A FL home building blog nearby

A friend forwarded us this blog found on the NYTimes.com. It is called Dream Home Diaries. They moved to FL to build their dream house. It doesn't hurt to write for the NY Times to help with exposure but I was interested in the comments. In light of the fact that no one visits our blog yet, I can't even defend all the mistakes we are sure to make in the process. So while reading the comments of the readers of Dream Home Diaries, I read every criticism I know is out there. The comments speak of "be sure to build green" and "aren't you worried that FL will be under water soon?" I do hope they build green but as far as the threat of global warming, we are going to go down fighting. I do agree with their sentiment- it is really beautiful down here and that was the point of this I think. This is their "About us" on the blog:"They've found an idyllic tiny town in Florida, they've bought a piece of land and now Paul B. Brown and Alison Davis are setting out to build their dream house. How hard can it be, they wonder, even though they live 1,500 miles away, they've never built a home before and they don't know anything about architects, builders, local zoning laws or financing? Chronicling their adventures on this blog for Great Homes, they are about to find out."

Southwest Elevation

Since we're off to the UK for Christmas we'll be back in the new year with gusto. We will miss FL and the thought of actually getting this house built. This is the house looking in from the water.

Site Plan

The house will sit by the lagoon. It is angled around to maximize the water view. It's down on the edge but if the sea levels do rise as expected we're doomed anyway. The Gulf sits right beyond Manasota Key which is an Island barrier. That is the only land between us and the Gulf of Mexico.

Ground floorplan

Under the house it will be open except for 2 storage areas. We are not going to pave anything for driveways. We hope to use shell or it may end up remaining grass for a while depending on budget.

The floorplan

This is the basic layout. The great room is split with indoor and open space by a fireplace shooting up through the middle. We hope to make that a feature. Slide away glass doors will close between the 2 spaces when the need arises. The sustainable design of the house allows sunlight to hit the right areas at the right time of the day. The design also caters to breeze patterns, air circulation etc. so we should not need to use AC and heat as often. Click on the picture to make it larger.

Northwest Elevation

This is the view of the other side of the house. The cars will park under the house. Although the scan came through slanted, the house will be straight, we hope.

Southest Elevation

This is the house from the side looking in on the guest suite. It's actually a third bedroom but it is separate from the rest of the house. I got the idea from the Edison Ford Estates. They had a room off to the side where you had to walk outside onto the porch to get to the room. The large hatched area is the screened open space. The roof on the open space flows together as part of the main roof.

New house elevations

Hopefully those receiving Christmas cards will be reminded to check in on the blog. I know I've not been keeping at it but with the new year will come the resolution to really get back on the blog project. It's not so hard to do as we move forward with getting some building quotes on the project. We should have them in January. 2007 will be a real jump in point of our green building project. This photo is the house as it will appear coming up the drive.

There's something about Al

I have to say I really enjoyed An Inconvenient Truth. There was something about watching Al Gore and actually wanting to listen that got me excited. Let's just say that was some slideshow. I couldn't help but picture current Bush doing this particular slideshow or any for that matter. It just makes me long for a president that had a greater understanding of something than simple policy. i heard a soundbite on tv from someone pointing out that while Bush was in Vietnam he spent all of about 15 minutes outside of meeting rooms. A man who had never visited the country before had absolutely no interst in learning anything about the country. Since most people have seen An Inconvenient Truth and get the general message, somehow the film just made me wish for some real information coming out current government.

An Inconvenient.... Electric Car

It took me a while but I received on netflix both Who Killed the Electric Car and An Inconvenient Truth. Who Killed the Electric Car, I believe you can find for free online. In need of new wheels for a while now, I've been waiting to buy anything until I caught up with the current technology. This film helped set me straight. Basically GM had a somewhat popular electric car introduced in CA in the 90's but decided it wouldn't be as profitable over the life of the car as gas powered so they destroyed the few they had out there much to the disappointment of happy customers. It's a control thing on the part of automakers. Meanwhile currently the gov. and the auto industry embrace hydrogen as the future although it will be 15 years off and still expensive for consumers. The bottom line is that hydrogen represents their attempt to have the word alternative used in ad campaigns without a true desire to ever create the car. Gas is just too good for the whole crue- feds, car makers and oil companies. The irony is that while they've been guarding their pocketbooks assuming they can control consumer education, Toyota's hybrid sales have been growing, among others, and they are slowly losing consumers. You can look at Detroit now and see how American automakers are fading into American history. Oh, America....!

