For now… planning and plans to build on this particular passive solar project will stop. I’ve learned a lot and enjoyed the time in the house in Montrose, Colorado. As life can move a person to different locations through a lifetime, I have started work in and moved to Gunnison, Colorado (70 miles away)....
Read more »
Amazingly, the variance for the house insulation/addition passed. I really wasn’t sure that it would happen after the last Planning Commission meeting. I admit it. I’m new to the whole concept of building. I thought getting a variance was a sure thing from the beginning. Apparently it is not. At the last meeting the...
Read more »
Passive solar site design must take the sun’s path into account and its interaction with the house throughout the seasons. In the planning stages for a passive solar retrofit project, I took pictures of the sun’s path on the summer and winter solstices to learn more about how the sun interacts with the house....
Read more »
Here are photos of the sun’s path in the sky on the winter (top) and summer (below) solstices. The pictures also show how the sun interacts with the house through the seasons. These observations will be used to plan the passive solar retrofit, not only the building design, but also the materials used. In...
Read more »
Last night the Planning Commission had a meeting that looked at my variance application for the ability to insulate the east wall and build onto the house. It didn’t go as planned. I thought it would be a simple thing: grant the girl the ability to insulate and build onto the house. Background: The...
Read more »
Knowing not-so-much about building, I have somehow jumped into the process of building a passive solar addition without even knowing what the role of a general contractor is. As it turns out, the general contractor is a key player in the game of building. When I first started thinking that I would (simply build...
Read more »
I have a hand saw. My rational was that if the gorgeous, large and truly amazing Sistine Chapel could be built before electricity and gasoline powered chain saws (not to mention that the whole ceiling was painted by one Michelangelo) then surely I could cut down a few trees with my hand saw. Retrofit...
Read more »
While I feel an odd sense of accomplishment, I realize that the feeling is premature and that there is a long (hopefully mildly enjoyable) road ahead in actually building the passive solar addition to the current structure. Step one, however, was getting the variance application in on today’s deadline, May 17, 2010, so that...
Read more »
Talk to the local municipal building department to see if a remodel or building project on the property is permitted, before breaking ground. While a person may have some really nice ideas of design and building, it’s a good idea to understand local building codes. I have an older stone house, located within a...
Read more »
The present sandstone block house is built of thermal mass, is facing the south-east and has the potential to be an efficient passive solar house. Through the progression of winter and spring, I have thought about different possibilities that would create a warm space on the property. There is the idea of building a...
Read more »
