I Am Living A Smart Growth Nightmare.

I am living a smart growth nightmare.
Warning: This post has nothing to do with our prefab house kit on the land, but our mid-century modern home on the edge of Richmond, Virginia.
(I am also keenly aware many of our friends do not have the luxury to even consider these options.  So please be gentle and remember this is me rambling on my blog about me, and how boring is that.)

Let me remind you how we got here:
I grew up with a family farm, Rotherwood. In my late twenties, I came home from New York for the holiday to discover it was no longer a family farm, but now owned by my uncles.
You move on.


Handsome Husband and I fell in love, married, and had children. The moment we could, we both, yearning for land to pass on, put everything we had into buying land.  We want to pass this on to our children, to their children, to give them the experience and identity with which we both grew up with (thinking both our family farms would remain family farms to be passed on) and counted upon.

[Note: There will be a post soon on passing on family farms, preserving them.]

Our strategy was simple:
Buy the land.
Pay it off.
Save up money for a house to live in forever (Taaaaa daaaaa! There is the off grid prefab house kit you all know!) while building slowly, over the years, a great, sustainable farm.

Once the children were older (they are in a special international program here until 5th grade) and the farm in working order, we'd sell the Richmond house (hoping everything by then was paid off) which would then pay off anything we had left, then save the rest as our retirement income (if and when we ever retired - I enjoy working too much and can telecommute anywhere!).

Then: instead of driving to the land on the weekends, we'd come in to visit our urban friends, and have them out to the land like we already do! Perfect party + solitude!


Over six years ago, with a toddler and baby on the way, we found the perfect mid-century house in the perfect "good school" area, convenient (supposedly) to everything.  

This is where the smart growth nightmare begins.

We are huge walkers. 
In our old urban neighborhoods, all we did was walk.
The architectural diversity and vibrant community was a wonder - in North Side and The Fan, there was always a neat house to discover, a new store to stop into.

Both neighborhoods, because of smaller individual lots, shared much community space - parks, sidewalks, coffee shops... and when you walk through, it is clear they are Front Porch Communities - where people enjoy looking out at the action in front of their homes, relax and socialize publicly on the front porch, have last minute potlucks and random offers of a beer passed through the front porch railings, and even better, groups congregating instantaneously together, spilling onto the sidewalk, on a summer afternoon.

Pretty much all of our friends live in either urban or extremely rural settings. 
What is it that makes these seemingly disparate environments so similar?
Strong communities.  In the urban environment, yes, there's crime. In the rural environment, yes, you need help with pulling out the tractor from the ditch or retrieving the escaped hog. You have to rely on each other, and if yer gonna need each other, you'd might as well make it fun!

In the suburbs, each nicely sized lot allows the neighborhood to be filled with each person's perfect oasis.  But that means, for us, isolation.  No sidewalks, no stores or coffee shops to visit (unless you want to cross suburban four-lane streets that are more comparable to highways), and no, no neighbors, at least during the day.

There are overwhelmingly different choices in lifestyle, and that is a separate issue to explore, later... I don't think the green movement is forcing women to stay at home, like this French feminist asserts; however I will say that in urban and rural areas you find more entrepreneurs, whether they be male or female, where they can work more flexibly to raise their children with and also while nurturing their business.

I adore working, pushing myself intellectually and professionally each day in my office.  But as I challenge myself, I can also look out the window, and see a beautiful garden, and watch happy children chasing caterpillars with their happy romping dogs.  I realize many people can not do that in their own professions, but I also see that there are more people that do live that way in urban or rural environments.

Here, like clockwork, the neighborhood minivans leave at 7:45 out their drives, to return at 5:45 just in time for the pizza delivery truck to arrive.  During the day as we quietly type on our keyboards in the office, the only sound we hear in the entire neighborhood is that of my own children playing.

This snow has been strange: For the first time in six years, I heard the sounds of other children playing outside during the weekday.
One night, in the last light of dusk, as I went out to close the coop, I saw one child, freshly suited up, running for the snow in their back yard to touch it, to embrace the cold, to feel the snow for the first time that day. My own children had been playing outside ALL DAY, and were wet, tired, and warming up with dinner inside. So: There are children in this neighborhood, all over the place; yet my children rarely see them because they are not physically here until after 5ish, when my children, after a day of play, are inside readying for bed.

During the snow, with schools closed, I observed the freaky scenario of my children playing happily in the front yard, while the across-the-street neighbor's children were playing happily in their front yard, yet none of them looking at or acknowledging each other. My children were so not used to seeing other children during the day, it was like they didn't exist, the road, which they are not allowed to cross, dividing them like a dark curtain, hiding them from consciousness.