False alarm. It was a Red-bellied

Now we know for sure. Although I did have my camera when the woodpecker returned yesterday, it was too high in a slash pine to get a good shot. This is, however, what we saw- a Red-bellied woodpecker. OK so it doesn't look anything like the Ivory-billed except for the red, black and white colors but at least we're on the lookout. Let's put it this way, before these sightings I didn't know there were woodpeckers in FL.

Ivory-billed woodpecker

Just for fun I'd like to think that what I saw on Gottfried a few weeks ago was a Ivory-billed woodpecker. I was on the top end of the lot and I heard a tapping sound and knew it was a woodpecker. I walked over to the sound and looked up and saw this beautiful bird with a black body and and a red head. I am not a bird watcher generally but it was pretty impressive. It was tapping into an Australian Pine which is a non-native tree and seemed frustrated and flew off. It wasn't until reading another chapter in Wilson's book The Creation that he described a miraculous discovery of what had been thought of as an extinct woodpecker, the Ivory-billed. He decribed it and mentioned the initial redicovery had occured in the same region where we are in FL and then I began to wonder if this is what I witnessed. I went to the Cornell, Search for the Ivory-billed website (where I pulled the above photo) and found that there is at least a chance it could have been. Confusion often occurs between the more common Pileated woodpecker which is found in open parks, golf courses etc. The habitat on Gottfried matches more closely to that of the Ivory-billed. Unfortunately, there was no camera in hand and I didn't know enough of the markings at the time to have a clue. I'll keep my eye out for a return just in case.

E. O. Wilson's Biophilia

I finally got around to reading The Creation by the Pulitzer Prize winning biologist E.O Wilson. The book is his plea to a generic Pastor of evangelicals who believe nature was given to us by God for our use and it is heaven that is the real prize. This goes against Wilson's feeling that we are but a humble part of nature and therefore must respect our delicate place. Something that caught my eye specifically was his definition of the word biophila. He explains an example in the fact that when asked, people from all over the world, if they had to choose, would select a living environment similar to the environment of early humans. When asks people stated, "they wish to live on a height looking down and out, to scan a parkland with scattered trees... closer to a savanah then to either a grassland or closed forest and to be near a body of water such as a lake, river or sea." He goes on to say that although not proven it does make a nice case of why so many people want to get back to nature and specifically, waterfront i.e. the representative vacation home. "...this interpretation holds that human beings today still choose the habitats resembling those which our species evolved during millions of years of prehistory. The distant forebears wished to be hidden in copses looking out over a savanna or transitional woodland, scanning the terrain for prey to stalk, fallen animals to scavenge, edible plants to gather, and enemies to avoid. A body of water nearby served as a territorial boundary and an added food source." It is true that some people wouldn't be caught dead in the "country". But there is something that rings true with why so many want a second or retirement home with these natural amenities. As a species we've been intimately tied with nature from our beginning. In our rise above, we've abandoned what allows us to exist here in the first place.

Epiphytes-Marie Selby Gardens

We visited the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota over the weekend. The gardens emphasis is on epiphytes- plants that live upon other plants, such as orchids, bromeliads and gesneriads. Since it's been said somewhere that you can grow anything down here (FL), it was extrememly inspirational to us thinking about Gottfried. She had many banyan trees which they were training to arch over walkways. All the mangroves along the water remained. She also incorporated bamboo along parts of the perimeter to block out the expanding development of Sarasota which she began to notice in the 70's. Where we are on the creek we look out over islands of mangroves along with the ones that grow all along the bank. We are hoping this keeps a feeling of sanctuary down by the water in the years to come. The history is very charming but ironically her husband made his fortunes in oil and mining industries. She was very forward thinking when she left her pristine property for use as gardens and research open to the public. You can bet it would be towering condos otherwise.

Florida Green Building Coalition

In FL we will also try to gain points for the FSBC, Florida Green Building Coalition's green building standards. The also offer a checklist which, at a glance, I know we have some of the easier ones covered like rainwater harvesting, solar water heating and native landscaping etc.

