There is a castle under construction in Rockingham County which is being built by Ed and Judy Keens. When completed, the castle will have about 7,200 square feet of finished space, and will have a spiral stairway to a flat roof. The castle has 3 bedrooms, 3 baths and a great room which is a nice 20 by 40 feet. The castle is being built with energy savings in mind by using insulated concrete forms. The castle will have an insulation R-value of near 50 and it has an exterior wood stove for heat with heat pumps for backup.
On 9-26-11, I received e-mail that said:
Keens Castle is a custom design/build home. The exterior walls, from basement to 2nd floor ceiling height are PolySteel Forms, which are an ICF (insulated concrete form) product. The very tops of the towers and the front entry foyer are wood framed and insulated with closed cell spray foam. The exterior walls are stucco (E.I.F.S.) All the windows are casement or fixed (for better energy effiency). The doors are all insulated fiberglass. The roof is flat with several drains that run down inside the exterior walls and underground to the back of the house, leaving the option open for a rainwater collection system. The floor joists are all open web floor trusses, and the roof is framed with trusses as well. The roof is covered with two inches of closed cell spray foam and coated with a white acryllic coating which reflects the sun. Underneith the roof is another 6" of open cell spray foam. The garage floor is a suspended slab concrete floor. The solid white oak floors are custom made, locally. The white oak trim and beams are also custom made. The home is heated with an outdoor wood burning furnace with heat pump back up and central air. The wood burning furnace also heats the water before it enters the water heater. The home is wired with a generator backup panel which allows for some important circuits to remain functional if the power should be lost. The homeowner can use a standard portable generator which remains outside the home.
{{Castlefinder note!}}
Patty and I visited Keens Castle in september 2015. It sits on a hill, and it is beautiful.
The owners (Ed and Judy) showed us around, and were very nice to us. This is a castle that we
have been wanting to see for some time, and we were not disappointed.
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Thanks to Ed Keens for the photo and information.