First thing is we changed General Contractors. Tom is still doing the site work at the farm but Tom Doyle of Doyle Home is now the GC. Jeff is a custom home builder with 20+ years of experience. Again no "Green" experience but he has really taken on the challenge and things are moving forward at a fast pace.
Secondly, if you remember we were shooting for an initial HERS (Home Energy Rating System) score of about 40 points. Keep in mind the average resale home in the United States scores about 130. A score of 100 is considered the average for new construction built to code. So an existing home, as an example, is roughly 30% more inefficient than a new home. So a score of 40 would theoretically make our house 60% more efficient than a new home. The score is derived from an energy model created by the HERS rater. The model takes into account all of the wall components, roof components, window U-factors, energy used by appliances etc. We were then able to utilize the energy model to try out different insulation and material combinations to achieve the best energy efficiency and most bang for the buck.
Having said all of that, our preliminary HERS rating is a 41! Kudos to the design team and thanks to Scott and Alex for working with us to get the information to us in a timely fashion so we could make our decisions!
Thirdly, we started digging today! we've got a big hole in the ground but the foundation looks more like a foundaiton for an outhouse with a basement! Somehow we'll fit. It's certainly larger than the fifth wheel we're currently in!
As a side note check out the pictures from Horse Progress Days. This was in Clare, MI a couple of weeks. Two days devoted to Horse Power and the economic viability of horses for use on small farms. It was a ton of fun, unfortunately my pictures of the 12 horse team didn't take!
Anyway, more to come, we're getting to the good stuff!
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