Concept and design

Home destruction vs. home survival in wildfires point to embers and small flames control as the main thing to help prevent homes igniting in wildfires. Here are some tips for homeowners & builders to prepare homes to withstand wildfires. Let’s start by pointing out that this post is mostly about fire coming from outsi…

Prefab homes make choosing an Architect designed LEED or Passive House high performance house design easy. All the important choices of non-toxic Sustainable materials have been made, add a building lot & in a few months you're home & dry (& warm!). Prefab Home kits are ideal for Passive House or LEED certified homes …

Design ideas and home-durability measures to help families and homes withstand a changing climate. Future-proofing homes: Our society has a collective trust in its commercial building industry to provide us with homes that we assume meet some realistic standard of resilience. They do to an extent, but a very minor ext…

Planning and budget tips for home building and renovating. 1. Make a realistic 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 costs a…

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 infor…

Despite the good intentions, Earthships in cold climates can't work because they contradict the laws of physics. I'm not the Mike Reynolds who invented the Earthship, I'm the Mike Reynolds who thinks Earthships in Canada and other cold climates are a bad idea. A coincidence of names; just putting that out there so The…

Understanding building science basics will help you design and build durable and efficient wall systems, in this instance LEED Platinum v4. LEED Platinum V4 Wall Design: Building Science  The wall we designed for the Edelweiss house, Canada's first LEED Platinum V4 Home is best categorized as a 'REMOTE' wall, a high…

Professional energy raters use HOT2000, an energy modeling program designed to determine the energy consumption of buildings. Mindscape Innovations is a sustainable design firm from Kitchener, Ontario that has developed a free online version for the rest. Energy modeling is a process for determining the approximate en…

All about energy efficient home design - building enclosures, product selection and energy efficiency strategies. The  principles of green building: High performance, energy efficient Eco homes may include features like geothermal heating, wind power and solar panels, but these are not the defining features of green l…

In relation to Tiny Homes, the question we are asked most often is "Can I park a Tiny House on my property legally?" - Often fueled by needing an additional living unit for family members, or even for visitors during these strange times. Getting Tiny houses approved as habitatable dwelling units on your property Getti…

When Having a Home Built, Making better choices in design & materials is a Wise choice. Even if unconvinced about climate change, Green homes are proven to last longer, are healthier, cheaper to run & Worth More - Total Win. As the effects of climate change become more pronounced every year, it is becoming virtually i…