There is a shopping center two blocks away we can't walk to. Sure there's cross lights, but YOU TRY crossing the roaring four lane-in-each-direction Patterson / Three Chopt Avenues, with traffic blindly screeching around the corner hurtling away, much less thinking of letting your children do that one day unaccompanied.

And then we consider all of our friends, in the center of the city, within walking distance, many of them home in the afternoons.

Don't get me wrong, I take full blame for not being more integrated into this neighborhood.  Face it, we're The Freak Family.  We have different schedules than our neighbors- coming inside as they're just getting home, and leaving each weekend for the land. We have weird-looking dogs. We live differently. Heck, they even think we're gross because we have a few chickens. (One parent, upon learning about our eating an unexpected rooster by throwing a Coq Au Vin dinner party, where he fed seven people after living a grass-fed, free range existance, assured her horrified daughter, "No, honey, they did not eat their rooster." Lied to her daughter, in front of me. Where do they think meat comes from, Costco?)


But if you look at the study and practice of smart growth and intentional communities, this could be a case study: 

• no sidewalks
• no shared spaces
• differing lifestyles / values / even eating habits
• commuter culture vs. a work and living habitat
  

In moving back to an urban environment, we'll also face the reality of crime and bad, yes, bad, no-comparison-to-the-county schools.  We would have to count on getting into magnet schools, getting German tutors, until we move to the land.

Even if we stay here and make this mid-century home even further our dream home, our oasis and homestead until we can turn the land into the farm, the reality is that we would be in a dream house surrounded by no sound during the day and away from all our friends, whether they be in urban Richmond or rural Pamplin City. Are we ok with that? I don't know.

As I pondered this tonight, discussing it aloud, my 7 year old put his arms around me and said, "Momma, we don't have to move. It's ok just playing with my sister, it's ok...we have fun!" And they do.

We just really miss our friends. We have our strong community on the land, and we have *tons* of urban friends we never see because we're stuck in this No Man's West End land of: "Oh, if we move here we'll use the club every day (hate it) and see my parents every week (more like every 4 months)."

Time to start living, regardless.
Here's the farm house we found in the center of the city. 
It would be a heck of a lot of work. 

But even if we make our current mid-century fully our dream-home-for-now...
it's still lonely. 
What to do, what to do.

 

Modern Prefab Update:

It is morning in the net zero prefab house kit.
I am blearily sipping coffee, and the 5 year old just walked up and said,
"Momma? This feels like home."

Last night both children woke up separately, and with them, individually, we finally watched the stars and listened to the coyotes howl together.

It has become habit here for the 5 year old to awake waaaaay after the animals have melted into dawn and sit with me, along the south windows overlooking the trail, loudly chattering while seeking wildlife.

So for her to finally join me before dawn, in the dark, and quietly listen to all the night sounds as I always do, alone, was... so nice to share it with them, for I have been listening for years by myself while the family slumbered... You should have seen her bright eyes and smile: she heard the coyotes, an occasional cow, and many birds of the night.

She even saw her first shooting star. : )



Sooooooooooo... Let's talk about the bedrooms.
We have neglected that middle bedroom while camping in the prefab.

We have two queen sized air mattresses on which we've been staying while camping in the house kit.
We put one in the west bedroom, and one in the east, which is supposed to be our room. Through this sleeping arrangement over the past months, I am now rethinking it- the west bedroom, intended to be the 6 year old's, might actually work better for the adults- we are tending to sit at the dining table at night, so I imagine that might be the "late night talking area" vs. the other side of the common room, and the east bedroom is closer to the bathroom so it might be better for the 6 year old when he has little friends stay the night.

So as we re-think the purpose of the east & west bedrooms, I suggested,
"Why don't y'all sleep in the five year old's middle room tonight, and we'll try out the west bedroom?"

It didn't work out that way.
Somehow a child fell asleep on EACH bed, so the boys were in the west room and the girls in the middle bedroom.

And let me tell you... that middle, overlooked bedroom is FABULOUS.
It is PERFECT for a little wildlife watcher!

When she awoke, instead of leaving the warm bed for the rocking chair along the south windows to seek animals, we just turned over under the covers and looked out that long, vertical window where we had a clear view of the field. I am certain she will see many things over the years from that lovely view.

Because the house kit is made of SIPs (structural insulated panels), the inside sounds tend to... stay inside.

The dogs were being loud- the mastiff-mix happily-with-tail-wagging-and-heavy-breathing his acknowledgment of our nighttime alertness, the other shaking his tail happily and jingling his tags as he greeted us, and Handsome Husband... well...
Handsome Husband was snoring.

So, from the comfort of our bed, I reached out and opened that vertical window, and suddenly the night sounds filtered in.

