Not AWOL: Building an extension

Regular visitors to this blog may be worried that I'm missing or AWOL. Since graduation on the 18th May, I've posted exactly one item, when in a normal week I might post three or four.

Unfortunately, there's not going to be much more he wrote for a while. I'm absorbed in another building project. I'm building an extension for our small farmhouse, and it's taking all my time and patience.

It is however, going to be a "green" building.

Of course!

"Green" in the sense that it uses energy efficient and passive solar design, and will be heated and powered primarily with renewable energy.

Nothing fancy. I hope to get it done for less than $15,000, for 650 square feet, or $23/foot.

That's the kind of pricing you can achieve when you're willing to do pretty much everything -- from foundation to trim -- yourself, including plumbing and wiring.

Of course, such a low price is only possible given the very minimal codes enforcement in Jackson, Maine. The only contractor I'm required to use is for the septic tank extension, and even then I'm not certain one is strictly required. I have some codes I must follow. I had to get a building permit and a septic permit. The National Electrical Code is required for my wiring, and my plumbing will be inspected. But, and this is key, I'm allowed to do the work myself.

I probably will write about this experience a little on this blog. If I can do what I expect to do, I will finish up with a super-efficient, super-airtight extension, heated primarily with solar energy, for $15K. As experiments in green building go, that seems to be a pretty interesting one to me. Obviously, if I can do this, so can other folk.

Most of the materials will be commonplace items available from regular hardware stores. No fancy imported German windows or wotnot. The only hard-to-locate, more specialized item used will be a blower door, to test whether or not the building envelope is airtight.

It will take all summer to build the extension, and a couple of winters to determine the energy efficiency.

One item not included in the costing is solar PV. That's because the plan is to get a leased array for the new roof, which is south-facing. It won't cost a penny, and will save on our electricity bill, so it doesn't need to go in the cost schedule.

For those readers interested in such things, come back occasionally. I'll keep you updated from time to time.

If you want to read the blow-by-blow account, you'll need to go to the farm blog at www.womerlippi.blogspot.com.