Marc and Joe Messier of SALA, Caleb and Joshua Crentz of Morrissey Builders and I conferred for 3 ½ hours by phone this morning.  Joe had worked up an analysis of how the house might achieve LEED Platinum status.  It would involve, paradoxically, both maximizing capture of rainfall and maximizing drought-resistant plantings.  Marc has estimated the entire process of achieving GreenStar Gold, LEED Platinum and the Living Building Challenge ‘net zero’ status at about $25,000, mainly in staff time.  I am interested in all three certifications because they have different valences: GreenStar for upper Midwest builders, LEED with its national recognition, and Living Building Challenge because it has an esthetic dimension and involves proving that the house actually performs (unlike LEED and GreenStar which evaluate only design and construction—not operation.)

The house at 2021 looks ever more shabby.  Now its nose has been torn off—the porch removed.  The yard is impassable mud and mess, particularly when it rains. Have we reached bottom?