A big moment. Although a week late, this morning at 7:20 the moving truck arrived at the door. In the days before, we sorted, packed, threw things away, and prepared ourselves—bit by bit each day. The delay was due to the kitchen not being finished.
The doorbell rings. Five strong, young men eager to get started dive into the boxes and furniture. Everything quickly disappears into a large MAN truck and is already being unloaded at the new house by 11:00. We are just moving within the city, so travel time is short. By 14:00 the five finish their work. Everything intact, everything in place. We sign, give a $50 tip, and everyone receives a bottle of vodka. Then we are alone. The unpacking begins. We won’t be finished today; tomorrow is another day.
Everything feels so different. Some of our furniture doesn’t quite fit the new rooms, but for now, it will do. I connect the TV and Yamaha system. At least we have music and pictures tonight. Around seven, we sit in the evening sun. She embraces me...radiant, settled, and so am I. The house is finished, our home is ready. We made it. Our first real house—not a row house like before, not a large apartment as a transition, but a house with a terrace, a space to walk around. Yes, now we are suburbanites, savers, homeowners, browsing garden center brochures. And that’s a good thing....Karsten
The doorbell rings. Five strong, young men eager to get started dive into the boxes and furniture. Everything quickly disappears into a large MAN truck and is already being unloaded at the new house by 11:00. We are just moving within the city, so travel time is short. By 14:00 the five finish their work. Everything intact, everything in place. We sign, give a $50 tip, and everyone receives a bottle of vodka. Then we are alone. The unpacking begins. We won’t be finished today; tomorrow is another day.
Everything feels so different. Some of our furniture doesn’t quite fit the new rooms, but for now, it will do. I connect the TV and Yamaha system. At least we have music and pictures tonight. Around seven, we sit in the evening sun. She embraces me...radiant, settled, and so am I. The house is finished, our home is ready. We made it. Our first real house—not a row house like before, not a large apartment as a transition, but a house with a terrace, a space to walk around. Yes, now we are suburbanites, savers, homeowners, browsing garden center brochures. And that’s a good thing....Karsten
Since my last update in this thread, quite a lot of time has passed—about a year. And a lot has happened during that year. The house is still in good shape. Just some minor issues, which have been quickly resolved. … I have become a non-smoker, lost the extra weight that came with it by exercising, celebrated my 60th birthday and treated myself to a pair of golden pants, we laid our last parent to rest, and... next week we have a meeting at the bank. We will pay off the mortgage, settle the loan. As of March 1st, this house will truly and fully be our home… Owner-occupied home. Karsten
You've now been living there for a year... so, how is it? We’ve already talked about sprucing up your garden this spring. But how is living in the passive house actually? Always keeping the windows closed and all... tell me about it. And do you really never heat the house? K.
Not just closed windows. With the spring air. No, all windows have handles and can be opened. Thanks to the ventilation system, there often isn’t a need. Even in winter, we often sleep with the windows tilted. Otherwise, it’s too warm.
We have an experimental setup. In the beginning, there were problems. The penguins seemed comfortable last year and the electricity meter was running. Since October, except for the bathroom, we only heat using heat recovery and the compressor in the ventilation system. Even at -10/-12 degrees Celsius (14/10°F), water the same. In the bathroom, the infrared heating mirror runs just in the early morning. Hopefully next year we will have a proper annual performance factor.
Maintenance is about as difficult as changing light bulbs.
In summer, it was relatively cool, everyone thought we had air conditioning. Ventilation off during the day, highest ventilation setting at night and cross-ventilation. Especially the slope behind the house provides pleasant air.
Heating is just different. Cumbersome, not simply adding two more pieces of wood. It really requires a low indoor temperature. 20 degrees Celsius (68°F) during the day and 21 degrees Celsius (70°F) in the evening are comfortable in a T-shirt.
Laundry in the utility room dries overnight.
The little one no longer has pseudocroup attacks. Probably something is missing in the air. The house was built with health in mind. I wouldn’t have thought so. I’m not sad that the ordeal is over.
I can’t judge whether the difference is significant compared to an energy-saving regulation house like yours. I only know living in drafty old buildings and houses from the ’70s and ’80s.
For the outdoor area, a few more plants have been ordered, and after Easter (or when the ducks have finished hatching), the next 300 square meters (3,230 square feet) will be tackled.
There’s also progress on the slope. It’s manual work and with a small child, it’s difficult. The many thorns and unstable walls. This project will keep us busy for a few more years.
It will be gradually planted with ground cover and the flatter part with various perennials. Between the house and the slope, a small terrace will be built.
We’re also building stairs and some parking spaces near the apple tree for harvesting. Not fun on a steep slope.
In the old tractor garage, we want to remove the plaster.
We are not debt-free as of March 1.
Congratulations.
We would build a passive house again with the same general contractor.
We have an experimental setup. In the beginning, there were problems. The penguins seemed comfortable last year and the electricity meter was running. Since October, except for the bathroom, we only heat using heat recovery and the compressor in the ventilation system. Even at -10/-12 degrees Celsius (14/10°F), water the same. In the bathroom, the infrared heating mirror runs just in the early morning. Hopefully next year we will have a proper annual performance factor.
Maintenance is about as difficult as changing light bulbs.
In summer, it was relatively cool, everyone thought we had air conditioning. Ventilation off during the day, highest ventilation setting at night and cross-ventilation. Especially the slope behind the house provides pleasant air.
Heating is just different. Cumbersome, not simply adding two more pieces of wood. It really requires a low indoor temperature. 20 degrees Celsius (68°F) during the day and 21 degrees Celsius (70°F) in the evening are comfortable in a T-shirt.
Laundry in the utility room dries overnight.
The little one no longer has pseudocroup attacks. Probably something is missing in the air. The house was built with health in mind. I wouldn’t have thought so. I’m not sad that the ordeal is over.
I can’t judge whether the difference is significant compared to an energy-saving regulation house like yours. I only know living in drafty old buildings and houses from the ’70s and ’80s.
For the outdoor area, a few more plants have been ordered, and after Easter (or when the ducks have finished hatching), the next 300 square meters (3,230 square feet) will be tackled.
There’s also progress on the slope. It’s manual work and with a small child, it’s difficult. The many thorns and unstable walls. This project will keep us busy for a few more years.
It will be gradually planted with ground cover and the flatter part with various perennials. Between the house and the slope, a small terrace will be built.
We’re also building stairs and some parking spaces near the apple tree for harvesting. Not fun on a steep slope.
In the old tractor garage, we want to remove the plaster.
We are not debt-free as of March 1.
Congratulations.
We would build a passive house again with the same general contractor.
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