Save The Date! The Prefab Net Zero Energy Passive Solar House Kit Will Be Open For Tours April 10th!

[Well, it is SNOWING UP A STORM, at least 8" deep at this point.
What else was I supposed to do on such an impassible day?
Dream of spring in the prefab house kit, and therefore, the upcoming Prefab Open House! ]

We will have our second Prefab Green Home Open House in the Virginia Passive Solar Net Zero Energy House Kit on Saturday, April 10th, from 1-3 p.m.   

Like last time, we scheduled the house kit open house to coincide with historic and fun events showcasing this rural, beautiful, historic area of Virginia. So mark your calenders! Here's what's going on during that weekend that we know of so far:

•  April 08, 2010 – April 12, 2010145th Anniversary of the Surrender
  
  
  Appomattox Court House National Historical Park
  Appomattox, VA 24522
  434-352-8987
  www.nps.gov/apco
  Special programs related to the surrender, including 1st person living history offered each day from April 8 to April 12. 
   
• April 09, 2010 – April 11, 2010
  Appomattox History Weekend
  Clover Hill Village
  Appomattox, VA 24522
  

  145th Anniversary of Lee's surrender to Grant to be held at Clover Hill Village. 1 mile from actual surrender site. Living historians will be portraying Generals Lee & Grant and their lieutenants will recreate historic moments of the final days leading up to and including the surrender. Activities include: Lee's last war counsel, General Gordon's attempted break-out, Lee-Grant meeting, stacking of arms and reduction of colors. Reenactors limited. Military host: Lee's Lieutenants, contact Al Stone at astoneasrelee@suddenlink.net or (304) 466-2030. Civilian host: contact Ms. Carolyn Davis at casonclee@aol.com Cost: $10 for adults, $5 for children under 12. 
   
•  April 12, 2010 – April 12, 2010
  
  
  Holiday Open House
  Appomattox Court House National Historical Park
  Appomattox, VA 24522
  434-352-8987
  www.nps.gov/apco
  Join the park staff for an festive afternoon of music, refreshments and holiday activiies with a historic flare!

We hope you use the opportunity to travel to the prefab house kit to explore and see more of historic Virginia.  ...Make a weekend of it!
(And hopefully it wont rain in torrents like last time!)

For accommodations and more history, see here:
(Because if you're a design geek, you're also a history geek.
Welcome to the crowd!)

• Appomattox: http://www.tourappomattox.com/lodging.php
  
  (learn more about Appomattox here...)
  
  
• Charlotte Court House: http://www.charlotteva.com/accommodation.htm
  
  (learn more about Charlotte Court House here - make sure to click on the links at the bottom, there's Patrick Henry's Red Hill & more to visit!)
  
  
• Farmville: Historic Longwood Bed & Breakfast... and others listed here:
  
  (learn more about Farmville here... and more on Farmville history here.)

See more details about the previous Virginia prefab house kit open house here.


Currently, we are all, humans, dogs, feral cat, and especially our chickens, officially snowed in.  And the snow is still coming down strong!

The Colorado prefab green home begins this spring after their snow melts, sometime in mid-March... we will keep you posted on that house kit construction! 

Recent Press:

• As previously noted, Green Modern Kits will be in The Wall Street Journal's Smart Money Magazine, to be published this spring.
• If you live in Richmond, Virginia, make sure to pick up the next Richmond Magazine... : )
• Tree Hugger's Lloyd Alter mentions us as we think about living a smaller footprint lifestyle which Oprah seemed not to quite appreciate on a visit to one Swedish home...
  

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at copeland@greenmodernkits.com.

Sincerely yours,
Copeland Casati

copeland casati
president
www.GreenModernKits.com
6902 park ave / rva 23226

 

Prefab SIPs House Kit: The Contractor Speaks! Part 1

Ron Bernaldo, our fabulous contractor, shares his thoughts of the prefab house kit project at the prefab open house:

Prefab SIPs House Kit : The Contractor Speaks!

So, in a nutshell: 
Ron had never worked with SIPs (structural insulated panels) before building our prefab house kit.
His crew was Amish.
Ron explains the SIPs, how he worked with them, and answered many questions from prefab enthusiasts about his experience working with SIPs and the casa ti house kit.

