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It started to snow a bit as we left. I have learned through a number of backpacking trips how quickly the weather can change at high altitudes. And sure enough we went from this lovely, snow-capped scene to a mini-snow storm in just a few minutes!
To get some idea of the layout of our house, you enter from the door on the left and are immediately in the great room with a kitchen, dining room and living room. The kitchen cabinets will be along the back wall seen here. The curved island will hold the kitchen sink and dishwasher. What a phenomenal view from there! The east end of the house (seen here) will hold the master suite and office.
The west end holds two smaller bedrooms and a bath.
This picture gives you some sense of the view from the great room. It faces directly south and is all sliding doors and windows for maximum passive solar gain in the winter. There is a large overhang outside to keep out the sun in the warmer months. The roof of that overhang is the correct angle to hold photo voltaic panels, providing enough electricity to completely power our new home.
As you can see, we are high on a hill with only a few houses down below, and an unobstructed view of the Spanish Peaks, the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and Mount Mestas. We own a couple acres below our house. No one can ever obstruct our view!
The pace is certainly starting to pick up on our new home in the foothills west of here. Today on our trip out there we found a handsome new steel roof, light-colored to keep it extra cool in the summer!
The garage door goes on Monday and the kitchen cabinets should arrive this week too!
We are also now ready for the plumbing. We had to make a run to Home Depot in Pueblo to purchase the tub, etc. before the plumber could come back. So right now we have a bath tub and shower pan in our van, and a bathroom sink in our living room… Now that’s a first for me!
This week our home became almost completely dried-in. This means the building shell is sufficiently completed to keep out the weather. As you can see, the roof is now completely covered with weather sealing, and the windows are going in.
Click on these cool cloud photos to enlarge! This one is looking up at our house…
The East Spanish Peak was peeking out of the clouds in a lovely, Taoist way…
Many would not like this process, but that is also the best reason to build your own solar home. From choosing the exact angle the house faces and the thickness of your slab, to window choices, flooring and the type of supplemental heating, these are the factors that determine the comfort and future price of operating your home. If you don’t control these factors, passive solar will not work.
Then if you feel the need to raise the fire-resistant level of your home, even more factors arise. It sometimes boggles my mind! Luckily Mike has quite a bit of experience in building from scratch plus amazing research skills!
What makes it all worthwhile? Views like these from every room in the house!
This week we made our first major commitment to our new future by purchasing three acres at the top of the foothills. (See the view above from our new land.) We also began discussions with builders… our dream begins to come alive.
I’m starting to be able to imagine how awesome (a word I seldom use!) it will be to live in our new solar home down in southern Colorado, and the freedom this alternative lifestyle will offer us. It almost makes all of the hard work we will have to do between now and then worthwhile.
Mike and I have always wanted to get out of the suburbs. When I first met Mike nine years ago, he said he would not move again unless he could get a great view out of the deal. Well, I guess we will have that soon, plus a much more environmentally-friendly, relaxed rural lifestyle.
Adventures of the NEW??? Old Farts 