Saturday, August 18, 2007

Good news/Bad news

Good News - We have the Building Permit and Septic Permit approval! We are good to go!!

Bad News - It is too late in the season to start building this year. It's very disappointing, but it looks like we will be delaying the start of this project until the Spring. In the meantime, we'll continue with whatever we can (i.e. drilling the well).

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

The Driveway

The Driveway is in! At long last, the driveway up to the clearing has been completed. The driveway now winds up the hill, through the trees, and stops at the opening into the clearing that will be the house site.

Here is a photo from the day the property was purchased. It was taken in March, so there is no growth apparent but the hill becomes a beautiful meadow once the plants spring to life. As soon as you step out of the car, you can smell the sweetness in the air.



Now, here are some photos after the driveway has been installed.







Sunday, August 12, 2007

Intro





Welcome! This is the story of fulfilling our dream and building our Eco Retreat. We are building a Strawbale, Off-grid home and this blog will capture our progress.






We spent a great deal of time searching for the perfect property, and finally stumbled across a property advertised as an Enchanted Forest, and it truly is. The 29 acre property is mostly treed with mature forest including winding trails. This property sits at the end of the Oak Ridges Moraine.

Our intention is to disturb as little of the natural landscape as possible and luckily there is a pre-existing open field amongst the trees that is the perfect spot to locate our home. The house will face due South to maximize solar gain, and incorporate passive solar heating, not to mention all of the natural light which will greatly reduce / eliminate our need for artifical lighting during the day.