Friday, July 30, 2004

House Progress

Permit acquired and site cleared Monday, July 26th
foundation supplies delivered Tuesday
Footing excavated Wednesday
Next week we shoot sand on the foundation, form up for the pour, rough plumb.
Our loan closes next Thursday.

Thursday, July 01, 2004

Soon To Begin Building

The word from the Plans Examiner's office is that our plans are nearly approved. The didn't commit to a specific deadline, but since our loan is not complete yet, I figure there's no point hectoring them for now.
Hopefully within the next week or two we can earnestly begin building. First we need to locate and contract an excavator. I also need to order some tubing to conduct hot water through the floor for our radiant heat system.
The electric company is sending a quote for running our powerline from the base of the driveway to the transformer box.
I've found that there is very little difference between the super-efficient refrigerators and the Energy Star rated big-name brand models. I'd pay $1000 more for the ability to save $11 dollars in electricity per year. While I would love to save $11 dollars per year, I don't think I can justify this. what I'm talking about is a Sunfrost vs. Frigidaire Energy Star model of roughly the same volume.
On the up side, there is a $1000 rebate from the PUD on Photovoltaic equipment. I still have to figure out what the best payback period will be for a PV system. And, of course I'm planning on making some solar collecting hot water heaters, so our energy bills should be really kept in check.