From the Farmlet

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Brise Soleil

We just finished building the "brise soleil" over the kitchen window and back door. This short roof is intended to block high angle summer sun from overheating the house, while allowing in low angle winter sun to passive heat the concrete floor.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Windows & trim

The windows and doors are almost all in - starting on the trimwork!

Note the "insta-buffer" in the background. We took a weekend off to install a bunch of balsam firs and rhododendrons with pachysandra as groundcover... it'll be beautiful someday!

Does it seem like only one person is working here?
Thanks Erik for all your help!

Sam taped the roof (I think mostly to get long strips of paper for his "May pole"). He also spread new soil, planted grass seeds in our worn lawn, and then protected it with very colorful fencing!

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Sculpture in the Garden

Metal and rock... a natural balance.

Imagine a tall metal sunflower blowing in the wind, set in a granite rock grounded in a garden of flowers.

I wish I knew a geologist and metal works artist who could craft such a thing.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Galvalume

Galvalume is an Energy Star rated roofing material, with significant recycled content, durable for a very long service life, and recyclable at end of life. Many thanks to Holgerson Roofing for working on our dangerously high roof... super nice guys to spend a couple of days with. They even picked up all the metal scraps and tiny shavings from our yard to be recycled again for use on a future roof!

We really like the roof because it changes daily, taking on the colors of the sky.

Thank you too Erik, for helping us install the windows!

Friday, March 26, 2010

Deep laceration, lower left extremity

First jobsite injury that involved a trip to the emergency room... the family voted against posting a photo of the wound as it is a tiny bit gruesome. But now, after a few deep stiches and about 8 or so external stitches, Brad is all better!

Monday, March 22, 2010

Spring days

We welcomed the warm and sunny first days of spring playing music...

installing the first two windows...

building a flared sitting wall...

adding old trailer stairs...(why???)

...and relaxing on the beach.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Covered porch

After a few weeks of skiing, skating, swimming and just generally relaxing in the oddly warm winter weather, we finally have kicked back into gear on the house. We now have both covered porches built. The front porch, an extension of the one-story roof:

The sunset porch will be partially screened and partially open to the south deck once finished.

About the Farmlet

In 2004, we bought a 1.5 acre property in Ocean Point with a 1970s Magnolia trailer on it. We really hated the trailer (it smelled) but loved the lot, seeing that the mature trees around the lawn would make a perfect site for a new summer cottage someday.

In 2007, we had the opportunity to move to Boothbay full-time. We looked for a "field" property, trying to re-create the farm life we had in New Gloucester. It took us a while to realize the Ocean Point property was smaller but better than all the others we were looking at... so we decided to build the "farmlet".

We set some pretty simple goals for the project:

1. We wanted to build a small home. There is a lot of 'pressure' out there to build a house for the future buyer. A lot of people make you believe you have to have certain things to make the house marketable. After having lived for 7 years in New Gloucester with 2 empty 'extra bedrooms' and a full bath we never used, we decided we were only going to build spaces that were absolutely essential to the way WE lived our lives. We set a benchmark of 1,200 square feet, to keep us in line while space planning.

2. We wanted to build a "green" home. For obvious reasons! We felt challenged to make this house super-insulated, well sealed and as energy efficient as possible. We have also been intrigued by advances in building construction techniques for the last few years and were eager to put ideas to work.

3. We wanted to build a home with plenty of natural daylight and a sense of openness to the outdoors. While the property is small, it has the advantage of great sun exposure... long to the east and west and open to the south. And so we designed a long and skinny home, with living areas on the south and utility spaces on the north (entry, stairs, pantry, bath, mudroom, laundry). We also put in big windows and set them high in the house so we could look up into the sky and treetops.

4. We wanted to do it ourselves. Mostly to have time on our side, so we could research new things and make decisions along the way. Being new to a 'debt-free' lifestyle, we also didn't want to build up a huge insta-debt by hiring someone to deliver our dreams for us. We realized another cost of letting someone else build our home was giving away the life-changing experience of the journey itself. We wanted to learn new trades, and teach them to our boys as we went along.

5. We wanted a home that had typical qualities of an Ocean Point cottage but with some quirkiness too. We love slightly odd houses... those with big towers and low slung additions, oddly placed windows and exaggerated spaces. We also wanted a home that would be simple to build.. no interconnecting roof lines or dormers, just basic traditional forms put together to create the whole.