Ok Boys n girls.... here's everyones chance to show their stuff. i'd like to get some perspectives on a home i am planning to build in the future. say in a year or two. I will most likely build as i go, (on my own dime) as the economy has has shot me in the foot and i cant get a loan to build.
Picture if you will a gambrel type barn 16' x 28' fro the main body of the home. 9 foot ceilings up and down.
(Yeah, just like a storage barn at home depot.But taller)
The lvg room at the front, master bath and laundry in the rear.
Flanked on the right with a 12 x 24 kitchen/dining rm set back from the main 2 feet with a simple lein-to roof.
Flanked on the left with a 12x22 master bed room and a huge walk in closet. also set back 2 feet and simple lein-to roof. All metal roof, debating on siding, cement, metal or cedar board n batten, undecided. the stairs by the way are in the center of the main... and there would be 2 bedrooms up stairs. on in front, one in back. The roofline will have a dormer at the landing at the top as well as 2) window (dormers) per room on one side of the upper roof. As a design thought i am debating building the main (barn) and siding it all the way around so the siding is inside the adjoining flanks. Think that would be kinda cool if we go with cedar. Drywall the rest ofcourse. Im also thinking of building it so that it could be separated and moved if ever need be.
Here's where i need the input....
I just thought about going with a slab and footer foundation, as the lot we are looking into is nice and gently rolling... maybe a foot of grade over 20 feet, maybe 2 feet in 30 feet(Minimal grade really) I wonder if there would be any savings to gain, whether by lumber, or heating cooling, as i have never lived on a slab foundation, and have no comparisons. I have to imagine it would be better in some ways, not so better in others.
The wiring presents a problem for me too. I will have to hire all of the major stuff out as i dont know code for ele. what so ever. I know a little but not enough to wire the whole house. I wonder what is better... wiring from the top or from the bottom? i would imagine from the bottom would save a little wire... but if we go with a slab.... there goes that idea right? or no?
With the disassemble and move theory, how could the wiring be done to make that easier? Junction thru the wall switches somehow? I know all connections have to be in a box... how might i plan this?
Any one experienced with outdoor wood furnaces? (the boiler type with aux power) If this goes on concrete i would really like to put one of those in. How tough are they to install? Manifolds and such... pumps...not my area really. And price? any one put one in lately?
My son is 5 so i think we will go with a cheap laminate for most of the floors and carpet elsewhere and vinyl in the baths. Until he is a little older and more careful, i dont wanna put down the good stuff and see it get "rurnt" (for all you city folk that means thrashed by a five yr old!!!)
Since we are thinking about building as we go... i see the purchase of some water sealer in our future by the 5 gallon bucket size. A gc i worked with years back asked us to spray the subfloor down with it and come back the next day to start framing walls. So we did. we doused that joker...3/4 osb... we had the ext walls up and it rained for 2 weeks. we drilled holes in the lowest spots we could find, cut out our bottom plates at all the doors and let all the water we could out.... worked like a charm.... but we had a sump in the basement going non stop for 2 weeks.... the footprint on this house was probably 4500 sq feet. so it was like a swimming pool. the Tompsons waterseal worked great!!!! nothing buckled up, or even swelled. If i had not seen it i would have never believed it. So i will use this trick too, might even use it on all the lumber during construction... couldnt hurt right? or could it? Any experience there?
lastly, i'd like to put a great big i beam in the main roof peak, just like an old hay barn. with a pulley and rollers. would be handy moving furniture in and out, and just kinda cool i think... but how to hinge the door to drop down, and then ofcourse how to seal it up tight when not in use. I kinda would like it to act as a patio door, put a screen up and railings to keep it safe. (no patio naturally) Any design ideas on that appreciated.
Thats about it... i figure this one cant fare any worse than some threads i have been reading. I just hope no one asks me if i have a code book in my pocket. I dont.... yet... I know there are some great minds here, and i hope this might interest some of you. Again, this is my own house plan, i drew and designed, this is not a job or a client. Any and all mistakes will be the sole responsibility of the erector, in the event of actual commencement of construction, kiss my a** goodbye for a while!!! this is gonna take some long time to do after work and on weekends. i just hope we can make it happen. Any how, thanks you guys, if anyone has even read this much... so long winded. Sorry. Thanks, good night.
