Concept and design

Tiny Houses – Washington State paves the way for tiny home eco-villages & minimum building codes for their construction. WA paves the way for tiny home eco-villages: Tiny houses, also colloquially referred to as tiny homes, are both an increasingly attractive and affordable housing option as well as a trending…

Design ideas and home-durability measures to help families and homes withstand a changing climate. Future-proofing homes Our society seems to have a collective (but misplaced) trust in its commercial building industry to provide us with homes that meet realistic standard of resilience. They do to an extent, but a…

Planning and budget tips for home building and renovating. Make a realistic building budget and schedule This is, without a doubt, the starting point to a successful build - don’t underestimate the time and money it will take to complete a build or renovation . Even professional contractors tend to underestimate the…

Advice from a green building project manager: how to develop a construction budget and stick to it. The following is an interview with Patrick Ranger, General Manager at Belvedair , a construction company specializing in the design and construction of green homes. Patrick is trained in business administration and…

Are you wondering how to build a tiny house for living in cold climates? How much insulation does a tiny house need? See plans for the best tiny house on wheels that we've ever seen. How to heat and live in a tiny house in a cold climate? Are tiny houses a good investment? That depends on how you want to live and…

Tiny houses, accessory dwelling units, coach homes; whatever you like to call them, we will soon see more of them popping up in Ottawa back yards. In the fall of 2015, the City of Ottawa conducted a public-consultation survey to gauge interest in a change of bylaws to allow secondary dwellings (Coach Houses or Tiny…

Dense materials hold more heat than light fluffy stuff does. This can work for or against you. Materials in a home that act as thermal mass are things like concrete, masonry, ceramic tiles, even a large volume of wood like timber frames. All materials inside the insulated building envelope will store and release…

When a substance melts or solidifies, it absorbs or releases energy. Materials that do that at room temperature can help regulate temperatures in homes. This article was inspired by a podcast I heard at Positive Energy , where I have yet to hear a podcast that I didn't want to listen to a second time, so check them…

Just as a regular battery stores electrical energy, a thermal battery stores heat. Solar heat can be collected, stored and distributed later as needed. What is a thermal battery? Thermal mass of any kind can by definition be called a thermal battery, as it has the ability to store heat. In the context of a house…

Homes are often over-insulated in some parts and relatively under-insulated others. Balanced insulation when building a green home means applying your insulation dollars where they are most needed. Home insulation - how much do you need and where to put it: Think of the heat in your home as if it were water behind a…

The tiny house movement is an inspiring green home trend, but are tiny houses on wheels green? Find out more about tiny house living in cold climates and whether they are a good or bad idea. Are tiny houses worth it? Are Tiny houses a good investment? That depends on your lifestyle and how well you build them. Here…