What makes your home a Green or Healthy Home?
This home was constructed with the idea of protecting the environment now and in the future. It is fully off the grid, using a 5kW wind turbine and 2350 W solar array with the set up to add solar hot water. The house was placed on the land at the spot which was the most minimally destructive to the trees and animals. It faces south to benefit from solar gain. It was constructed mainly with reclaimed timbers and floor boards.Property Description
This beautiful, custom built 2700 sqft Timber Frame home sits on over 13 acres of oceanfront property in Liverpool, Nova Scotia and was built by the international award winning Timberhart Woodworks, formerly Acorn Timber Frames. It was awarded the peoples choice award at the Nova Scotia Home and Builders Design Association Ideal Home Show and a write up on the home can be seen on their website under past projects. The house is built around a reclaimed Timber Frame from an 1800’s Amherst, Nova Scotia hay barn and is filled with exposed hand hewn post and beams and beautiful wood peg joinery.
The great room, dining area, and kitchen flow together in an open concept with a 28 foot cathedral ceiling and floor to ceiling windows facing east, south and west to the ocean. The centerpiece is a free standing, double sided, 28 foot tall,
beach stone, wood burning fireplace, hand crafted by a local stone mason. This creates a huge open naturally lit area that really has to be experienced to do it justice. The floors throughout the house are made from large reclaimed heritage plank boards salvaged locally from old barns and churches.
The kitchen has custom shaker-style
cabinetry with an apron porcelain sink
and 4 stainless steel appliances,
including a gas range and dishwasher.
A unique glass tiled peninsula with bar
stool seating divides the kitchen and
dining area and is great for entertaining.
The master bedroom sits on the north
east corner of the house and stunning
sunrises will greet you through French
doors that open to the east side of the
huge deck area. Floor to ceiling dark
wooden nautical inspired closets and
timber frame give this room a Captain’s
Quarters feel.
The master bathroom is finished with heated slate floors that continue into the spa style glass shower, fitted with main overhead rain shower and three auxiliary wall mounted shower heads. The oversized corner soaker tub has been elevated in order to enjoy the ocean views while relaxing in the bath. The cabinetry in all the bathrooms throughout the house is made with reclaimed heritage wood.
The upper floor includes an open loft,
three bedrooms with 10 ft+ ceilings and
a full bath. As with the main level the second storey has in-floor radiant heat as well.
A huge wraparound, elevated deck spans the entire east and south facing aspects of the house that includes a 20ft long covered area which is ideal for outdoor entertaining and dining.
Coming through the rear entrance of the house you’ll find a large, slate tiled mud-room/laundry area with front loading washer and dryer, as well as an open corner shower that has hand-made beach stone tiles on the wall. This room was designed to house and clean surf equipment and is a very useful “wet zone” for hosing down dirty kids and dogs.
Off the mud room is the mechanical room that serves as the heart and brains of the home. It holds the boiler, water pump system for the in-floor heat, the ventilation system, along with the battery bank and electrical inverters for the off-grid system.
There are numerous gardens built amongst the granite boulders and ledges which boast large rhododendrons, japanese maples, magnolias, a monkey puzzle tree and much more. There is also a small, fully fenced vegetable garden. A few young trees have been planted around the house including dogwood, linden, juniper, blue spruce, and maple.
The direct ocean frontage provides unspoiled views of breath taking sunrises over Western Head’s lighthouse and braking waves over Gull Island. This house is also situated on a surf break and is centrally located from most of the other surf breaks in the area.
Off-grid system:
The house has a luxury off-grid set up with 3 years of proven use and there has never been a period without power. It currently has 4 full-time occupants and runs a computer, large flat-screen TV, elliptical exercise machine and all major appliances. There are no monthly power bills, no power-outages during storms, and the system coupled with the buildings envelope design results in a near zero Carbon footprint.
Its main power source is a 5kW Westwind wind turbine on a 100 ft guyed tower and a 2350 W solar poll mounted array. The power generated from the turbine and array is brought into the house via underground cables to a set of stacked 48V Xantrex inverters. These inverters provide regular 120/240Vac 60Hz power via a battery bank made up of 24 deep cycle Surrette batteries and can store up to 1500Ah of power. If the battery bank charge drops too low and alternate power is needed, there is a 13kW back-up propane generator that is set up to come on automatically. Recently, 2350 Watts worth of photo electric panels were added to the system in order to improve power generation during times when there is less available wind. Currently the only fossil fuel used in this home is propane and everything is in place to reduce this requirement if one was to add solar hot water.
The system has been inspected and certified by Nova Scotia Power and is compatible with a grid hook-up, should this be desired. The windmill is fully insurable, maintenance on the system is very easy to learn and there are alternative energy companies servicing this area that can provide repairs and maintenance assistance.
For more information please feel free to contact us via this website or contact our agent: Walt MacDonald of Walt MacDonald Real Estate
212 Main St. - P.O. Box 1769
Liverpool, Nova Scotia
B0T 1K0
phone: 902-354-5775
fax: 902-354-2735
email: [email protected]
Neighborhood Description
This house is located at the end of a mile long private driveway and enjoys the splendor of an unspoiled ocean coastline and miles of undeveloped acreage around it. It is, however, only a 5 minute drive from the town of Liverpool, NS and a 5 minute drive to White Point Beach Resort and Golf Course.Market Area
Liverpool is a small and beautiful coastal town known as the "Port of Privateers". Is has boutiques, grocery stores, hardware stores, pharmacies, gas stations, and a local hospital and excellent school system. The county (Queens County) has a spectacular topography for the nature enthusiast. It has many rivers and lakes, excellent fishing and is the home of Kejimkujik National Park. The south shore of Nova Scotia is full of coastal towns (including Lunenburg, and Chester) and is one of the mSchool District
The School system is excellent in this area. Their is a great amount of individual attention placed on the children and the teaching methods are progCommunity
The community of Liverpool offers a friendly maritime feel. There are small boutiques and larger grocery and hardware stores. Tourism and fishing arLocation of Home or Land
Rural
Elevation of Home
Sea Level
Air Quality
Agriculture in Area | no |
Industry in Area | yes |
Air Pollution in Area | no |
Pesticide Free | yes |
Fragrance Free | yes |
Cleaned with Green Products | yes |
Interior Environment
Heating System | Hydronic Floor Heat (radiant) |
Cooling System | Passive Cooling |
Ventilation System | Heat Exchanger |
Whole House Filtration | HEPA filtration |
Whole House Vacuum | no |
Energy & Water
Energy System | Off the Grid |
Water System | Well |
Wastewater System | Septic System |
Construction Information
Exterior Finish | Shingles - Wood |
Interior Finish | Gypsum Board - Sheet Rock |
Interior Paint | Low VOC |
Floor Material | Tile |
Roof Material | Asphalt Composition Shingle |
Window Material | Wood Dual Glazed |
Insulation Material | Fiberglass |
Garage / Car Port
Garage / Carport | no |
Garage Type | attached |
Number of Cars | 1 |