***Original published in South Mountain Press, August 24, 2018***
A New Approach to the Vacation Home
Tucked up on a knoll overlooking spacious, luxury, holiday houses, sprawling horse pastures, and deer meadows is the newest home to the Onanole Mountain Estates neighborhood. The proud owner, Steven Sobering of Dauphin, gave me a tour of his vacation house being built by Onanole contractor Eric Bjornson, President of Sundial Building Performance.
The two bedroom, 800 square foot, high efficiency home is designed as a low footprint, environmentally friendly, housing option. But as Steven explained, this was not the driving factor that convinced him to become the first KITHOUSE Premiere owner. ‘It’s important to me to live within my means. But this two bedroom house gives me the chance to have quality at an affordable price’. At about $200,000 all in, he feels that the cost of this vacation get-away is a bargain.
The builder certainly does have an eye for functional quality while sourcing local and Canadian materials where possible. The interior walls are finished with high quality plywood that is esthetic and gives the building structural integrity. The thick cut beams for the cedar deck were sourced from recycled hydro poles cut by a company in Laurier. The interior has 640 square feet of living space and is hypoallergenic. The exterior is finished with a stylish shiplap vertical wood siding and the steel roof will need little maintenance.
If Steven’s lot location had been better suited, he could have opted for roof solar panels and his home would have been a truly net zero energy home. Even without creating his own electricity, the projected yearly utility costs are only $1000. The key to the energy savings is the foot thick, cellulose insulated walls and an airtight construction giving the house a R50 rating. A small heater of about the wattage of a hair dryer is all that is needed for winter heating.
One of the main advantages the builder wanted to offer with the KITHOUSE concept was the ability to pack all the necessary components in a cargo container. The house can then be trucked into remote locations where local tradespeople or the owner can construct the building. All of the specialized construction takes place in the company’s Winnipeg factory. Once the materials arrive at a prepared site, the building time is only on average 30 to 40 days.
For those customers looking for something more spacious, Mr. Bjornson has plans in the works for a three bedroom bungalow, a two story home, and even multi-unit apartments. The province and other government organizations are gradually bringing in legislation and incentives to encourage new home energy efficiency. Mr. Bjornson is hoping that home owners will choose his innovative and stylish home options.
Perhaps Steven Sobering is leading a trend away from the lavishness of some of his Mountain Estate neighbors. His new home is proof that Reduce, Reuse, Recycle does not automatically mean a product that is either too expensive or too shoddy.
Blair is a personification of a ‘Jack of All Trades and Master of None’. He has held several careers and has all the T-shirts. Time to add the title Blogger to the list.
Interesting read Blair!
Thanks, the builder is making a quality house out of some beautiful materials.