homework

A bit more than two years after moving to the land, Kristin and I have finally started the work to build a permanent home.  What was once a plan for a totally new home in a different spot became a rehab of the existing home and then became a demolition.  The existing footers that support the house are nothing more than random stacks of dry stacked field stone. One failed pier of the foundation was a stack of firewood.

So as Danielle and Noel near the completion of their cob house, Kristin and I focus on bringing down the old house. The condition of the house and the relatively stable condition of our finances allow us to pursue some interesting routes.  We have decided to replace the house with straw bale construction, possibly in conjunction with timber framing.  Kristin is researching the timber option, sourcing some local sawmills and tobacco barn reclamation projects.

Our biggest funding obstacle is the financing above and beyond our current savings. Bank financing is NOT an option since we are building without central forced air (heating/cooling), and banks are ONLY concerned with re-sale values not the builder-owners’ values. We are currently reaching out to friends and family for micro-loans, so if you fall into that category please let us know if you are interested!

We had a work party a few weeks ago to begin the dismantling of the house. Our goal is to save as much as possible for reuse, but there is also a ton of crap – six layers of shingles, five layers of flooring, loose fill vermiculite insulation.

After the wrecking day we had our annual Capricorn versus Aquarius party. I’ll just leave this slide show here –