Page 22 - Off Grid East Cost Spring 2017

To women out there aspiring to build an energy-efficient home:
Hell yes, you can!
By Wendy Keats
Hélène Angers had always dreamed of building an energy-efficient home using environmentally-friendly practices. However, it was still a surprise to many when in 2006, still in her 20s and single, she bought land in downtown Edmundston, New Brunswick, and began designing her home. She spent the next two years learning, planning and sourcing materials and says it was worth every minute since she saved tens of thousands of dollars.
“I took two years to shop and plan and research. You don’t just jump into a project like that without planning.
For me, because of the way I did it, I managed to save almost 30% of the cost of the construction compared
to what it would have cost me if I’d just decided one day to build and hired a contractor. I would never have been able to afford it, never. But by doing good research and good planning, what had been virtually impossible for me became reality.”
Blending the old with the new
The 1.5-acre lot that Hélène bought was in the same neighborhood she’d grown up in and she had many fond memories of playing there as a child. For nearly a
22 off the grid