RETIRED STONE MASON & BUILDER

My name is Poul and I am a Stone Mason. I am from Denmark but also worked in Sweden and became certified in Canada after I immigrated here in 1956. Over the years I began to think about building a house by combining some of the positive practices from Scandinavia and here.

My chance came when in 1977 I bought a 50 acre parcel of mature forest. My goal was to build a solid and good quality house, that was low maintenance, and energy efficient.

To solve #1. challenge I increased the footing size from allowable (building code) by a couple of inches, both in thickness and width on SOLID undisturbed ground. Just like having a well fitting shoe, so does the house. The main floor is a poured concrete slab 30' X 50' with NO cracks. I hired a professional plasterer who did all the interior walls and ceilings in the house. They are in excellent condition.

Now #2. Exterior walls are made of 6" block (interior side) and 4" block with 2" styrofoam between, then 1" styrofoam and stucco on the exterior side. All the walls on the main floor are masonry, brick or block. In Northern Europe exterior walls have been insulated on the outside of cement for years. In Lapland which is north of the Arctic circle, I took pictures of an apartment complex that was being built this way. Just like a brick oven holds heat so does the building. The heating and hydro bills over the years have proven this theory. Last year I was delighted to see that this same idea was being shown at the builders trade-show in London Ontario.

Very simply #3. Is a separate room in the garage to accommodate the furnace, water heater and central vacuum. No fumes or noise or inconvenience of waiting to let in maintenance people. Instead of a basement I built a room over the garage with a kitchenette for family parties , and for company from Europe.