Entryway

The entryway is finished!  Jim Grant of Grantwood (he built the display case in my office) built a custom alder bench for it so I have a place to take off my shoes and put on slippers (or flip flops in warmer weather).  It is way cooler than the folding chair I had borrowed from the shooting range!  That goes back tomorrow.

The Kitchen

The sun set and I was able to take some kitchen photos this evening.

The south side of the kitchen.

The north side of the kitchen.

The prior post should give you some relationship of the kitchen to the living/dining space.

Some Photos

Here are a few photos of the finished product.  The master bath is just too small to photo, and my office is not totally finished yet.  These are the main areas.

This is the master bedroom.  I ordered a new Pendleton bedspread which just came today.

The dining area adjacent to the living area looking into the kitchen.

The living area from the hallway leading to the bedroom/office areas.

Energy Trust Rating

The Energy Trust of Oregon sent me their rating on the house.  They rate the average monthly energy consumption at $76/month.  Given my first bills were in the winter months, and energy consumption will drop markedly in the Spring/Summer/Fall, I think this rating is very achievable. They list the annual energy savings at $913 when compared to a conventional house built to current code.  This is a 34% reduction in energy use.  The carbon footprint is estimated to be 34% less than a conventional house as well.  While I do not know the total additional cost of the energy efficiency built into the house as much of my additional cost was in upgrades to appliances and finishes such as flooring, cabinets, bathroom fixtures and shower, etc, based on an annual energy savings of $913, I would guess the payback to be somewhere around 10 or 12 years.  Again, I am more than pleased with the final result.

Energy Consumption

The first utility bills came in and I am very pleased.  I use natural gas for hot water (on demand system), the clothes dryer, and cooking.  For 27 days, the bill was $10.21, and $7 of that was the basic charge.  So gas usage was $3.21.  The electric bill for 34 days was $109.47.  The per day cost worked out to be $3.60.  Pretty darned cheap I'm thinking!  We'll see how the next several months work out.