Updated floor plans

This is an ongoing process that never seems to end. I narrowed it up and made it longer instead.  Sqft is still 1630 or so, not including the garage, which is 800sqft.

Costs and guesstimation

I spent some time working on a building plan and rough estimates.

Before you peek, consider a few things:

1. These reflect Canadian prices, and in some cases, Alberta prices.  The cost of living here is high.
2. The land reflects Red Deer, Alberta prices, which may be higher or lower than your area. Most likely higher. 
3. I estimated using a lot of costs from the Manitoba Earthship and online vendors or prices I have seen.
4. I assumed no volunteer labour on the tire pounding.
5. I completely guessed on; plumbing estimate, framing estimate, electrical labour and finishing.  Therefore, the estimates here could be off by a significant amount.  I just tried to guess "high". (e.g. one site said expect around $1.50sq foot, so I used $5.00/sqft.  Better to be ridiculously high than low)
6. Slab pour - I googled it, they said it was around $7/sqft, plus finishing.  I'm not sure if that includes prep work, so I added an extra $2000, though again that could be way off. 
7. Solar Panel and solar system costs are fairly accurate; I got them directly from the vendor. 
8. Note that some things like excavation and wells could vary widely depending on your land. 

So while I feel this may apply to my situation, it still involves a lot of guesstimating, which is incredibly frustrating and makes the costs look a lot higher than they might be.  Therefore, the more you can do yourself, the more you can cut the costs.

Also look out for home shows/builder trade shows; these are great places to get multiple quotes and ask questions. I was able to find out a lot of pricing details just by going from booth to booth and inquiring or picking up leaflets.

Google Document - Costs

Construction Mortgage aka Draw Mortgage

I talked to a lady at mortgages-to-go for more details about financing an Earthship build.  I then took that knowledge and did some research.  Here is what I found:

In order to finance land and then the build, you may have to apply for a construction mortgage, which can also be called a draw mortgage. Please read this link to understand what this entails.

http://www.miimortgagegroup.com/construction_mortgage.html

Not only must a person qualify, but depending on who is doing the contracting, they will also have to produce a full construction plan, in order to be approved.  Then they are given the money in stages, at different points in the build.  In order to get more money, they must pass several inspections.

While frustrating, this is how a mortgage company reduces the risk of someone walking away from a build and not being able to pay the loan back.

It will also force anyone who intends to "self build" to really understand the stages, time lines and costs.  Just writing out that plan will help them comprehend the sort of commitment they will need.

More info from the architect

The architect wrote me back again and offered some additional advice, which was really kind of him. He looked at the drawings I made for my plans and told me some things that would work and not work.

First he mentioned that the wall that separates the rooms from the "greenhouse" portion of the Earthship was actually a no-no.

Apparently Michael Reynolds can do this in NM, but we cannot. It doesn't meet US and Canadian building codes for egress. This disappointed me, but I don't mind playing with floor planner, so I redid the drawings.

This will probably change a dozen more times, but the bedroom now complies with egress.  I'm still up in the air about closing off the two middle rooms.  My husband really wants to close off the living room at least, because we have a parrot, and she can be really loud.  That fish tank looking thing is actually the size of her future habitat.  The exercise/office room can be used as a spare room, but I don't want to label it that or I might have to make it fit egress code as well. All the same, if we have guests, I think they want privacy.

I also did this plan as an alternative:

It is longer and narrower. Same sqftage, which is 1650 or so.

I still see people doing the green house style plans, but code is code and I really don't need more road blocks dropped in front of me.

Oh and you will notice that I'm doing the rounded back walls.  He recommended them over the straight walls.  I can't pour cement, and I'd have to hire someone to pour it, so the round walls will save me money.  They will just take additional tires.

Website

Just working on a website to go along with the blog.  Current address is

http://sithvixen615.wix.com/myearthship

It's ugly, I know.  I will get a domain in a few months.