Journal (1 of 6)

May '06

26: Started house design meetings with Tod Drescher, architect.

June '06

6: We got our official street address from the county!

20: First meeting with Craig Tarr, renewable energy consultant. Discussed solar electric, wind turbines, geothermal heating.

July '06

26: After seeing "An Inconvenient Truth", Tod is thinking of extending the 2 foot earth berm all of the way around the house to increase energy efficiency.

30: Discussed foundation types with Tod: wood, concrete block, poured concrete. Initial kitchen design.

August '06

1: Chuck put in the base gravel driveway and cleared the house building site with his bulldozer.

9: Discussed roof types with Tod: gable, hip.

10: Met with Tod and builder Mark Ruebl. Concrete floors, siding options, countertop options, cabinet options, patio door, garage door.

15: Tod adjusted some room and garage sizes to make hip roof design work.

20: Spent the day on the land with Permaculture consultants Paula Westmoreland and Guy Trombley. They liked the quality of the soil and the diversity of plants.

September '06

2: We found a wood-burning stove that we like, the Hearthstone Tribute.

6: Tod and I staked out the house site and measured the land grades.

7: Renewables design meeting with Craig. Discussed inverters, batteries, wind turbines, towers, solar electric panels, sun tracker racks. Because of property setback and maintenance issues, decided to not install wind turbine right now.

19: At a meeting last night, the township planning commission gave their approval for us to build. This is the first of several steps toward getting a building permit, but it was a big one!

25: Turns out our land is in a boundary area between 3 different electric companies, so it wasn't clear who we should connect to. Looks like it will be Goodhue County Cooperative Electric.

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