USVI-On-Line

Hi everyone,
I just wanted to share that I've started a new building blog for our new home that will be going up in Chocolate Hole. The other building blogs out there have been a wealth of information for us, and also an enjoyment to read. I hope ours will do the same... Enjoy!

http://seasthedaystj.wordpress.com

Look forward to keeping up with your adventure, congrats!

I look forward to reading about your project. The solar idea is a good one. Are the upfront costs very high?

Thanks, it's gonna be a crazy one! We recently sold our home here in Chicago and were beginning to prep for the construction. Permitting is up next, and we should have everything ready to submit in the next few weeks.

The solar system is gonna run us $30-40k estimating. It's quite a chunk of change upfront but we'll recoup the initial cost in about 4 years based on current WAPA rates. With the system, we'll be immune to grid power outages, and if a big storm ever came though and the island was without power we'd be back up in a matter of hours. Solar systems should really be considered and factored into the initial cost of construction to get more people using it. Sure, we had to sacrafice some money on other things to afford the solar, but I think this is more of a priority than nicer tiles.

Congrats! and thanks for sharing... I look forward to following along

$30-$40k seems like a very smart investment considering electric costs

New Post! Nothing too exciting, but I'm getting there...
http://www.seasthedaystj.com

The huge bank of batteries needed to give you freedom and immune from the grid are an expensive factor to consider - replacement is usually about 5-7 years depending on how often they get run down and they can rarely run a full house load - the water pump alone can deplete them rather quickly and running A/C units is rarely if ever possible - a few cloudy days won't recharge them sufficiently for anything but minimal usage. A good size generator is a vital critical part of the equation unless the whole house is designed to run on a 12 or 24 volt system.

Ya, I'll touch upon that in a blog post. I have a list of things I can write about with the planning of the build before we actually put the track hoe in the ground in a few months. That estimate has the battery bank figured into the cost already. There will be critical loads and non-critical loads that will on/off line during grid failure. Energy hungry items (ie 240v) such as cloths dryer, stove, pool heater, etc will be off during a grid failure, but we can survive just fine without those type of things until it's restored.

I'm a little unclear...are you moving to STJ permanently?

Teresa_Rae wrote:I'm a little unclear...are you moving to STJ permanently?

Yes

Also, I just posted up a new entry about our architect and the house design on the blog!
http://www.seasthedaystj.com

Just got a new post up! It was a crazy weekend around here. We finally closed on the sale of our house and we were busy getting kitchen designs done. Enjoy!

Finally finished a new post about our type of construction.... Enjoy!
http://seasthedaystj.com

Very interesting on the construction technique.

Are you going to have a rental suite or something?

Teresa_Rae wrote:Very interesting on the construction technique.

Are you going to have a rental suite or something?

Morning Teresa, Thanks! As more and more people have success using ICF in the USVI I see it catching on to be much more common to help reduce the overall high construction costs on island. Some "famous" building that you'll know that are built out of ICF are the Low Key building (ICF and concrete block) and the 1980s addition to the K-mart on STT. There are also about a dozen homes built out of them on STJ one you already know from here, Anchorage Aweigh.

Yes! We will have a rental suite on the lower level of the home that will mirror all the same finishes that we are using in the main level along with a full size kitchenette. You can see the layout of it here: http://seasthedaystj.com/floor-plans/

Ah, very nice. My husband and I are always on the lookout for places that are good for two. Will you have a stove in the kitchenette?