Common Sense Home - Common Sense Home

ICF Construction – What You Need to Know About an ICF Home

January 27, 2018 by Laurie Neverman 41 Comments

Back when we were researching our “forever home”, we chose ICF construction for a number of reasons. It's tough, energy efficient and should last a lifetime with minimal upkeep. In this post, I'll discuss:

what ICF construction is
how it differs from conventional construction
why we chose Insulated Concrete Forms
how much energy is saved (for heating and cooling) by using ICF construction
how an ICF home performs during emergencies
ICF costs
whether it's suitable for the do-it-yourselfer
what it's like living in the house
recommendations for potential ICF problem areas

Let's get started! [Read more…]

Common Sense Homestead Open House – October 6, 2018 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.

September 25, 2017 by Laurie Neverman 38 Comments

We'll be hosting our next annual Common Sense Homestead Open House on Saturday, October 6, 2018, from 10:00 a.m. until 4 p.m. .

Our family will be giving tours of the home and grounds during this time. You're welcome to take a quick look or stay for a longer visit during the open house hours.

If you've wanted to see firsthand all the odds and ends I've talked about online, now's your chance. [Read more…]

Building an Eco Home – part 7 – Masonry Stove and Passive Solar

November 16, 2012 by Laurie Neverman 5 Comments

The “Building an Eco Home” series is nine articles that were originally published in The Healthy Independent while we were in the process of building our current home. I have made only minor edits to include links and format for the online publishing. I will be discussing green building and remodeling in more detail in upcoming posts, so if you want to know more about a topic, please make a request.

Hosting Our First Solar Tour

The Solar Tour of Homes on October 1st went very well indeed. We had around 50 people come through on the WPS sponsored tour with absolutely beautiful weather. It was a pleasure to share our “lessons learned” with such an enthusiastic group, although next year we’re going to break down the house features room by room so we don’t forget things as we show people around. August and I both remembered a number of features after everyone left that we forgot to mention during the tour itself. I feel that we are learning right along with the attendees and look forward to next year’s tour. [Read more…]

Building an Eco Home – part 6 – the Deck, Cabinetry and Woodwork

November 10, 2012 by Laurie Neverman 3 Comments

Moving In!

Moving day finally arrived on June 22nd, 2005. After a flurry of packing and final push to make the house livable (there was no running water as of 6/20/05), we were in. The next two weeks continued to feature an array of craftsmen finishing odds and ends around the house, much to the surprise and dare I say dismay of our exchange student, Carlota. [Read more…]

Building an Eco Home – Floor Plans – part 5

November 4, 2012 by Laurie Neverman 1 Comment

For those of you who are new to our “eco-home”, let me provide a brief overview of progress to date. Our goal at the start of this project was to build a home that conserved energy and resources, was accessible for family and friends with physical limitations, and had enough acreage that we could fully pursue our interests in organic gardening, orcharding, heirloom plants and livestock and other outdoor pursuits.

Finding the right property in our budget was a challenge, but we did it. (Read more about that in part 2.) House placement and access presented some more challenges, but we finally broke ground in October 2004. Just about everything that could happen to slow things down, did, but we are finally nearing completion. Hopefully by the end of May or early June we will be moving into our new home. [Read more…]