Similarly, those high windows in each bedroom ROCK. During the day, they allow light in while providing privacy. At night, I tell the children to lie down, heads on pillows, and look up: they are perfectly placed to view the stars!

Although progress has been maddeningly slow (no one's fault but our own), it has really given me time to evaluate how we are *really* using the space, vs. as I had envisioned we would.

Imagine if I wanted to switch rooms after decorating one room very mod and adult, the other decorated for a little boy! So by camping in and using the space thus, I can make sure everything is finished where it is appropriate for YEARS of use and enjoyment.

Now I am off to sweep (again, thank you, myself-in-another-dimension for NOT choosing bamboo and embracing the easy-to-clean concrete with fly ash! My other-self-NOT-in-another-dimension would have LOST IT when the 6yr old decided to give the dogs "dirt baths" whom, after I finished sweeping, came in to flop...and it was awhile before I noticed the piles of dirt here, piles of dirt there... "What the heck?!?" then he 'fessed up...) and organize as Ron will build bathroom walls this week, just in time, for... well, one of my best friends is supposed to visit next week from NEW YAWK CIT-AY and I am taking her camping in the prefab house kit.

Handsome Husband is busy recycling leftover wood from framing to make stairs, and the 6year old has proudly added a um, nice doormat he snatched from the waters of the Bay while sailing last weekend and thinks it's perfect to reuse here.
I support his enthusiasm to reuse! But... um, it's not quite mod.
But, hey, it's reuse, so I applaud.

(So if you come to the Prefab Open House September 26th and notice a faded doormat that's all frilly / West End housewife-y, that's the story behind it. Please tell the 6year old you think it's a *lovely* addition to the decor.)

 

Last Look At Prefab Zero Energy House Kit Before Framing

I headed for the hills mid-week to take a last look at the prefab house kit before interior framing begins. I admit I fear I might miss the look of the structural insulated panels (SIP)! You might have seen in the previous post my aunt left the particle board "as is" in her own gorgeous home (3rd video down in the post), and I find it appealing.

If we hadn't already found the gorgeous, recycled VMI floorboards to reuse in our interior, along with other recycled finds, I would be seriously considering just painting the SIPs on the inside and calling it a day.



Here's a video of a last walk through the wide open / no interior SIPs prefab house kit:
(I'm sure it will take awhile to download, I tend to go on and on a bit...



Once interior walls are built, the off grid energy efficient systems will be installed: solar energy and heat, rainwater collection and filtration, and more. I guess I will no longer say I'll be "camping" in the house kit... : )
Instead, we'll simply be off grid, zero energy, prefab-ulously done.

 

Modern House Kit Update- Architect David Day & Family Visit The casa ti!

We were SO excited for David Day and his family to visit! As you may know, the green building architect David Day is the designer of our zero energy, passive solar casa ti house kit.

Now finding our land is not easy. I had emailed a map, but felt it best to take my new recycled dirt bike from Richmond Re-cycles and pedal down the drive to the road for a trial spin to see how visible the yellow rope we hung as a marker was for a car. Imagine my surprise when, as I returned to the house kit, I heard a gentle beep behind me, turned around, and there was the Day family right there, already on the land!

They tumbled out, and the children promptly found the dirt hill, sand, and creeks. They have been very busy making "a campfire," "a kitchen," (on the sand pile) and "food." Yes, sand, twigs, and rock food which was served to us and was *absolutely delicious,* while David Day and his lovely wife Kerri sat down with Handsome Husband and myself for a beer at the picnic table to discuss the off grid house.

David was very, very happy with how the house kit had been completed, by the way, and I have asked him to give an architect's response some time later this week to share with you. I just loved seeing him smile as he walked around the modern house he designed, and when he got HIS camera out and started taking pictures... that was a moment I'll always cherish.

Now that we have a little more shelter than my beloved aluminum teardrop camper in which we have camped for four years through all seasons, we are starting to finally meet more neighbors. Earlier that day, we met Peter Scott, a neighbor whose family bought over 100 acres on our road over three generations ago. He met Handsome Husband on the road as he was trying to make the driveway more noticeable for the Day family to find, and we invited him in for a tour of our passive solar house. I was wondering what an old school guy would think of the off grid house but... he loved it! He totally got it! He walked around and nodded his head as we explained the passive solar functionality, the practical concrete floors that also provided thermal mass, our plans for landscaping. We loved his deep knowledge, ready smile, and stories of the generations of families and land along our road- we learned his family used to farm what is now our land, and that it was traditionally planted with grasses and corn. We really hit it off with Mr. Scott- especially when he started talking about barbecue, and how his family starts at 4 a.m. to begin their roasts, and the detailed traditions they have in creating each community barbecue... I know we have found a good friend and look forward to having his family over when we have friends over and cook for a crowd!

