516 Burgess Mountain Road
Woodville, Nova Scotia B0P1G0
In 2008, I moved from the ‘left’ coast of BC’s Comox Valley, to the North Mtn, here in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley. With the assistance of two professional planners and draftspeople, we designed this passive solar house, or as the Germans refer to these, a Passivhaus. Construction began in the spring of 2009. It was fully completed in 2018. This house encompasses all that I have learned, as far as layout and technical aspects, from my former building experiences. Those historical buildings are listed in the menu, under: jayöh‘s bldg history.
Tempus fugit. I am older, having well considered that the time is nigh for downsizing. It was a project after all. The house is virtually as pristine as the day it was finished, everything works well. I keep things for a long time. I care for them. I am from a former generation that fixes broken items, rather than turfing them out. It’s likely that the buyer(s) will be unique, like this place and this location. They will know what a find this place is, with workmanship tossed in as a gift.
Today’s image is of the indoor/outdoor thermometer, January 29th , 2026. It’s now 5 weeks past the December solstice, so we are steadily losing sun into the interior of the building, as le soleil climbs into her azimuth. There is no auxiliary heat on inside, and none will be needed ’til bout 8 PM.
Jan. 29/2026
The property is not inexpensive by NS standards, even though I dropped the price this past summer $46,000, to get beneath realtor.ca’s $800,000 search menu. Many people now do their own homework, as there are tools online for searching for the right property. Agents have told me that if this property were within 3 minutes from Wolfville, the price would be 1.2M. They also said, “During the C-19 pandemic, there would’ve been bidding wars for it.”
If you do serious research, based upon the listing price of $799K VS the listed square footage (3,040), [The real building is far larger @ 3,531 sq [107′ x 33′] with an additional attached carport of 13′ x 36′ or 468 sf] you will see the great underpricing ($263/sf) below the average listing square footage here in this part of NS, ($280/sf) and far below what a builder might charge for a similar-sized building ($450-$550/sf) with full passive solar construction. All this comes with the Energuide rating of 84, from 2012, by Alan Stewart, formerly, CEO of Sustainable Housing in Wolfville! Keep all this in mind, that any standard new construction based solely on the National Building Code that NS employs would be $350-$450/sq!
Energuide Apr.26, 2012
I knew back in the day, that what I would build, would be overbuilt for this rural area, despite it being a brief, pleasant, quiet and uncongested 15-minute drive to all services. I’ve done this 3x, sigh! hahaha It’s just my MO to give each project what it deserves, while paying attention to the lessons I’ve learned and what my gut is telling me, ever so softly. I’ve never built with a mindset on reselling.
The right buyer will appreciate the layout and the location. Please speak personally with Rob, as he is an engaging person, fully knowledgeable about this listing; Rob Shellenberger of RE/MAX Banner Real Estate (telephone no. 902/300.8674)
That link is the full listing with 43 separate images, drone shots of the location on the side of the North Mtn, with a private setting of serenity and solitude.
This is the custom brochure covering many of the technical aspects of the build, that Rob put together.
Rob’s Brochure
In the wintertime, when the deciduous trees have shed their leaves, one can enjoy spectacular, panoramic sunrises rising over the South Mtn and the Valley floor.
Sunrise
The large electric-fenced veggie patch is integral to the property and also included. There are 13 blueberry bushes, that in 2025, produced 55 lbs of fruit + 5 thornless blackberry vines that netted 40 lbs. There is an integral water hydrant (white < lower right) inside the fenced area.
hydrant
516 Burgess Mountain Road
Woodville, Nova Scotia B0P1G0
This is Rob’s 2-minute walk-through.
This last link is by Mike Reese, who shot the YouTube video in February of this year. It is a 7-minute walk through, highlighting some of the technical and artistic features. There’s far too much to show in such a brief exposure. I am available for questions, but please direct all sales inquiries to my listing agent, Rob Schellenberger, above. Many thanks, Mike. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7J_2u-r0gM
I AM John Gabriel Ötvös, aka jayöh.