First LEED certified house in the West

The NY Times highlights a green home in Mount Hood, OR. I was actually surprised to learn that there aren't more LEED certified green homes in the country. There are hundreds of applications in the works, however. Some other things I learned were the added benefits of net-metered solar. "Some green-built homes do not tap the local utility grid at all. But many experts argue that being on the grid is actually a greener practice. Tapping into already-built power and water systems takes fewer resources than, say, maintaining new generators and batteries for solar energy systems." We are going to be sizing up our design to the LEED checklist and see where we stand so far.

Bird's eye

The Floor Plan

We tried to keep the sq footage low. Right now this falls around 2100 sq ft. With the open air space angled to the point, the house overall is going to be a great mix of indoor and outdoor space.

Initial concepts

Our architects, Osborn Sharp Associates, really came through. It was better than we imagined. Some of the hardcore green technology full solar and complete grey water system will be added on down the road but the passive, sustainable design uses the sun, rain and breeze to its advantage and ours. I think it is a good start.

The Happy New House

Archinect posted a link to The Happy New House which according to the website is, "A “new millennium” single-family home -- remodeled from an existing mid-century dwelling -- highlighting bang-for-the-buck design forwardness + a sensitivity to family dynamics." The site is unique showing its cool virtual concept coupled with the work-in-progress photos of the nitty gritty.

Compromises in Colorado

Due to some technical difficulites I've been out of commission so to jump back in here's a great story from grist.org.

NYC ex-pats like ourselves cashed out and dedicated their winnings to build green in Woody Creek, CO. Although, I would have assumed it was straw bale country out there, they went with a similar building envelope to ours. For us it's because of the climate and hurricane issues here in FL. What's great about the story is the frankness of the writer about building green within a budget. It lists some desired solutions and then what they actually ended up doing. The owner Daniel Shaw writes, "Our house is exposed, and we wanted wood siding. Reclaimed wood, of course. That nixed straw-bale insulation, because apparently the only guy in the world who can successfully attach wood siding to straw-bale walls lives in New Zealand. We decided to spend the money elsewhere, not on flying the Kiwi back and forth. So much for our utopian vision of getting all our friends to come stack straw bales in what has become the equivalent of a modern-day barn-raising in these parts. Compromise No. 2." Read more of their guilt free green building at the link.

OK I admit

I just realized how to embed youtube videos BUT there is something about this one entitled At the Ends of the Earth.

Let's live like the ants

Sit back, enjoy some spanish guitar and take in a nice explanation of how things should be built- with their surroundings incorporated into the design and build. I guess the ants have it right.

Internal Combustion- the book

I've come back to Edwin Black's new book Internal Combustion How Corporations and Governments Addicted the World to Oil and Derailed the Alternatives. I have yet to read it but I will. It goes back to the humble light bulb that went off in my head after my visit to the Edison Ford Winter Estates in Ft. Myers. Anyway, there is a big picture and a lot of paths that crossed. The drums in the trailer are a bit overkill but I am curious about all the fine points of how "controlling" energy in this country came about.

Green Kitchen Ideas

Eric Corey Freed from OrganicARCHITECTblog offers some insights into the evolution and new relevance of a green kitchen. The 3form Fossil Leaf cabinets above are very attractive but out of our price range. We may have to go the Ikea route as the company does use some green practices and frankly has a similar clean look. It is difficult on a budget to be 100% green. The article does offer many more options for other areas of a green kitchen.

Good Magazine

First saw the announcement of Good Magazine on Treehugger and then came across the Gawker "review". I was surprised they struggled with totally trashing it. I subscribed and chose to give my $20 subscription price to the Millennium Promise Fund. You have a choice of organizations where your money will be donated.

The third fledging

This is the 3rd tree that sits on the lagoon. When these trees mature they are going to create a Robinson Crusoe feel owning the areas along the bank.

The pride and joy

This is the banyan we remembered and it seems to be getting stronger by the day. There is a nice forest floor surrounding the tree that sits right on the creek. There are 3 things in this photo that make us happy.

Banyan bonanza

We finally hit pay dirt. On our front lot (partially separated from the main lot) we not only found the big bayan tree but realized there were 2 more just beginning their climb. A visit to wiki gave me some great info that helped me understand these Florida Strangler Figs. "They are large trees that usually start life as a seedling epiphytic on another tree (or on structures like buildings and bridges), where a fig-eating bird has deposited the seed. The roots descend over the trunk of the host seeking out the soil below, once they have rooted into this the fig roots rapidly thicken and lignify. Where the fig roots cross each other they fuse, thus creating a lattice around the host tree's trunk." Our trees are using palm trees as their host. You can see this above.

