Bibliography/Links/Recommendations

This page is meant to be used as a resource for learning more about building materials, recommended suppliers, energy resources and calculations, and other subjects. Keep on scrolling and enjoy!

Land

The following links will take you to places eager to sell you land in southern Colorado:

1. •Wolfgang’s southern Colorado land website - lots of good info, and he has a good eye for values: www.colomtland.com
   

2. •Mtn. Meadows Realty at http://www.sanluisvalleyrealestate.net/
   

3. •Jesse’s eBay listings - this is the gentleman who found my property for me. Check out what he offers on eBay, and if you don’t see something you like, send him a note.
   

Geography and Geology

The following are some links I found helpful when looking for land in Colorado.

1. •Fire restrictions, statewide, and county by county
   

2. •Earthquakes? Not likely soon, but someday....
   

3. •USGS hourly earthquake status map for southern Colorado and northern New Mexico
   

Area Weather

1. • Weather Underground conditions and forecast for La Veta pass
   

2. • Ten day forecast from The Weather Channel
   

Architecture and Design

Here are some of the books and websites I read in preparation for the design and building of the Hermitage. You can see more recommendations in my Amazon storefront.

1. •Kaufmann, Michelle - Inventor of the GlideHouse and the BreezeHouse. You’ll see a lot of her ideas are making it into the Hermitage, but with a “cold winter” twist.
   

2. •www.LiveModern.com - a website about prefabs. If I could have found a way to use a prefab and still have the benefits of a concrete slab, this is the way I would have gone.
   

3. •Romero, Rocio - website of the architect who created the imaginative prefab known as the LV, was the first that I considered
   

4. •Susanka, Sarah - A brilliant architect, with lots of great ideas about building smaller, but with good quality. I’m using her suggestions for a window-seat. Her books include The Not So Big House, Not So Big Solutions for Your Home, Creating the Not So Big House, and Inside the Not So Big House.
   

5. •Sunlight Homes - They offer two websites. One describes the services they offer (very extensive) and the other the story of the building of their own green, SIP, passive solar house/office. Both offer extensive resources for anyone building “green.” These are REALLY nice people.
   

Wildlife

Here are some sites about the local wildlife:

1. •http://sangres.com/ - Information about state parks, the mountains, and wildlife
   

2. •San Luis Valley National Wildlife Refuges - There are three.
   

3. •The Sandhill Cranes make a spring stop in the valley in late February or early March
   

Government and Regulations

1. •Colorado Divison of Water Resources - The Office of the State Engineer
   

2. •Costilla County - lots of information about county offices, permits, and link to country maps.
   

3. •Costilla County Land Use Code
   

4. •Sangre De Cristo Ranches covenants - The Sangre de Cristo Ranch area has covenants and a homeowners’ association to enforce them. Some of the highlights: one family per dwelling, 600 square foot minimum size; horses require prior written permission; building projects have to be finished within one year; no offensive activity, such as trash piles or junk cars-these are the major features of these covenants. The SDCR Area is also zoned estate residential and the Land Use Code provisions apply. The Land Use Code requires a minimum building setback of 20' from the road but the SDCR Covenants require a minimum dwelling setback of 30'.
   

Owner and Self-Builder Groups

1. •Sangre de Cristo Ranch Owners’ group: http://sdcro.com/
   

2. •Yahoo San Luis Valley Builder Owner Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/slvownerbuilder/
   

Water and Wells

Water is a big deal in Colorado. Learn as much as you can BEFORE you buy your property. Many lots that are under 35 acres are permitted only to have a “household use” well, which means no outdoor use of the water is permitted.  Lots of good information at the Colorado Water Engineer’s website.

When it comes time to dig a well, I offer a hearty recommendation of Ojo Springs Drilling and Well Service. OG (the owner) understands customer service, is prompt about returning phone calls, and did an excellent job of drilling my well. Their phone number is (719) 738-3580. He was also great about helping me fill out the well permit forms. I can’t say enough nice things about them, and they’re good people besides!

Septic Tank and System

Rocky Mountain Septic (RMS) from Alamosa did a great job on mine, and answered the million questions I had with patience. They can be reached on (719) 589-4263. You can see photos of my system going in by clicking here.

Gravel and Driveway

Bruce Batten Construction (719 298 0222) did a great job on placing my culverts and graveling the driveway.

Plumbing

Some links that may be useful:

1. •Vanguard Piping Systems and PEX pipes - a very cool system for water distribution
   

2. •Bosch AquaStar tankless water heaters - for backup when solar water heating doesn’t provide enough
   

Communications

Telephone and internet access can be a challenge in rural areas. My property is not served by wireline phone companies. I got lucky, however, and have a cell tower nearby that doesn’t destroy the view, but does give good coverage. This is another thing to check out BEFORE you buy. Check to see if there is telephone service, of the wired or wireless kind, and if there isn’t, how much it would cost to have it installed. Everyone gives good marks to the local phone company, Blanca Telephone. I’ve got my cellphone service through T-Mobile and I’m pretty pleased. If you’re counting on cellphone service, I’d recommend that you check to see that any handset you get has a connection for an external antenna.

For Internet, I count on WildBlue satellite internet service. And I’ll be signing up for DirecTV once the house is done.

Lighting

A lot of the lighting fixtures for the Hermitage have already been purchased. Many came from Ikea.

Solar and Wind Information

I’ll be adding some worksheets and planning guides to this area, but in the meantime, here are some excellent sites to get you started down the renewable energy path:

1. •http://www.realgoods.com/
   

2. •http://backwoodssolar.com/
   

3. •http://www.kansaswindpower.net/
   

4. •http://www.bergey.com/
   

5. •http://www.windenergy.com/
   

6. •http://www.slv-solar.org/
   

SIP Resources

These are mostly manufacturers and distributors. I’m sending my request for a SIP quote to most of the companies on this list. The first website is a manufacturers’ association.

1. •http://sips.org/
   

2. •http://www.murus.com/
   

3. •http://www.insulspan.com/
   

4. •http://www.wabrown.com
   

5. •http://extremepanel.com
   

6. •http://fischersips.com
   

7. •http://www.ibpanels.com
   

8. •http://www.panelwrights.com
   

9. •http://www.premier-industries.com/pbs/ - Selected for the Hermitage
   

10. •http://www.r-control.com
    

11. •http://www.siphomesystems.com
    

12. •http://www.sipstech.com
    

13. •http://www.thermalfoams.com
    

14. •http://www.winterpanel.com
    

Just Good People - and they do design and building, too.

If I didn’t already have a strong attachment to my design, I’d be using this company.

1. •http://www.sunlighthomes.com/ This site is GREAT! Lots of practical advice and excellent links to “green” building. And the people who run it are really nice, too.
   

2. •http://www.littlesunlighthomes.com From the same people who have the site above, but this one chronicles the building of their home/office space. Many excellent resources on making good, green decisions.
   

Bamboo Flooring

http://www.bamboomountain.com

Wood Stoves

Here’s a website that offers lots of good information about woodstoves.

http://www.chimneysweeponline.com