| KaDe and I have decided to build a new home at Shy Bear
Farm. Although we love our little cabin, we have found that it no
longer meets our wishes. It is built quite close to the north side
of a hill and receives very little to no sunshine in the winter months
which can make the winters seem even longer than they already are!
The cabin is small with no room to display family pictures, no room for
bookshelves, etc. The list goes on, but suffice to say, we wanted a
larger home with more amenities. So we have embarked on a 2-year
project of building that home. We plan to do most of the labor
ourselves, although we will have week-end work-parties and we won't turn
down any offers of free help! The house will be a simple 2-story framed building although the southern-most end has been re-oriented to take advantage of the sun and a beautiful view to the south. For floor plans and elevations see: 1st floor, 2nd Floor, NE Elevation. We are scrimping on the form and paying a little extra on the function. For instance, we are installing a radiant floor heating system which will utilize a wood-fired boiler with propane or electric backup. In order to reduce smoke pollution from the boiler, it will not be dampened down when the house no longer requires heat but will rather store the excess heat in a 3000 gallon storage tank that will be built under the house in the utility basement. When there is no fire in the boiler and the house calls for heat, the stored heat in the tank will be utilized. Although the radiant floor system is more expensive to install than almost any other type, the long term savings and comfort make it worthwhile. Following are pictures of our progress.
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| Excavation Begins | Bob, David, Mark, KaDe | Dana puts finishing touch on footings |
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| Bob & Mark pouring shop pad. | First row of concrete block. | First pour of bond beam |
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| Mark dumping concrete. | South Wall Finished. | KaDe filling blocks on west wall. |