Why Live Sustainably?
If you are concerned about the future of our planet then there are many reasons to live sustainably, but it's not just our planet that benefits. Most alternative building styles are more cost-effective in the long run with maintenance costs often being much lower. Most sustainable materials are built to stand the tests of time. Cordwood, for example, as a building method has been around for centuries. There are still standing remains of cordwood buildings in Europe that date back almost one thousand years. There are even more modern houses and barns here in Canada that have been standing for well over 100 years. A Sustainable home can also be cheaper per square foot to build in many cases. All of these benefits add up to make sustainable living not just a more viable option for the future of our planet but a viable option for home-owners who wish to keep expenses manageable in the long term as well.
Our Process
My Sustainablity Story
I started learning about Sustainable living so that I could implement it in my own home. It started with making my own home more energy efficient and reducing my own carbon footprint. Compact fluorescent light bulbs were just coming out so I bit the bullet and bought new light bulbs at $35 dollars each! It worked! My hydro bill dropped! But the battle with the Hydro company continued and before long the rate went up again, so I replaced the old electric hot water tank with a new more efficient tank. The hydro bill dropped again! But again those savings were short-lived as the rate increased again. I had dreams of going solar and getting off-grid to get rid of the hydro bill. When it came to trying to reduce heating cost there wasn’t a lot that could be done to our log home to increase the insulation value so I was stuck without many options.
I loved the log home and didn’t really want to leave it but selling it allowed me to design a more energy efficient home to live in. That's where the dreaming ended and the research began. When we purchased the log home there were some cedar trees that the previous owner had cut down, the logs were piled in the field. When the previous owner came in the spring to remove the cedar I asked what he planned to do with it. He said he was going to build a cordwood building so I asked for some more details and got to work reading everything he could about cordwood masonry. I read everything I could find online and bought every book I could find. I also researched straw bale, earth sheltered, geodesic domes, cob and passive solar design, but In the end, a passive solar design cordwood house was the winner. The cordwood design shared the feel of the log home that I loved so much but with far better insulation.
So now my wife and I live in this beautiful sustainable home. If you'd like to learn more about how you can start your journey into this lifestyle we'd love to guide you into a more sustainable future.