Building a High Performance Home
39 minute read
Version 0.86
Double stud walls provide a thermal break between studs. Double stud walls provide a thermal break between studs.
In 2018, I set out to build a high-performance home, unfeasible in the Bay Area, so a couple years later I moved to the East Coast to find land.
Finding a House
The problem with living in desirable places is it can be difficult to acquire land. I demanded walkability, further narrowing the market. If the acquisition target is a tear-down, it will be as appealing to the local builders as it is to you. In the Boston area, I spent a considerable amount of time writing letters to people with extra land or who might be close to selling their, sorry to say, tear-down. It was looking bleak in 2021 and 2022, so I moved down the coast when I found a house that was in the middle of everything, walkable, and had parks, restaurants, and coffee shops.
The first step was to meet with the code official to see if what I wanted to do possible. They speculated it was, but that I should have a surveying contingency. Fortunately at that time the market looked like it was on the way down so the seller agreed. It was possible to build the rectangle I wanted so the sale proceeded.
Finding an Architect and Builder
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