Picture if you will a gambrel type barn 16' x 28' fro the main body of the home. 9 foot ceilings up and down.
(Yeah, just like a storage barn at home depot.But taller)
The lvg room at the front, master bath and laundry in the rear.
Flanked on the right with a 12 x 24 kitchen/dining rm set back from the main 2 feet with a simple lein-to roof.
Flanked on the left with a 12x22 master bed room and a huge walk in closet. also set back 2 feet and simple lein-to roof. All metal roof, debating on siding, cement, metal or cedar board n batten, undecided. the stairs by the way are in the center of the main... and there would be 2 bedrooms up stairs. on in front, one in back. The roofline will have a dormer at the landing at the top as well as 2) window (dormers) per room on one side of the upper roof. As a design thought i am debating building the main (barn) and siding it all the way around so the siding is inside the adjoining flanks. Think that would be kinda cool if we go with cedar. Drywall the rest ofcourse. Im also thinking of building it so that it could be separated and moved if ever need be.
Here's where i need the input....
I just thought about going with a slab and footer foundation, as the lot we are looking into is nice and gently rolling... maybe a foot of grade over 20 feet, maybe 2 feet in 30 feet(Minimal grade really) I wonder if there would be any savings to gain, whether by lumber, or heating cooling, as i have never lived on a slab foundation, and have no comparisons. I have to imagine it would be better in some ways, not so better in others.
The wiring presents a problem for me too. I will have to hire all of the major stuff out as i dont know code for ele. what so ever. I know a little but not enough to wire the whole house. I wonder what is better... wiring from the top or from the bottom? i would imagine from the bottom would save a little wire... but if we go with a slab.... there goes that idea right? or no?
With the disassemble and move theory, how could the wiring be done to make that easier? Junction thru the wall switches somehow? I know all connections have to be in a box... how might i plan this?
Any one experienced with outdoor wood furnaces? (the boiler type with aux power) If this goes on concrete i would really like to put one of those in. How tough are they to install? Manifolds and such... pumps...not my area really. And price? any one put one in lately?
My son is 5 so i think we will go with a cheap laminate for most of the floors and carpet elsewhere and vinyl in the baths. Until he is a little older and more careful, i dont wanna put down the good stuff and see it get "rurnt" (for all you city folk that means thrashed by a five yr old!!!)
Since we are thinking about building as we go... i see the purchase of some water sealer in our future by the 5 gallon bucket size. A gc i worked with years back asked us to spray the subfloor down with it and come back the next day to start framing walls. So we did. we doused that joker...3/4 osb... we had the ext walls up and it rained for 2 weeks. we drilled holes in the lowest spots we could find, cut out our bottom plates at all the doors and let all the water we could out.... worked like a charm.... but we had a sump in the basement going non stop for 2 weeks.... the footprint on this house was probably 4500 sq feet. so it was like a swimming pool. the Tompsons waterseal worked great!!!! nothing buckled up, or even swelled. If i had not seen it i would have never believed it. So i will use this trick too, might even use it on all the lumber during construction... couldnt hurt right? or could it? Any experience there?
lastly, i'd like to put a great big i beam in the main roof peak, just like an old hay barn. with a pulley and rollers. would be handy moving furniture in and out, and just kinda cool i think... but how to hinge the door to drop down, and then ofcourse how to seal it up tight when not in use. I kinda would like it to act as a patio door, put a screen up and railings to keep it safe. (no patio naturally) Any design ideas on that appreciated.
Thats about it... i figure this one cant fare any worse than some threads i have been reading. I just hope no one asks me if i have a code book in my pocket. I dont.... yet... I know there are some great minds here, and i hope this might interest some of you. Again, this is my own house plan, i drew and designed, this is not a job or a client. Any and all mistakes will be the sole responsibility of the erector, in the event of actual commencement of construction, kiss my a** goodbye for a while!!! this is gonna take some long time to do after work and on weekends. i just hope we can make it happen. Any how, thanks you guys, if anyone has even read this much... so long winded. Sorry. Thanks, good night.