✓ Metallic or cementitious siding and roofing materials to improve ability to withstand wildfire. ✓ Use on-site/locally manufacturable materials where possible to enable value-added sweat equity. ✓ Hydronic radiant floor heat to increase comfort, reduce airflow, facilitate exterior wood boiler as primary heat source with natural gas combination boiler as backup/redundancy. ✓ Timber frame structure for aesthetics, reduce construction cost, increase investment value, provide flexibility in interior use. ✓ Ease of snow shed and removal by having a steep, simple roof and thinking ahead of the snow shed zones. ✓ Capture maximum natural light without skylights which are prone to leaking. ✓ Minimize solar heat gain in summer with a roof overhang and low E window coatings on South and West walls. ✓ Maximize heat gain in winter through proper house positioning, window coatings and high mass slab. ✓ Utilization of building science techniques & high-efficiency materials to create a tight envelope, minimize thermal bridging and backside drying of cladding. ✓ High-efficiency materials to minimize energy consumption. ✓ Simple design that could be built by two amateurs. Projects coming up include finishing the exterior including a wrap around deck, completing the interior, and doing lots of outside landscaping projects to tie it all together. Things are mostly still going according to plan. Their build is far from over but they will chip away at building their dream. While an unexpected opportunity presented itself to make a connection to the grid for power and the, majority of the build was completed while off grid. As their original plans were to be off grid they also incorporated high efficiency materials, alternative energy sources, and modern building science techniques. Their goals for their home was to build something comfortable, efficient, relatively simple, and something that was a sound investment. Their journey started off grid they lived in their 19′ RV for 3.5 years while designing their dream home. Knowing such a transition is rich with learning, failures, and lessons they wanted to document their journey to help inspire others to make the leap. Their ultimate goal was to become debt free through hard work, sacrifice and being extremely resourceful. Jesse & Alyssa had the vision to leave their city lifestyle and purchase rural property in the Pacific Northwest with the goal of building their own home, learning to be self sufficient, and live a more traditional lifestyle.
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