Summertime review

Summer is a lovely slow time. People take vacations, books get enjoyed on docks around the country, kayak and canoe paddles are quietly dipped into warm waters, ice cold lemonade is slowly sipped, and things that seemed important in the Spring somehow find their way to the back burner during Summertime. The only thing not slow about Summer is how quickly it disappears on us. I know we still have a little over 4 weeks of Summer left but I prefer the beginning of Summer for that very reason...it's the beginning of Summer. And before my favourite season gets any further past us I will review where we are with all things house related.

One-of-a-kind beauty patiently awaits its next set of loving humans

First, still no offers on our house in the city. I think that's partly due to the "people take vacations" scenario from the first paragraph. This city is a little like a ghost town in the Summer. Everyone's enjoying something somewhere other than here. But they will all return soon and hopefully they will flock to this unique little beauty in the 2nd Best Canadian City in which to live. Just in case you are interested in living in the core of Burlington yourself, here is the link to the listing. Please pass it along to those you think might also be interested.

Second, I think we have finalized the floor plan for our Passive House. The design stage takes longer than we both thought. It's amazing how many locations you can place a bathroom within a 1,200 ft² space. Here's what the layout looks like to date. There may still be a tweak or two necessary but this is awfully close.

Casa Tortuga, Main Floor. Vert Design Inc., Chris Straka

Casa Tortuga, Lower Level. Vert Design Inc., Chris Straka

Note how thick the exterior walls of this house will be compared to the exterior walls of the garage. Insulation and air sealing of a Passive House are freakishly important. And what better time than now to share some PH fun facts? Ok...I think they're fun and you know I've already admitted to being a geek. Bear with me...you may just find this stuff interesting too! You be the judge.

Passive House Insulation Fun Facts:

                                                 
And just so all this fantastic insulation isn't rendered useless by a leaky building envelope, here is another interesting Passive House feature. To measure how tightly the envelope is sealed, a blower door test is performed to confirm air-sealing techniques have been executed properly. The fewer number of times per hour there is a complete exchange of all the air in the house (from air leakage through the building envelope) the more efficient it will be. So here is your other fun fact for today...

Passive House Air Sealing Fun Fact:

Just looking at these two features it is easy to see why a Passive House requires so little energy for space heating and cooling. A Passive House is at least 4 times better at keeping the warm air in (or out in the summer) than a new standard built Energy Star house. Some Passive Houses are showing blower door test results as low as one third of the required 0.6ACH@50PA rating, making those houses 10 times more leak-proof than the standard built. No more drafty winter nights. Sweet!

That's enough for now. I'll entertain you next posting with my adventures of wrangling a TV signal at Turtle Falls.

Ciao for now,
Mimi

Pursuing Passive House certification

Canada's first certified residential Passive House, located in Ottawa, Ontario.
Designed and built by Chris Straka, Vert Design. This duplex silenced the
naysayers that thought a Passive House could not be built in Canada because
of the severe climate. Chris proved them all wrong with this house and he will
do it again. Chris is the architect designing Casa Tortuga at Turtle Falls.

We've been at the house design stage in this process of building a Passive House here at Turtle Falls for just about a month and a half now. From our initial thought of  building a completely off-the-grid, solar-powered home we have had a chance to research what is possible and available to us. Once we discovered passive solar design we incorporated that into what we wanted for this house. But the most exciting discovery we have made, and will strive to achieve, is Passive House certification.

Passive House is an approach to design and construction that relies on a super efficient airtight envelope, essentially minimizing heat losses to optimize gains from the sun as well as the smallest heat sources like body heat, cooking heat, and hair dryers. With a super efficient envelope, you get to keep all heat in, or out depending on the season. Construction of a Passive House employs meticulous attention to air sealing, reduction in thermal bridging (heat loss through framing lumber), optimizing site orientation (true south exposure), insulation levels (3-7 times more than standard), and installing high performance windows (triple glazed, insulated frame) and HVAC systems. There is also a component of Passive House that focuses on minimizing energy demands with highly efficient appliances and a mindset for conservation...eliminate those phantom loads! When all of this is done, the house will be 80-90% more efficient than a standard-built house and be substantially more comfortable, affordable and healthy.

