Breaking Ground

Up our home came out of the ground.  We were lucky enough to have the aforementioned "dilapidated" home on the same lot, and we lived there for 10 months while we built.  (Don't fret readers!  Some doozy photos of this home to follow, along with diatribe on building with energy costs in mind, not to mention a tape measure and a level.)  For parents of two year olds, I can't recommend enough having excavating equipment working  in your front yard all summer.  The excavating contractor was Mason's hero.    And I loved being able to buzz over and help Scott when my mom helped with the kids. Thanks Mom! 

Scott worked every single day for 10 months.  I was glad he was close by. The details involved in construction are phenomenal and nearly all of our time together was spent making decisions related to the home.  We spent a lot of time in the initial design phase, as drawing such a small space for a family proved challenging.  Specifically,  fitting two bedrooms in 629 sf was hard.  Scott will write more on design later, as he is the one who did that work.  My point right now is that we were in framing before we really rolled up our sleeves to make choices on products.  The days were spent building and the nights were at the computer researching and choosing....not my forte.  I'd rather be working on site.

 I was in charge of taking the home through the local Green Building Program.  We are the second home in Routt County and the first one in the City of Steamboat to enter the program.  It is a holistic approach to building, focusing on Energy Efficiency, Resource Conservation, Water Conservation, Site Protection, and a Healthy Home.  We are required to have a third-party inspect and test the home to make sure we do what we say we will do.  We hired Chad Faegler with Mountain Energy Consultants to do the rating, verification, and testing.  Our initial HERS rating, based on a plan take-off is at 72, which is 28% better than the average code-built home.   We obviously hope to bring it in even lower.  Our energy bill calculation is at $240.00 a year.  HECK YEA!!!  Compare that to the house next door at $125.00 per month.  I think my next post will be on that house.  I need to get it out of my system....