Permission to build, Granted!

The weather here in Maine has been exceptionally cooperative for an early start to the outdoor construction season.  We had a very mild winter with little accumulated snow on the ground; that snow melted away long before the calendar showed … Continue reading

More Galleries | 1 Comment

Changing Horses Before We Wade into the Stream

To plagiarize a slogan from the Occupy Wall Street movement, we are, I suspect, part of the 99 percent of the population for which building a custom home is the single most expensive undertaking in their life.  So choosing a … Continue reading

More Galleries | 1 Comment

When is a Passive House NOT a Passive House?

Want to build a house to the Passive House standard?  That used to be an easily recognizable target.  There was only one Passive House standard, an international specification established in 1996 by the German-based Passive House Institute (PHI).  It’s a … Continue reading

More Galleries | 1 Comment

Finding Value in a Green Appraisal – Part IV: Still a Very Long Journey Ahead

We have received a revised appraisal on Edgewaterhaus.  This third trip to the appraisal well is decidedly a mixed bag.  As the title of this blog suggests, those who want to build green via a bank loan have an uphill … Continue reading

More Galleries | 2 Comments

Backup Electrical Power for a Passive House?

Should we include a backup electrical power supply for Edgewaterhaus, since it will be an all-electric home?  If so, we should include provisions for a backup electrical source as part of the overall plan, whether we decide to implement it … Continue reading

More Galleries | 3 Comments

Passive House Certification of Edgewaterhaus: PHI or PHIUS+?

We’re ready to submit Edgewaterhaus for Passive House Certification. Which begs the question: should we even bother with certification, particularly after the fracturing of the Passive House movement last August?  That’s when the Passive House Institute (PHI), the international organization … Continue reading

More Galleries | 7 Comments

Bieber vs Intus windows

This gallery contains 1 photo.

Enough suspense on windows. It’s a Bieber!  And yes, that’s our final decision.  We’ve made a sizable cash deposit and started precise shop drawings for the windows. It had been a tortuous four, yes, four long months working with the … Continue reading

More Galleries | 2 Comments

Can We Get More, Pay Less, To Keep About The Same?

This gallery contains 2 photos.

Let me explain this rather cryptic proposition. Is it possible to tweak the design of EdgewaterHaus to simultaneously (Get More) energy performance from the building, (Pay Less) to build it, and still (Keep about the same) square footage and floor plan? We liked … Continue reading

More Galleries | 1 Comment

Finding Value in a Green Appraisal – Part III – Calculating the value of energy upgrades.

We are striving to attain the Passive House standard, LEED Platinum rating, and net zero  energy status.  If that ain’t green, then we should all throw our hands skyward in color-blind despair. A few weeks ago, we got the results … Continue reading

More Galleries | 1 Comment

2011 – a Retrospective

Wow, it’s been nearly two months since I updated this blog.  Time to get back in focus.  It’s not that there haven’t been things to write about; there has been a lot going on behind the blog screen.  I attribute … Continue reading

More Galleries | 3 Comments