Prevailing Winds and Windows

Once the initial plans for a house are firming up and its time to decide on window details, consider the prevailing winds. You may know your site well enough to know what direction the winds tend to come from. To be sure about this you can research prevailing winds for a spot near your home site using tools such as Wind History. Given your house design style, you may have options for sash windows, casement or awning. We are currently advising a high end modern being constructed near Soloman's Island on a promontory along a river feeding the Chesapeake Bay. Here the winds tend to come from the NW or the SW during the warmer months and we know that the windows/doors will not be open during the cold half of the year. We are also designing homes for Davis Riverwalk in downtown Davis WV - a mountain sports town at 3200ft elevation. This latter site tends to have many homes with no AC at all due to the temps being on average 10 degrees cooler than the DC area. However, the house design has a huge impact on whether the house is comfortable without AC through the warm months and in particular during the afternoon. Good window placement and type can extend the period when the occupant can skip AC or heat completely. Casement or double hung windows tend to allow a direct breeze to enter the house while awning windows tend to ventilate without much of a breeze. Casement windows open outward to the left or the right and should be specified to 'scoop' the air from the prevailing wind direction. Awning windows with electronic controls can be used up high to assist with chimney-effect ventilation as warm air rises in the house, exiting the high awning windows while cooler air enters at lower points in the structure. Fixed windows have a role here as well. Most houses have way too many windows that open in comparison to the actual use. Consider what ventilation is needed and then consider fixed windows otherwise. The advantage of fixed windows at ground levels is security. An advantage in general is better R value due to zero air leakage. And an advantage in some sites is noise. Davis Riverwalk is located right in town and some houses will be within 200 feet of main street. For that reason we will lean toward fixed windows on this (north facing) side of the Riverwalk homes. Since we are staggering house sites along the south side of the Blackwater River, we will look for opportunities to scoop in the winds that tend to come from the west by southwest and pass them through the house. We will look to 'chimney' air from the first floor to the second floor by having high ventilation windows on the second floor controlled by electronic openers. Cooler air blowing into the west facing windows will allow warmer air in the structure to rise up and vent out the high windows. Note that the same can be accomplished with electronic skylights but we will avoid opening skylights in this extreme weather mountain climate. In the Solomon's Island modern under construction now, we will focus our cross-breeze goals with our bets on the frequent west-to-east winds and we will use the north and south walls for passive awning windows, primarily up high. Where we have - for example - rows of identical windows, we won't have every one of them be opening windows. That creates clutter and unnecessary micro air leaks. We instead choose windows that will get the job done for those periods when the HVAC will not be used. At Solomon's, the house will primarily be conditioned, summer and winter, with users going in and out of the house frequently in the warm months, and the occasional period of neutral weather being our time to use the window ventilation. In Davis, we expect a much larger period of the year to not require much in the way of conditioning, so ventilation options are critical. This article does not address solar gain design considerations but, assuming these have been addressed, a good window/door plan will really help. http://windhistory.com/station.html?KNHK

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The final leg of Corridor H replaces that 16-mile stretch of 93 to Davis

The Route - Davis to Bismarck


January - March 2012 Status:

The WVDOH received approval of the Amended Record of Decision in April 2001. Final design is underway for the 16.2-Mile Davis to Bismarck section in Tucker and Grant Counties.

A contract was awarded in December 2010 to Trumbull Corporation for the construction of 6.2 miles of Corridor H, from the existing corridor at Bismarck in Grant County to the WV 93 connector at Mount Storm in Tucker County; construction of that project is anticipated to be completed in the spring of 2014. Construction of the remaining portion of the Davis to Bismarck section is anticipated to begin in the spring of 2012, and the WVDOH intends to complete construction of the 16-mile section in the fall of 2014.


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This map is not to scale nor is it an accurate geographic representation of the area. This graphic is for planning and public information purposes only. Distances area approximated to the nearest alignment point.

The above graphic is a portion of the whole map. Please click here to view the entire map at full-size (135k).

If you would like a very detailed description of a certain area, please contact us and we will be happy to provide you with that information.

Babcock Lumber colletion

Creating Economic Opportunities in Rural Areas: Making Development Work for You

Creating Economic Opportunities in Rural Areas:
Making Development Work for You
January 22, 2011
Workshop Summary
The day provided great opportunities to highlight the role of small businesses in our area and review
resources available to assist small businesses. The resources mentioned extended from micro-loan
programs, to business planning assistance, to informal mentoring from established business owners.
The importance of local leadership was the most repeated message from speakers and participants.
Local leaders can make connections within the community, match businesses up with available
resources, and combine forces with neighbors to increase momentum of efforts.
Workshop Notes
Introduction
Chris Stadelman from the Phillips Group welcomed everyone and facilitated the morning session. Chris
introduced the featured speaker, Mr. Lane Bailey. Mr. Bailey is the Regional Managing Director of Golin
Harris, an international public relations and public affairs firm.
Lane Bailey
Mr. Bailey began by noting that he is a West Virginia native, growing up the son of a coal miner in
Mercer County and graduated from Concord College. He got involved in politics while still in college,
working on early campaigns of Senator Jay Rockefeller. He spent many years working for Governor and
then Senator Rockefeller before moving to Golin Harris.
Mr. Bailey noted that we as residents, business owners, and local leaders are in a position to help define
ourselves and the future we want for our region. We need to think about how we want to be seen and
how we talk about ourselves to others. He believes that our region, from Elkins to the Virginia border
along Corridor H, is the authentic West Virginia and that we still have the opportunity to create a “brand
for the region” and use that brand to attract the kind of development we want. He believes that people
outside of WV don’t really know much about WV and that we ourselves sometimes repeat negative
messages about who we are. He also urged participants not to accept the status quo. We can seize the
opportunities that are available, but only if we take some actions.
Mr. Bailey then laid out ten concepts for the future.
1) Think and plan for the long-term—20 years out into the future
2) Get alignment—work together across traditional boundaries and rethink existing boundaries
defined a long time ago
3) Create a brand for your area—you have the real WV here with the combination of natural
areas, hard working people, and businesses
4) Ensure full coverage of broadband service, it’s imperative for new business and without it the
divide is going to widen
5) Use social networks—it is the future of communications and marketing
6) Bring in higher education—colleges and universities have become major economic drivers, reach
out to all possible partners

New blog on food in Tucker County!

http://tuckercravings.wordpress.com/

Here's you new route from DC

I did this in 3 hours to Bethesda....With the new stretch of Corridor H open from Moorefield to Foreman, a new set of directions is needed for those who want to spend less time driving. It involves using 66 West so departing during rush hour is not advisable.

From home go to 66 West, then go South on I-81 at the end of 66. In three miles, take the second exit and turn right at the stop sign on HWY 55 West. The speed limit on 66 once you get past Haymarket and also on 81 is now 70 MPH. It just got changed.(70 minutes)

Drive 20 miles on 55 West to the sign for new HWY 55 and take new HWY 55. (25 minutes)

Go 35 miles on the new HWY to the end at Patterson Creek Road (Route 5). Turn right to go north one mile. (35 minutes)

Turn left on Greenland Gap Road and drive 6 miles to T intersection or similar ending where you turn or bear left on Scherr Road and go another 1/2 mile to HWY 93 at the road with 30 curves. (10 minutes)

Go to Davis and on, as usual. (45 minutes)

Total 185 minutes equals 3 hours 5 minutes.