If you are thinking about Green Energy you will have to look at your lifestyle and home site. Some areas will be better suited for solar, fewer suited for wind and even less would be suited to Micro– Hydro systems. If you are looking to live completely off the grid you have to assess your needs and what kind of appliances and electronics you have to run. With a 3000+sq’ house you are probably into a lifestyle that requires more appliances and gadgets. Most people with a solar or wind system will stay tied to the grid and only draw hydro if required. Using Propane to run your major appliances will allow you to save your Green energy for general household needs, and connecting a generator to the propane as well will run your house, and charge your batteries when required during power outages. Off grid systems will cost you more for the initial set up but then save you money in the long run, it’s a good investment especially if it is your forever home.

Some building sites are easier to work on than others and help keep you on track, but others will take away from your house budget. You have to take into account that in most cases you can’t predict what is below the ground level. In a lot of areas we can get a good idea of what you are in for, but until the excavator starts clearing the land and digging the foundation you won’t know how level a site there is for your foundation footings. If you have a sloping lot and want to save money, it will usually cost you less to keep the house footprint smaller and finish a walkout basement as living space, rather than build a sprawling bungalow or 2 story home. Over the last 10 years I have seen first hand the benefits of Insulated Concrete Form (ICF) foundations. ICF construction will give you the highest insulation ratings which will lower your heating and cooling bills each season. You can use ICF for just your basement or for the entire house.

I have built, and lived in, standard stick frame, Log and ICF homes. As far as insulation value goes, I would rate them as follows:

• Good – standard 2×6 stick frame walls with R22 batt insulation
• Better – log walls R20 – R24 + thermal mass
• Best – ICF walls R24 – R30 + thermal mass

R-value is the measure of resistance to heat flow of the insulating materials. Thermal mass refers to the amount of heat that the solid concrete and logs are capable of storing, therefore providing you with an even higher insulation value compared to loose fill, spray foam or batt insulation.

If you love Post & Beam you can add timber frame accents to any design to give you the look and feel of a true Post & Beam house. With ICF walls and a Post & Beam interior you have the best of both worlds with the warmth and charm of Post & Beam and the energy efficiency of ICF. When it comes to finishing the interior of your dream house, that is where you can get carried away and blow your budget on what you want, compared to what your pocket book can afford. Kitchens are a finish that people get carried away with. I have seen people with the same area for a kitchen, one can spend $20,000 and the other $80,000+, it all depends on your taste and how many bells and whistles you want. When it comes to interiors, I find that about 70% of people will do some of the labour themselves when they want to save money, or just because they have handy friends and family who want to pitch in and help.