I broke the steam generator before we had even used it once.

I haven’t told D, because I was so ashamed.

It happened like this:

In an effort to have a welcoming guest suite in time for Christmas (and, let’s face it – I wanted to have a steam shower myself in this inhospitable season), I ordered and picked up a steam generator in November. With plenty of coaxing, I managed to get our recalcitrant plumber to install the little unit under the stairs. Then, our electrician came by to bring power up to it. The plumber stayed around over the next day, preparing to finally hook up our toilets to the rainwater cistern, after many false starts and re-doing over the last year-and-a-half. And, that’s the last we saw of our plumber, in spite of many (successively angrier) phone calls and emails. Here’s what the yard looks like (and why the plumber has created a safety hazard on our walkway for the past two months):

The full-height glass shower door was installed a few days before guests arrived. I thought that, even though the shower itself wasn’t hooked up, we could at least sweat it out in the steam room and pour water over ourselves. So, I checked that the breakers on the electrical panel were on, then turned on the timer. One minute… Two minutes… No evidence of steam. And then I heard a clunk and smelled a smell. (You know that smelling a smell is a scientific way of identifying problems, don’t you?)

I immediately turned off the unit, and a shot of adrenalin blew into my head. I just knew that I had done something wrong. Then, I read the instructions. (I know, I know, you don’t need to say it.) The instructions said that warranty is void if the unit is turned on before the water supply tap is opened. Sure enough, the water supply wasn’t turned on.

I waited a few minutes for any heating element to cool down, THEN I turned on the water supply. Turned on the timer/switch again, and, happily, listened to the steam vent hiss. But, no steam, then “clunk!” It turned itself off.

Lucky I was alone at the time, because I wouldn’t have wanted anyone to know what I’d done.

I shoved the problem to the back of my mind, where it has niggled at me for more than a month. Today, I called the supplier, Leisure Baths in Burnaby, and confessed what I had done. I needed to know what to do to fix the problem, and assumed I would have to remove the unit and bring it to town to have the element replaced at my expense.

Jonathan, the technician, was as good as those gods who walk me through internet problems: patient, calm, appearing to be able to see exactly what I was seeing, and not talking down to me.

First, we took a look at the electrical. At one point he asked if I had a volt-meter. I said we had one somewhere, and I would find it. When I finally found it and opened its case, a feeling of “I can’t do this” washed over me.

It was a complicated-looking gadget that I have always let D handle. After all, he wired our first home all by himself (and it passed inspection). I am nervous about anything electrical. But, Jonathan told me exactly how to use it, and when I tested the contacts, no circuit appeared to be functioning, thus validating my assumption that I had blown an element. But, he said that there is an over-ride switch that turns off the power if no water is getting in, so unless some wire is fried (which it isn’t), electrical should be fine! Then, I noticed that I hadn’t pushed the black plug all the way in on the multimeter. When I did that, it proved that the unit was still getting power! (Happy Dance.)

But, when I turned on the water again, and then the timer/switch, no steam. Jonathan just kept on calmly trouble-shooting with me. “See that blue water connector with the brass hose bib? Unscrew the bib. BUT, first turn off the water supply! What kind of washer is in there?” “Well,” said I, “It doesn’t look like a washer at all, but a flat disk with a tiny hole in the middle.”

“I think that’s our problem,” said Jonathan. “There were two different washers included. The plumber was supposed to use the ring-shaped one that is just like a regular hose washer. Take that one out and replace it with a regular washer.”

The round black washer with the tiny hole in it is the wrong one. A regular hose washer is now inside the hose fitting.

I did that (only 1 small soaking when I had it on crooked.) Turned on the water and THEN the switch/timer.

And, glory be, the steam head hissed, AND real-live steam came out!!! Look:

So, I learned some valuable lessons:

1. Read instructions thoroughly.

2. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

3. Don’t be afraid to try new tools, especially after getting a tutorial and/or reading instructions. Read about the last time I learned to use a tool that I was afraid of, here.

