Building Green

Hey, guys, what do you think of these:  they are called Zip Panels...


And, so, we were greeted one day by our builder, Dean Chamberlain, who was holding out a small section of Zip Panel for us to see.  The Zip Panels are an alternative to Tyvek or other wall materials which provide an all important air barrier. They offer several advantages, however, the most important, for us, being improved breathability.  They are also energy efficient and renewable.  They would also qualify for LEED points were we seeking such certification.

Following the framing of the lower level rooms, the visible work of framing the exterior began.  The garage was the first part of the house to be obvious.  The Zip Panels made for a distinctive exterior.

The first section of the main house to be framed was the entrance.  Here John illustrates how he will welcome future guests.

As the framing proceeded, the view from Lot 2, directly east showed the garage, the craft room, the kitchen and the music room peeking around the two giant Blue Spruce that the architect worked hard to design around and the builder and his able crews have tried hard to build around.  So far--so good.

The view from Lot 5, directly west, reveals the master suite and entrance to the lower level.

Framing will continue for several weeks.  The first floor will be completed.  Then the crew will roof the garage so that the windows can be stored there when they arrive.  Then the second floor will be framed and the temporary roof will go on.  All of this, hopefully, in time for winter.

"The project you have in mind will soon gain momentum..."

Believe it or not, a fortune cookie reported this good news, at Fusion Restaurant in Frankfort and we chose to believe it.  


Once the foundation was complete, the joists were set in place to be finished with decking.  Since our good friends, Karen and Mike Myers, were renting the Schmidt cottage for two weeks in late August/early September, we decided to host our first dinner party.  Karen and Mike, being good sports, went along with the illusion.  We set a picnic cloth on top of the concrete pad that would one day be our vestibule and enjoyed quiche, salad, french bread from Crescent Bakery and a wonderful champagne that Karen and Mike brought for the occasion.

We look forward to many wonderful dinners with all of our friends and family at 1858 Golf Lane.

What's up with that wacky rear foundation???

We have had a lot of questions about the design of the house given the unusual rear foundation.

There are as many theories regarding the rear of the house as there are theorists.  Here are three ideas that we have heard.

--We've heard that the zig-zags are part of a mysterious 'green' technology that enhances heating and cooling. Not so! The house is designed to be extremely energy efficient and we are utilizing a geothermal heat exchanger to heat and cool the cottage, but that choice did not affect the foundation design.

--Could the zig-zags be part of an advanced acoustic design that will transform John's playing of violin and viola? Not exactly! This is only true to the extent that one of the zigs holds a small music room for John to practice (to the probable delight of our immediate neighbors).

--Finally, the third theory asserts that the zig-zags are obviously designed to hold a series of complex windows. In fact, this is true! Ray, our architect does love windows and the angles definitely increase the surface area available for windows in the back. However, it is a little more complicated.

Actually, the design for the rear roofline of the house is based on roofs found on Scandinavian barns. These roofs swoop close to the ground on the north side of barns where they function like a wing, sheltering the house from cold northern winds and keep snow from piling up by lifting it up and over the house.

The rear of our cottage, shown here as an artist rendering, faces almost due north. The zig on the  extreme left side of the drawing holds the music room and porch.  The zags on the extreme right holds the master bedroom and bath. The great room is under the swooping roof.

Pilgrim Cottage: Poured Concrete and Concrete Block

The foundation construction would prove complex...

After the frames had been set, concrete was poured into them to establish the living spaces of the lower level which will be approximately 1000 square feet.  On the rear of the house, this solid foundation would meet a concrete block foundation that would outline a crawl space and provide support to the master bedroom, the living room and the dining room.  Masons, working with Dave Wiggins, began to set the block during the latter part of June.

Our three year old grand-daughter joined her Pa Pa for a visit to the site with her best friend, Murphy.  Maddy and Murphy romped through the giant sand piles while John and I inspected the very precise work

Once the perimeter was established and the electrical and plumbing were set, Dave and his team poured the lower level floor. While the concrete initially looked like West Texas mud, it is actually colored concrete which will be polished to create the lower level floor.









John and Dave stand in our first completed "room," a storage room on the lower level.

Pilgrim Cottage: Beginning the Foundation

With the Frost Laws lifted, excavation equipment could move once again...


Ground breaking gave way to mass earth moving when Chris Luedtke and his crew began digging the hole that would be the future home of our lower level.  Chris even gave me a "turn at the wheel" which was both scary and fun.

 Over just a few days, enough sand/dirt was moved to create two enormous mountains of sand/dirt that almost obstructed the view, of what was becoming the house, from the road.  Earth moving allowed the concrete forms to be set up and the concrete poured for the lower level where there will be a wine cellar, cedar closets, a vault, a tv room for the grandkids, an exercise room for the long winters and two mechanical rooms with storage.

The outline of the lower level became clear within a couple of days.  This is a view of the lower level from the west side of the lot where the steps going to the lower level from the outside will be set.

This view, from the SW corner, gives a sense of the future front porch.  The porch will be the home of two lovely concrete planters we purchased years ago from England and, possibly, a porch swing depending on room.

The concrete was poured into these forms and allowed to cure.  The balance of the foundation, with its precision tolerances was to be set using concrete block.

As Dean and his sub-contractors moved through their steps, John and I were selecting appliances, wood beams, kitchen cabinets, tile and stone, lighting fixtures and, what seemed like, a thousand other items needed for the home that was to be.

Pilgrim Cottage: Ground Breaking

Today was May 6 and we were ready to break ground.


After breakfast, we made our way to the lot to see that our friends were already gathered, several with cameras in hand.  The Bakers, the Ferris', the Schmidts and the Edmonds were there to wish us well.  Our youngest son's best friend, David, got up earlier than usual to join the celebration.

