Undoubtedly one of the most overlooked features, or should I say building materials, used for this Victorian home is the smooth 3/4" solid cypress lap siding. One of the interesting things I found out several months ago after talking to Rhett Bonner was that true Victorian architecture calls for the lap siding to create deep shadow lines. 

Remember...back when they were building Victorian homes, all siding being used was solid wood and it was not a mere 5/16", as is available today.

The owners of this home originally wanted fiber cement lap siding (Hardie plank). Hardiplank does not come in 3/4" planks, only 5/16". The Bonner Custom Home team was able to convince the owners to go with the cypress siding to aid in that full-blown Victorian home look...inside and out.

The Fun Times Guide To Homebuilding reader (Deb) wrote in not long ago wondering if I had a few more interior photos of the Frank Betz Palmdale craftsman house plan that I mentioned in my March 2008 post featuring a subdivision named Summerlyn.

The answer, of course, is yes...lots of them.

Deb...sit back and gather some ideas for your homebuilding project. This post is with you in mind.

If you're looking for a gallery of images showing a Victorian style chimney and chimney pots, I think this post might fit the bill. I've also included quite a few pictures of chimney pots of various styles that are very interesting.

The chimney and chimney pot photos that you'll see in the gallery were taken in a couple of separate visits I made recently at the construction site of the immense Victorian home that I am featuring over the next few weeks-to-months. I was not present for the construction of them (darn it!) but I do have the results to share...and they are quite spectacular.

The lower portion of the gallery are photos were loaned from an exterior design contest that ChimneyPots conducted in 2008.

UPDATE 07/29/2008: I've created an entirely different post featuring many types of installed chimney pots and more information on them, including links to how to install them, the history of chimney pots and more.

Cordwood building is an alternative building method that uses stacks of firewood held in place permanently with mortar to create walls. Most people considering cordwood building are interested in its potential as a green building method. But how green is cordwood building really? The answer, like most questions pertaining to sustainability, depends on where you live and the techniques used when constructing your cordwood building.

Top Reasons For Cordwood House Construction

Embodied Energy

Cordwood building can have low embodied energy provided the wood used is local, or better yet, used from on site. Because the wood requires very little work before being used in cordwood walls, there is very little waste or energy consumed processing it. However, the inherent energy contained in the wood, combined with any distance that the wood must travel to the site, can increase the embodied energy significantly.

The embodied energy represented by the wood pales when compared to the energy intensive mortar that is often used. Portland cement is one of the most high-embodied- energy materials used in building construction. It also causes significant pollution when it is manufactured. Some of these concerns can be addressed by using a cob mortar or a Portland cement that has a significant amount of fly ash in it.

Can't believe I'm saying this, but today I'm going to talk about butts...classic butts...to be specific. No kidding. I'm sure my mother is shaking her head and if my brother, Chris, is reading this...well...let's just say that sort of humor is right up his alley, but I'm not going to go there. Think I'm kidding? Look at the photo (found below). See!  What I'm really talking about are clear heartwood, western red cedar, classic fish-scale butts (shingles).

Classic fish-scale shingles (butts) were the design choice for the front gable of the Victorian home I've been writing about. When I first talked to Project Manager, Rhett Bonner, about some of the outstanding features of this home build, red cedar fish-scale shingles were one of the first items he mentioned. Yet another nod to the Victorian architectural style.

I've got a few photos of the (primed-unpainted) fish-scale butts applied to the gable if you'd like to 'read more'.

I've revisited the Victorian Queen Anne house that's under construction and there is so much to report that I will need to take baby steps to get things started. That having been said, I think a good place to start would be the oval-shaped, iron foundation / crawl space vents that lace the front porch masonry below the porch.

They are unusual, to say the least, but well within keeping of the Victorian Queen Anne architectural style of the house (and they look fantastic). They were suggested to the owners by the builder and I've got a good feeling that they'll be glad they were persuaded to have them installed. Personally, I think they look great and add to the Victorian feel of the home as you approach the (soon to be built) front steps.

There's a new home on the horizon that's currently under construction and it's going to be a 'beaut'! The style of the home will showcase Victorian style architecture as it was intended. It's being built by Bonner Custom Homes on a lot once occupied by two-50's brick ranch style homes. Those two homes were demolished to make way for this very large project for the new owner.

Regular readers might recognize the Bonner Custom Homes brand from my extensive coverage of the English cottage-style home that they built in 2006. This new home will be as true to Victorian architecture as the homeowners will allow them to build it. Jerry Bonner, his son Rhett, and the rest of the staff are committed to staying true to Victorian style, just as they were true to English cottage style with his personal home...the English cottage.