Passive House Article in the New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/27/world/europe/27house.html

Framer's Paradise

A whole week with temperatures in the 50s and 60s with little rain!!

The Aftermath

Still amazed no one was seriously injured.

The contraband was located and disposed of properly.

Near Death Experience

So I was awoken from my afternoon nap by a phone call from Mark, a guy who lives near my future house.  He was parked in the street outside my driveway, getting scraps of wood from the trash pile when the car ran off the road at 50+mph, hitting the port-a-jon head on.  The car then went off the bank near the front of the lot, flipped over, and hit the large catalpa tree five feet from my house.

When I got there, they were pulling the car out of the trees with a winch.  Miraculously, all three of the teenagers in the car as well as Mark walked away unscratched.  Mark said they stashed some illegal substances behind the house, but my search for them was fruitless.

Just as miraculously, my framers weren't working, and the only damage was to the port-a-jon, permit box, and power pole.

Getting taller by the day.

The thing that sucks about building a house in December is that the morning frost doesn't melt until 9 or 10, and it gets dark at five. And the framers are scared off by forecasts of rain.

When they do show up, they do good work.

As you can see in the bottom picture, one of the tall walls at the stair has been raised. The top of wall is about 18.5 feet above the first floor, and the roof will be about 10 feet higher!!!

Last night I met up with a friend of mine who does decorative concrete work. He's going to give me some forms so I can start experimenting with finishes for my countertops.