Contra Costa Potluck in a Concord Straw Bale House

[Guest guest]

CONTRA COSTA VEGETARIANS' VEGAN POTLUCK!

(Vegan = no animal products of any kind;

ie, no meat, fish, eggs, dairy, honey, etc.)

SUNDAY, APRIL 14TH, 2002

OPEN HOUSE FROM 2-6PM; potluck folks eat at 6:30 pm

994A OAK GROVE ROAD IN CONCORD

HOSTED BY MARK & PATTY DE MAIO: mdemaio

 

PLEASE BRING:

–-one dish (per attendee) to feed 6-8 people

--an autographed copy of your recipe to place by

your dish for others to read/copy/inquire about

--your own reusable plate, cup, silverware, napkin

(and don't forget a serving spoon)

 

This Hybrid Environmental Home demonstrates many new

and old " green " building technologies, including straw

bale walls, earth and lime plasters, and rammed earth/

adobe type flooring. The home was designed and

constructed as a working project demonstrating the

application of Natural, Healthy, and Environmentally

Responsible Construction, and included integration of

Feng Shui and Cohousing design principles in it's

flexible floor plan design. Some of the features

incorporated into this 2800 sf 5 bedroom/3 bathroom

house include:

-Aesthically pleasing thick walled Sante Fe motif

throughout with undulating surfaces, rounded corners,

and high ceilings.

-a " cool " roof on the main building, extensive decks,

and living roof on the garage.

-Extensive utilization of high quality recycled and

sustainably harvested lumber, and exposed post and

beam construction.

-Interior walls include a wide variety of systems

tastefully demonstrated, including earth and lime

plastered straw bale and clay/straw walls,

fiber-reinforced drywall and straw panels.

-Semi-passive cooling.

-Solar preheated, tankless instantaneous water

heating.

-Radiant heating, solar photovoltaic intertie, and

greywater prepped.

-Extensive use of non-toxic paints, caulks, tile and

grouts.

 

You are welcome to come in the afternoon to the open

house for a tour. Opportunities for instruction and

hands-on activities will be available–-they’ll

probably be doing some earthen plaster touch up, and

clay slip and limewash " painting " (there is a slim

possibility we'll be doing " light clay " in fill wall

construction). No set tours times–just grab Mark or

Patty if they are free and ask your questions.

 

If you are interested in reading more about the house,

go to:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2001/12/29/HO110081.DTL & type=ho\

meandgarden

and http://www.ecohousing.org/

 

I wrote some directions before realizing Mark had done

the same, so I’ll just include them both and let you

decide which you prefer. His use Geary Road (and

include parking info) and mine use Monument Blvd (and

include details for coming from the Oakland/Berkeley

area for those who have not ventured beyond the tunnel

before). Here are Mark's:

 

***********************Directions**********************

Going north on 680, get off at the Treat Blvd. exit

shortly after the 680/24 " Y " and make a right onto

Treat. Go approximately 2-3 miles and make a left at

light onto Oak Grove Road. Go through the next 2

lights

on Oak Grove Rd. on either side of a Bart underpass

(David and Minert). Go through the next light

(Chalomar on your right, Keswick on your left) and

make a right on the unnamed private drive just past

Concordia Lutheran Church, just before the New

Directions Counseling Center. If you come to the next

light (Whitman Road) or the following light (Monument

Blvd),

you have gone too far. The property is located on the

unnamed private drive just behind the counseling

center (2nd lot on left, follow new pavement to the

left). Although the property has an Oak Grove Road

address, it

is not actually located on Oak Grove Road. Consider

parking on Chalomar or discreetly in the back of the

church parking lot, as the Private Drive has little

parking capacity. Alternatively, access Oak Grove Road

from Monument Boulevard and look for the private drive

on your left just before the Church.

 

Now, Dianne's Directions:*

 

going north on Highway 680: take the Monument Blvd

exit and turn right on Monument at the signal**

 

going south on Highway 680: take the Gregory

Lane/Monument Blvd exit, which parallels the freeway

for quite a loooong way, then turn left on to

Monument Blvd (when you finally get there)**

 

**go approx. 1.25 miles on Monument and turn right on

to Oak Grove Road; the driveway for 994A is a little

over one half-mile down Oak Grove on the left, just

beyond the first signal at Whitman Road and

immediately

before the Concordia Church; there will be a small

Concord Oasis Ecohousing sign right next to the

driveway; the house is the second one back from the

street.

 

*if you are coming from the Berkeley/Oakland area,

take Highway 24 east and, after you pass Lafayette,

make sure you are in one of the three left lanes to go

on to Highway 680 North. Monument Blvd is less than

three

miles from the interchange.

 

 

 

 

 

Tax Center - online filing with TurboTax

http://http://taxes./