Anders loves sustainable building. He's even getting an outside dog shower!

This is an amazing experience and I feel very lucky that I am able to do this.

Throughout this project all the things I have worked for are being manifested and challenged. As a result, I have made every effort possible to build a sustainable house, one that will last, one that takes into account the impact on the earth and world community. I have learned and grown daily in this process.

Here is the journey of my house building project. I hope all of you enjoy it. It's really hard to get all the photos in order within each folder and I will describe what's on each section to the best of my ability. There are endless details.

I will add new sections about every 2 weeks so stay tuned....

ENJOY THE RIDE AND WELCOME

PS Kudos to my parents, Simon and Annett who are AWESOME!!

INVESTING IN THE FUTURE: BUILDING SUSTAINABLY

A HEALTHY HAPPY HOME...

Here's a primer on Sustainable Building. As you go on this web journey view of my house project, I will point out these elements that are incorporated into this project:

Building a sustainable "green" house involves many elements that start with the site and end with the long term maintenance.

Building green, though a challenge, is also an opportunity to be creative and resourceful while developing a truly unique expression of who you are while integrating your space with nature.

Please note: one of the challenges in doing things sustainably is that it might cost more in the outlay but in the long term ends up being cost effective. Spending more on an efficient energy system, will reduce day to day energy costs and longer term rising energy costs. Buying a metal roof has a life of 50 years as opposed to other less expensive roofing which lasts 20 years. Investing in the beginning will reduce longer term maintenance costs and in reality, aggravation in dealing with constant maintenance costs and issues.

*Design: in this process it's important to consider the use of the property to maximize outside living areas, utilize the sun to maximize daylight and energy efficiency, heating and cooling. To begin design, think about integrating with nature and incorporating the elements: earth, fire, water, air, into the design and house. It is important to work with nature or else nature will challenge you and your house in the long run.

*Footprint: The ultimate impact building has is in it's footprint. Build what you truly need and will use and keep it small. A small footprint is the ultimate sustainable practice.

*Thermal mass: this is important to design in as a way to maintain heat and maximize cooling. This can be in the form of a stone fire place, digging into the earth (rammed earth house), adding radiant floor heating.

*Use of Solar: South facing windows, solar panels and solar hot water heater, energy from the sun.

*Insulation: maximum insulation reduces energy bills and increases comfortability.

*PVC free: Polyvinyl Chloride has worked it's way into endless building materials especially in plumbing, windows, carpet padding and siding materials. PVC creates endless environmental problems in production, which include major cancer and death issues for the workers who produce this material and the communities where manufacturing occur. Likewise, this material also causes health problems for people who live around it...off gassing, leaching in water lines, are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of problems it causes. Of course, PVC is indeed the cheapest way to go. There are numerous alternatives to using PVC, though some are indeed more expensive, the trade-off includes longer lasting non-toxic materials which are low maintenance.

*Glues, Finishes, Paints: these items off gas and cause potential health problems including indoor air quality issues. Luckily, there are many wonderful low cost alternatives and practices that can reduce use of these toxic products. There's a lot out there including natural plasters.

*Reuse and Recycled Materials: Reusing materials is the best use of resources. There are many wonderful items you can find at reuse centers, in the paper under construction/building materials, market basket etc...this includes items from windows to doors, trim, cabinets, plumbing fixtures, lighting fixtures etc.....Recycled paint and other household products are now available. With the consumer world growing, the reuse world is growing along with it...keeping your eyes open can indeed result in savings and adding wonderful items to a sustainable house.

*Sustainably Harvested Lumber: In my area, wood is the main building material. Traditional growing and harvesting practices utilize endless chemicals, destroy habitat, create erosion issues, deplete soils, mess up rivers...sustainably harvested lumber is being demanded and yet, the industry is way behind in creating this marketplace. The ultimate is to find a private landowner who is needing to thin out some land. In my project, I was fortunate enough to find someone who wanted to restore native oak savannah (which is the original forest in this area) as Douglas Fir trees had taken over the oak. The trees were horse logged and milled but not kiln dried. Kiln drying causes other issues in house building.

*Flooring: Generally speaking carpet is a problem. Traditional carpet is made from plastic and is treated with chemicals including fire retardant. Carpet off gasses and collects chemicals and other environmental pollutants. Wall to wall carpets also collect mold and dust which trigger allergies and lower immune systems. There are some natural wool carpets that are beautiful and don't typically off gas. Sustainably harvested oak wood flooring is available as is Bamboo. Additionally for other rooms besides the bedrooms and living room, there are some wonderful sustainable flooring choices that aren't vinyl. There's tile, slate, marmoleum, linoleum and cork. All natural and non-toxic and affordable.

*Energy Systems: Radiant floor heating has become the most popular sustainable heating system. This system creates thermal mass and also uniform heating while being energy efficient and sustainable. Tubes (PEX is the non-PVC alternative) are laid under the flooring and heated water is run under the floor. This is especially a good choice in areas with cold winters.

A wonderful option that has been used in Europe for ages, is on-demand hot water. This is a great energy saving choice while retaining the comfort and convenience of hot water. These are typically gas.

Solar hot water heaters are great in areas where solar is economical and the sun can be used to maximize energy efficiency. These often come with impressive rebates.

Other choices such as heat pumps, use the geo thermal energy from the earth. And even electric can be a good green choice if you live in an area that supports wind and solar to get electricity. The ultimate issue with energy systems is to minimize the need for using lots of energy...efficiency comes from the house structure itself...insulate, insulate, insulate

*Water: water is a huge part of a house. Installing low flow shower heads and faucets saves water and energy and still allows comfortable daily operation as in showers, dishwashing etc...Installing gray water systems is a wonderful way to reduce the thousands of kilogallons that go down the drain. Also installing water purification systems is a healthy choice as there are countless toxins in drinking water and removing chlorine from shower water keeps your skin healthy.

*Think about installing a back-up system for heating/cooking etc...that is off the grid as electric power outages do happen though gas doesn't seem as vulnerable on a day to day level. Having a wood stove or fireplace is a good back-up and also creates some ambience.

*Landscaping: Sustainable landscaping incorporates nature with your lifestyle. Landscape with native plants, use natural materials for borders/fencing (railroad ties are very toxic as they are treated with creasote) and maximize edible landscape. The best landscaping will reduce and eliminate use of pesticides, maximize composting and maintenance.

A SUSTAINABLE HOUSE IS HEALTH HOUSE THAT MINIMIZES THE IMPACT ON THE NATURAL SURROUNDINGS AND GLOBAL RESOURCES WHILE INTEGRATING INTO NATURE WHILE ADDING AN APPEALING ELEMENT TO YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD!