James Mitchell, an industrial arts teacher disillusioned with the high cost of home construction, was committed to building his family home debt-free. It wouldn't be a cheap box, he says, 'but rather the home of my dreams.' Using the techniques described in The Craft of Modular Post & Beam (H&M $29.95) Mitchell pre-fabricated the exterior shell components, storing them, and a collection of recycled flooring, windows and doors, in a barn for three years until he acquired land. Now he uses his 4000-square-foot Gabriola Island home, complete with master bedroom pagoda suspended above a reflective pool, as a base for his workshops on resource-efficient, affordable home construction. 0-88179-131-8

[BCBW WINTER 1998]