The wife and I (63 & 66) live on our homestead (30 acres of forest) on the western edge of the Adirondacks right in the middle of the snow belt. The two of us built a nice loft style home and had the 1st floor spray foamed to 4.5" and for the loft space used 4" of polyiso between the 12" rafters with an R-38 fiberglass batt tucked on top of that. The entire exterior of the home is wrapped in 1" foil faced PolyIso over all of the studs and rafters, with zip siding and zip roof sheathing over that. All of the poly is foil taped and all the zip is taped with their zip tape. The total living space is around 1500 ft/sq and we heat with a nice efficient wood stove. It actually gets too warm pretty rapidly and we can go for 12 hours or longer without having a fire once it's warm. The home is built on a poured pad with Insulated concrete form blocks up to 36" high and the space never gets below 49 F even at 20 below. The entire home and outbuildings are powered by an off-grid solar system we put together.

@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid

6 ай бұрын

We think a lot alike and that sounds like a great set up you have going there! Thanks so much for sharing 😊

It is a good thing you and Rich have a wonderful relationship. Only 30 more years of projects to do. No problem with video content never finish. Lol

@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid

6 ай бұрын

Lol but isn’t that true for anyone who owns their own home??? 😁

@SeniorHiker77

6 ай бұрын

I can't volunteer to do any maintenance on my local Pine Mountain Trail. Since I don't do any work or projects around my house my wife would kill me if I volunteered for anything. Lol

Hello and Happy 2024, Rich and Kathie. Your tree looks lovely and it's nice to see you buttoned up for the cold months ahead. So much progress! Take care.

@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid

6 ай бұрын

Happy new year! We are happy to be warm, a huge difference compared to last winter! Hope alls well with you😊Kathie

@CyberDocUSA

6 ай бұрын

Yes, I'm staying warm right now, too,@@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid . Struggling hardcore and keeping the faith.

Happy New Year from Baldwin, NY! Great progress on your build. So glad you are keeping warm. Can't wait to see the kitchen.

@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid

6 ай бұрын

Thank you! We are so excited to be getting the kitchen done😁 it’ll be a treat to have a kitchen sink!!

What great news ... happy for you both !

@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid

6 ай бұрын

Thanks so much!

Thank you for the update as I'm sure (like me) many of us have been wondering. Really nice to see you-all smiling and hear that the house is functional! Last winter was so painful to follow - got chills just following you :)

@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid

6 ай бұрын

Our pleasure! Last winter wasn’t as bad as it looked, I promise! 😊❤️ Kathie

Happy New Year to both of you. Thanks very much for this update. Congratulations for the challenges you have met and good luck for the challenges yet to come!

@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid

6 ай бұрын

Thanks so much!

Such a huge change from last year! Things are really looking up! Love the Christmas tree, too. And the new slider to the living room is AWESOME! Nice to know you two will be cozy warm this winter.😁

@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid

6 ай бұрын

Thanks so much! We are so happy to be at this point and appreciate the support! Happy new year 😁👍😊

It can only get better this year for your build. Happy New Year.

@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid

6 ай бұрын

Absolutely! 😊😁

I live in NY and it’s very cold. That is so amazing how you covered your whole house. I just found your channel and this is an incredible idea.

@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid

6 ай бұрын

Welcome!! It was a dream since I (Kathie) was in my 20’s!!!

Happy new year's glad the dome is good guys

@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid

6 ай бұрын

Appreciate that very much 😊

So glad everything is doing a lot better now. Happy New Year to you both 🎊🕛🎊.

@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid

6 ай бұрын

Thank you!

A healthy and blessed new year to both of you. From what you report, it sounds really great and when you finish the interior work it will be even better. I can only congratulate you on making the right choice for your house. And the humidity level in summer also depends on how much it rains. Our house is almost 50 years old and made of stone. But last summer it rained a lot and the laminate floors and doors became slightly warped. But things got better again when it got drier. And if the humidity gets too much, you can also set up 2 dehumidifiers :) . Many greetings from cold, wet Berlin

@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid

6 ай бұрын

Thanks so much! Yes, a wet climate does creat challenges. We will see but dehumidifiers are good to have on hand! Happy new year!

