What a brief is

A brief is a short written statement of what you want to build and why. Architects and builders ask for one before they draw anything.

Your homestead brief fits on one page. It covers:

• Where you are: climate zone and site notes.
• Who lives there: people and their needs.
• What you want: goals, in order of importance.
• What you can spend: a budget range.
• What you will not give up: must-haves.

The brief is not a design. It is the yardstick you measure every later choice against.

Where and who

Climate zone. Use the IECC zone you found in lesson 3, such as 4A or 6B. Every tool in this course uses it.

Site notes. A few lines from lesson 4: which way the land faces, where water sits, how you get in, and anything that worries you.

People. Count everyone who will live there most of the year, and anyone who visits often. Note any special needs: a baby, an older parent, someone who works from home, or someone who cannot manage stairs.

Each person adds roughly a full share of water and food, and some energy. A household of four needs about twice the water and food of a household of two. The hard months get harder too.

Goals in order

Write three to five goals and rank them. When two goals clash, the higher one wins.

Examples:

• Cut the monthly power bill by half.
• Keep the house warm through a week-long outage.
• Grow most of our summer vegetables.
• Catch enough rain for the garden.
• Keep the build under a set budget.

Good goals are specific enough to check. “Be more self-sufficient” is hard to check. “Grow most of our vegetables from June to October” is easy to check.

Budget range and time

Write your budget as a range, not a single number: a low figure you are comfortable with, and a high figure you must not pass.

Add the time you can give, in hours per week, in your busiest season.

Must-haves and nice-to-haves

A must-have is something the plan fails without. A nice-to-have is something you would like if money and time allow.

• Must-have: a ground-floor bedroom for a parent who cannot climb stairs.
• Must-have: the house stays above freezing during a power outage.
• Nice-to-have: a greenhouse.
• Nice-to-have: a second bathroom.

Be strict. If your must-have list is long, the plan will be expensive and slow. Most good briefs have three to six must-haves.

Write your brief

Fill in the brief below. It saves to My plan on this device, and you can change it at any time. Nothing leaves your browser.

Using the brief

Take the brief to every early conversation:

• A builder or designer can tell you quickly whether your budget range fits your goals.
• The building department can tell you what zoning and codes apply to what you describe.
• A well driller, septic designer or solar installer can give rough figures based on your people and climate zone.

Ask each of them: “What in this brief worries you?” Their answer often saves you money.

Come back and update the brief as you finish each track. The capstone at the end of the course builds on it.

Check

Summary

• A homestead brief states where, who, what, how much and what you will not give up.
• Rank your goals and make them checkable.
• Give your budget as a range and keep a reserve.
• Keep must-haves few and firm.
• Take the brief to builders, inspectors and suppliers, and update it as you learn.

Track 2 starts with the home itself: which kind of small home fits your brief.