The Property
DownTime is located on 10 acres of waterfront, wooded temperate forest. The house itself is located on the northern side of the property along 842 feet of rock beach facing the Gorge Harbour basin. At present, there are three buildings within the main enclosure area: DownTime House, The Casita cottage, and the Generator shed. In the future we hope to add additional space by way of tent platforms.
Anyone coming to visit us for the first time MUST download, read and understand the DownTime handout. This document outlines the base rules necessary to truly enjoy your stay with us. If anything needs to be clarified, please contact us before you arrive!
Main facilities
The main house has three bedrooms, the master and two guest rooms. Likewise there are three bathrooms complete with showers. The large kitchen is fully appointed, including a large propane stove, propane refrigerator and limited electrical appliances. Because of electrical consumption limitations (see below, Rural Living - electrical ), electrical appliances are only used when volume or expedience are necessary. An electric refrigerator and freezer are also available for larger gatherings.
Dishes are usually washed by hand to conserve water, although a dishwasher is installed in the kitchen for high volume (see below, Rural Living - water). A washing machine and a propane dryer are also available, although in the summer all laundry is hung-dry to conserve electricity and because, quite honestly, it smells and feels better. A propane barbeque is available. During the summer, open fires are not permitted due to the excessive dryiness and the risk of fire.
The main house includes a Library/Office area for those who need a quiet place to work or read. Below the main floor is a woodworking shop and the wine cellar, just recently completed.
The Casita
The Casita is completely independent of the main house except for the receipt of electrical power. The loft provides sleeping accomodation via a queen sized bed. On the main floor the small kitchen is furnished with a propane stove top and electric refrigerator. The bathrooms is fully furnished with a unique "train sink" and full shower. Please be conservative with the water during the summer. Please do not leave food lying about as it will attract mice. Any food should be kept in strong, sealable plastic containers, available from teh main house.
Living at DownTime is not like living in the city. Please remember that there are repercussions from everything you do. The house is fully independent of all normally city services, except for the telephone. This means that we generate our own electricity, obtain our own water (via well and rain collection systems), and manage all of our own septic and other waste. We employ composting and garbage sorting methods and take important precautions to keep all systems full functional and healthy.
What this translates to for our visitors is that a little more thought must go into basic living at DownTime than you would normally require as a city dweller. Life at DownTime is environmentally conscientious, but the peace and tranquility derived from our 10 acres of pristine wilderness and waterfront will pay you back for your thoughtfullness. Relax and enjoy!
DownTime is not on the grid and in keeping with our intention to be as independent as possible, we have undertaken to improve the electrical system. When we bought the house it had about 900 watts of solar panels, an 8 kW Kubota generator and a Trace Dr2024 inverter/charger system that was more than adequate for a summer cottage. We have revamped the system with a 4 kW true sine-wave inverter. We have upgraded the batteries from 600 Amp-hours at 24 volts to 1800 Amp-hours at 24V. We have installed a backup 5.5 kW backup diesel generator to complement the Kubota and a 1000 litre fuel tank. We plan on expanding our fuel storage capacity to 2500 litres, which would be a 3-5 year supply depending on how much is needed for M/V Komokwa and S/V Papa Rumba that both have diesel engines. We are currently adding 1360 watts of power to the solar array by the addition of eight 170 Volt Sharp solar panels. We have also selectively removed several trees that blocked the sun for several hours each day. Wind power generation is not a realistic option at DownTime, but microhyrdo electrical production is a possibility, especially in winter. Generator run-time was reduced with the change of inverter/charger because the new system can charge the battery bank at 130 Amps rather than 85 Amps. Still, in winter when solar power is modest, power from a microhydro unit would reduce dependency upon diesel fuel.
We have also reduced electrical consumption by switching all light bulbs to energy efficient bulbs and replacing the freezer with an energy star rated Danby freezer chest that consumes only 1/3rd the amount of electricity previously used.
The house is serviced by an artisan well and the water is delicious. However, in the late summer of 2006 the well ran dry leaving us few choices. We could drill a deeper well, or we could install a larger cistern. Given that we are located in a rain shadow area that provides copious quantities of clean water during the spring and late autumn, we elected to do the later and have installed two new 8,000 litre water tanks (insert photo). We feel these will service the house for 3-4 months. In addition, we are also changing the original 13 litre/flush toilets to dual flushing toilets that use only 3 or 6 litres a flush. At present, the flushing of toilets is the largest fresh water use in the house. We are also doubling the amount of rain water stored in cisterns near the house and adding an insulated 1200 litre tank under the house for both back up and a winter supply during times of freezing.
DownTime is serviced by a septic system. For those not familiar with this, it is a management system for handling human waste products. They tend to be extremely efficient, but somewhat fragile. Because DownTime is accessible by boat only, we do not know what will happen when the system clogs or receives excessive sludge (typically toilet paper). Subsequently, it is vital that we all follow the simple rule of not flushing anything that has not passed through our bodies first. This includes toilet paper and feminine hygiene products. These are disposed of in the appropriate receptical beside the toilet. Should the system become unserviceable, we'll be without a toilet. This should be good incentive!
Cortes Island does not have any garbage management system. This means that any waste that we cannot directly handle must be shipped off of the island at considerable cost. Subsequently, we employ methods of recycling and composting to manage our debris. Please read the DownTime handout for more details.