Now this was also the first time we had visited since Handsome Husband sealed the floor. It made ALL the difference- I will never need a vacuum cleaner, a push broom EASILY cleaned the dirt and dust after a busy weekend neatly into a pile, easily finished with a dustpan and brush. We will probably add one more layer of sealant after the inside construction is finished, but really, it could last for years as is. David Day also mentioned we could wax it as well, something we might consider.

The weekend was mild, but at night it went down to the 30's. Inside the house kit, still with no systems installed, it remained 58 degrees. According to Handsome Husband, the zero energy house lost only six degrees from sundown till sunup. By 8:30 the next morning it was already 60 degrees. I wonder if that was not so much due to the sun rising, as it was still early, as much as the fact that little children and dogs were racing around like atoms colliding in the zero energy house! You really do understand the passive house reports where body warmth is pretty much all that is needed. With warm blankets and comfy clothes, we could easily not have to use our solar energy to heat the house except for very few times of the year.

We had a lovely weekend, but again felt the deep desire to "just move in!" The good news is that the interior begins again after Easter - and no, we can not wait. : ) In the meantime we dragged out an old trunk I have used since college in New York to keep kitchen things in, and a portable closet given to us when friends moved away to store coats and pillows and sheets in, so that we don't have to keep carting everything back and forth.

In the pre-dawn, as I listened to the coyotes howl (coyote here are the size of shepherds), I admit that as much as I miss camping in my camper it is nice to have my family safe within the modern home's strong structural insulated panels...

Oh, by the way, I have some good news regarding house kit tours / annual open house days! Keep September 26-27th on your calendar, because I am going to line up some fun farm tours, a house kit open house and more around Charlotte County's Heartland Bike Tour. There is so many history sites and cultural things to do, and you can even ride your bike, camp out, and more! I also plan to have regular "open house" days seasonally where I choose a date where interesting, fun & historical events are going on in the community so you can not only tour the house kit but make it a destination weekend in Virginia. Within fifteen miles of the land there is founding father (Patrick Henry's Red Hill), civil war, and civil rights history so plenty to see and learn.
So stay tuned...

On our way home, I thought it would be fun to take some photographs to show y'all our little town...

And on the drive home, I took pictures of the landscape, reminding us all why we all need to preserve and value these landscapes and see it as a national resource. Just an hour away, development encroaches with mass grading, ticky-tacky inefficient developments, and no respect for what may be our most valuable asset, our land. Remember: without local farms there is no local food...

So here are our house kit, little town, and driving home pictures, below! I hope you enjoy!
(I added lots of comments to the pictures so if you see something that interests you please click on the picture to see a larger version with comments.)



Our little town:


And the pretty scenes we pass:

 

Passive Solar House Kit - In it, we camped!

Still no interior walls (Ron is off building his pastor's house who needs to move in by Easter), but that did not deter us from camping in the house kit.

After four years of camping in the tiny-but-fantastic 1960s aluminum Scotty camper, I have to admit it was nice to lug a bunch o' the camping equipment from the Scotty to reuse in the open, spacious off grid modern house. As I pulled the practical, necessary camping equipment we had relied on for years from our beloved camper, I looked at it anew and realized that a lot of camping equipment is not eco-friendly! When we bought the necessary equipment years ago, it was because the folding chairs, storage tubs, cutting boards, machete knife cases, blaze orange hunting hats/gear were IMPERATIVE to have in an isolated place when camping through all seasons.

Now, in the comfort of the house kit, I'm looking at all this and thinking, "Man. If someone made environmentally friendly affordable camping gear they would make a FORTUNE!"

(Hmmmm. HMMMMM...
...
Nah, I already have too many jobs. But YOU do it!)

I was gone all Saturday at a social media conference nearby, so when I returned the mattresses had been blown up, the sheets and blankets were on, the "solar soldiers" (as we call the solar exterior lights) charged from a day in the sun, and two happy pipsqueaks were jumping and playing in their new passive solar living space.

Just seeing the queen-sized air mattresses in the still-not-framed-in bedrooms gave me a better idea of the room dimensions. Setting out the beds, the card table, chairs along the east side, really gives us a sense of the future finished space. It's perfect. It's open, filled with natural light, yet warm, cozy, interactive without being cramped. I can't wait to see it more furnished. It's getting very hard not to jump ahead and move in.

It had snowed over ten inches earlier this week...
The ground was wet and there was mud.
Oh, was there MUD.
A LOTTA mud.