Of note: "It took us five days to put the house kit together with 3-4 men working..."

 

Net Zero Prefab House Kit Open House! 1st Open House Of Our Modern Energy Efficient Home

(David Day, green building LEED AP architect,
in his prefab net zero passive solar casa ti.)

Did I mention it rained?

I will NEVER complain about rain.
But it's admittedly inconvenient for a Prefab Modern House Kit Open House.

We awoke, it was drizzling.
We arrived at the prefab house, it was raining.
The sun never emerged.
Actually, it's still raining, heavily. I think I just saw the Porta Potty float by, waving and gallantly saluting farewell like a Captain downed with the SIP, er, ship.

We were soaking wet at the prefab open house.

"Well," I looked on the bright side, "at least we'll be able to hang out and spend some quiet time together!"
The green building architect of our net zero off grid prefab, David Day, smiled, agreed.
Ron, Our Fabulous Contractor, stormed in, stomped the mud off his feet and stated with a scowl, "Rain."

I was sad because I really wanted for people to make "a weekend" of it- to enjoy the beautiful sights, the camaraderie of our friends, the bike ride past historic farms...

I knew other children and dogs would visit- and imagined the chases that would ensue!
I envisioned us walking the fields, wearing everyone out on a hike on the property, people relaxing in fold out chairs near the south tree line and contemplating the modern house kit for their own purposes...

I didn't want people to travel and not get to know all the kind people and wonderful, historic, fun things to do in our area. I mean, who are we kidding? - We have history throughout, and, heck: A WINERY minutes away!

But... it rained in buckets.
Oh well, people would just come to the next Prefab Open House and then really enjoy it in the spring, I could show them around...

Or so I thought.

It was 1:02.
"Well, we haven't seen you in *forever*," I started, turning to David, "we can at least have a nice, quiet day hanging out together!"
As the words came out of my mouth, a pair of headlights turned onto the field.
"Ohhhhhhh my gosh. "
As soon as I said that, the second set of lights rounded the bend.
And right behind them... it was a line! And one after another, they parked!

I just can't even start to talk about the day after that.
I hope that those whom attended will share their pictures, video, thoughts here.
(Yes, I lost my camera the night before at Richmond's InLight...)

I want those that came to know... thank you all so much for coming.
Just as you say you read MY voice, I have enjoyed following your own stories through email and our exchanges via the internet.

A lot of beautiful, honest, open faces.
Farmers, families, designers, international colleagues traveled SO far, and... we had rain.
Oh, not just rain: A MONSOON.

But on the SUNNY SIDE...


Heck yeah, we crammed people in, unstacked chairs (isn't that what we bought 'em for?) and it was still airy!

And, on a rainy, no sun at all, Almost October chilly day... inside in the prefab, thanks to the SIPs, it was HOT!

Speaking of outside in the rain... people were walking around in that muck taking gray wet pictures of the prefab house kit in the RAIN!
"No, don't worry, sweetie! I already took & blogged those pictures on a nice day! Don't get cold!!!!! I don't want you to get sick! Dontcha want to come in?"
Inside? 75 to 72-ish degrees.

I asked, "Now that y'all have noticed the difference of passive solar energy efficiency WITHOUT systems in the prefab, do ya mind if I crack a window now?"
They voted, "Aye!"

And talk about putting Small Footprint to the test - after seeing about forty people in that front room, I now know what Thanksgiving will be like with a bunch o' friends & family!!!

I enjoyed so much putting the emails to the faces. I want y'all to know I wanted this to be more than a Prefab House Kit Open House.

Thank you all for coming from far-flung states and cities.
It was a pleasure to meet you all, thank you for bringing all your fun moments I will always remember: a gifted child playing music, all of your kind eyes, a pair of basketball and bow enthusiasts (to whom I proudly showed the VMI basketball court and my Fred Bear recurve), European and Africa connections, sweet dogs I *wished* could have raced about and played across the field with our own dogs, all of your great questions...

I felt like we were wearing you out when we spoke but then the attendees had one question after another- well researched, it was a dialogue, not a lecture, which is what I had hoped.

Thank you all so much for driving so far on a miserable day to visit us in the prefab house kit.

