By Kathy Endres
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Nestled in the trees along Lake Lucy, there sits a timber frame house, surrounded by restored prairie, woods and wetlands. Built in 1988 by Chanhassen resident, Eric Rivkin, this house remains one of the healthiest, most non-toxic and energy-efficient residences in the Twin Cities area.

As the mainstream media begins to educate us on the idea of building green, this home continues to be a model of what can be done to improve our indoor environment while helping to alleviate the impact on our outdoor environment.

After growing up in a house that had water in the basement and suffering from allergies and asthma for years, Eric swore that he would never have mildew or mold problems in his home. 

He researched everything, questioned everything, and assumed nothing. “Conventional foundations certainly didn’t demonstrate many of the principles that make foundations last other than which materials were readily available and cheap,” says Eric.

By choosing a Japanese-style timber frame, Eric knew that it would stand the test of time. Timber frames have been built by the Japanese and English for thousands of years. However, Eric knew that the foundation of the home needed to be done right – even above code. The code simply said that the foundation must be damp-proofed.

In 1998, Jim Buchta of the Star Tribune reported on the house in his article entitled “Code Word: Quality, Building Beyond Code.” He stated that “evidence that his system was successful is that his hand-plastered concrete basement walls haven’t flaked or been stained by moisture moving through the wall.” And nine years later, this remains true today.

The foundation walls were filled with Airkrete insulation, a foamed cement product that uses no formaldehyde or other hazardous materials. Then a waterproof membrane works as an air barrier, as well as a vapor barrier. The walls of the timber frame contain 8” stress skin panels.

By building an airtight house, Eric was able to cut his utility bills, but he was also very cognizant of maintaining a healthy interior environment.

The EPA tells us, “Studies have shown that the air in our homes can be even more polluted than the outdoor air in big cities. Because people spend a lot of time indoors, the quality of the air indoors can affect their health.”

Not only has this home never had toxic cleaning solutions or carpeting (other than organic wool in the master bedroom), but all finishes are no or low VOC. Ventilation is controlled with a Van EE Air Exchanger with heat recovery and balanced ventilation (1/2 air change/hour).

The interior of the home consists of natural wood, clear cedar ceilings with fir posts and beams with non-toxic linseed oil finishes. The kitchen floor is cork and all countertops are solid maple with easy maintenance oil finish. The upstairs floor is maple with a non-toxic urethane finish. Downstairs, tile and wood are the main flooring materials.

There is no fear of carbon monoxide poisoning in this house either – there are no combustion appliances to pollute the indoor air. All appliances are electric.

With 10 acres of land, Eric has never run out of wood for the Tulikivi soapstone fireplace that graces the center of the home. Soapstone emits a soft, radiant heat that efficiently heats the entire room on those cold Minnesota days.

Downstairs, in-floor electric heating cables keep the floors warm with no moving parts to maintain. In summer, natural air conditioning is provided by the lake effect. Eric estimates his energy usage is 80% less than in other homes of this size.

Eric admits that his home cost more to build, but he didn’t look at it in terms of monetary payback. He looked at his family’s health and the health of our planet as a guide to living abundantly, while leaving a small footprint on this planet.

And now, almost 20 years after Eric built his dream home in Chanhassen, he is working on La Joya del Sol, Jewel of the Sun, a tropical raw food health, yoga, and ayurveda intentional community nestled in the Tinamaste mountains of Costa Rica.




Kathy Endres is a licensed realtor in Victoria, Minnesota.  She is working toward EcoBroker affiliation.  She can be contacted via her website at www.kathyendres.com