Category Archives: Homestead Building

Fall 2018 Nova Scotia Off Grid Homestead Building Update

Posted on December 2, 2018 by Ron & Johanna Melchiore

So!… Some might surmise we spent summer swimming, snorkeling; surely somewhat slouched semi-supine sipping sweet seven eleven slurpees by the seashore. Seriously? No way! We have been maxed out since we last wrote. Where do I even begin? Let’s give … Continue reading →

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Drainage Tile and Foundation Membrane

Posted on September 28, 2018 by Ron & Johanna Melchiore

One item I haven’t written about is waterproofing our foundation walls and preventing water problems in the basement. As a kid growing up, we lived in a house with a basement that became a shallow pond at one end during … Continue reading →

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Roof Trusses and Exterior Roofing on Our New Off-Grid ICF Home

Posted on April 2, 2018 by Ron & Johanna Melchiore

We’ve worked hard to build our new home’s foundation, walls, and floor and we need to cap this all off with a roof to protect our investment of time and money. Our homesteads in Maine and Saskatchewan had a standard … Continue reading →

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ICF Floor System

Posted on February 21, 2018 by Ron & Johanna Melchiore

Floor systems is the topic of today’s post. It’s actually more complicated than it would appear. In a standard stick frame home, floor joists are laid down on a knee wall or a wall top plate, sheathing is put down … Continue reading →

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Final Wrap Up on the Basics of ICF Construction

Posted on January 12, 2018 by Ron & Johanna Melchiore

This is the final wrap up on the basics of ICF construction we used on our new off grid home. In my last post, I shared a ha ha sign “Somewhat Precise Home Builders” which is my tongue in cheek … Continue reading →

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Christmas Update on Our Nova Scotia Homestead

Posted on December 22, 2017 by Ron & Johanna Melchiore

With the approach of Christmas and Holidays, I figured I’d give everybody a quick update and then resume normal posts after the first of the year. Here’s our Christmas update on our Nova Scotia homestead. We made a valiant effort … Continue reading →

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Let’s Talk ICF For New Off-Grid Home- Part 2

Posted on December 7, 2017 by Ron & Johanna Melchiore

In my last post “Let’s talk ICF For Our New Off-Grid Home- Part 1”, we discussed what this ICF material was about and how easy it was to build with. Although ICF is an easy, straight forward method of building, … Continue reading →

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Let’s Talk ICF For Our New Off-Grid Home – Part 1

Posted on October 27, 2017 by Ron & Johanna Melchiore

There are any number of construction materials and methods a person can use to build their new home. The traditional method is stick frame using conventional framing lumber. That’s the method we chose for our last 2 off-grid homes. As … Continue reading →

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Nova Scotia Fall Update

Posted on October 11, 2017 by Ron & Johanna Melchiore

As expected, Nova Scotia weather is like the tropics compared to where we once lived. It’s all relative of course. We would generally have our first dusting of snow around this time of year back in northern Saskatchewan. (In fact, … Continue reading →

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Is a foundation really that important?

Posted on September 7, 2017 by Ron & Johanna Melchiore

Is a foundation really that important? The answer to the question is yes! As far as I’m concerned, it’s the most important part of a building to ensure its long term survival. If the foundation crumbles, shifts or isn’t square … Continue reading →

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