Passive House can be thought of as the wiser, more experienced cousin of passive solar design, which has been in existence for about 5000 years. Passive solar design employs the use of solar gain through south-facing windows and large thermal mass, such as concrete floors or walls, to store and release heat. What was missing in the passive solar homes from the 1970's and 80's was, most importantly, the improved air sealing, thermal bridge elimination and high performance windows.

Germany's first Passivhaus

The first Passivehaus was built in Darmstadt, Germany in 1990 and the Passivhaus Institut was founded in 1996 in the same city. To date, Germany leads the way in Passive House construction with well over 20,000 buildings and growing every day. If you would like to know more about Passive House, visit the Canadian Passive House Institute website at http://www.passivehouse.ca/ or the Passive House Institute website of your own home country. There are almost as many websites about Passive House as there are Passive Houses in Germany so any search engine will find you plenty of info for those looking for more.

This is our destination to visit in Australia when we're
no longer wasting our money on heating fuel.
Thanks Lan & Treen for the beautiful photo.

It amazes me that we did not know about this brilliant Passive House way of building before beginning this journey. But then why would we? The building code standard in Canada is what most of us know because all we strive for is a satisfactory amount of energy efficiency for the lowest possible price per square foot. It is quite sad that the standard we aim for in this country is actually very sub-standard. Considering that Canada's home heating costs are one of the highest in the world you would think we would want to do a little better at keeping that heated air inside our homes. Part of the blame for not wanting to do better at this is the decades of low-cost fuels we have experienced. It probably won't take long for Passive House to become more mainstream now with the ever-increasing cost of the fossil fuels we use to heat our homes. It costs only 10% more to build a home to Passive House standards, and for the rest of the home's life it will use 80-90% less energy to heat. The extra cost to build will be recouped in 6-10 years from decreased need for heating and electricity. And a Passive House will last much longer than a standard-built home. Once we fully understood the Passive House concept, we went all in! Why wouldn't we? I'd rather spend the money we'd normally spend on heating our home elsewhere...somewhere like Australia, say...visiting friends also building their own little piece of paradise within a smaller environmental footprint.

An early version of the Casa Tortuga floor plan.
©2012 Chris Straka, Vert Design

Just over a month ago, Ras and I went with architect Chris to meet with Homesol Building Solutions, a premier Canadian company providing accurate and cost-effective residential energy design services. They provide all the modelling and testing services necessary to achieve Passive House certification. Homesol's list of services also includes LEED, Energy Star, Home Energy Audits, R2000 Certification and much more. In building a Passive House it is important to test for a super tight air seal during construction so any leaks can be fixed before the drywall is installed, not after, when fixes would be more difficult and costly. They handle intricacies of the building details necessary to achieve our goal while saving us time and money. Homesol also takes care of all the paperwork necessary for certification. And if all goes well, Casa Tortuga will become Canada's latest certified Passive House, an honour bestowed upon few presently. Fingers crossed...although we will probably not need it. We have a very experienced team with Vert Design and Homesol Building Solutions working on bringing Passive House Casa Tortuga to reality!

The following image is a screen shot of a Twitter conversation I had with Ross from Homesol Building Solutions. July 17th was that wicked hot day and it was sweltering inside Priscilla as well as on the dock. I wanted to know what it was like in Ross's Passive House.

Maybe the building of our little turtle palace, as one friend nicknamed Casa Tortuga, will help get the word out about Passive House construction just a little bit more. Feel free to pass this blog onto others you think may be interested in discovering the benefits of  living in a home that is low maintenance, durable, super energy efficient and sustainable.


Much more to come,
Mimi

50 at Turtle Falls...and Architectural Outhouse Digest - final draft



I'm thinking this little scene should become our logo. Thanks to
Uncle Cliffy and Aunt Bert for the fantastic engraved rock.
And thanks to Nancy and Rita for the sleepy Gnome.
The 2 pieces compliment each other perfectly.