The Reverend Fred Edmonds, who had written a prayer especially for the occasion, assembled us in a circle and spoke his eloquent prayer:


"Dear God, source of absolute and unconditional love for every human being who walks the face of this earth… your earth… the earth upon which we stand today with a great hope in our hearts that this home, about to be built, will be a strong and abiding shelter for all who dwell therein… a home where kindness and gentleness and peace will be imbedded deeply in the souls of those who live here.  We ask not that in this home no harsh words ever be spoken… for we know, very well, who we are… but we do ask that forgiveness, like a mighty wind, blow through all the windows, billow out all the curtains of this house and never, ever leave, but remain here forever.

We pray, O God, that the hospitality of Jesus Christ might be offered at the front door of this home, and the back door of this home and in every nook and cranny throughout this house, wherever people gather seeking to love and be loved… may the presence of Christ be there.  May there be no person turned away from this home’s portal… no matter who they, nor from whence they have come.  May children be embraced here.  May disabled people be respected here.  May old people be not condescended to here.  May all who are different and unable to fit in much of anywhere else in our culture find here an extraordinary welcome.   May the love of Christ be in this place, O God… and may the love of Christ fill the heart of Sandra and fill the heart of John as they walk upon these floors seeking to be the people you have called them to be.

Rest your hand, O God, upon Dean, the builder, and all those who work with him… keep them safe in their tasks… give them laughter to lift their spirits… give them kindness in their relationships with one another… give them a joyful heart in building this home for two very grateful people.  And accept our gratitude, O God, this day… not just for the beauty of this place, special though that may be… not just for the quality of home that Dean and these men always build, special though that may be… but accept our gratitude for all things that you have given to us… the flowers and the trees and people we love and people who love us.  None of this have we earned, O God, but here we are… blessed with such good fortune.  Thank you.

And now, may your blessing rest upon us, today and always.  Amen."

John and I were deeply touched by Fred's prayer.  With tears in my eyes, I took the shovel and turned the dirt...I mean the sand.  Everyone assembled did, as well, with David taking his turn representing the next generation.  We all hugged and returned to the warmth of our respective homes/cottages giving way to the excavators who followed us. 

Pilgrim Cottage: Staking

It was 31 degrees with steady snow falling...

April 20, 2011:  As John and Dean and I marveled at their work, two surveyors from Gordie Fraser, a regional engineering firm that had developed Pilgrim Preserve, working with handheld GPS devices, pushed wooden stakes with lively ribbons into all the corners of what was to be our new home.  All of us were in down clothing with multiple layers, thick gloves and serious shoes.

We stood at what would be our new front door and took in the view.  Dean and John mulled over the forthcoming foundation while I tripped from "room" to "room" imaging what it would be like to live there.

I stood on the site of my future patio and worried about the hillside fearing grandchildren tumbling down the hill.  John and Dean noticed my furrowed brow and both laughed at suggestions of danger.  Dean remarked that the hill would be their favorite place to play and that any tumbling that occurred would be by choice.  Comforted, I returned to my wanderings.

In about a year--I guessed--this would be reality.  Between now and then stood numerous milestones and hundreds of choices:  flooring, roofing, heating and cooling, lighting fixtures, plumbing fixtures, and, yes, even doorknobs.

Pilgrim Cottage: An Idea

It was the summer of 2006; our dream of building a home in Florida had fallen apart over cost and we were not sure what we were going to do to replace that dream...

When we arrived at our summer home--at the Congregational Summer Assembly just north of Frankfort, Michigan--we learned of a group of investors, all members of the CSA, who were attempting to purchase the Frankfort Golf Course, a venerable institution where generations had learned to play golf and where family outings, along with five-somes and six-somes they produced, were the norm.  Fond memories were attached to the little nine hole course.

The couple who owned the course were ready to retire.  A Chicago developer saw promise in the land as the site for 60 future condos.  Neighbors on all sides:  the CSA, Golf Lane and Ness Road were horrified.  An offer was made by our quickly pulled together group under the leadership of a retired executive, Bill.  He had both the negotiation skills to close the deal and the diligence and collaboration skills to keep our group of 23 unified during the lengthy approval and development process.

Two entities emerged:  Pilgrim Preserve, the homeowners' association, and the Frankfort Area Land Conservancy, a 503 (c) not-for-profit, entrusted with the care of the habitat that was afforded by the land which represented just over half of the original acreage.

During the lot selection process, we were granted Lot 3, sitting on a 70' ridge in the middle of the property.  Our "building envelope" sat exactly on the tee box for the old Hole 8, the longest hole on the course.  Trees, once representing a division between fairways, marked the western edge of our lot and two magnificent Blue Spruce marked the eastern edge.  The view from what would be our front door was of a large meadow defined by maple, cherry and oak trees.  The view from what would be our rear patio was of the land that lay below the ridge and--seasonally--of Crystal Lake.

We received title to our lot in the Spring of 2009.  It was now time to think seriously about building.  Our good friend and the builder of our CSA cottage, Dean Chamberlain, would erect our new home.  That was a given.  We also needed an architect who could design a home to our needs and desires.  We searched long and hard, interviewing five architects from North Carolina to northern lower Michigan.  We wanted someone who not only understood but had actually designed sustainable homes.  We found him in Traverse City--a true wizard.  Every home of his we visited  (all his clients wanted to show off) was completely individual; it was clear his clients adored him.  In the summer of 2010, we invited Ray Kendra to be our architect too.  We pledged to build as sustainable a home as possible using local providers where they existed.  We wanted the community to be proud of what we built and to be participants in the process. This the front elevation of our new design:

Following the regulatory approval process, the lifting of the Frost Laws and upon availability of our excavator, we broke ground in the Spring of 2011 on May 6.