In which my housemates go "ultra" green

4.11.2008

My housemates, Garrett and Dustin Moon, are being featured on the front page of The Oregonian for their green home building initiatives. They have designed a house that lives almost entirely off the grid, while being incredibly functional and flexible. Their plans surpass the efforts of most professional architectural companies. What makes them different is that they are largely self taught and entirely grassroots.

Dustin and Garrett bought a house that they planned to rehab. Unfortunately, the house was poorly situated on the lot and badly constructed. They switched their plans to deconstruct the house and build a new one on the site.

Originally, Griff and I lived alone in our apartment, which is a few blocks from Garrett and Dustin's home. Their house is badly insulated and very cold in the winter, but, hey, so is our apartment. When it was freezing outside, we would huddle around the wood stove in their kitchen, sheets of plastic covering the windows to keep the heat in and heavy blankets to stop drafts. It was a wonderfully cozy nook that we all dreaded leaving. Now that the deconstruction process has begun, the Moon brothers (and Alisha) live with us while they complete their project, which makes Dustin and Garrett the only people to have our apartment be "a step up."

There will be some ongoing coverage of their building process in the Oregonian. I will keep you posted.