One resident's green-building journey at Hickory Nut Forest

1. Green building – guiding principles

So, we’d bought a lot and were ready to start to create our own dream home. What could we use to guide us on our journey with its many challenges to keep us on the right road to a home that is gorgeous, well-built and sustainable. The Hickory Nut Forest website and our community’s shared vision provided both the framework and the context. Here’s what we came up with for our house, something we could use to explain to visitors in one easy to remember acronym GREEN

Our ambition

Gift - grant wealth, opportunity and expression to our local people

Respect - live happily in harmony and low impact with our land and community

Energize - model 'positive energy' behavior and give energy back

Educate - learn, share and grow sustainable ways, challenge assumptions and take risks

Nurture - value the natural assets entrusted to us

When we’re not sure which way to go, this is our guiding star

2. Our dream design

We stood on the lot on the spot where the topography of the land suggested we should build. Gazing through the trees at the spectacular view down Hickory Nut Gorge we began to imagine how our house may look. With help from Ryan and John, we began to sketch out our ideas for a passive solar house. With George our architect and Sam our builder on board, these ideas soon took practical shape in the form of sketch-up drawings and formal plans and in what seemed like no time at all, the building permit was granted and we were ready to translate our plans into reality. Now we had to wait….for the unusually long and severe winter to subside so that we could put in a driveway and get started!

3. Building

With the summer underway the next dreams come...the Living Roof.   When we first drew up our plans we had this cool idea to have a roof garden over our garage. This week, that dream took a step closer to reality. With the house progressing to plan and our garage foundation in place , it was time to ‘ask the expert’. We had a visit from Emilio from Living Rooms Inc to help us in these unchartered waters. To our great relief he was able to reassure us that we had a great location for our 14 x 12 ft garden and that it was very realistic to envision a thriving roof garden outside our second bedroom window. So here’s what we need to do now to get ready

·      Up weight the floor joists to be able to take 55lb per sq ft – enough for 6in deep soil, plenty to grow whatever we wish

·      Build the roof with a slight slope (1/4 inch per foot) and a waterproofing layer to facilitate drainage

·      Build an 8-inch ridge around the top of the roof with a drainage mechanism to retain the soil.

There is much more to do, and step-by-step we make the dream a reality.  It's such a blessing to be part of the Hickory Nut Forest Eco-Community, building a community that has the same green principles as us.  www.HickoryNutForest.com