Zeroing in on Net Zero

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[UPDATED 29 April 2016] I haven’t posted for a while. We’ve been enjoying the neighborhood and our neighbors and settling in. But we’ve had a couple of pieces of “news” that I wanted to update you all on.

First, our LEED certification is OFFICIALLY complete (finally). Looks like the main house needed 86 points to achieve Platinum (the highest rating) and we scored right at 101 points. The Cottage needed 80 points and ended up right at 98. Woo hoo! [Also, our HERS ratings are 9 and 18 respectively; find out what that means at HERS]

And add to that, we’ve been through the winter and now are generating more solar electric. As of yesterday, we have received to date from EWEB 4,361 kWh since we’ve moved in and have delivered 4,663 kWh, about 300 kWh more than we’ve used. The Cottage is at 2,254 kWh and 2,558 kWh respectively.

That means both houses are currently running at net zero. Pretty exciting.

I’ll post more updates along the way, but we’re having family over and getting ready to bbq.

Later.

“Right Sizing” and Durability – Part Two

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The initial cost of a home is far from the total, real cost. As I mentioned in my previous post, the long-term life-cycle costs account for 85% of the monetary cost of a home; only 15% is that initial cost. A significant portion of that 85% is maintenance and repairs.

I am actually amazed at the number of builders and consumers that don’t really consider the durability and longevity of a product when purchasing a home. There are so many aspects to consider, but I’d like to highlight just two in this post: plaster walls and good paint.

There is a huge difference between drywall and a plaster finish on your walls and ceilings. Drywall is probably 15% to 20% less expensive initially than thinwall plaster. However, thin wall plaster has a number of advantages. It is much more durable. Try the “finger nail” test. Use your finger nail and see if you can dent drywall then see if you can dent plaster. It’s very telling. The ease with which drywall dents should be a good indicator.

Then, the finish you use for the walls, the paint, is every bit as important. Cheap paint may last a year or two or even five. But really good paint can last much much longer. Coupled with the durability of the plaster walls, good paint can last a very long time. Think about that the next time you may be tempted to use a cheap paint, then ask yourself in the whole scheme of things is that extra few hundred dollars (or even less) worth needing to paint more often?

I love to use the example of our last house. We finished the walls with plaster then used a very high quality paint (in 1998, the trim paint was $50 per gallon). We lived in the house until 2014, raised two teenagers and never repainted and it still looked brand new. Yes, 16 years later, the wall finish was still in great shape. It wasn’t even looking like it needed to be repainted.

We did the same plaster and high quality paint in the Lawrence house.

I could go on about things like wood floors in lieu of carpet and vinyl, high quality windows (durability and long-lasting energy efficiency), LED lights (which will last virtually forever) and so on.

Bottom line advice is to look at the long-term efficacy of the product and determine whether or not it will have the durability you desire. Will it reduce (or even eliminate) long term maintenance and what is the length of time you can expect before you have to replace it? That will be the telling factor in how cost-effective a product really is.

Oh, and the picture of the shoes? Those are a pair of $180 shoes I bought in 2005. I still wear them and they still look great.

“Right Sizing” and Durability – Part One

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There are many aspects of a home that are important. I want to highlight two of them in my next two posts: Physical size of the home and the durability of the materials. I’ll talk about size in this post and touch on durability in my next post.

As you can see from the chart, in the last 30 years, the average home size in the US has increased by over 50%. During that same period of time, the average household size DECREASED from 2.73 to 2.54 persons (a decrease of about 7%).

During this same period of time, the average Honda Civic went from 161″ in length to almost 180″ (a 12% increase) while its gas mileage (and this with all our newer technology to make us more fuel efficient) went from 34 city/47 highway all the way DOWN to 28 city/39 highway (almost a 20% DECREASE).

Ahhh, such is the American Way. Even the new Fiat 500X is somewhat affectionately dubbed the “Americanized” version of the traditional Fiat 500.

In America, we are often of the mindset that bigger is better and more is also… well… better. So we want bigger houses with extra rooms and space and bells and whistles… just because. We have a separate game room, a separate office, a separate media room, a computer room, a game room. But what we often forget is not only do we pay for that extra size in the INITIAL cost of the home, we pay extra EACH MONTH in higher utility bills, higher property taxes, higher maintenance costs, higher repair costs, etc.