Biofuels are hedging their bets

I've hesitated posting about biofuel because for me it's a bit complicated. A NY Times article helps to get my head around it. "Biodiesel comes from soybean, palm or oil-seed plants like canola and mustard, as well as from animal fats. Corn oil can also be extracted for fuel. Some start-up companies and university scientists are testing algae, which is attractive because it would not dip into the nation’s feedstock reserve." According to the article there is big investment in this technology across the board and the involvment of environmentalist, farmers and investment bankers has all the ear marks of something both creative and promising for satisfying energy needs. "But the strongest incentives are high petroleum prices and federal tax credits. “If one of those two fall, the industry’s growth would slow significantly, but would survive,” said Eric Bowen, a lawyer who helped found San Francisco Biodiesel, which plans to build refineries based on rendered animal fat and recycled vegetable oil from restaurants. “But if both fall away, the biodiesel industry would be in serious trouble.” It is a little disturbing that if gas becomes more affordable again all of this new technology could go out the window. As if the price of gas is the real problem we face.

Alien Palm

I've seen 2 of these creatures so far. It appears to be vines and round thorny fruit dangling from palm trees. I hope this isn't obvious but what is this? It looks like it will start moving its tentacles any minute. I hope it is something I can find and plant on our lot but it seems to have come from another world.

More from RMI newsletter- Superwindows

I get a little lost when it comes to understanding the design of windows. One aspect I do understand is "The most fundamental climate-responsive design consideration in terms of windows is orientation." That would be passive sustainable design. Design your building for the start to work with the movement of the sun. Our waterfront view faces north and south which is a negative in terms of the duration of sun that our window wall will receive. "In the continental United States, east- and west-facing windows have low sun angles, meaning big solar gains and glare that’s difficult to control. Controlling solar gain and glare through overhangs or lightshelves on south- and north-facing windows is much easier. South-facing windows can provide winter solar heat gain if desirable, and north-facing windows can be great in hot climates." I'll have to explore local window companies but I am starting to understand the basics.

RMI's 2030 challenge

The Rocky Mountain Institute's 2030 challenge calls for all new buildings and renovations to be designed carbon-neutral —meaning their operations will release zero carbon dioxide into the atmosphere."We have already seen some pushback from clients," he said. "I think this is healthy, especially as people try to understand what this level of performance entails for them. Most people I have spoken with are excited about trying to achieve the 2030 Challenge and are coming to RMI because we can deliver extra-high-performance buildings. However, some don't see why they should change from business as usual in fact, this is where the real excitement of this proposal lies! These 'status quo' people are the ones who will really make a difference when they discover that it is not painful, and may even be profitable, to make a significant difference and the bar will be raised." Victor also noted that getting to 50 percent (or 100 percent) carbon reduction is something that is within reach of all designers and builders—the only requirement is commitment." It seems to me the inevitable will occur. Once the American consumer is educated and green building/design are understood as common sense, the old way of building will be out the window. A lot can happen in 24 years.

Greenpeace's Gas Guzzler

We were forwarded this Greenpeace short from our friend John in the UK. Thanks! Quite funny and does brings to mind our own hypocrisy. We need to get rid of our car and get something more efficient but right now it is the cost. I've been following all the tech news etc and Europe does a much better job than we do here. The options are growing but until we can afford it we've been using our bikes to take off some of the heat. This could be a typical office scene in the upcoming green-minded future.

Building Green TV

I spotted on organicARCHITECT a PBS series on Building Green in CA. Here is the desciption of the project. "During the first season of "Building Green" we follow the start to finish progress on an innovative, beautiful, straw bale home being built in Santa Barbara, California, by our host, and delve into the details of green building techniques and materials. Through our host's interactions with his wife, contractors and experts, we show the romance and challenge of building this home."

Bosch Nexxt Washer

According to Treehugger and Energy Star this is as good as clean clothes get. As this blog is my notebook for future use, for about 1200 bucks I'll keep this one on the wish list and if it doesn't work out I'll go back to the original idea of washing our clothes by hand in Gottfried Creek.

