Houston Light Green House - meeting the builder & house plan mock up by us
Yesterday we met with Michael Strong, President of GreenHaus builders here in Houston. He was one of the teachers in the Green House course at the Glasscock School of Rice U, which I took last fall. We are very interested in building with him.
We established a good rapport with Michael - part of the reason is that he and I share German heritage. If you have traveled in Europe you know that the way houses are built there and here is quite different. Broadly speaking, house building is a more expensive and long-winded process in Germany, but the houses are built with more substance and to last longer. As a German in the US, this raises concerns about the permanence of one's investment. With Michael I have no doubt that he understands - he has family in Germany, and travels there regularly, also professionally. So he knows where I am coming from.
Planning, planning, planning
Yesterday we talked broadly about needs, wants and wishes, and discussed some of the parameters and cost considerations. For example: we want a generator for hurricanes. So, wiring that can accept an external generator is on the 'needs' list. What type of generator we add is still debatable. While one that can run the a/c would be great, it may be more cost-effective to have one that can run the key appliances. Another example is the roof. We want good insulation, and metal would be great. Lasts long, low maintenance and so quite green. But, apparently new shingles get close to the insulation, if not the longevity.
The next step is to visit with an architect to make plans, and then to develop a "first draft" of the house with a cost-estimate, which incorporates the 'needs'. Depending on where we are, we can then add wants and wishes. To get the ball rolling, we mocked up a rough house plan, cobbled together from house plans found on the internet or in magazines, and fit to our lot (you can see the survey underneath). While quite amateurish, we are pretty visual and it really helps to draw things out, and then run around the house with a measuring tape to compare the size of what you live in now, with what is on the paper.
Next week - meet with an architect!
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by Oliver Bogler