Brenda and I “downsized” to our Lawrence Street home. The kids had grown and gone out on their own and we didn’t need the extra square footage (we actually only went upstairs to clean and dust). So we went from 2,754 sq ft to 1,617 sq ft. No media room, no game room, just a master bedroom, a guest bedroom and an office plus the main living/dining/kitchen space.

And it fits us perfectly.

The added benefit is our utility bills are still running negative (assisted by our 6kW solar system and super insulation). We have about 40% less house to clean, maintain and repair. Granted, the house is new, so we won’t have to do much in the way of repairs and maintenance for a while, and I’ll cover how we addressed this in my next post on durability. But when we do have maintenance and repairs, they will cost less than would be needed in a larger home.

I know of people who have purchased a larger-than-needed-home either because they could (I want to show everyone I have “succeeded” financially), or they “got a really good deal” (Look at all this square footage I got for only $200,000!). But the money they may have “saved” in their upfront costs will only go out each and every month in utilities, taxes, maintenance and repairs.

Only 15% of the true cost of a home is the initial cost; the other 85% is in utilities, taxes, maintenance and repairs.

We would serve ourselves well to factor that in when we are purchasing a home. “Right Sizing” should be one of the major factors in our decision to buy a home.

Next: Durability

Thinking of Net Zero

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We’ve been in our home 4 months now (coming up on 5, actually). Time sure flies.

As of the end of October, we have been using an average of about 295 kWh of electricity per month (remember we are 100% electric, no gas). And we have built up an 1,800 kWh CREDIT going into the winter.

We may just make that goal…

Moved in and Settled

lawrence-01We have moved in. We have settled in. Pictures are hung on the walls. Landscaping is complete. Fence is in. Electric bill is still a negative dollar amount. Have not driven my car to work in almost four months. Walking a lot. Biking a lot. Loving it.

We Are Down to Three Days

IMG_2332We are down to three days before we move in! Final coat is on the wood floors, just a few minor detail things to do, landscaping is in, cottage is rented, and both solar systems combined are churning out about 63 kW a day. Our 34th anniversary was today and tomorrow is Father’s Day. Life is very very good.
Cleaners come Monday, Window washer Tuesday and Movers Wednesday. I’ll post again when we’re in.
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We Are in the Home Stretch!

 

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We are in the home stretch on our new home. I haven’t posted for a while because there haven’t been a lot of visible changes and this stage has been very time consuming with the last details.

Inspections are down to final electrical, final mechanical, final plumbing and final building. 

Insulation is complete. Exterior stone is almost done (just the wall caps). Irrigation and landscaping going in. Cabinet hardware and door stops are almost done. Appliances are in and they are measuring for window coverings. You know you are close when they are measuring for window coverings!

Solar, as you can see from the photo, is almost complete (all the panels are now in on the house and cottage; 9.4 kW total) and we just need final solar inspection (Monday) and the installation of our net meter so we can be reimbursed for our electricity generation. LEED and Earth Advantage inspections will come near the end of this month. (A shout out to my electrician, who, after drilling a new hole in the floor for some wiring thought to foam it before we covered it. Thanks, Tyler!).

One last thought: this above picture is especially meaningful for me because this is our third home Brenda and I have built in our journey and the first that we have been able to do solar. Our previous two homes had just a bit too much shading. But our home downtown has clear, unobstructed sky, so we decided to put solar on the home AND the cottage. Making up for lost time, I guess.

All along this process, we’ve been diligent at not setting a firm date for completion. The last two homes we did that and the final stretch became stressful; so we decided not to do that this time. But now, we have the movers scheduled later this month, so it’s official. We still have 350 sq ft of extra teak flooring for sale (see that post here) and we are going to start officially advertising the Cottage for rent (see that post here). It will be available July 1.

I’ll post again after we move in.

351 West 15th Ave – For Rent

cottage15th AVENUE COTTAGE
351 West 15th Avenue

Available July 1, 2015 (UPDATE: The cottage has been rented)
Award-Winning Architect-Designed, Brand New Construction
Bright and Beautiful Craftsman Style home

Live near the center of downtown Eugene, just a short walk or bike ride to the Farmer’s Market, Saturday Market, 5th Street Public Market, Restaurants, the Library, Banks, Churches, the University of Oregon and much more! This brand new, super energy-efficient cottage will be an amazing place to live. Owner-Landlord is living next door, beautiful landscaping (maintenance is included in the rent), teak floors, fir cabinets and quartz countertops throughout.