It will take a good while to charge that battery, all the thermal mass, to allow you to regulate your temps. Those down here who have built the monolithic domes have reported this. But then when it's done it is great. I hope you folks had a very Merry and stress-free Christmas and will have a blessed New Year. I've been in some of the monolithic domes in Italy TX amid our high temp summers. The 24ft dome was in the 70s using a 6k BTU window AC. They heat these things with electrical wall heaters.

@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid

6 ай бұрын

Yes, we really won’t fully know how efficient the house is until next winter but we’re not disappointed!😁

It's starting to look like a home. Well done! Our place has double height (and higher) ceilings in parts and if not for our forced air HVAC, I'd be looking at a ceiling fan or two. As long as our windows are closed I have the HVAC circulator running. You've no doubt found the upper areas much warmer, warm that would would be useful if better dispersed about the space. Likewise you'll need to vent that heat out up there quickly in the summer. A double-hung with the upper half pulled down does this well. i haven't seen all your videos and don't know what's up there for windows, just what I'd do. I don't doubt you've got it covered. Happy New Year!

@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid

6 ай бұрын

Thank you! Yes, we have casement windows for egress and we have a ceiling fan at the center of the dome! We’ve also got ceiling fans in the kitchen and bedroom as well. And of course we use the erv manually a few times a day as we feel it’s needed😊 happy new year!

So nice to hear all this good news. Im so happy for you guys. After all of your hard work jumping hurdle after hurdle, your perseverance is paying off. Wooohooo! Congratulations! Happy New Year.

@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid

6 ай бұрын

Thank you so much! Wishing you a happy and healthy new year my friend 😊👍

@rockyracoon3281

6 ай бұрын

@@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid thank you

Happy New Year. Your place is coming along great. Good luck in 2024.

@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid

6 ай бұрын

Thanks, you too!

Great explanation. We did similar but for different reasons. We have 90% of our structure facing north because it is the summer heat and the need for natural light. However we do have a single west facing patio 3 panel door window at about 10' wide but everything else is facing north to hide from the intense southern Arizona sun. This does not compliment the winter sun angle however. With less than 3 months of cooler temps we thought this would be the best course of action. Our views are also in the directions we chose for our windows and door locations. We get nearly no direct sunlight on our windows especially in the winter except the west facing window and for only a few hours late in the day. We also chose low E windows for both the insulating and heat rejection properties. On a side note our humidity has ranged from 40% to 47% with outside being rainy and 74% without needing to run our dehumidifier. We however do not shower inside the dome yet. We still shower in our Avion camping trailer. We do our laundry inside the dome though.

@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid

6 ай бұрын

Thanks! And facing north makes sense for your location. Looking forward to hearing updates on that. You also have a nice humidity level. We’re happy with ours for now but not sure what will happen over the summer when the outdoor humidity is high.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO BOTH OF YOU ( I'M CURRENTLY AT 2 HRS FROM YOUR HOME IN THE NORDEN BORDER ( NO WORRIES I LEFT PASSPORT AT HOME !!! ) ; ) KEEP UP YOUR OUTSTANDING SENCE OF HUMOR ; ) I'M VERY HAPPY ABOUT YOUR WOOD STOVE ; ) OVER THE YEAR THE CONCRETE WILL DRY TOO !!! WOOD STOVE DOES CREATE VENTILATION . KEEP HAVING FUN ; ) CHEERS !!!

@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid

6 ай бұрын

Lol! Let us know when you do have it and we’ll do a collab! Happy new year😁😊❤️

@deborahwhite2339

6 ай бұрын

It's so good to see the progress and that this winter you are all toasty. It can only get better. I hope. 😄 Happy New Year and the best of every thing in 2024🙂👍🇨🇦🎉🍺🥂🍷💥

@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid

6 ай бұрын

Same to you my friend 👍😁❤️😊

Man, you sure came a long way since last year. Happy new year 🍻

@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid

6 ай бұрын

Absolutely!! Happy New Year!

