“a small sanctuary of enchantment”
516 Burgess Mountain Road
Woodville, Nova Scotia B0P 1G0
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.
The DOT missed an “s” in our road’s name. They squeezed it in, as you can tell. hahaha
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. For those interested in the how tos ’bout how this place was constructed, enter into the much earlier 19 posts from the step-by-step procedure, I created over the years for posterity on this home and homestead. I keep things for a long time. I care for them. I am of a former generation that fixes broken items, rather than turfing them out.
This link is a summary post by Rob on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/600614071911145/posts/1237635344875678/
This is Woodville’s volunteer fire hall. Likely, all rural communities are serviced by volunteers. Ours has a new firetruck.
The water reservoir with electrified pumping is at the bottom of Burgess Mtn Rd, to the west on Woodville Rd.
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. The property is not inexpensive by NS standards, even though I dropped the price this past summer by $46,000, to get beneath realtor.ca’s $800,000 search menu.
ISP
Due to a sparse population on the Burgess Mtn Rd, Bell Aliant gets the monopoly nod. Service is good since the federales gave these telcos hundreds of millions to supply us all with high-speed fibre optic cable. It keeps us home, right!? From dial-up to ultra (3.4 Mbps) to fibre op @ 93 Mbps or so.
Today’s image is of the indoor/outdoor thermometer, January 29th, 2026. It’s now 5 weeks past the December solstice. We are steadily losing sunlight into the interior of the building, as le soleil climbs into her azimuth. There is no auxiliary heat on inside, since last night and none will be needed ’til bout 8 PM this evening.
Jan. 29th, 2026
The Woodville Lookoff is now on private property, but one may still hike there without being seen. Conversely, one may ask for permission. The Annapolis Valley is the floor with the South Mountain rising in the distance.
LIVING ROOM surround sound prewired
Much of the wiring necessary for a 5.1 or higher surround sound for film and music, was prewired behind the drywall. The subwoofer has a central floor location under the sofa. I am a proponent of keeping the sub near the listening sweet spot for the best feeling of bass and other low frequencies. If you have a floor-standing stereo pair of speakers and a CC (Centre Channel), the prewiring is in the wall and arrives in the area adjacent to the heat pump outlet.
The remainder of the living room has been prewired for surround sound for those who take film (DD) and or music seriously, as I have, over the decades. There are 4 in-wall Paradigm speakers. Two for the rear and two for the front side or proscenium speakers. A multi-channel receiver like the Yamaha I use, is all that’s necessary to power the entire system. You will need a stereo L&R set, a CC + a sub.
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 of Wolfville, the price would be 1.2M$. They also said, “During the C-19 pandemic, there would’ve been bidding wars for it.”
WOODVILLE
Woodville has its own community centre, complete with a well-equipped gym/fitness room, in the basement. The building has an elevator, a diesel generator for storm outages, plus all new windows and doors
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.
From Google: “While specific cumulative, province-wide data from 2010 to 2025 is not explicitly summarized in a single stat, data indicates that in the Halifax area alone, detached dwelling construction costs have risen by approximately 66.9% over the past five years (roughly 2020 to 2025).”
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, when I asked The Universe permission to create this homestead, that what I would fashion, would be overbuilt for this rural area, despite it being a brief, pleasant, quiet and uncongested 15-minute drive to all services in Kentville & New Minas. It’s less to Berwick, only 12 minutes; a town that has groceries, banking, building supplies, hardware and medical services, as well as gas stations. 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. We don’t own our houses; they own us, with all the upkeep and maintenance. That’s the daily joy, and it has been.
Two prominent local agricultural businesses I frequent.
Foote Family Farm sells sweet cider, apples and honey.
Boates organic U-pick
Boates U-pick sells organic pears, apples, and cider vinegar.
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)
Rob’s 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.
Below is a satellite image with a link to Google Earth, demonstrating the privacy of the location, south-facing of the house, and nearby surrounding lands.
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
WATER
Yes, there have been droughts in the province these past several years. While many older dug wells have gone dry, this well is drilled and produces 15 gpm (gallons per minute). That’s sufficient to run a farm on.
The kitchen sink is the only location for hard water (cold only) on the right. All 3 exterior taps are fed by softened water for less spotting after car washing. The water here comes from a 165′ deep (50+M) drilled well. I use it for drinking & cooking.
The hardness in gpg (grains per gallon) is 13. There is no iron, but plenty of calcium, to spot stainless and chrome fixtures and spot glassware. The mechanical room has a water softener that solves this issue. The calcium comes from drilling into the gypsum bedrock, underlying much of the North Mtn.
Springtime is for the BIRDS
The pond is supplied by two streams. During spring melting, combined with a storm deluge, the stream nearest the driveway becomes a roaring waterfall that is a delight to see & hear.
Each spring, a pair of mallard ducks arrive and survey this location for raising a brood of ducklings. However, since there are no fish this far upstream, the childless couple don’t stay long. Still, it is a joy to see them as the cycle of life continues.
Here’s a male goldfinch in love with its own image (May 2020) sitting on the window ledge licking its lips… beak, then leaving a tell-tale saliva strand as evidence for its self-desire. :-))
There are tons of bald eagles that roost further up the mountain. They circle far above in good weather, using their innate great telescopic eyesight to locate prey. This species, while still a bald eagle, is considerably smaller than those found in BC on the left coast. I had the ole Cannon P&S stretched out to its full 40X optical zoom, leaning against the door pillar as a steady rest.
The most common sounds and sights are those of the barred owls, of which these woods abound in their legions.
This pair of mourning dove “babies” hatched in the carport in April 2020. I kept my distance.
Then there are the ruby-throated hummingbirds. Once plentiful here, their numbers have plummeted.
A male hummer up close with a pouty countenance
hummingbird nest
3 hummers
Male goldfinch headbanger, slammed himSelf
against one of the unyielding windows.
It later flew away.
A male ring-necked pheasant taking a stroll across the front yard… such as it is.
A nest full of baby sparrows hoping I’m mama
returning with something to swallow.
There has been a lone red-tailed hawk to the west that returns from its southern winter sojourn.
Summer Relaxation
Hammock
Winter Warmth
There’s nothing like a wood stove with a flat top to warm up some food. A single elbow, then straight up an insulated stainless steel chimney, with a rain cap. The only heat that warms the body and the soul. It’s a place for visitors to congregate in the cold, since fire is elemental.
I would be remiss if I did not mention the hallowed night sky. Away from the interference of urban lights, one is treated to spectacular night vision a few hours after sundown, due to a lack of atmospheric particulate, when most ambient light has gone to sleep. This image is not mine, as my photography is not up to this level. Attribution is below in the link.
I AM John Gabriel Ötvös, aka jayöh.
2 Responses to “Passivhaus 4-sale”
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Geralyne says:
Hi John,
What a gorgeous home you’ve created, with many fascinating details. Surrounded by nature.
G-
John Gabriel Otvos says:
Blessings.
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