800 square feet

2 bedroom
1 bath

9 foot ceilings
Washer/Dryer/Freezer hookups
Stainless Steel Energy Efficient Appliances
Refrigerator
Microwave Hood
Glass-top Range with Oven
Dishwasher
Disposal
1 Car Attached Garage with alley access
South facing patio and front porch
Teak Floors throughout (FSC Certified)
Vertical Grain Doug Fir Cabinets with a deep, chocolate stain
Solid Quartz Countertops
High-Speed (150 mB) Internet Available

ENERGY FEATURES
8” thick, super insulated walls (resulting in low utility bills)
LEED and Earth Advantage Certifications (Platinum ratings – pending)
3.4 kW solar electric generation (resulting in even lower utility bills)
High efficiency mini split heat pump (heat and air-conditioning)
Heat Recovery Ventilator (maintains fresh air while conserving heat)
Efficient LED lighting (uses 1/4 the electricity of normal lights)
Energy efficient appliances
Heat Pump Water Heater (uses 1/3 the electricity of normal water heater)

Very Walkable WalkScore of 87
(most errands can be accomplished on foot)

Biker’s Paradise: BikeScore of 100
(Flat as a pancake, excellent bike lanes)

Good Transit: TransitScore of 61
(Many nearby public transportation options)

Walking distance to grocery stores, restaurants, banks, churches, library, downtown. An easy walk or bike ride to the University of Oregon, just 1 mile east on 15th

No pets
No smoking (tobacco, marijuana, vapor)

$1,350/month plus electricity, internet and garbage
Landscape maintenance, sewer and water included
12 month lease
Separate Paid Application for each Adult (18 years and older)
$35 non-refundable application fee
$1,000 refundable security deposit
$250 non-refundable cleaning fee

Previous Rental History/References for each Adult

Contact Bill Randall
541-517-2223

Download Application and return to rental@thesimplehouse.com

 

Wood Floors are Done

IMG_2033We finally have something I can post a picture of. And I believe it was worth the wait. Our wood floors are now down and two of the three coats of finish are on them.

And we have to say they are gorgeous!

We purchased the wood for our floors in June 2010 when we thought we would not have any trouble selling our Wintercreek house; OK, we were really wrong. Almost five years later, we have been able to pull the wood out of my business partner’s warehouse (thanks for storing it for five years, Dan!) and get it installed.

As you can see, our floors throughout both the house and the cottage are FSC Certified Plantation Teak. The certification means the wood was grown in a managed forest under strict environmental and social guidelines.

The finish on the floors is three coats of Pallmann Oil, which has an extremely low volatile organic compound (VOC) rating (5g/L). It is a combination of natural oils and waxes. Very durable. Easy to maintain.

For our LEED credits, the wood floor needs to be something that doesn’t trash a rain forest or at-risk stand of trees. The teak we used is plantation-grown under a controlled setting in one of my favorite countries: Costa Rica. No, it isn’t local, but travels about the same distance to our west coat as hardwood from the eastern coast of the US (about 3,000 miles).

Also, for LEED, our floor finish has to be low VOC. VOCs are the harsh chemicals in finishes that can make us ill. As I’ve mentioned, our paint has 0 g/L VOCs (we are allowed in LEED up to 50 g/L) and our floor finish is allowed up to 100 g/L (the Pallmann Oil is 5 g/L).

It’s been eye-opening (not eye-burning) to go into our house right after painting and right after the wood floor finishing and still be able to breathe. To not have our eyes burn from the chemicals found in many paints and varnishes. We have been able to walk through and breathe and not be bothered by any of the smells or vapors.

But beyond the specs and numbers: it’s simply a beautiful floor!

Insulation, Sheetrock and Plaster

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It’s been an interesting few weeks. We’ve spent a significant amount of time (and money) drying out the houses in order to insulate. So everything during this time pretty much ground to a halt other than running two large fans, three dehumidifiers and three heaters getting the moisture content of our interior wood down to 10% to 14% and sending our EWEB bill through the proverbial roof. Because we used closed cell foam, we needed to be drier than Code (which is 19%). The closed cell foam seals the wall and we didn’t want to seal in any excess moisture.

But we made it and then have started moving again. We insulated and today the sheetrockers finished the main house. The cottage will be Monday as will the beginning of the plaster. They will be spending most of next week doing the plaster, then Monday-Tuesday of the following week (March 23-24) painting the walls, stocking the wood floor to acclimate on the 25th and moving on with interior trim.

It’s refreshing to see  workers on site again. We’ll keep you up-to-date on our progress.