When I started the project I hoped to go for Passive House Certification or perhaps LEED certification. However, I quickly learned that both of these certifications were quite costly and required an enormous investments in time to ensure the right building … Continue reading
Category Archives: Design
Reclaiming Barn Boards
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We came across a 1700s era farm house and barn last week that was being torn down to make way for condos in Bedford, MA. It was quite sad to walk a now baron and decimated property where a once … Continue reading
Getting Ready to Build
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As I prepare to build my dream home from researching to interviewing builders, I realized there are very few resources available which explain the gap between “thinking about building a house” and “breaking ground”. While I still have a long … Continue reading
Design Completed
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I started this project believing a simple sketch of the floor plan and elevations would suffice for quoting and could later be refined by the builder. As I endeavored to drive advanced building techniques into the design to achieve superior … Continue reading
Structural Musings
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Deciding to use SIPS has freed me of the need to worry about creating drawings and specifications to ensure a tight building envelope. However, structurally supporting the roof is now becoming a significant issue. A conventional roof would be framed … Continue reading
Passive House
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I’ve followed the “green movement” for quite some time and find the practical pragmatism of building an extremely energy efficient home very appealing. I stumbled upon the Passive House concept which at its core stresses substantially reducing energy requirements through … Continue reading