monsoon. This is one of the best seasons we have in the Desert Southwest around Tucson and Tubac Arizona. Moisture... what a welcome after months of dry & hot sunny weather. I hiked up the hill behind my home on Salero Ranch this morning and the grass I walked through was notably softer than the crunchy grasses I've been hiking through this last month. Moisture has a distinct feel that is somewhat uncommon here in Southeastern Arizona and it is not until the monsoon season that we get to experience any humidity at all.

The first monsoon rain coincided with my visit to a development in Tucson done by John Wesley Miller called Armory Park Del Sol. He is a noted and award winning pioneer in the creation of "net zero" energy homes in the US and concentrates his development projects in the Tucson metro area. He has still a few homes remaining for sale in this development and if you are interested check out the website www.armoryparkdelsol.com and give me a call about it. I am happy to promote sustainable developments that I feel have distinction and merit. They are unfortunately all too rare in this region.

Anyway, what I went to focus on was Rain Water Harvesting as currently being done by a developer of single family homes. I have an idea to harvest some of my roof rain water runoff to use for irrigation of some plants and trees around my home on Salero Ranch so I wanted to see how John Wesley Miller company set it up. It should come as no surprise that as much as 40% of home water is used for this type of irrigation. It is of great benefit that the Tubac AZ community seems to be interested in harvesting rainwater and even some local developers and home builders are getting interested.

Here depicted is a diagram of a Rain Water Harvesting system which shows the basics. It is truly a simple system and one that can be designed into a new home or easily added to an existing home as long as the water coming off the roof can be diverted to a scupper or gutter downspout. Santa Cruz county is promoting this methodology as well on their website under flood control as Water Harvesting and Rain Gardens. It turns out that there are other advantages to partial collection of rain water that comes off our roof. It slows down the water so that it can infiltrate the ground and decrease erosion.

The clouds are building this afternoon and there is a 40% chance of rain.... time to get to working on the system.

Looking toward another great month of mixed indoor and outdoor living in the Upper Sonoran desert has me reading about outdoor spaces, landscape design and outdoor rooms. This concept of integration of indoor and outdoor space has been in my thoughts lately as I start working toward designing such space at my home on the Salero Ranch.

Tucson Home integration of backyard oasis with porches off home and casita where French doors bring "outside in"

Actually since we built our home and moved in 2000 we have "dragged our feet" in getting the "landscaping done", and now I am so glad we waited. Once you have "lived with a place" for a while, you come to see it in a different light, quite literally. I have watched the seasons change, felt the warmth of the sunny south exposure and watched as the ocotillos flourish on that side of the home and noted the cool to cold north side of the house where the soil stays damp and shade predominates. This living with your home for a time before finishing (in the traditional sense) it doesn't fit the typical model for construction scheduling and timing move-in for new homes because there are both design/build packages and packaged expectations on the part of the owners. If your plans will allow for it, you will save 2 things by waiting to finish your home until later. First you will save money because you will have time to get designs and bids done in a more leisurely manner. Second, you will save time in what it might take to re-do or customise the already executed landscape plan that once lived with, is not actually what you would have wanted.

So as I have been reading I came across Steve Martino & Associates whose Landscape Architecture firm received the ASLA Professional Design award in 2006 for RESIDENTIAL DESIGN AWARD OF EXCELLENCE. This remodel of a home in Paradise Valley Arizona was clearly what the type of example I had been looking for to provide me with some inspiration for my own project.

Here is a link to an article that will be in my May Newsletter on Outdoor Rooms. It gives some perspective on how popular the trend is becoming as we spend more time around home as a nation. What is not mentioned that I feel is an additional reward, is that the assessor typically looks at "heated & cooled" areas to assess a homes square footage (covered porches are assessed but not at the same rate as heated living space). This is a way to not only enjoy the outdoors, but possibly save on real estate taxes as well since you would be adding "outdoor living space" vs "indoor living space".

Here is one vendor with packaged models for outdoor rooms. Fire Stone Outdoor Great Rooms.