The latest

I know our posts have slowed down a bit, but so has the house as of late. We're getting ready for some big things -- the metal roof will go on soon, the windows are on their way, and we chose some outer doors.

This week we had a three-hour meeting with our electricians to go through the house and decide where we want to put lights, light switches and electrical outlets. This is a very tough thing to do! It's so hard to know how you will use a room before the room is even built, and you have think about room use to figure out what type of lighting is needed and where the lights and switches should go. We've still got a few decisions to make, but I like where we're heading with things.

Blake and Larry recently traveled to a national Passive House Conference in Urbana, Illinois, where they met lots of other Passive House aficionados and learned about what's happening with projects around the country. They told others about our project, and as a result some other builders are now interested in checking out our house. That's exciting! We were also glad to hear that interest in Passive Houses is growing.

Blake just sent me an article about the conference:

www.finehomebuilding.com/item/9720/2009-passive-house-conference

It Looks Like a House

A lot has happened with the house roof since the trusses were delivered, and now it actually looks like a house. Here are some new pictures.

They started building our porch. I can't wait to sit on it someday.


Even after they put the roof on, those beams will still be visible from underneath.


Our way-cool staggered garage entry.


The upstairs trusses.


I'm standing in the master bedroom, while Stuart is in one of the smaller bedrooms. It'll be weird when we can't look through the walls anymore.


Stuart ponders life's mysteries.


Our new leaves to rake.

Raising the roof

A giant crane came to the build site today to lift our big roof trusses up onto the top of the house. We saw it on our way in to work. Then when we got home, the trusses were raised over the garage. An exciting development!

Green Home Tour

We had a successful showing on the Salem Green + Solar Home Tour. I'd estimate about 50 people stopped by over the day. Blake and Larry were on hand to answer any real questions. They did a fantastic job, and we're really grateful they were there.


I know people on the tour are already receptive to green homes, but it was nice to see so many interested in what we're doing. My arm is a little sore from patting myself on the back all day. I'm hoping we'll be invited to participate again next year when the house is done.