our house chapter 1

In the 70’s we moved back to the town where I was born, and we now live.
My step dad had subdivided the place where they lived, not the place where I “grew up,” that place had been sold some time earlier.
There was a scrap of land, a little less than an acre that was on the back side of things, across the ditch. It was full of sage brush and ants. I talked to Mom and Dad and got permission to garden there.
For a few years I planted the whole thing to veggies and we ate well. There was 6 of us and we had a lot of company.
Then Mom and Dad decided to make us a gift of that piece of land as well as the building lot next to it. The pieces were two triangles with a “creek” (actually a drain ditch that runs year around) down the middle and an irrigation canal on the back side.
It was a great place for a house for a young family.
By the time we began building our oldest daughter had gone off to college, so there was the 5 of us.
With the lot as a gift I figured I could build a small house for about $10,000, and having not that much cash, I approached the “friendly” banker. Well, he said, with all the gravity that bankers can muster, if we are going to loan you $10,000 you will need $10,000 in cash.
“You are not listening carefully, if I had $10,000 I wouldn’t be here talking to you.” So that was that.
We decided to go ahead and do a house, cash as it was available. The whole thing would be a huge adventure.
In order to keep expenses down, and to channel rent money into building materials I put up a tent and we moved onto the back part of our property among the trees. It was an interesting summer.
The city had no idea of what to do with a protohippie like me, so they did the only thing they understood, the gave me endless hassles. Most houses are inspected 3 or 4 times in the whole construction phase. Mine was inspected at least once a day and often twice.
The basic concept of the house was fairly simple: small (about 1000 feet); inexpensive to build; energy efficient; room for the 5 of us to have some private space, and two bathrooms. The last was essential.
The idea of a solar house was popular then, even though there wasn’t all that much information available. The solar part was to be a greenhouse on the south side, which faced the street. It would provide solar heat as well as a place to grow some veggies. The house was put 4” underground, because at that depth, the ground changes temp very little, year round.
I went to college the year before we began construction and I worked on the design as one of my class projects.

Next: living in a tent in 100 degree weather.