I swept muddy dog tracks, children tracks, my tracks, his tracks.
(This is starting to read like a Dr. Seuss book, no? Say it ten times quickly.)
Aaaaaand was grateful we had chosen the smooth take-it-all concrete instead of frou-frou bamboo.
(I would have spent the rest of my life trying to protect that floor. It would have been awful. I would have been miserable.)

Yet, just days after a major snowfall, it was so warm this weekend we opened wide the doors wide and WOW could you feel the cross breeze- I can not wait to spend time here in spring! The dogs naturally gravitate to the passive solar sunbeams in the concrete thermal mass- and love surveying their kingdom from the open doorways while listing against the frame, half awake, in the sun.

I went for a nice long (muddy) walk with the 4 year old, watching while she measured creeks with her stick, surveyed the breached pond, and climbed hills with the dogs. A lot of trees had been downed from the heavy snow, so we had to cut some. Don't worry, the ones that fell were scrappy young ones that weren't part of the crop tree release strategy we have. We will never timber; but are trying to help prune and encourage healthy growth of the woods through selection so they can grow strong vs. competing for resources with weed trees.

It was good to hear the frogs.
They, and the bees, have had a rough few years. So to hear them peeping so exhuberantly in March was glorious. (Listen to video, below...)
I remember a few years ago on my family farm noticing that the pond was quiet, the 35' deep pond where I grew up fishing and canoeing and swimming and... listening to peepers. It was so strange to hear the blowing of the wind, the water, and, on that day, no frogs.

Frogs are loud. My entire life had, until then, been filled with the cacophony of peepers and bullfrogs. So to hear the frogs so loudly happy on "the land" gives me hope.

On Sunday, I spent a good bit of time curled up in a chair, reading fifteen year old issues of Countryside Magazine given to us by Ron & Judy while the children and dogs played.

Now HandsomeHusband, I will remind you, is from a large European city. He delighted in the scouting camera he had erected on a nearby tree and what it revealed: two deer stopping by to check out the off grid house kit! I'm including some of that here too.
: )



Here are more pictures, below, than you would EVER want to see of our fun weekend camping in the off grid zero energy modern house kit!
Just click on 'em to get the large version and captions!
(And some videos o' frogs and passive solar musings, below.
Hey, it was a fun, muddy weekend. : )
)

 

Passive House: Modern Design Affordable House With Passive Solar Energy Efficiency! Update.

More modern design, passive solar house kit updates...
We headed out to the land today...
It was cold, but beautiful.



You could see the sun on the foundation, demonstrating it's passive solar house energy efficiency even before it was weather tight.

It was amazing to walk around there, realizing that is 1,200 square feet of efficient, happy living. There is nothing we need. And we can have all our friends over.

For all our stages of life.



The one thing you need to note in these pictures/video is that some of the interior braces will be removed, there is storage/systems space in there but they did that to quickly allow for the roof panels they will add tomorrow.

So, here's some 360 photos I took... So you can get a sense of the space yourself. Also tons of video walk throughs, so please excuse the download.










Here's from another area of the house kit:

 

Off Grid Passive Solar SIP House Kit Construction, Day 2!

Our zero energy off grid modern house construction update from our wonderful contractor, Ron Bernaldo! Here he explains the progress and his thoughts, as a contractor who has not worked with structural insulated panels (SIP), or a house kit like our passive solar casa ti house kit.

"Eh, I would say it doesn't take a lot of technical expertise to put the panels together but there are quite a few steps involved, so it's not a speedy process.

We got the 44' wall done, and the one 16' wall done, and the first piece around the corner... it wasn't a wonderful day weather-wise, and I had to take care of some things on another job... but all-in-all we've got one guy filling in the framing, 2 setting panels, and the most experienced carpenter following us just framing in the doors & windows.

The factory rep checked in with us... and I had some questions that they walked me through.

I prefer screws to nails or staples, so I deviated from traditional instructions on that.

I put up a 44' wall today.
Normally we have braces all over the place, and there overnight.
I went up to that wall today, and we couldn't shake it.

It's a neat design, I'm really happy with it.

The panels go together EASY. But you do have to do things as you go along, and that's what slows you down.

One more solid day could get us all the way around the perimeter.
If I can get the perimeter done in 3 days, I might do this in 7 days. (That's my goal.)

One of those interior walls will need to go up first to set the roof panel... so that will slow the perimeter/exterior down.

The only thing I'm unhappy with is the amount of material that did not come with the kit. We need material for the clerestory, for the framing of interior, etc. - so I need to account for that.

But I am still considering in my mind the framing for the extending of the roof on one side... that will eat up time.

That's about it!"

Copeland's note: The house kit is *just* the SIPs and SIP parts, of which I had been clear. I will ask him tomorrow why or what he thought would else have been included- they do come with a window and door schedule, but we are very clear about our "bare bones" - which makes it affordable and flexible for the consumer, who could then make their own decisions according to their style and budget.