@Viper6-MotoVlogger

6 ай бұрын

@@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid thanks

Happy new year 😊

@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid

6 ай бұрын

Same to you😊

Thank you for the update , PS how are the trespassing bears doing, are they sleeping, showing up on the trail cams! seems to be a very warm winter so far, (in Buffalo NY were I'm at) ( Ps lake Erie keeps up warmer but gives us lots of snow)

@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid

6 ай бұрын

Lol. Haven’t seen any bear lately but a lot of deer! Definitely a warmer winter compared to last year (so far…😁)

Nooice! 😎 STOC

@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid

6 ай бұрын

Thanks 😁

have you thought about building a mudroom on the outside of the front door

@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid

6 ай бұрын

I’m thinking you are referring to the 12 foot slider on the south side? We have plans to put in a fully screened porch. A mud room there would interfere with our passive solar.

I have one of the stoves in the thumbnail. Works great!

@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid

6 ай бұрын

Great! We think it does too 😁👍

@UncleSam-bu9gz

6 ай бұрын

@@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid Great tool from Tractor Supply for ashes. Barn Star purple steel garden hoe. @27+" long and makes cleaning easy.

@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid

6 ай бұрын

Thank you!

It's nice to hear about your progress, the new windows and the climate comfort! 👏 I don't know about that windows brand, the products don't look like something I would install in my house, but neither they look bad. I hope they will serve you well. I'm especially pleased the climate works for you now. If you don't runthe ERV, I'd suggest to buy CO2 monitor to get a feeling how Often you need to run it to keep healthy air. Enjoy your more and more cozy home!

@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid

6 ай бұрын

We have co2 monitors in the bedroom and main dome. It’s required by code here👍and we do turn on the erv a few times a day manually anyway. Thanks 😊 and the windows are a popular brand here but their quality isn’t what it once was.

@oakld

6 ай бұрын

@@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid The windows looked OK as for quality, judging from the appearance only, but the thickness (or the lack of) doesn't induce much confidence in the product :-). It just looks very light and thin, but it's a general feeling I have about American windows. Especially those in warm climate zones look really under-engineered. If yours are from a popular brand, they should be well made then. I wonder what overall heat transmissivity U or heat resistance R they have.. . Maybe I underestimate them. Anyway, I hope it will all work perfectly! 🤞🤞

@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid

6 ай бұрын

Got it. They are double pane and also energy star rated.

Wonderful that you are now reaping the rewards 🎉😂

@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid

6 ай бұрын

Thank you!

I'm surprised you used the certainteed fibreglass insulation instead of sprayfoam or at least rockwool, for your framed wall! If you're trying to go for maximum insulation.

@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid

6 ай бұрын

We ended up replacing the insulation on the second floor northern wall with spray foam and had open cell spray foam sprayed up into the parapet walls but it really came down to budget. Happy new year!

You probably need a fresh air intake for the wood stove. That way you're not burning the air you worked to warm up.

@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid

6 ай бұрын

We considered that and can always add it if necessary but we want to wait and see how warm the house is once we’re all done and acclimated. 👍

Silly Sense of Humor #2 One of your New York leaks has found it's way to my bedrooms south window. Bath towels are everywhere. Heater blowing around it. Of course it is on the 2nd floor. But I'm certain a simple caulking job can handle it until spring when the house exterior is getting modification / painting. The 3rd paint job in 30 years.

@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid

6 ай бұрын

Oh no! Sorry to hear that but it sounds like it’s not going to be for long! Hope it all works out. Happy new year!

How is your Sol-ark doing now?

@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid

6 ай бұрын

It’s running perfectly 👍 we’re planning an update video on our solar system soon

😂

@CreatingASimplerLifeOffGrid

6 ай бұрын

It’s working great because we’re covered with dirt! It’s almost too hot