32) Respect

February 13, 2010

The more time we hang around with our builders, the more I respect their skills and work habits. It’s possible they’re on their best behaviour when we’re there, but I don’t get that feeling.

Building a house presents creative challenges every hour. Ron, the head builder, has doubtless lost some sleep trying to work out how [...]

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31) We have POWER

February 12, 2010

In the continuing saga, begun from my point-of-view on Nov. 19, the day I first applied for a Hydro connection, we have progress.

The “T-connection” could not be found by our electrician in either the stated location (the first lot line when the developer subdivided a dozen or so years ago) or 3’ inside our altered [...]

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30) On-site visitors

February 11, 2010

We have moved into the RV on the lot for a couple of weeks, since D has holidays to put in some labour (much better than going to Hawaii, no?) and I need to talk to tradespeople. Occasionally, I can do a bit of actual work, too.
I have noticed that the site gets a bunch [...]

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29) Green Dilemma #4: exterior finish

January 30, 2010

Our house will be finished with cedar, because it is harvested and milled on the coast, plus it suits the traditional aesthetic of our home (see post: 2) Design Considerations.) Cedar has the extraordinary ability to naturally repel insects and is very slow to rot. It is conceivable that the cedar will last over 100 [...]

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28) The 15-minute expert

January 27, 2010

Here’s the latest “look”. The roof rafters are mostly on, and window framing is nearly complete. The main entry roof, parallel to the dormer roof, has yet to be framed.
The weather deities smiled on us for two wonderfully clear (little wind, no rain) days. We met with tradespeople, and D even became a 15-minute expert [...]

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27) Lighting, Electrical, and Energy Consumption

January 20, 2010

It’s ironic that, at this point when we’ve been denied access (for a few weeks at least) to BC Hydro’s electrical connection, I have started thinking about lighting design and energy efficiency.

Over Christmas, we rented a 1970s home on a local lake for our festivities. The Arthur Erickson-designed home allowed natural light to flood the [...]

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26) Stone

January 16, 2010

I love stone. It’s natural and enduring. It looks traditional. We have planned to use a fair bit, both inside and outside. Stone is expensive to install. Estimates run $60 – 100 per square foot. To install as much as I want would cost the price of our whole first home.
Some stone comes to BC [...]

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25) Surprises when I arrived on site yesterday

January 15, 2010

This post has nothing to do with building green. Rather, it provides an update for those who just want a progress report. I will also be asking for any opinions you might have about a possible design change.
Yesterday a BC Hydro special crew came from the mainland with their fancy “connection-finder” to locate the electrical [...]

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24) Heating

January 10, 2010

Our winters are generally cold rainy seasons, with temperatures between 0 and 8 degrees Celcius for about 6 months. How to heat our home has been the most difficult decision so far. We are lucky to have a southern exposure, for passive solar gain, and we have included a big bank of windows on that [...]

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23) Looking like a house

January 2, 2010

It takes a roof shape (inverted “V”) to make a house look like a house. The trusses installed last week provide that iconic structure.

The builders installed, with the same crane, the custom-cut 8×12 fir timbers. Thanks to that heavy job, we have our first interior finish (coming on the heals of our first exterior finish): [...]

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