There is rain in the forecast, which will certainly slow them down... and I also rescheduled the cladding delivery (it was supposed to be delivered Friday) for next Friday (they only deliver on Fridays), because of the rain. Remember, in a rural lot, you do NOT want to get a truck full o' metal modern cladding stuck in the mud!

I am really looking forward to spending the first night with our children in this house, and sharing it with our friends and family. David Day Design did a beautiful job on an affordable, passive solar house kit for Green Modern Kits.

 

Story of Green Modern Kits. Where I ramble on endlessly about land, life, and the pursuit of gorgeous green design, affordably. Tiresome!

I was invited to be on a green design panel tonight for HausTalk. Yesterday, I was sent an itinerary, which made it clear I was to speak about Green Modern Kits.

As my hesitation kicked in (I thought I was just helping out to foster conversation- I know this is going to surprise people but I'm comfortable on the internet but in real life?!? I am shy! I was going to talk about outdated zoning and why citizens should be allowed to have urban chickens!), after some thought I'm going to use it as an opportunity to tell my story, the story of how Green Modern Kits became reality.

I really hope I don't bore you, you don't have to read this, house kit updates coming soon!

Warning to all! This is a Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally Looooooooooooooooooooooong Post!
It's the longest, rambling, long-winded post EVER!
RUN!
(Really! I'm so sorry! I just wanted to set this down for myself, to turn over in my head and consider. I'm only using the end part, the part where I talk about what happens *after* I kidnap the architects and industrial designers, for HausTalk.)

Any-hoo...

It all started with land.
I grew up with a family farm, 180ish acres on the banks of the James River. It was part of my family waaaaaay before I was born. My entire childhood and young adult years were spent fishing, wading, swimming and floating endlessly in inner tubes with fish nibbling my toes in the 35 foot deep pond, hiking briskly through the woods, whiling away the days on the porch, doing nothing. I was born with land in my heart, in my soul.
And then, when I was 32, it was lost.

That is another story, one that could fill volumes.
In my heart, I still walk and love every inch of that place... the pawpaw trees, the gravestones, the old bell on the top of the hill used to call in the horses, the quarry, the flooded woods with boats in the trees, the civil war trenches, the quiet fields, the old house, over 200 years old, the original barn, the warm smell of horses that filled the stalls in the new 18-stall barn, the summer kitchen where people from all over the world, mainly Kenya, would gather after running the Rotherwood Races (back then we pelted runners with water and doled out salt tablets), the mahogany stairs, the multi-level rooms upstairs, the old house I recall, before it burned: the smell of it, that red-clay and seasoned wood smell you only encounter in very old homes. The cannons on the front porch, the roses climbing to the balcony, my great-great grandmother's quilts on the beds, the pear tree the bears would climb... the ornate woodworking that made my granddad fondly refer to its architectural heritage as, "Steamboat Gothic!"

Then the sudden fire that took that dry old house down like lightening, the empty, charred foundation, the rebuilding of the new house with a modern open great room, a fire pole to shimmy down from the loft, the Chinese lacquer furniture, a gift from my Hong Kong aunt's family, and scattered bluegrass tapes and cds from our cousins in Tennessee, The Dismembered Tennesseans.















So, it started with land. And land lost.













A few years passed.

One day, scanning another boring money market statement, I realized,
"This money is just sitting here, doing *nothing.* Why don't we instead buy land?"
We both have land in our blood. Land, preserved.
We can see that investment, play in that investment, raise our children with that investment, and besides, you can't go rolling around a bank vault, but think of the fun we could have purchasing land! And protecting it! Growing it! Doing our part to preserve rural property already on the market instead of some developer getting it! Being one more person joining a rural community that recognized the value of protecting it!

Isn't the end result supposed to be that you buy your end-of-life community? Why not invest in it now?!? I mean, what the heck are you supposed to *do* with your moneymarket fund? Why not join an awesome community *now*?

So I started to research.
Research is actually a big part of my other job.
And extensive research plays a huge part in every decision for Green Modern Kits.

Now, before you start thinking we're wealthy: We're not. We do well, but certainly have middle class incomes. We work hard, but spend our money differently: we drive cars we pay for in cash (usually about 5k, then fix 'em), don't send our children to private schools, shop at thrift stores, have little use for credit cards, have no desire to keep up with The Joneses, and save, save, save.

So, for those of you thinking about buying and preserving land, here is my research and "why's" of how I found our little piece of eden. (Email to friends, below, outlining why I'm not crazy. Ok, maybe I am, but not when it comes to business / frugality / investments.) Skip over this part if you're not interested- it's long!

