Our Building story

[Liz]

Beeeeauuuutiiifulllll!!!!!
Love it! What a fun place to live! :-)

aloha, Liz

"The best things in life aren't things."

[EightFingers]

Love your house! How long did it take to get the permits and build the house? Any "bumps" along the way?

We'll be building in about 4 years and we are looking to learn everything we can.

[waynesb]

From the Google Earth screen shot, I'd say it's in Orchidland. Turn right at the Mormon church.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Blakeyboy1

Love it! What subdivision is it in?

---

[StillHope]

Great house!
Is it the only one bamboo house in Puna?

[John S. Rabi]

Common, think realisticly! Could any builder survive by building only one home?!

Aloha,
John S. Rabi, GM,ARB,BFT,CM,CBR,FHS,PB,RB
808.989.1314
http://www.JohnRabi.com
Typically Tropical Properties
"The Next Level of Service!"

[Guest]

Realistic thinking... or "hopeful" thinking?

http://www.punaweb.org/Forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=3178

http://www.punaweb.org/Forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2002

http://www.punaweb.org/Forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=4546

I do envy those that are so creative. I like the outdoor shower... I just don't know if I could handle the cold once you turn off the water!

Damon Tucker's Weblog

[ric]

Beautiful project. I'm suprised the driveway and house clearing are visible on Google Earth (so soon on a new house). Was the clearing and driveway started years ago?, or is there a satellite mapping source that updates more often? From what I can tell, all the satellite photos here are years old (google, mapblast, etc.).

[rbonplaza]

Thank you all for your comments! I will let Ed answer some of the questions since he originated the post, but will field a few:

-We were delighted Google Earth updated the Puna coverage after we did the site clearing and driveway in 2005.
-Had no real problems with building permits. The biggest obstacle we ran into was getting a construction loan. Combination of "non-standard" house, lack of comparable properties and then the lending market. Seems that most of the other bamboo buildings in the state were self-funded. That's now thankfully behind us and we hope to convert to a conventional mortgage soon.
-Royall, the intent of the shop has always been for woodworking and Ed's desire to have a potting wheel. It's been a delight to have a workshop during the construction. It also houses the solar system. As you can imagine, being 900 feet from the road necessitated going off-grid.
-Finally, the shower: I admit to being a shower-freak and this one is wonderful. On clear days we can see the snow on Mauna Kea while enjoying a really strong, hot shower!

[Blakeyboy1]

Cheers to you guys for choosing a path less traveled (non-standard" house). I love to see people brave enough to pursue dreams and buck the system. You are inspirational and have a lovely home.

-Blake
http://www.theboysgreatescape.blogspot.com/

[EightFingers]

Ed or RB,
You say you will have a woodshop - I'm wondering will you be using the generator to power your equipment? Reason I ask is I will also have a woodshop with some rather large machinery and solar wasn't going to cut it except with a huge investment. So......we bought our property on the highway so we can be on grid. I envy you being totally off-grid as that was my dream in the beginning!