4. Professional tradespeople make mistakes, too.

5. The Relax-A-Mist steam generator is well-designed, to withstand the abuse of incompetent users and tradespeople.

Now, if you’re still reading, you may be asking yourself “What does all this have to do with building green?”

Truth is, not so much. But, consider this: I am just an ordinary person who is building a green home. I’m not formally trained in anything except Home Economics and design. I am organized and persistent and can do some pretty good research.

The purpose of this blog is to help anyone who is interested in building green gain insight into the mechanics, technicalities, philosophy, costs, and processes involved. I want to make it easier for people to build the way we all should be building (OK, preachy, I know.) I wish I had such a blog to read before we started this project 2.5 years ago. I have approached this massive task as an ignorant person who can be stubborn and get things done, sometimes by myself. In these pages you can read about all my relevant research and far too many mistakes. I hope it will encourage anyone to be courageous and try new things.

And, by the way, I looked up the current Hydro rates and calculated how much it costs to run the steam shower for 30 minutes. $0.29! (and that’s at the higher BC Hydro “step.”) So, not such an energy hog as you might expect.

One day last year, while D was working alongside our stonemason, he overheard a visitor to the site (a new tradesperson) comment to the stonemason, almost bitterly, “What do you care, you’re working on a million-dollar house?”

We had never thought of it as a million-dollar house. It’s just our home, the last home we will live in, if we have the freedom to choose where we live in our dotage. If you’ve been following the “Spending and Saving” page, though, it would appear that this IS a million-dollar house, especially if you include in its value the “Saving” contributions we’ve made.

When we worked on the design, more than two years ago, we were asked by architects and the regional district building department, what our budget was, and we had no idea. We have just been building as we can afford it (with help from the local credit union!)

Interestingly, from my point-of-view, a homeowner-built house is assessed lower than a professionally-built home and its green features don’t appear to be a factor in its assessment (this I gather from talking to the assessor who came around to determine a value.) I could be wrong about this. If any reader knows better, let me know, please. When the assessment notices come out, the neighbourhood’s property values seem to be based on square footage and number of bedrooms (we have a smaller square footage than the homes in our area and only two bedrooms.)

To readers who may be interested in building green but are discouraged by its high cost, I have some comments and suggestions which may encourage you:

1. The actual cost to build our home is closer to $660,000, or $244 per square foot, after I deduct the cost to build the studio and the landscaping/land-shaping/garden.

2. The studio, using insulated concrete forms (ICFs), has been a bargain to build (and it’s green-to-the-bones!) It weighs in at $94 per square foot. I know that it doesn’t have a kitchen or a bathroom, but it is a basic, well-insulated building that would pass the EnergyGuide 80+ratings.  If we did it over again, I would seriously consider building the whole house with ICFs, then just use the expensive spray foam insulation in the ceiling. That way, you could avoid the whole rainscreen headache and cost. The thing is, you’d have to be sure of your design – not so easy to alter this building material once it’s built. On the other hand, ICFs are just Lego blocks, that come with excellent instructions, and a careful, logical homeowner with more time than we had, could build with this product him/herself.

3. If you build on a level lot, the foundation would cost about $60, 000 less.

4. Our rentals (forms/scaffolding/toilet/storage bin/generator) cost over $16,000. If we were smarter about this building stuff,  we would have bought a generator (or got a temporary pole for Hydro hookup) and a simple two-stage scaffolding to move around the house as needed. Both could be sold afterward. We also could have built a bigger storage shed and biffy for the framing crew, rather than renting a bin and toilet. And, if we had used ICFs (see #2 above) no forms would need to be rented or taken apart after the pour.

If we had taken this advice before WE started building, we could have built just as green, but for $191/square foot. Mind you, if you build before the reversal of the HST in 2013 (with its additional 7% sales tax on labour) it will cost you at least $18000 more. If you’re contemplating building in BC, I would recommend waiting until after the HST is reversed.

