After much deliberation, The Lady and I have finally settled on a plan for our new house. The very fact I am here should hint to our intent of keeping things green, low energy, etc. etc.
A genesis of our path: we bought land last spring, and thought, originally, of some kind of adobe/cob building plan. However, the absence of mud in our immediate area made that unfeasible.
We pondered cordwood, but the lack of R-value (we're just north of Maine, for a reference) combined with concerns over the longevity and internal appearance - we just didn't like the look - forced us to move on.
Straw bale was the technique we looked at longest, but concerns over how to obtain straw (we're a long way from any grain farms - so cost would have been an issue) along with some cautions issued by well-established Permie folks (Jim Merkel) about humidity ... and we were sorta stuck.
The plan, now, is to go with slipform masonry, a la the Nearings, with 4" closed-cell foam on the interior, backed by OSB which we will plaster later. Masonry heater at the centre.
The rural planning chap already had a good look at the preliminary plans, and said we wouldn't need to have an engineer or architect sign off on the plans (saving some big cash).
A little passive solar, combined with 1,400 watts of solar into a 24-volt, 700-amp-hour battery.
We've already gathered 29 trailer and truck loads of rock, which should get us well in the right direction. 700-square-foot footprint, two storey, open concept loft.
Property is 28 acres, with existing well and septic. We're going to slip the footprint into the space a previous owner had a cabin (it burned down). The footprint choice is largely driven by the desire to avoid hacking trees.
We've already obtained a cement mixer, corner tub, two doors, and a buncha other stuff. The intent is to keep it cheap/recycled/home-built as much as possible.
We are in zone 5a/b, and will likely be trying to seed some blackberries, raspberries and - our favourite - Saskatoon berries - later this year. We also have maples and will try our hand at surgarbushing this spring, if all goes well.
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