Want to always stay updated on the oil crisis?

I suggest you visit this website for tons of shocking information about our oil dependencies, our global impact and what's being done in the industry:
http://www.theoildrum.com/

Silence & A New Solar School in Austin

Silence is not golden in our case. Sorry it's been too long since the last post! Let me tell you, it's been one LONG ride to the financing finish line, but it will come, I promise. We are working on getting it, it's just taking much longer because of the current economic climate. I'm confident we'll get the money soon. Pray or meditate for us that it will happen sooner rather than later!

Anyway, I wanted to let you know about this Solar Design Workshop class we found at this non-profit company that wants to promote solar solutions and new technologies by way of education. This organization is newly formed in Austin and offering an off-grid course including lunch for $40 this Saturday! We are definitely going to go. Here's the link to learn more:
www.hubbertspeak.org



This is a part theory/part hands-on course that will allow us to design, build, and install a photovoltaic(PV) system. We will have an exciting opportunity to build a 500+ watt off-grid trailer complete with solar panels, wind generator, inverter, charge controller, and battery bank. This would be a valuable lesson for us, because we need to save money on our expensive dream green home. Every dollar will help, because PV systems are definitely not cheap.

I will report what we've learned. Also, I'm thinking of starting a green e-book series that will address various topics and will be available SOON!

We're coming back, promise! See ya at the Austin Cool House tour?

Yes, it has been too long, but things are finally coming together. So, you should hopefully be hearing back soon!!!

Also, I wanted to post the Austin Cool House tour brochure, because there are a lot of COOL (figuratively speaking too!)& green modern houses on this tour. It will be Sunday, June 22nd from 12 noon to 6 pm. You can download it here.


Hope to see some of you there.

Budget & appraisal being updated, and bathroom dreaming...

Sorry, I've decided to update my budget so I took it offline and edited out this post.

I'll just leave you with dreamy photos of our beautiful, contemporary Japanese soaking tub that's made of stainless steel. You can get these luxurious tubs at Diamond Spas.

Imagine meditating in one these after 8 hours of work!

Our green home brochure...

Now available, a brochure giving you details and background on how we came to build green! Feel free to download the Sjödin Residence Brochure in PDF format.

Property rights gone wild....

I had to post these hilarious pics of signage we saw while driving around the Garden Oaks area of Houston. This disturbed "patriot" (see flags in background) posted these signs ALL OVER his front yard and let his neighbors and passerby's know EXACTLY what he will not put up with.



No, I'm not joking with you... these signs are FOR REAL. And, the real kicker is this sign below (see graphic if you don't understand what "defecate" means... heeheehee)



What I really loved are the complementary graphics that accompanied the text. Like people need a visual... hahaha. And this was just a sampling! We didn't have time to snap photos of his other colorful signs posted like every 4 feet....
"Smile at the Camera: God is Watching You"
"Do not throw condoms, needles or other trash on property"

I would have loved to talked to the owner to find the background of how he came to put up these signs, but was afraid I'd be shot if I stepped a toe over his property line. :-)

Where's Myleen (and other goodies: LEED-H certification for homes, SIPs weekend, LED lights)

I know I've been silent for some time, but for good reason. I am just waiting patiently for the money to hit the bank so we can get this party started! My champagne bottles are still chilling, and I'm waiting for the big day when we can sign our construction loan.

I had such a great weekend in Houston. First, the weather was unusually and pleasantly cool and dry, which is a rare treat in April. We were outside enjoying the weather in Kemah and staring at some sail boats that Jan wants to eventually get. My poor baby doesn't want much, but a boat is his goal. He's been perusing boat ads for weeks now. :-)

Then we saw Ted, who gave us some great information for getting your home LEED-H certified. If you go to this link, you can download an Excel spreadsheet to tabulate the number of points of your home to determine your certification level. You can go certified, gold, silver and platinum. Guess what we figured? Platinum!!! Woohoo! Although, I'm not sure I did it completely right. Anyway, this is thanks to high efficiency appliances, xeriscaping, geothermal, rainwater collection and site stewardship. I didn't realize that it doesn't cost all that much to get rated. Here's a chart:


We also went out to see Ted's other client's SIP home (Theresa). I have pictures for you to see of her house frame, which we'll post later with more details. She's compiling a list of "What Not to Do for a SIP Home" that I'm going to be following with great interest. It will be of tremendous help because we will be about 2 months behind them and so we can learn from their little hiccups, but it's going relatively smoothly so far! There are a few things to watch out for, because SIPs are so precise, you have to take extra care of how you lay it up and put it in. Check out her blog, as she has put in videos of her framing.

Also, we talked a lot about lighting and Jan wants to use white light LEDs on all the track lighting, and compact flourescents in the recess cans. Why LED? Because they are so much more energy efficient and don't get very hot like halogens. They have come out with SUPERLEDs that are even brighter than halogens! There are now dimmer switches for the LEDs that are relatively new on the market. Now all the above is super expensive unless you build your own, which of course, Jan wants to do. He is the self proclaimed do-it-yourselfer... he can't stand paying for something that he can do better, so we'll have a lot of his inventions around the house :-).

Besides all the above, we have a lot of business and marketing ideas brewing in our heads that will help promote SIPs, our green home and green building in general! I am working on getting our spec sheet, home article and ads out to home tours, building green mags, and other outlets. Stay tuned, because I want to get more people to build this way! Mail me if you want to learn more (free information).

Pictures of the complete casa, garage & rainwater tank storage facility

Yay, Jan finished the house, garage, rainwater tank storage area & retaining walls, so here they are!










And for those of you needing more technical detail or need some ideas on how we will do our garage, gabions, and rainwater collection system, check out these graphics:

A more detailed video on SIPs (Structural Insulated Panels)

They will answer questions like

Why they will save you 50% in energy bills...
Why they are superior in strength...
Why they are highly insulative...
Why they are earth friendly...
Why they are easy to build...
Why any framer can learn SIPs...

Check out this longer video

ON BEHALF OF ST. PATRICK'S DAY, BE GREEN AND GOOD!

We're mentioned on Money Magazine!

Still thinking of building your dream home? Maybe this article will convince you. We were interviewed and mentioned in this article in CNN's Money Magazine. Check it out!

http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/10/real_estate/build_home.moneymag/index.htm?postversion=2008031218

Pretty neat Google Sketchups of our house in 3D

A guy named Dan who commented on my blog introduced me to Google Sketchup, and we got hooked immediately! You can create 3D renderings of your house or any object you desire, and the best part is that it's free to download! There are even premade 3D sketches of things you can add to your own Sketchup (for example, mid-century modern furniture even!)

Jan got so into it, that he did a DETAILED rendition of our house, including the doors, windows and cedar siding that will look pretty close to reality.

We're still working on the interior and garageport, but here's our completed exterior of our house!

CLICK TO ENLARGE PHOTOS



See how much detail you can put into it, look at our Crestview Door that we're going to use ... it's very cool, but very timeconsuming to draw up!


We're excited! Jan is going to finish this baby up and we'll probably post an animation of our house on You Tube for you to see later.

Got our appraisal in!

We're happy to report that we got our house and lot appraisal in, and although it's not the highest we wanted, it's above what we expected. I won't report what yet, in the interest of getting the best possible bids. I will, however, need to cut costs and am working on "trimming the fat" on our budget. I am getting some updated bids on things to see how prices have changed, hopefully for the better!

I have heard that lumber prices have come down. Yes, let's hope so!

Right now, one of the challenging things to do is to find a lender that will accomodate 100% financing for an owner builder and a one time close. We are right now searching for the program that suits us. I'll update you when we find out who we'll go with!

I desperately need a vacation and a backrub... over the weekend we moved apartments, so I'm sore. But, I have planned a nice little getaway to New Mexico, one of my favorite places in the world. We can't wait!