City dog Country dog

Our poor dog Jasper has been missing Brooklyn probably more than anyone. A bit reversed considering a country life would be the preferred life for a dog. It's a different kind of country down here, however. Up to now he's been feeling a little left out and neglected. We're trying to find a new routine and it takes time. He used to run Prospect Park every morning off leash, fetch his ball, and freely answer the call of nature. Here has been a bit confining for him as everywhere nearby requires a leash. Now we can take him, in the evenings, to his future home for a real run. Jasper is once again a happy pup. I have to say SWFL is a little strict with dog rules. We'll have to look into that and see what we can do.

Speaking Spanish Moss

We knew Spanish Moss coated many trees but when you're able to stand under and around it you get a good, healthy dose of southern mother nature.

Mow and ye shall find canopy

Mr Gottfried finally got the mower working and we were able to mow through some tall grass to get a better feel of this mostly foreign land. We vaguely remembered that the land was beautiful and found ourselves experiencing a bit of buyers remorse. Once we could move around, however, we discovered areas we could only realize once we walked under them. There is a small child laying on the quilt. I think it is time for a new camera to do this justice. It was a great feeling to sit under a beautiful tree.

We finally make land fall

Little Miss Gottfried
sat on a tarp
being as cute as ever...
We finally got on the property enough to really get a feel for its potential. So far so good.

A few more from Inhabitat's 101

Inhabitat posts its top 10 in the LEED-H category of Innovative Design. To highlight one of relevance to us is Building Integrated Photovoltaic Technology (BIPV). "BIPVs can be used as façade, roofing materials like shingles, and can even be integrated into glass windows! Because they actually form the building’s envelope in addition to generating energy, they reduce material use and all of the environmental impacts associated with transporting and discarding excessive building material, in addition to the whole energy conservation thing." The Building Solar website offers this pitch. "Imagine the electricity-generating device has a long lifetime and low maintenance costs with no moving parts, noise, emissions, or fuel lines. Now imagine that this device is actually the walls, roof, and windows of your building-the same structure that keeps out the rain, heat, snow, and cold. It's not Science Fiction! It's Building Integrated Photovoltaics, and it is a very real part of building construction today."

Getting Back to Basics- Shade

Groovey Green mentions the lost importance of something as simple as shade from trees. Much of sustainable, green building design draws from the days when home builders had to consider their building environment as is. Shade from trees was a big helper to the need for cooling. The post offers a few specifics such as: "According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the proper placement of as few as three shade trees will save an average household $100-$250 in energy costs each year." Also: "Deciduous trees, those that lose their leaves in the fall should be planted on the south and west side of the home. (or north and west sides in the southern hemisphere). These trees will provide shade in the spring and summer when you need it most. By fall and winter when the sun is lower in the sky the leaves are gone and the sun can shine through. Be sure to shade all hard surfaces such as driveways, patios and sidewalks to minimize landscape heat load." It's the specifics of placement and types of trees etc. I need spelled out now and again. The post provides some straight forward info. There's also a related article at msnbc.

First person walk through

Knowing just enough about video games to know that Wolfenstein 3D was the 1st first person shooter game, I can understand the intrigue here a little bit. But this video is great on many levels. Digitally Disturbed Environments posts what they call an architectual visualization by a Half Life user known as Kasperg. They have produced a model of Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Waters in the Half Life Source Engine. There have been some great comments such as, "I keep having dreams about something like this being done for places that no longer exist, like, the 1893 Chicago World's Fair or the 1939 World's Fair -- places that were built to be destroyed." The best one comes from BLDGBLOG, "[architectual students] armed to the teeth, [could] defend 100,000 acres of pristine Colorado wilderness from an architecturally unimaginative suburban housing boom..." It does inspire the next level of looking at building plans.

A call to revolution

Dan Worth wrote his first post on Gristmill and it made me happy. Being more educated on the subject and more in the broader green mix, he says what I was trying to get to with my Ford/Edison posts but goes one step further- he suggests a revolution be set in motion by GenX. He asks, "And where is today's ruthless, 30-year-old Thomas Edison, finding new and innovative ways to use, market, and sell new energy products and systems -- stealing patents, failing more than succeeding, crushing the competition, and not giving up until he ran his industry?... And for those of you who don't believe it can be done -- that modern-day industry is too entrenched, that the world is built by adults, and that revolutions are run by teenagers -- tune in next week when I will submit my first data set of historical leaders 25-36 years old. Some got rich, some got famous, some died trying, but most took the industrial "road less traveled" and changed the world." I'll sign up only I'm not the greatest inventor but I'd happily invest in the ideas.

Friday Links (and one from Thurs.)