Over the years, as an artist and as the executive director of an arts council, I have been an observer of and a participant in many a discussion about art as a livelihood. One of my favourite quotes from an artist is, “Parking meters make more per hour than artists.” It’s true. When I was working from a Granville Island studio, so many people who came in raved about my art quilts and stitched landscapes. I thought that if I had a nickel for every compliment, I could make the rent. (Maybe artists should put out a tip jar, so that people could add a token monetary value to their generous thoughts about our work!)

Charity auctions and even gallery fundraisers solicit donations of art from artists. I used to donate a piece of art when asked, for the “exposure” (Another quote, “You can die from exposure.”) After some time, it dawned on me that  the charity wouldn’t ask the electrician to donate his time when making a service call. The concrete finisher wouldn’t build the charity’s sidewalk for free. The poor artist is the last person who should be donating work.

Why am I bringing up this topic? Well, it’s because building this house ourselves (especially as I am doing the general contracting) saves, as it turns out, at least $75,000 a year. There’s no way I’ll ever earn $75,000 a year doing my art. I don’t have to pay income tax on that “salary.” We don’t have to pay the HST on all the trades we’re doing ourselves or on the general contractor’s overhead. Instead of paying the stonemason $60 an hour, I’m saving that AND learning a new skill.

This value is well worth the suspension of my art practice for a couple of years. The thing about artists is, we are compelled to make art. It is our passion. I will return to the studio when this house is done, and it will be all the sweeter for the great experience I’ve had building the house, and the knowledge that I have contributed to the household “income” in this way.

Johnson Barr Construction

Principals: Doug Johnson ph: 604-741-8207 (Sechelt) and Ron Barr (Gibsons)

JB is normally a general contractor. In this project, I acted as our own general contractor, especially after I started staying on site. We hired JB for general construction, to take us to lock-up: foundation, framing, and some general carpentry and finishing. They were on site for ten months.

Doug Johnson is the administrative partner. Ron Barr is the construction head.

Their crew was stable and consistent. They always showed respect to each other and the tradespeople and the homeowners. The crew needed good supervision: when Ron wasn’t on site, I noticed much less progress was made.

Our contract stipulated that we pay their bi-weekly invoice on the basis of their working hours and any equipment rentals, trucking and materials costs they covered when I wasn’t on site. They purchased most of the materials on our account at the Gibsons Building Supply.

We had hundreds of hitches in the building process. Ron is a genius at problem-solving. He is taciturn, even-tempered, patient, diplomatic and discreet. He has probably 25 years of building experience. We presented him with materials, techniques and standards that he had not encountered before: used materials, new technology, green standards. He embraced these challenges and researched how he was going to resolve them. He has built us a quality home, and we know this because of feedback from our architect and the subtrades: drywallers and the cabinet-maker commented that walls were plumb and square, for example. Apparently, that’s quite rare.

Nevertheless, he and his crew did make some mistakes and mis-judgments. When they rebuilt these misconstructions, they still charged us their hourly rate, even though the responsibility for the mistake was theirs. One of the most frustrating expenses was more than $16000 for equipment rentals. Rentals included a container for tool storage (I think JB should have a construction trailer of their own), a generator owned by JB (which cost more to rent than it would have had we bought one ourselves) and several thousand dollars for scaffolding over several months (better time/task management and moving a smaller scaffold around the house would reduce this substantial cost.)

In general, JB made every effort to use up the materials before purchasing more and was careful about waste. They sourced local competitively-priced materials for us. Like all the trades (except the roofer, drywallers, cabinet-maker and floor refinisher), they left garbage, recyclables, cigarette butts, and mess behind.

The one strong criticism I have of JB is their inability to estimate accurately. Their labour ended up costing four times their original estimate, and the length of time on the job was three times their original estimate.  I would recommend a carefully prepared quote be contracted between the homeowner and the contractor. I don’t think it’s possible for Ron to do a sloppy job of construction, so his crew would have to improve efficiencies to work to a contract.

Overall, I heartily recommend Johnson-Barr. They, with all the subtrades, have built us a beautiful, quality home, and we’re very grateful for their skills.

Progress on the house has been slow this week. No one feels like working in this heat, so the guys go home early every day and take lots of days off.

The small developments:

Ronnie completed the last high angled shingling today, so the house looks better when you drive by.