It has taken us one full year to get Turtle Falls to a place where we can comfortably have visitors. Last year, the first event that we held was our possession date party rolled into the nephew's 12th birthday party. There were no amenities at all. The dock would barely hold 4 people and I worried that it, and any people on it, may end up in the lake. There was no way to get into the water without shredding your feet on the zebra mussels other than by the precariously dangerous 2x10 plank we had quickly fashioned for the day. We barbecued on a 12 inch boat bbq. And you did your business in the woods.

A lot has changed in the year. This past weekend, several firsts were celebrated at Turtle Falls. We finally had more than one overnight visitor at one time with no disastrous leaks in Priscilla (oh wait...there was another Priscilla freshwater holding tank leak but it was easily fixed with Mighty Putty...every good trailer park girl or boy should have a stash of this stuff!), we put the outhouse to the ultimate test with 16 revellers, we had my sister's new boat parked at our dock and got to experience the fun of being flung off a tube being dragged around the lake by said boat, and I turned 50. What a great 50th birthday party to be surrounded by family and friends and the beauty of Turtle Falls...and cake too!

The lake is littered with bodies. The boat looks good there though, dontcha think?

Hang on bro. Although...it's much more fun when you wipe out!



The nephews approved of this 50 year old's birthday party.
July birthdays are the best. Thanks sister for bringing your boat and water toys!



Like I said...it's much more fun when you wipe out. Excellent belly skid, Raefy!

 

 

Camp Turtle Falls. This is where 4 of the overnight guests slept
while 2 more humans and 2 dogs stayed in Priscilla.

 

 

Although the wildlife was very noisy, everyone did finally get some sleep
and survived their first night at Turtle Falls just fine.

 

 

Mom will not be happy I included this picture.
Apparently, humidity is not the friend of the average cake box.
 Be warned...large cake box lids sag in the humidity...right into the icing!

I was only able to extinguish 49 candles with my first attempt.
Does that mean my wish won't come true?
Doesn't matter anyway...my biggest wish ever has already come true!

 

And now for the final draft of the Architectural Outhouse Digest.

 



The outhouse with its very subdued stain colours and finishing touches.
Ras says it's so joyful that it just makes you want to use it.





Interior complete with magazines and Sudoku books for those who like
 to linger and a few homey decorative items.

 



Recently heard from one pleasantly surprised outhouse user:
"That's the cleanest outhouse I have ever been in!"

Another clue this outhouse is more enjoyable to use than many others:
One friend who always needs someone to accompany them to an
 ordinary outhouse with the purpose of standing guard against the
dreaded creepy crawlers that usually reside within...success!!
Said friend needed no one to stand guard all weekend.



Life is good now at Turtle Falls! It's almost so good the thought of building the house seems unnecessary at the moment.

Who has more fun than 50 year olds?

Cheers, Mimi

Next post: I wake up from my Sleepy-Gnome dream-state and wonder What was I thinking when I wrote "building the house seems unnecessary at the moment"?

p.s. Thanks sister and sister-in-law for your photos of the big day. They're fantastic!

Architectural Outhouse Digest...sneak peek

True to our promise of building in the spring of 2012, the outhouse is now finally built! There are still some finishing touches necessary but it is fully functional and rain and mosquito-proof. If I wait 'til all the details are completed this post may never happen. Soon to appear in the pages of Architectural Outhouse Digest...ha!

Some will recognize the yellow door - rescued from the demolition of the back porch at Casa Smalla to make way for the
new addition. Sizing the outhouse meant building to accomodate the door. Note how colour co-ordinated the tools and
 milk cartons are to the door. Spectacular dontcha think?

Cutting the hole in the floor for the composting toilet. Again, notice the colour co-ordination of tool to outfit.
Not all trailer park girls are so conscious of this.

The building takes shape with the installation of the cedar siding.

This particular Biolan composting toilet uses no electricity or water, but rather a mixture of peat moss and pine bark to get the job done. Here, I'm priming (for lack of a better word) the toilet with the initial 4 inches of peat moss and pine bark. And as always, one must make due with the tools on the land...the scoop is made from a plastic Clamato container. At least it's not a pickle jar.

