When I was a girl, I dreamed of building a house with a 2nd floor library, a turret, a secret staircase, and an interior garden. None of these features made it to the house I am actually building.
What we are going to construct is a modern re-imagining of a traditional Japanese house. It’s 92 sq meters (about 920 sq feet), with an attic above.
We are trying to make the construction as eco-friendly and vernacular as possible by working with vendors based in our area – friends and neighbors with all the skills we need and businesses located just down the road and in surrounding towns. Some of our wood is locally sourced cedar. In the doma, I will tile the floor with reclaimed tiles from last year’s Tile Mines project. The retaining wall uses concrete from the previous house’s foundations. The design takes into consideration the prevailing breezes and the sun. We will have “pair glass” (double pane) windows and insulation from roof to floor.
Systems are challenging. Power price is volatile and and availability likely to change so we are using multiple sources for now. The AC & heating will be efficient electric heat pumps supplemented with kerosene space heaters, as is very common here. The water heater is an instant-on LP gas system. The cooking appliances are also LP gas; we have been testing a portable IH cooktop for the past few months but we don’t love it except for boiling water. I have been told that the 200v IH systems are better, but we haven’t been able to find one to test. In the future, if/when we install solar generation, we may switch to more electric overall.
There are so many aspects to consider when planning a house and hundred of compromises to make in order to realise the project within a reasonable timeframe and budget. To be quite honest, this design is sturdy and good and it fits where we live but it does not delight me. I guess if I really wanted a castle with a turret, or a Victorian mansion with a secret staircase, I should have emigrated to Europe.
The delightful touches will come on the inside. I’ll share some of those ideas soon.
