Early Decisions

Once we had the lot, it was time to make some decisions about the house itself. Our research yielded lots of resources for green building in California, but... we don't live there anymore. We learned that if we wanted to be progressive and build a house with lots of green features, we would be breaking very new ground around here. I've often joked that builders in East Tennessee don't know how to spell "green". Our first task, then was to find someone around here who did know about green building. We issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to all of the members of the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). in the fall of 2007 we invited any AIA "...parties interested and experienced in design of new 'green' single family residential construction..." to contact us. To our dismay, we got merely three responses, only two of which were responsive to our request for designers with multiple green projects and references. We interviewed both Smee + Busby Architects and Elizabeth Eason Architects. Although Smee + Busby had a very attractive team and made a great proposal, we leaned toward Beth Eason's more extensive green experience. We checked her references and got extremely high praise from everyone.



We put together a Program Plan for the house using an Excel spreadsheet. The Program Plan was the heart of our communication with the Architects. It gave us great confidence that we effectively recorded our thoughts and delivered the message to Beth. I'm trying to figure out how to post the program plan as an example, but havn't gotten it done yet. We'll press on for now & edit the file back in later. The plan consisted of columns headed: description, features,existing, comments, sq ft finished, and sq ft unfinished. We went room by room through our hopes and dreams (and existing home) to write down what rooms, features and finishes we KNEW we wanted. At the end, the plan called for 2082 sq ft finished rooms, add 10% for circulation (hallways, etc) and we needed 2290 sq ft of finished living space to meet our "needs". Of course, our "wants" were still out there too. We called out another 3936 of unfinished space, including an unfinished basement, lots of porches, a garage/work-room, bonus room over the garage and a mechanical room.

Getting Started

This blog is certainly not going to be a definitive "how-to" on green building, but if someone learns from our experience (and mistakes), we'll be glad. As an engineer, we have tried to go about this in an organized, conservative manner (I can't help it). Like most folks, we've collected a scrapbook of pictures and articles that interested us. Over several years, it's grown into two binders of stuff. It's organized with tabs labled;

Lot Purchase, Land Loan, Permits, Architect, Builder, Financing, Plans and Specs. The second binder has tabs for design ideas labled: Windows/Doors, Bath, Master Bedroom, Laundry Room, Heating, Kitchen, Solar -PV-Energy, Exterior, Landscaping, Outdoor Living Space, Garden/Orchard, and Resources

We've looked for the perfect lot for over 10 years. We've driven every little road in Blount County, looking. Although we know that the most sustainable building site would be a city center in-fill lot, that doesn't fit our view of our "Dream Home". Site selection is probably our biggest departure from green building principles, but, oh well.... we've said we aren't fanatics.



You should see this lot. It's 3.24 acres, currently in pasture, gently rolling down into a shallow swale. The view is about 16 degrees off of due south, looking up over the top of Woodpecker Knobs directly at Chilhowee Mountain. It's just east of the Mint Community at the intersection of Mint Road and Walker School Road (USGS Binfield Quadrangle). It is in the Little Ninemile Creek watershed that eventually drains into the Little Tennessee River (Tellico Lake). It's part of a small development called Beech Grove Trail. 'Looks like we will be the first of the 8 lots to break ground. More later....

It's about the future

This project has been in the works for over 40 years. It began while I, as a small boy worked alognside my Dad and uncle to build our family's cabin in the Smokies. It grew while my Boyscout leaders invested their time and energy to teach us a love of nature and God's physical world. It crept along while I discovered a love of the sciences at MHS and UT. It blossomed at UT, protesting for the Snail Darter with the UT Environmental Coalition. As a Co-op Chemical Engineering student at Tennessee Eastman Company, I learned how to use Chemical Engineering to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. Today, the problem of climate change is larger than any of us could have imagined years ago. We choose to be a part of it's sloution too.

Now, we prepare to break ground on our dream home. We hope it will clearly show our respect for God's gift to us all in these beautiful East Tennessee hills. We hope it will take full use of the sciences. We know it will represent the compromises that are the essence of good engineering. We hope to be leaders in the important field of green building, but we are not fanatics. We would like to build a green home that is simply an early adoption of techniques that become commonplace within the next few years.
Check back from time to time to see how we are progressing.