Business analysis: Listening to my real estate, chambers of commerce, and senior living/lifestyle community clients, I started searching for land that satisfied the following criteria:

1. Near historic landmarks/history
2. Surrounded by close towns with festivals and music throughout the year
3. Are those towns positioning themselves to be developed or preserved? I looked for areas where people understood the value of farms, preservation, etc. for tourism. I was looking for something that would appreciate in value but in a community where development was not an interest. Who will be the next Charlottesville? Williamsburg? Do they have cultural events?
4. Is easily accessible. Mustbe within 2 hours of Richmond. Who wants to spend the weekend on a big commute? And when we move there, we're still within easy reach of our longtime friends and family, being just over an hour away.
   
5. MUST have infrastructure for investment purposes: hospitals, other services close by: Farmville and Appomattox are within a 15 minute drive.
   

The Charlotte County area met that criteria.

1. History:
   1. Well, let’s start with Appomattox- you may have heard of that if you’re a Civil War buff… ; ) Less than 15 minutes away! http://www.appomattox.com/html/introduction.html
      www.tourappomattox.com
   2. CharlotteCounty: The land is located in historic Charlotte County. Charlotte County Courthouse is about ten miles away. http://www.co.charlotte.va.us/history.htm
   3. Red Hill:Patrick Henry’s residence: http://www.redhill.org/
   4. Civil Rights History: http://www.varetreat.com/civilRights.asp
   5. More history links: http://www.fpehs.org/links.html

Music:

1. Appomattox has a “Friday Cheers” once a month: http://www.appomattox.com/html/friday_cheers.html
   What fun to take off early on a Friday, and head on over to start your weekend right!
2. Check out the local band Deja Moo! How can you not love a band with that name? http://www.dejamoo.us/home.cfm

Local Festivals/Powows/Antique Tractor events—fun things to do with your grandchildren! ; ) (hee hee couldn’t resist that one)

1. http://www.appomattox.com/html/events.html
2. Antique Tractor Festival http://www.appomattox.com/html/antiquepower.html
3. Charlotte County events: http://www.co.charlotte.va.us/events_calendar.htm

FISHING/Hunting:

1. Holliday State Park Deep in the heart of Appomattox-Buckingham State Forest Holliday Lake State Park is a paradise for the outdoor enthusiast. Fishing for largemouth bass, crappie and bluegill is a popular activity in the 150-acre lake within the park. The nearby state Department of Game and Inland Fisheries delayed-harvest trout stream allows anglers to fish for brown and rainbow trout. The park also features excellent trails open to hikers, bikers and equestrians. Read more here!
2. Twin Lakes State Park:http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/twi.shtml
3. Virginia’s Largest Lake!
   1. i.http://www.virginia.org/site/description.asp?AttrID=20291
   2. ii.http://www.hunting-fishing-virginia.com/maps/lake-kerr.html
   1. Here’s what Charlotte County has to say about hunting and fishing:Read more here!
   2. The Land: We often flush quail as we roll down the drive. Deer, turkey & bear is abundant.
4. Accessible: Just take 360 and cut over to 460. Once you get past Brandermill, it is a 70 mph easy drive on four lane roads—so easy! And beautiful! Just one horse and dairy farm after another. And the location of Pamplin is central to area attractions: Appomattox, Charlotte Courthouse, Farmville, Charlottesville, Buggs Island, Richmond. All an hour and a half away. So you could spend weeks there, and have interesting things to do with friends.
5. Let’s talk about Pamplin! It’s a cool ghost town. Literally. And there is a library in the old train depot. They are trying to turn the line where the railway came through into a hiking and birding trail.
   1. Here’s the Train Depot: http://www.geocities.com/pamplindepot/
   2. There’s a historic Pipe Factory: http://geocities.com/pamplinpipeman/
   3. The BIG NEWS around Pamplin is that someone is OPENING A BBQ JOINT- so imagine being on your quiet, peaceful land yet having a jumpin’ bbq/bluegrass joint five minutes away. YAY!
6. Let’s talk about Charlotte Courthouse! A historic town where the courthouse was designed by Thomas Jefferson.
   1. http://www.towncch.com/
   2. Lots of national register listings: http://co.charlotte.va.us/charlotte_list.pdf
7. SCENIC. Rolling hills filled with wildlife yet the land is easily farmed (vs. buying property in the mountains) with plenty of streams and water accessible.
8. A WINERY OPENED!!! Check it out!
   Spring Creek Wine Cellar

So that’s my overview of why this is a prime location surrounded by historic and national park resources with a wonderful, close community

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it. ; )

We bought 55 acres. And started to camp. : )

And some years (and many mortgage payments) passed.
Our household income grew a little, and one child was now in public school vs. preschool we had to pay for... so...

