The spring’s big surge of effort was put into siding the house. From the beginning we had it in mind that we wanted to work with fibre cement. We looked into other common forms of siding – wood, engineered wood, vinyl – but decided what we really wanted was the look of a quality material […]
Archive | Passive House Build
Using Earth Energy to Preheat Ventilation Fresh Air Supply
I have taken a two-pronged approach this time: A short version, for those who are not interested in the technical aspects, and a much longer version for those who are. Short version: we built something to preheat the ventilation air for our house using the heat of the earth. It works and gives us lots […]
Moving In & Early Experiences
It’s been a while between posts but we were very busy getting the house ready enough to live in and of course, getting prepared for Christmas and more family home from university. And then there is just life and more work on the house and completing a big solar project in Ottawa… So what’s happened […]
Cold Weather, No Heating, But Passive Comfort
Wow! I don’t have words to express how satisfying – and at times even amazing – it is when I walk into the house and FEEL the comfort. With all but the last details of insulation complete and the heating not operational yet, the house has been hovering in the 17° to 21°C range. Let’s […]
House Tour with OSEA’s Green Energy Doors Open
Join us on Saturday, October 3, 2015 from 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM, as one of Ottawa area’s five stops on the Green Energy Doors Open 2015 tour. Chris will be providing a guided tour every hour on the hour beginning at 9:00 AM. The tour itself is about 30 minutes with an extra 20 […]
CBC Ottawa Morning’s Interview with Chris
An excellent interview with Robyn Bresnahan on the build in Merrickville! Great detail and interesting questions!
Getting Ready for Drywall
Since the last entry describing the construction, we’ve been focused on a broad range of activities including some work off-site at Carleton University. Here’s a short list of things we’ve been up to: • Rainwater Store. We’ve completed the installation of the liner with inlets and overflow outlets and sealing to the foundation. We also […]
The House Tour Results
Thanks very much to all who attended and showed great support and enthusiasm! It makes this challenging journey so worth while! We were thrilled with the fact that close to 130 people came through. Stay tuned for fall dates for the next one.
Merrickville’s Zero Carbon House Tour on Saturday, July 11
It is happening from 9:00 AM until 3:00 PM on Sat., July 11 at 732 Heritage Drive in Merrickville! Chris will be providing a guided tour every hour on the hour in order to explain all of the house’s features. You will learn about: Passive design, starting first with very high levels of insulation and […]
Great Press Lately – Now the Ottawa Citizen!
Thanks to the Ottawa Citizen for taking an interest in our build! We are thrilled to be included amongst these exceptional projects. If you would like to check out our progress, we are having another House Tour on Saturday, July 11 from 9:00 AM until 3:00 PM. Chris will be providing guided tours every hour […]