Ron completes the angled shingling.

Steve has been torching-on the deck waterproofing in preparation for the concrete pour (studio floor and decks) possibly Tuesday.

Torch-on doorway detail

I have been mostly painting. One little job I’m particularly proud of is this vintage bathtub, another CraigsList find:

This side must have been placed against the wall in its last incarnation

orange and turquoise from the 60s, I'm guessing

I collected a photo of what I’d like it to look like.

This is a photo I found in a magazine

And then I painted it in a pretty good copy of the photo (I haven’t picked the flowers to put inside the bathtub yet.)

You can tell the colour change is intentional, right?

I’m chuffed about that.

I’ve been away for a few days. Returning is always bittersweet. I have missed some important activity. When I return, I almost feel as though I’ve lost some control. And yet, there is joy in seeing progress.

After I walked up to the lot from the ferry, I was met with so many questions (mine and the people’s on site) that I felt overwhelmed. One of the first requirements for me (before I checked the RV for the mouse harvest or unloaded my supplies for the weekend) was to head up to the granite quarry in Sechelt to hand-pick and tag about 30 flat rocks for use as stairs in our water feature/landscape design. That was exciting.

The guys from Endless Rain were here, scoping out the rock situation, the not-so-final grade, and the “product” that had been delivered for our water feature/rainwater collection/toilet-flushing systems.

Kyle was here to move sand for the studio floor and land-forming. The building crew was here trying (unsuccessfully) to finish the back-framing for the drywallers, and the studio floor and water-proofing for the back-filling. They had to move the scaffolding out of the way for the excavator, and have been doing a lot of site-cleaning/equipment-moving for the drywallers and excavator. I find myself getting annoyed at some of the places they moved things to, or where the trades have decided to put/toss perfectly good recyclables. But, I just have to breathe in, breathe out, and methodically rearrange things or let them go. Am I a control-freak?

The studio is underway! Here’s the progress in photos:

Pouring the footings

The Lego-Logix building blocks start at the corners

Staggered styrofoam blocks fit into the course below

This is what the blocks look like inside - plastic ties supplemented by steel rebar and custom-fitted steel grating

The styrofoam is cut to accommodate door and window frames

note the substantial scaffold/form supports May 19

Aaron and Ron form the hobbit entryway

Two types of work are happening today: In preparation for the first of three more concrete pours, some smaller forming jobs, such as heat pump pads and entryways and the deck and garage floor.

A view of the deck and soffits from the southeast side

And we’re finishing up the little framing jobs inside in preparation for the insulation.

Last minute wiring of the security system, phone/internet, built-in vacuum and similar prep.

Westeck Windows has come through on the two items of most concern to us: They re-built the dormer window to match its mirrored twin’s angle, and re-glazed the French casement bathroom window so we can see this view now:

There were other issues with door sizes and mis-orders, but we can live with them. The windows are quite lovely, needing my attention to finish the wood sashing, but I don’t want to do this job while messy trades are everywhere.

I have been on site at least 5 days/week. My time is almost totally taken up, with consultations with sub-trades, painting soffits and shingles, and cleaning up. It’s all-consuming.

Don’t those finishes look handsome?

I remember reading, in Tracy Kidder’s book, House, about when the house stops being under the control of the builder, and starts becoming the homeowners’. I think it was much closer to the end in the house being built in the book, almost at the turning-over-of-the-keys to the owners. I’m not sure we’ve reached that point yet, but I think the fact that we’re on site almost as much as the builders are, plus I am meeting with the trades myself and paying the bills, plus we’re doing a fair bit of the labour ourselves, that makes the transition imminent.

Maybe it’s my attempts to control some of the behaviour of the tradespeople in our home. After another massive cleanup, I realized that some materials were being discarded when they could be recycled.

So I made up this sign, along with recycling bins. I’m sure the eyes were rolling yet again at what Gail was getting up to. But, it seems to have some effect on the people coming to our home.

(Sometimes I think the guys drop their nails/staples/screws on purpose, just to give me something to do!)