Off-Grid-Altersheim in Ost-Ontario

• This is a retirement home for me and my wife Jill.
• We plan on working from home for a few more years before we officially retire.
• Our lot is 50 acres of beautiful wooded forest with 1 km of riverfront on the Mississippi River (not the US river by the same name) located in the eastern part of the Province of Ontario, Canada near the town of Perth.
• Our building site is high and dry over 30 m (~100 ft) from the river.
• There are a lot of deciduous and coniferous trees and huge moss-covered boulders.
• We will be off-grid, meaning no power-grid tie-in. We will use Solar PV and/or a river turbine
• The building site is on a hill overlooking the river about 100+ ft away and the slope is 25-30 deg).
• We would like to locate the north side of the house on the edge of the hill so that a walkout deck off the main floor protrudes out over the downward slope towards the river.
• We want to use sustainable, locally sourced materials wherever possible
• Rough measurements of the lot gave a building footprint of 40-50 ft x 40 ft (see rough drawing)
• We want the building to be in harmony with its surroundings. We appreciate nature and want it to fit in.

• Highly energy-efficient and super insulated
• Living area 1,750-2,00 sq ft not including the garage
• Budget for materials and construction is $500,000 CAD ($400,000 USD) excl. solar PV/equipment
• Considering insulated concrete forms (ICFs) for walls
• Primary heat with Masonry Heater ideally centrally located
• Backup heat would be propane-powered boiler with maybe radiant floor heating
• Master bedroom and ensuite on 1st floor
• Open concept kitchen and great room
• Want to use a passive solar design to utilize heat energy from the Sun in the Winter
• Standalone garage with room for 2 cars (24 ft x 24 ft) (non-heated)
• Storage above garage (non-heated)
• Upper-floor loft for guest bedroom and ensuite. Need a small desk for in loft for home office.
• Ingenious storage solutions since there will not be a basement.
• We will use an insulated slab since there is bedrock 3 feet under the topsoil and I do not want to blast the earth.
• Low maintenance. No wood surfaces to paint. Want to use materials not susceptible to insect damage.
• Metal Roof
• Need Storage / Utility Room in House for Power Inverter and Batteries from Solar PV/Turbine. Assume this can be a small room (10x10). Would also put domestic hot water/radiant floor heating equipment in here.

• We like modern design that is softened with some wood elements and stone
• Lots of windows to let the Winter sun in. Overhangs to provide shade from the Summer sun
• Walkout deck on the north side facing the river and wrap-around deck to the west side to see the setting sun.
• Wrap-around deck on the west side to include timber-frame screened in porch.
• Do not like small rooms, prefer open concept
• Sliding door(s) to separate master bedroom from main living area
• A bonus feature would be a small balcony off the upper-floor guest room for a small bistro set
• Both the Master Bedroom and the upper-floor guest room should have ensuites bathrooms.
• Both bathrooms have walk-in showers no smaller than 60" x 30" and no bath tubs are wanted.
• Master Bedroom should have his and hers separate closets with sliding doors or double doors. The total width of the closet should be 72-84". We have this in the condo we are in and it works fine keeping our stuff separate ;-)
• Closet space in the upper-floor guest room would be great to store off-season jackets, sweaters, etc.
• The main entrance needs to have room for shoes and jackets. Imagine taking off snowy winter boots as you come into the house.