Thought we should start from the beginning, here's some pictures of the site. First, the old house, in terrible shape and overgrown with shrubs, it hadn't been occupied for over a year. The floor was buckled because it had no concrete foundation but it made it easier to remove and with less waste.

On the left is the site from the corner of King & Virginia showing the large front yard sloping up from the sidewalk. It didn't take me long to come up with the idea of a solar inspired concept for this site since its totally open on the south with no obtructions to winter sun.

We had just finished an Energy Star rated home incorporating a number of green features but I hadn't really planned on building another house. However, when this perfect site became available I jumped at the chance to build another one, this time going farther than we had in the past.