The Swedish Standard House receives recognition!

Faithful readers of my blog will remember the Swedish Standard House in Rockford Illinois. This is a home built by Swedish and American high school students, built with walls and framing that approximated Swedish building standards, hence the name. The house is done, the students have finished it, and the project is receiving an award from their local Renewable Energy Association.

On Friday the 8th of November the Swedish Standard House team will receive an award at the Winnebago County Renewable Energy Expo. The Expo's theme is to learn about renewable energy options and funding, network with industry experts and local businesses already utilizing renewable energy practices, and gain a better under­standing how renewable energy practices can be applied in the real world!

We have written about the Swedish Standard House before. We gave the background for the project, described its construction in detail, and made a short video showing the wall build.

The house was recently completed after two rounds of visits by Swedish students this fall. Since the work proceeds at the pace of the academic year of the American and Swedish students, the project stretches out even though the work proceeds at the same pace as conventional construction. I'll repeat my message from earlier posts. The Swedish Standard House represents a way forward for home building in the US, because it achieves a high level of performance with very ordinary construction materials. There is very little learning curve to build a house this way, and builders all ready have the skill set to do this. It does not require new methods or materials, and it enables builders to use the same sub-contractors and suppliers they already use. And most important they already have the experience to reliably price the work, which means there is very little in the way of additional risk required for a builder to adopt these methods. This is why this kind of building points the way forward, and why the Swedish Standard House is the Most Important Green House in America.

So check out those links and join me in a tip of the hat to the Swedish Standard House. Here is hoping it is the first of many more all across the country.

Continue reading "The Swedish Standard House receives recognition!"

New Arkansas Plat House: moving close to finished

Things have been moving along at the New Arkansas Plat House. Siding is on, much of the interior is finished, and the builder is putting on the finishing touches.

We've seen photos of the bathroom and kitchen fit-out finishing up over the past few weeks. But this is our first peak at the finish of the siding and deck. One of the most fun things going on is the handrails of the deck. In an homage to the Texas Plat House the Owner has used a welded wire pen panel for their handrails.

Continue reading "New Arkansas Plat House: moving close to finished"