Posted on by James Case

The Sustainable House, Part I: The Site

Being retired, and having a lot more time on your hands, can lead you to try out all sorts of things that you might not otherwise attempt. For instance, I wrote a novel. It was published. It got great reviews. It sold reasonably well.

I got the T-shirt.

But this is not about me the author. This is me designing and building a house.

It’s a personal thing. The frustrated architect who, in his entire professional life, had never designed and constructed a year-round home for himself.

I’ve led a frugal existence.

Many who know me will not hesitate to say: “That Jim Case … b’y he got the first dollar he ever made.” And that is perhaps true to some extent … with one exception: I spent my entire working life giving my kids everything they needed for the best possible start in theirs. A joy for which I (because I was able) will be forever thankful and grateful.

So in my “golden years” why not take on a challenge for me (and my long-suffering wife)?

I was of the opinion that this little project was really nobody’s business. And despite family and friends who implored me to share this experience (architect/writer/blogger) I rebuffed any sort of suggestion along those lines. But in the past few weeks and months, there has been a great deal of discussion provincially, nationally and internationally about our carbon footprint. So this is my very miniscule contribution to help save the planet, especially if others are inspired and ultimately get on board having learned something from what I will, over the course of the next year or so, impart.

I really wasn’t interested in building the proverbial “retirement home”. I hadn’t come to grips with building the place where I would, in all probability, expire. I didn’t even have a piece of land for such a purpose. This all changed when my mother asked me to buy the old homestead (in my family for six generations). She had cleared it with my siblings – all of whom had long left Newfoundland – so that upon her death there would be far fewer loose ends. A couple of years later Mom died (in her 90’s).

She was right. All matters of real estate were put to rest along with her.

The design process and the business of securing the right contractor will come out as I tell this story. So I won’t bore you with that now. I will simply show you the site. In so doing you will come to understand why this project had to be done.

(Of critical importance, the view below is facing due south – yes, where, in Newfoundland, that big yellow orb has been known to make an appearance.)

Back in the early 1980s, my father bought two portable classrooms that had outlived their use at Mary Queen of Peace school. He hauled them to the site and reconfigured them into a summer / retirement home – the ultimate act of sustainability I suppose. But forty years later, the place was in terrible shape, largely because it had been unoccupied for a decade since my father died. Rot and carpenter ants were gradually consuming the place.

I removed anything of value and anything that could be reused … and summarily demolished all that was leftover.

It wasn’t all that much. My father was frugal as well.

And so, in the summer of 2021, during a global pandemic, and amid unprecedented material shortages, never-before-imagined lumber costs, and a dodgy international supply chain, I began to construct a sustainable house.

I hope to show you a different approach to residential construction, although none of this will be new, except perhaps in the Newfoundland context. I will demonstrate innovative products and methodologies. I will conduct research as I go and share it with you. I will explain the whys and hows. Most importantly, I will try to answer any of your questions despite the legal proviso that none of this amounts to professional advice or, for that matter, a row of beans.

Remember, I am retired. I am, as John Cleese would say, an ex-architect. Norwegian Blue.

I hope to have you follow along in this journey.

44 Replies to “The Sustainable House, Part I: The Site”

  2. This is great to see. I remember your father from the days he would drive us to work on Signal Hill. Coincidentally, I started to work at CRA shortly after he retired from there. I can’t wait to see your progress.

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  4. Looking forward to tagging along on your journey. I’ve worked in engineering in a previous life. Although I’ve taken a different path now, talking with people more and computers less, I am very interested in energy efficient technologies.

  6. I am so intrigued. It looks absolutely heavenly there and I just know you are going to build something outstanding, so thank you for allowing us to follow on your journey. I just finished having a house built by a local builder and it saddens me that the most common and affordable choice is the cookie cutter model.

    1. It’s always going to be about affordable choices Carmel. It will be the same for me. Given an endless pisspot full of money we can do great things. I don’t have that so I will often have to say this is beyond what I can afford. There will be lots of compromises.

  8. Really looking forward to this and was considering a similar project myself. Since I’m not yet retired we decided to buy a place close to Brigus instead but eventually I will do it!

  10. This reads like the prologue to another book. Certainly topical given the current “climate” (change) in world news. Interested.

    1. No book coming from this Brian! But my writing style always creeps in. I don’t want a dry, technical blog. You know me: Mr. Entertainment!

  11. This is great Jim. I swung by the other day but you’d already left. I look forward to following your progress as we’ll about a year behind you doing a similar build, albeit on a smaller scale. All very exciting.

  12. Jim

    I’ll be by to take a look. Just completed the Passive House courses on my way to certification. Doing a Passive House for a client now. Would love to share ideas and especially see what you are doing. It’s the way to go for everyone to get on board with doing their part in carbon footprint and sustainability. I applaud your initiative!

    1. Thank you Charlie!. To be clear, this will be a small “p” passive house!! I have zero interest in certification. I was the first on board with LEED in this province and frankly, when it had run it’s course (and should have been buried) I was probably the first to say that chasing credits was a complete waste of time. We need to better understand context when adopting these trends. I certainly look forward to exchanging ideas!

    2. That’s fantastic, Charlie! And well done, Jim – looking forward to hearing about your PH adventure. Can’t beat that view! I’m really happy to see some interest in PH in Newfoundland. I’ve just finished a 5-month course in Regenerative Development & Design. Lots to absorb, and to figure out how to use it in my practice. There’s no shortage of new things to learn in this business.

  14. Jim : Thank you for all you have done and continue to do.
    We enjoy looking out our window and seeing the progress that is happening each day.

    Steve & Diane

  15. I am curious as to the sustainable construction methods you are employing ….good luck with your project.
    Sign me up

  16. Jim, I look forward to following you on this blog as your new home gets completed. Very interesting so far.

  17. Sounds interesting, looking forward to watching your progress and hearing about latest trends and ideas, good luck with it.

  18. I am so pleased you will be sharing your work (and entertaining stories) on this important endeavour. Looking forward to following along.

    1. Hi Judith. My madness! I believe that by taking a light approach without getting bogged down in too much technical detail will reach the widest audience. People only need to get the gist of this so that they can pester and guide professionals (designers and builders) to change their ways. We also, as a society, need to pressure government to put this on their agenda. If we took the money that was invested in Muskrat Falls we could have provided every single household in the province with geothermal heating … and still would have had $6 billion left over. Instead of being a world leader in environmental design, we look like house poor dupes.

  19. Will be following along with much interest.
    I was a designer in my other life, so can’t wait to follow the home you create !

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