moving forward!

Now things are finally starting to move!  Hans has contacted an Engineering friend, John, who is working on that side of the plans.  The plan is to turn the plans in to the building department before Christmas and to start building in March.  We will be using ICF's for the entire structure of the house.  What is an ICF you ask? (I didn't know either)  it is an Insulated Concrete Form.  to build the house these Styrofoam forms are connected together kind of like leggos.  The inside is hollow and reinforced with re-bar.  The concrete is poured into the forms and when it sets, you have your wall.  These will replace standard wood frame construction and will make the house much more quiet while still keeping the high insulation standards we need to be a passive house.  I have posted an image for you.  This is not our house but a building of some sort. Imagine you are above it looking down.

John, our engineering friend loves Hans' fabulous  house design and said it needed only one small touch.  We should take the curved glass wall that faces out to the back and the patio and make it retract to open up the room to the outside.  He is right that it would give us that extra WOW factor.  But I am afraid the WOW factor for me would be my reaction when I see how much that would cost.  Sorry John, gonna pass on that one and keep the french doors!

Posted below is the interior layout - the red colors are the driveway, cars and the patio, the salmon or pink in the kitchen are the appliance (on the right is a wall oven and convection microwave)  We will have a very large island in the kitchen with a vegetable sink and dishwasher below.  The dining section of the island is raised.  The floors will be polished concrete with perhaps real linoleum (not vinyl) on the bathroom floors.  I never realized that real linoleum which is back on the rise, is very eco-friendly.