Maybe it was time to build a green, mod home.
As we no longer had to make one child's preschool payments, that was X amount we could slide over to house construction, and with the raise, if we kept at our current spending levels, well, then... that together could pay for something affordable.

...I began to research. (Always an auspicious start to my tales...)

I didn't just want affordable... I wanted GORGEOUS! GREEN! ENERGY EFFICIENT! My dream house!!!! Because this is where I will live when I'm 70! Small enough to clean but big enough to have the grand kids over! Off grid so I don't have to worry, as a retiree, about heating bills!

And I looked. And looked.

And fell in love with one unaffordable prefab house after the other.
$300 a SQUARE FOOT?!? Zen Gardens and breezeways but only ONE bedroom?!?
These were certainly not *my* lifestyle...
What was out there that was semi-affordable and modern was not passive solar / not built for other green features such as cross ventilation, etc.

I researched shipping containers, and loved the recycled/reuse theory. Then realized that once I dragged a container out to the land it would be $9,000 and then I'd just have a hot box with no windows or doors. And it was downhill from there. I know, I know all those XYZ people you're going to now mention- remember, I *research?* But at the time they were not affordable, nor passive solar.

I had to think about investment, not that I ever intend to sell, but... when you start talking *money,* it is practical too also consider what worth others would find in it, *just in case.*

So once I realized the real costs of creating a real house outta shipping containers, I ditched the idea as not being affordable, and not having a layout I liked.

I researched steel framing companies. There's a *bunch* of 'em out there! I found the cheapest on Ebay. Got some nice quotes, but then realized the added cost of paying someone to come in and insulate, plus... well... there was that leeeettle thing about gorgeous design I was missing.

Then I discovered SIPs (structural insulated panels).

Cool!

And then saw a plethora of modern house plan sites with ugly "Our-Plans-For-Free-No-Shipping-Costs-Either!" designs with tons of hidden fees, as I researched company after company after company.

What's a girl to do?
I want a green, energy efficient, kickin' mod awesome house.
And I'm looking at these... ugly... boxes.

So, I kidnapped some architects.
Held hostage, I told them I had two requirements:
1. That the designs be passive solar, so that when the sun is low in the winter, it enters to heat the house, and when the sun is high, the sun can be blocked.
2. That they favor practical bedrooms over amenities- I envision these homes accommodating young families, yet practical for all life stages.
3. (Ok, fine, there were three:) Design what YOU want. You have no client looking over your shoulder, you're the designer, design what YOU love!

Someone out there in the world will "get" it!!!! : )

So...
There ya go.
It was really as simple as that.

Oh I forgot the part where I negotiated hard for weeks to get the low volume pricing with the SIPs manufacturer, researched the other vendors for cladding, rainwater collection, etc. but that's boring, right? ; ) Thaz just business stuff!

We have two lines of modern house kits. David Day Design's casa ti, and Grace Street's The R1 Residential.

Then came the cottages...
From Seattle, Gelotte Hommas brought out the Bienvenue, Midway, and The Sinda.

And let's not forget Akemi Tanaka!
This fabulous industrial designer is *almost* finished with her furniture kit that does multiple things in small spaces.

And... Big News soon...

Any-hoo... That's my one rare moment of actually talking about the "why's". The architecture and industrial design stories are more fascinating- they should post here their own take.

I will work on that.

*THEIR* stories are fascinating.
(Sorry for boring y'all! I'm just writing this all down in my head!)

As I Often Say: Green building for the rest of us!

 

Modern SIPs House Kit: Foundation Work Video And Photos!

Ah, fall. It's been rainy and we all have colds.

So when the 4 year old whined that she wanted to stay home and play "pony"... recognizing that this time of year we pretty much camp every weekend and will be doing so for the next few weeks... we conceeded.

The Boyz, adventurous, strode off to the land; The Girlz, keeping close to home, had a lunch date with Mr. H and the H's two daughters: Three happy girls talking about ponies and unicorns while Mr. H & I split a hot saki and gorged on delicious Asian food. : )

Our modern house kit foam is down, the foundation and radiant tubing are being laid, and pretty much from now on you will quickly see our prefab hybrid SIPs house become complete.

Our fabulous contractor Ron thinks it will take about five days to put the SIPs panels together and frame the windows /doors /interior load bearing wall for our modern house, fyi, for your own evaluation and estimates.






In the meantime, here are some pictures and videos of the land taken by The Boyz... happy and muddy and running loose in the wild. ; ) Keep yer eyes peeled for next week's installment of Green Modern Kits: SIPs House Kit Construction Continues On Our Modern House!