--Copeland Casati

P.s. Sharing comments from visitors:
(I will be adding comments, photos, etc. as they send them in here.)

"It was a pleasure to meet you and your family, Mary Beth and I enjoyed another adventure...the weather didn't bother us but I wish it could of rained the day before or after for your sake....I loved the house, before seeing it in person I always felt it wouldn't have enough light for me but on the contrary I felt very good in it, very comfy.....it seemed solid and tight.....it will be a couple of years before I build, I have 2 lots connected to the lot I live on in an 1861 money pit I will be following your blog I'm definitely interested in all aspects of the project, edible landscaping is important and I see your doing that, very smart and innovative team.....thanks for your warm hospitality.....
--Elaine"

"Copeland,

Thank you for opening up your house (future home) to us strangers. We really enjoyed the visit even with all the rain. Seeing the house in real life is quite different than following your blog.

We really enjoyed our visit and look forward to the read your progress on your blog. I did notice on the landscaping design that you are building a root cellar. I was wondering if you had any more information on it that you can share with us.

Again thanks for opening your house to us.

James and Robin

Baltimore, MD "

*Thanks to George Geier, who shared his pictures with me so this blog looks nice!*

 

Modern Prefab House Kit: Preparing For The Prefab Open House

Sharp eyes might have noticed the top south cladding panel on the modern prefab house kit was a bit... muddy. As the last panel in the stack of cladding, it had been a victim to the rain and gathered mud before the Amish installed it. Normally this would be a simple annoyance, but when you're a net zero off grid passive solar house with the systems not yet in place... well, it's not like you can just pull out a hose and wash the prefab house off, is it?



I, already overwhelmed with work... avoided the issue over the summer.

But the Prefab House Kit Open House loomed...
and...
we found an *excellent* solution!

There are sprayers you can buy that pump - ironically, for this eco house, the sprayers are intended to spray pesticides. (Oh, the irony!)

But for us?

Cleansing water swept the dirt away,
and the prefab house kit is shiny again!



Prefab House Kit: Finally washed the mud off the modern house kit! from Copeland Casati on Vimeo.
The weekend in the prefab was full of such serendipity:
The tractor had a flat; oh the stress of "how-much-we-had-to-do"... It was imperative to get the wheel to the closest tractor repair shop, fifteen minutes away, in historic Appomattox before noon. We piled into the car... and ended up whiling away hours there.

We strolled the streets, taking in the old homes, storefronts, and history. We leisurely ate at Granny Bee's (now don't you evah be in a hurry at Granny Bee's... and make sure you get the stewed tomatoes & spoonbread with your meal!). The 6yr old got a hair cut. And I found a new favorite thrift store.

You may have noticed I'm not only an enthusiast of cutting-edge modern design (www.GreenModernKits.com, www.GreenCabinKits.com), but a huge fan and avid preservationist of old architecture. (AND love old cottage architecture redesigned for the next 200 years: www.GreenCottageKits.com...)

Here are some pictures from Appomattox- and yes, I will get a better picture of that log cabin next time...we were driving quite fast to make it to the Tractor Store in time before it closed... I highly recommend taking the time to visit Appomattox if you are here next weekend for the Prefab House Kit Open House. You could start your day there, walk around, shop, eat lunch, then head over, or, if you stay the weekend, visit the next day. Here is what one bed & breakfast recommends, and also check out Tour Appomattox for events.



We then raced back to Richmond the next morning to support good friends and research for juvenile diabetes by participating in the annual Juvenile Diabetes Research Walk.
What a weekend.
I wouldn't have traded it for the world.

And yes, the Passive Solar Prefab Open House IS next weekend.

Wish me luck... with muddy children, dogs, and Handsome Husband undoing my every broom sweep and cleaning... it will be heartfelt but certainly not over planned. This is more to see the structural insulated panels (SIPs) in the prefab house kit before we finish it in affordable style.

We will have prefab green building architects from Green Modern Kits and Green Cabin Kits present. Unfortunately, despite their enthusiasm for biking, our prefab cottage architects involved with Green Cottage Kits are unable to attend- as they are in Seattle!

I am looking forward to welcoming our prefab enthusiasts, neighbors and family friends to our special community here in historic, rural Virginia.