Attaching the tin roof. We chose a metal roof because we are collecting the rain water from this surface and didn't want the asphalt shingle grit in the water. We kind of forgot about the 10 million pine trees on the land and all the bits they drop on this roof. Oh well, I guess straining out pine needles and pollen is better than straining out tar-covered grit...?!

The building is finally finished. Just a few details to take care of before the inspector (Ras) gives the final approval. For one, I know you can see right in through the screen. The bottom portion of screen will be replaced with something solid to offer a little more privacy to the shy outhouse-goer. And eventually there will be some exterior stain once we decide on a colour.

The interior will be left the natural cedar. It offers a most wonderful aroma (I kid you not, this is the best smelling outhouse you have ever used) and it looks fantastic as is. The box holding the peat moss and pine bark is on the right. One scoop after each use...easy peasy. TP holder and trash on the left and TP and accessories in the cabinet above. One of the most enjoyable things about this composting toilet is the crazy thermal styrofoam seat. No matter how damp or chilly the day is, this seat is always warm when you sit. Totally unexpected...and a very comforting sort of thing!

The solar lighting system. Because the building is so shaded, it was necessary to put the whole light system on a board that can be moved into the sunshine when recharging is needed.

A celebratory moment after construction is complete. It's uncanny, but once again there is a colour co-ordinated theme going on here...from the red Crocs and t-shirt to the glass of red wine. It all goes beautifully with Pooh's red shirt. One would almost think there was much thought put into my work outfits.

And really, is there any better use for a Pooh door than on a compoosting toilet outhouse?

'Nuf said,
Mimi

Playing with blocks

No, this is not the outhouse post. I know, I'm slower than molasses in January (or July if you're reading this in Australia). But quality outhouses take time and attention to detail, dontcha know! Time has not been on my side during our visits to Turtle Falls over the last two weeks. It's getting close though...composting toilet working...finishing touches of building nearing completion.

Girl Power...Alysha Newman of Mother Theresa High School
sets 2012 OFSAA Senior Girls Pole Vault record @ 4.06m

This past week, we volunteered at the big Ontario provincial Track & Field meet (OFSAA) at Thousand Islands Secondary School in Brockville. Seeing the finest high school track athletes in action was impressive to say the least; many OFSAA and Canadian records were broken over the 3 days of competition. Ras's favourite moment (that's Ras's photo, taken with her iPhone) of the whole meet was the senior girl's pole vaulter as she broke the OFSAA and Canadian Interscholastic records and then immediately broke her own record 2 more times soaring to a height of 4.06m. To put this in perspective the senior boy's winner finished at 4.50m. Way to go Alysha! Maybe we'll see this young woman at the 2016 Olympics.

Back to Turtle Falls now. The week before last we had a fun meeting with Architect Chris. We are getting to the exciting parts of this process now...planning the house! Nothing against Priscilla but I, for one, look forward to a little more than 250 square feet of dry, mosquito-free living space and running water that doesn't have the distinct aroma of RV anti-freeze and chlorine. We probably won't miss the oh-so-fun holding tank pump-outs either...although those should be less frequent now that the composting toilet is finally functional. Anyway...on with it!

Ras rearranges "rooms" to define the floor plan with Architect Chris, Vert Design

Ras was in heaven during our meeting with Chris. Playing with floor plans can keep her enthralled for days. Playing in general gets me giddy. Chris is ok in our books because he obviously likes to play too. He presented us with a stack of what I'll call building blocks. Actually, they were cards rather than blocks. Chris had pasted an individual "room" on each card. All the rooms that we want in the house were included. Our task was to rearrange the cards until we arrived at a floor plan that appealed to us. How fun is this? Not as easy as you'd think to arrive at something that makes sense. After much shuffling we did find an arrangement that got us all jazzed. Chris will put that arrangement into a typical floor plan format for the first kick at a design concept for what we are currently calling Casa Tortuga. Can't wait!

Coming soon...the unveiling of the outhouse.

Stay tuned!
Mimi

Incandescent vs. CFL vs. LED

I'm going to let my inner geek shine brightly in this post. Some would say, And how is this different than any other day? I might be inclined to agree. Ok...I confess...I am a geek!  Let me tell you why I bring this to light.

