Back in Blog!

We're reviving this blog now that we're getting closer to starting construction on our new home. For the last 14 months or so we've worked with two architects--the last 6 months with Gary Kincaid, a local architect and renaissance man. Our approach so far hasn't been totally focused, but now we're getting serious about things. So serious, in fact, that Saturday we hired a builder. His name is Scott Ehlert, and he is the builder who did the interior renovation of our current house. We spoke with a couple other builders, but we decided to go with Scott because we and others we know have worked with him in the past and have been very happy with the results. He is very conscientious, his work is top-quality and he has proven, reliable subs. The decision for us boiled down to why mess with a (really) good thing.

The only reason we considered anybody else, in fact, is because we are planning to do some non-traditional stuff with our house, things like a green roof, ICFs & SIPs, passive & active solar, rain harvesting, that kind of thing. Scott expressed some caution about our crazy ideas, and we misinterpreted his caution as a lack of interest. We have cleared that up, and now it's full speed ahead!

The next step is to finalize our floor plans and then get them to Scott's draftsperson for value engineering. We hope to have the floor plans finalized in the next couple of weeks. Both Scott and Gary think breaking ground in May is a reasonable goal.

So, check back here for more updates. Or better still, minimize your hassle and subscribe to the RSS feed! Stay tuned....