California Plan to Cut Gases Splits Industry [NY Times]
Brad Pitt selects winner of Global Green Competition [ecorazzi]
Beyond the Trailer Park [NY Times]
The Cheap Fix [NY Times]

"Did we ever really need to be on oil?"

I found this reference on theWatt this morning about Edwin Black's new book, Internal Combustion: How Corporations and Governments Addicted the World to Oil and Derailed the Alternatives. In an earlier epiphany I had (or maybe more like a duh moment) about Edison's electric car vs. Ford's gas version it just seemed to jump out that these guys used to hang out with Presidents. Then I thought of Robert Moses and Ford, Chrysler, GM and the relevant political ties. I do not do the topic justice here of course. I am just having a hmmm moment, but to think of a few men deciding the "energy" path this country would take is significant. There were only certain people in the powerful circles that had knowledge of all the choices. The point is there are still other choices and technologies but the wrong guys still get to make all the decisions. I think it is safe to say that the decisions are based still on corporate ties, only the stakes are higher now. I am struck by how much common sense is being denied the American people. Title quote by Edwin Black and photo is Robert Moses.

Sunset before Ernesto

An architect is finally in the house

We've found our architect finally. We will be working with Terry Osborn of Osborn Sharp Associates, who designed The Florida House over 10 years ago. We are very excited to get started. The design emphasis will be on passive sustainability. Some of our inspirations are The Glide House, Edison's FL Winter House, and the Cracker style elements of which Terry used in The Florida House design. The philosophy is that historical homes worked better with nature. We are looking for an eclectic mix of old and new. The best thing about this for us is that we have so many more options than what was available over 10 years ago. Terry mentioned he was influenced by Buckminster Fuller and we thought that was a good sign.

Matha Stewart Living- It's a Green Thing

Treehugger announces that Martha Stewart has invited them to be a part of Martha's Going Green Week coming up in October. Martha is very persuasive as to what constitutes "a good thing"... I predict she'll embark on promoting a new green etiquette if you will. Just as she pulled us out of our dark, dinner partying days, she'll now highlight how to do it green. Oprah is sure to follow soon and thus the new green country will be born. Green, on one level, is all about lifestyle. These ladies tell millions of American women 35-60 how to live and they seem to listen.

Tuesday Links

Anniversary of Katrina- Designing for Disaster [Inhabitat]
Bonfire of the Brands [BBC News]
Condo Hotels' Controversy [msnbc.com]
Trying to Export the Success of a Maine Seabird Program [NYTimes]

No gusto for Ernesto

Mr. Gottfried really stepped up to put the family hurricane plan together. It appears now that we won't be evacuating (he had 3 La Quinta's lined up) but we will prepare for riding out some wind and lots of rain... of course that's if Ernesto cuts through FL as they are now predicting. I tried to play things cool because I didn't want to seem like too much of a newbie here in hurricane country. Where Port Charlotte is on the map is basically where we are.

Red Tide rolls in

Here at Grandma Gottfried's we're about 2 miles from the beach. This is just enough to keep the effects of Karenia brevis, the algae that produce red tide at bay. We did try for a sunset last week and experienced the throat tickle but it has become worse with dead fish and seaweed now floating onto the beach. View an article from the Tribune at the Link.

Monday Links- going off the grid

We are getting more into the idea of going off the grid. We'll be connected but mostly rely on solar. We'll look into a net-metered situation with the utility company as one option. You can buy electricity for use at night and then sell back any extra solar energy you've generated during the day. Basically breaking even.

"SuvivorMan" Goes Off the Grid [Treehugger]
Getting Off the Grid [energyrefuge.com]
The New Energy Companies [Joel Makower]

Insurance is tough all over

The NY Times explains similar insurance woes in the coastal Northeast, as to those here in FL. Either you pay the increases or just get dropped completely. From the article at the Link, "Mr. Mills, the insurance superintendent, recommends a couple of relatively inexpensive improvements that homeowners can make to try to reduce their insurance costs. Roof clips, which securely connect a house’s rafters to its roof, cost about $30 each, and hurricane shutters run about $10 to $50 per square foot."Fortunately, we can build from the start above standard codes which should help. However, I will still have to take the house plans to insurance companies to make sure we won't have problems once it's built.

Friday Links

The Lawn's a Fairway [NY Times]
This 'Pirate' Flopped [NY Post]