This is part one of a series of post about my solar hot water system. Make sure to follow along! I built a large water tank in my crawlspace under my home. This is a wood-framed and insulated tank connected to a solar system for heating water. The crawlspace under my house is fully inside the thermal envelope. There is an R-26 of foam board insulation at the ground level, and no insulation in the joists. So, the crawlspace is always within a few degrees of the living space

To watch the associated video to this post click here. Intro: Framing up this 1200 square foot garage started out pretty easy. We (family/friends) built and stood up all four walls in just one day. Nice! I was feeling like we would be driving into the garage by next week. Well, a year later and we had finally finished the project. I say finish, but there are still a couple minor cosmetic things that will be done “some day”. I joke to Alaina (my wife) that “some day” is g

How great would it be to work in a garage in the middle of winter, and for it to be warm? Pretty great, right? That’s what I wanted, and achieved. In this post I’ll discuss the details that went into making my garage floor (trust me it’s interesting). This post is a supplement to a video that you can find here: Garage Floor Video The video or blog post can be absorbed independent of each other, but together help share all the details. Enjoy. After the foundation walls w

Hello everyone, I’m David. My wife, Alaina and I live in a small, super-efficient home in Massachusetts with our new daughter, Eleanor. Five years ago, during 2012 we bought this land with a crumbling cottage on it; we demolished the old building, and built a new one. There were, of course, our own headaches, learning curves, and wins along the way as any good owner/builder experiences. Original House, March, 2012 This blog, website, and YouTube channel are our way to shar