As I mentioned in the last post, we have our house in the city, Casa Smalla, up for sale. The Open House is something we all know and understand about this process. So while we were enjoying the beautiful long weekend at a friend's cottage in Georgian Bay, the real estate agent was enjoying some of the weekend weather at our house, two days in a row. Poor fella. You're wondering where I'm going with this, I can feel it.

To prepare Casa Smalla for the 2-hour open house, our agent turns on all the lights in the house and opens the big folding door that looks out over the garden. Then he's ready to handle the onslaught of tire kickers.

Did I mention that the agent turns on all the lights in the house?

So here's where I get my geek on. Burlington Hydro has a Time-of-Use (TOU) website that customers can go to to see when and how much electricity they are using. All very useful to help manage the new higher electricity prices and times, if you care about that kind of thing. I wouldn't have cared about all this 2 years ago. I would have just ranted about the outrageous amounts of electricity this little house (or maybe its occupants?) consumed and left it at that. But since the most important thing about living in an off-grid house is minimizing electricity usage we are now in the training stage of minimizing. Hence my obsession with the kilowatt, or rather killing-a-watt.

Approx. 0.2 kWh hourly to run the things that are always on, such as a fridge.
Usage jumps to 3 kWh hourly when lots of lights are on...yikes!

A quick look at the bar chart from the Burlington Hydro TOU site makes it very obvious how much electricity just the lighting in our house uses. It's also very easy to tell that the real estate agent was, in fact at our house on Sunday with every light in the house on, while we were soaking up the sun in Georgian Bay. That's the only explanation for the huge spike you see in the chart...all the lights being on. Who knew? I was a little shocked to see such a crazy exaggerated chart pattern. 

4 incandescents use more energy in 1 hour than 8 CFLs or 6 LEDs.
All 3 rooms have a similar level of brightness even though the number
of bulbs varies. The hour the LEDs were on barely even registered
any extra electricity usage.

Sleepless nights for me can lead to some odd early morning experiments. So my latest sleepless night was when I got this weird idea to show the difference in electricity usage each type of light bulb causes. By turning a different room's lights on, each for 1-hour over the 3-hour time frame, I could show that all the hype about changing our light bulbs from incandescent to compact fluorescent (CFL) or LED is, in fact, a worthy exercise. The second chart shows the extra hourly electricity usage, beginning with the spike at 4am, of a room that has four 75 watt pot lights. At 5am the 75's were shut off and a room with eight 13 watt CFL pot lights was illuminated. At 6am, the 13's were shut off and a room with six 4 watt LED pot lights was illuminated for one hour. I warned you I was getting my geek on for this post! At this point I'm pretty sure I only have two readers still with me and the rest...well, your eyes have glazed over, haven't they? So a shout out to you, Diane G, and you, Tina L, for sticking with me to the end of this post. You're the only two I can think of that would find this as oddly intriguing as I do.

Why am I telling you this, you ask? I had to write about something while I wait for the composting toilet to show up! Without that, I cannot finish building the outhouse and therefore I have nothing new to report. And I must write! Anyway...my point - light bulbs do indeed make a big difference and I thought you'd like to know just how much. Incandescent lighting can be the single biggest user of energy, apart from clothes dryers and air conditioning, in your home depending on how many and how long said lighting remains on in your home on a daily basis. The rooms we use the most are the rooms with the CFLs and the LEDs. That room with the 75w incandescents...we hardly ever use but apparently the real estate agent does! Note to self: change all remaining incandescents to at least CFLs, if for no other reason than open houses!

Conclusion (I can hear the cheering now), LEDs, although they cost more per bulb, last way longer than either CFLs or incandescents. LEDs use way less electricity than the others as well. And LEDs are less fragile and less harmful to the environment. Here is a chart that summarizes everything you ever wanted to know about light bulb comparison. And, no, I have not taken a sales position with an LED lighting company! Just doing my part to help the environment, and maybe your electricity bill.

Cheers from your friendly LED (Lame Energy Dork)
Mimi