Two Year Update

After two years of living and working on this prototype home I have decided to test the market and put my home up for sale.  Part of me doesn't want to sell at all, as I have put so much of my time, energy and resources into this prototype, while truly enjoying living in this home.  The other part of me, which is more dominant, wants to build another prototype....I will describe why I want to build another home below.

While I live in a very nice neighborhood, I have witnessed how the last 6 homes were built in my community and admittedly it has been frustrating to watch.  This may sound harsh, and I am not directing this comment to anyone in particular, but the obvious emphasis (for these homes) has been solely on curb appeal.  Sure curb appeal is important, but it is also subjective.  All of these 6 homes look very nice from the curb, but were built to only satisfy the code minimum standards.  Another way to explain this is to say that these homes were built to the lowest standards allowed by law....Sure all that stone work around the foundations looks nice, but it is simply money spent only for aesthetics and not performance.  I refer to this as putting "lipstick on a pig".  Have you ever looked at a home and said it has great curb appeal?  All those bump outs in the walls and opposing roof lines and dormers really can provide great aesthetics.  Have you ever wondered how all those architectural features may ultimately affect the performance and cost of the home today and 20 years from now?  The simple answer is:  all those added architectural features cost the home owner a lot more money to build while also increasing energy costs, reducing indoor air quality, reducing comfort and providing more opportunities for serious and costly problems down the road.  If you have the time, look up "Simple Roofs Perform Better" by Allison Bailes, and Martin Holladay's "Ten Rules of Roof Design".  As for all those wall bump outs, how well can air properly circulate through those areas...not very well.  And how does this affect indoor air quality, comfort and energy costs.

Here are some more examples:  Every single one of these homes was built on a crawlspace that is vented.  This is the lowest cost option and (particularly in NC) has shown, consistently, to be a poor decision....visit www.crawlspaces.com for more info... After 10 years of working in new residential construction  I can't think of a single vented crawl space that I haven't been able to find mold growing within 3-5 years of the home being built.  Not only is there serious potential for mold growth, but most of these homes stuck the air handler/furnace in the crawl space...which is another poor decision.  Also, the cold air returns in these homes ( the entire HVAC system was not properly designed in the 1st place) were put into an unprotected stud wall cavity.  Once again this is the cheep, lowest building standard option, that also has great potential to grow mold within these wall cavities.  There are so many other examples I could point out, some of which I have referenced in previous posts, but focusing too much on curb appeal almost always cost more upfront and over the long term of living in the home.  I've heard several people say something like "but the average person only lives in their homes for 7 years or less".  While this might be true, almost all of these homeowners will go on to build another new home, or buy an existing home to live in....the cycle of home ownership just continues. This cycle of mediocrity or cutting corners to save costs by focusing too much on aesthetics ultimately affects everyone negatively.  

My conviction was to build a superior home that is stronger, safer, healthier, more durable, lower maintenance, more energy efficient, more water efficient and more affordable....while also supporting as many local businesses and using sustainable materials that last.  This approach isn't just better for me, but better for the entire community and the next generation.  Sure, I recognize that I may have compromised some curb appeal, but how many homeowners actually spend a lot of their time, sitting at the curb looking at their home...nobody that I know of.  My prototype was designed from the inside out to maximize usable space, comfort, livability, health, strength and high quality.

After two years of energy and water bills, this prototype home has reduced energy costs by 78% and water costs by 50%.  My average monthly utility bill (2 yr avg) = $40.19.  This is 78% less than the projected costs for just a code built home (like those mentioned above).  My average monthly water bill is only $8.    As I mentioned above, these saving not only benefit me and the next owner, but everyone in my community.  I hope to have the opportunity to continue building more homes to such a high standard.

I estimate that my costs to build this home without adding the price of the lot or the improvements on the lot is around $110.00 per square foot.  Putting solar on the home would only, after all the tax credits and potential rebates add a few dollars total per square foot.  Obviously my goal of building a net-zero energy home for $100 per square foot was not met, but ultimately I was only about 10% off in my attempt.  Not bad considering the overall quality, performance and certification level that was achieved.

Lastly, as of today, this blog has been visited 8810 times.  I truly hope that this blog has helped others to not only understand what goes into creating a truly high performance home, but what questions should be asked to insure they make smarter and more informed investments for their and the next generations future.