The Third Path

This project got continuous R12 exterior insulation wrapped around its 2x6 framed walls, to eliminate thermal bridging. A blower door test of 1.5 ACH shows the build had excellent attention to air sealing details. These extra efforts don’t just save energy, they make the house extremely comfortable.

It is heated by a massive heat pump, uses a heat pump washer/dryer combo, and Xcel energy charges the electric vehicles in each stall at an overnight rate of 3.9 cents/kW.

The future is coming quickly — this house captures much of it.

We are underway at the next project. Foundation is being poured now. At this location we are building well above grade, so our foundation looks tall like a wall as we pour it. We will bring in fill once it’s done and all of this work will be below grade.

https://www.greenbuildermedia.com/blog/a-house-with-no-connection-to-the-outside-world

A House With No Connection to the Outside World The “Wattage Cottage” offers a glimpse at what one day might be the sustainable features of every home, whether on or off the power grid.

We are nearing completion of the Cathcart house in Shorewood. Sitting on over 3 acres up against the Minnetonka Regional Trail, this home was built to fill an unmet need. Lower quality vertical homes on small lots are too abundant, but they are the most profitable - they are built to maximize price/ sq. ft. So instead we have built an extremely high quality one-level home that was designed to age-in-place, on a large forested lot.

I look forward to sharing it with you, and lots of discussions about how and why it was built.

If you or someone you know would like to see the home feel free to reach out and I would be happy to walk you through it.

Our first project’s goal was to create an off-grid cabin in Minnesota with no connections to the outside world. After winning two national building awards, this project’s success led to the creation of Third Path.

The spaces in which we live don’t have to be affordable OR comfortable. Not beautiful OR efficient. There are not just two paths. With hard work and some ingenuity we can find a third, where OR’s become AND’s.

The cabin has no flooring, almost no drywall, no ductwork, no basement.

But it is beautiful, healthy, efficient, comfortable, and affordable.

This is the Third Path.