On the right path....................

From the living roof you can see the garden paths.

These are made from wood chips from our trees that needed removal.

The gray area is a circular drive that will be asphalted soon.

Yes, asphalt is not a green material, but we're trying to limit it.

One man's cave....................

Using left over paneling, the "man cave" is being enclosed.

In the future plants will be brought in during the winter. There will be a central shower, so the plants will be watered when I use it.

Last ditch effort..................

To handle water runoff, we built a retention pond at the base of the driveway.

The stone remnants will help filter mud from the rainwater before it enters a ditch that leads to the creek.

When the landscaping matures, it will also aid in erosion control.

Home stretch...........................

The list of items to finish is dwindling. Here are some interior views. The furniture is only temporary, to give a sense of the spaces.

The doors to the dining room storage were once the front doors to a home I did renovation plans for. I'll add amber colored glass to conceal the items stored inside this closet.

The last major item is the floor, which will be bamboo, a very "green" product.

However, we need the central heat to be turned on in order to store the flooring at room temperature for a few days before installing it.

The master bedroom has 12 foot tall ceilings & a great view of the creek.

Yes, we wood......................

This stove is central to the home's public areas, & should heat most of it. It's good for about 1600 square feet of space.

We've been breaking it in during the past few very cold days.

Today I worked outside most of the afternoon, & the smell of smoke made me think Country's Barbecue had relocated nearby.

Re: moat control........................

I don't want to seem too paranoid, but I like the idea of entering by a bridge over a dry "moat".
This does limit access, & a sensor will tell us that someone is there.

The bridge will be steel & wood.

Strangers at the gate.........................

At the beginning of the driveway there will be a security gate powered by a small solar panel.

Here's an "in progress" look. A few touches still remain. At the bottom will be animal silhouettes we bought in Sante Fe a few years ago.

It's built of welded steel, & will be powder-coated in a bronze finish.

Bridging the gap.........................

Earth berms will be planted to partially conceal the house as you go down the drive. All dirt used on this project was originally on the site. Only some topsoil was brought in.

Last weekend Pete built this bridge out of leftover materials.

What's cooking...................

The kitchen cabinets are in place & soon the granite installers will be measuring for the slabs of stone.

The feel of the space is like a loft apartment. Look through the open door to the car porch, & you can barely see the statue of St. Sophia bathed in sunlight.

It's tough to get a good view of the shower room tile work, but this will give you an idea. There's a mosaic wainscot with a darker tile below.

Bringing nature indoors...............................

Dale & Bill, our finish carpenters use cedar scraps for blocking as they create box beams. These beams conceal the joints in the grooved plywood ceilings.

Stone masons bring the exterior feel to the interior. This is the wall behind the future wood burning stove.

Inside looking out.....................

Morris, our low VOC painter, is adding the wall texture & color at the same time. Paint is mixed with drywall compound & applied in one step with a blade. The texture is not very rough, but sufficient enough that the drywall didn't need need sanding. The finished walls have a mottled patina.

The paint is low VOC ( volatile organic compounds ) which means there are few to none toxic particles released to the interior environment.

The wood ceiling also received a low VOC stain. The wood is a grooved exterior siding material that comes in 4'x8' sheets. False beams will cover up any exposed joints. Most homes have gypsum board ceilings with messy sanding required. These ceilings went up very quickly.

Unobstructed views.................

Scaffolding & the silt fence are now removed for a clear view of the exterior.

Bridge to nowhere..................

With winter rains, the creek is flowing well. The moss in a dry creek bed is a brilliant green.

I found a fairly level spot on the banks & soon we'll start a steel bridge using leftover metal studs.

Shower your people with Love.............

Eric is handling the master bath shower & toilet area. A cement fiber backer board is first applied to the steel studs. This will provide moisture protection & the rough surface will support the tile glue.

He's currently building the structure for a granite shower seat.

The hole on the upper right wall is where commercial grade exposed metal ductwork will be installed.

The wall dividing the shower area from the rest of the bath does not touch the sloped ceiling.
Concealed fluorescent lights will bounce light off the ceiling. Fluorescent lights are lower energy than incandescents.

I shutter to think about it..........................

A finish carpenter constructed these shutters out of cedar, & the painter immediately stained both sides.

After drying they were then installed into recesses in the stonework, so they will lay flat.

When one door closes.....................

All doors are 8 foot tall & of solid core wood. Vertical grooves are cut to make it look as if there are individual planks. The painter will darken the grooves later. The frames are commercial hollow metal. They can take quite a beating.

The Lord's Prayer is at the door from the car porch to the kitchen. By my office door is a ceramic we found in Spain. It says "Aqui viva un arquiteco". Here lives an architect.

Vast wasteland......................

For the septic drainfield trenches are dug & then filled with sand. The purification filters arrive & are installed. Waste water will be pumped from a settlement tank near the house.

Moving along.....................

The dogs are a little freaked out. Yesterday we started the move to an apartment, as the house won't be finished in time to move directly from our current home. We're not far from finishing, though, so hopefully apartment life won't last long.

Making the grade........................

The driveway was started today by grading & spreading stone. Now there truly is an Earthwood Drive. The road sign was originally for our street, but the county made the developers change it to Earthwood Court.

Got marshmellows?.....................

This morning was sub-freezing, so the workers built the first fire in the pit.

One of the workers was the job janitor- I mean refuse & recycling engineer.

Not playing with a full deck.......................

From the master bedroom & breakfast room, you access a modest sized deck. It's angled to face a good view of the creek.

Stairs, & an eventual ramp will lead to the backyard.

On the deck will be our barbeque grill.

Below the deck will be the grill's gas tank & rain barrels which will hold water from the living roof.

Foam for the home......................

The attic & exterior walls are sprayed with open-cell foam. Windows are masked with plastic for protection.

The foam expands irregularly, but is scraped by hand to provide a smoother surface for drywall installation.

Ultimately, the house will be like a sealed thermos bottle. To prevent mold, the heating & cooling system will mechanically bring in needed fresh air. Of course so will opening the windows.

MEP.......................

In construction MEP stands for mechanical, electrical, & plumbing systems. While the exterior was being built, these systems were installed & finally inspected as "rough-ins".

After passing inspection, the exterior walls can be insulated, & eventually drywall can be hung on all interior walls.

Shake it up, baby....................

This is a cement fiber product that resembles shakes, but will never need painting.

Glass block provides light for anyone working in the crawlspace area. This will be a conditioned space.

Final roof in place....................

Though there's not many spots where you can see it, we now have an aluminum roof over the master bath. Technically, we are now "dried in".

Got water???????????????????

Tanks a lot.......................

The septic holding tank is lowered & backfilled. Then a tank which will pump the waste to the drain field is likewise installed.

What a bunch of scrap.................

The final shingle roofed area is being installed.

Adjacent the street, waste materials are separated so the steel & aluminum can be recycled. Unfortunately, as of now we don't have any good local options for the wood.