If you could build a home how would you design it??

If I had the energy/fitness that I had in my youth with the time and money I have now, I'd go chasing women no... I'd love to build an environmentally friendly house with mrs Cat with a big workshop in a few acres with some woodland and a little stream and pond.
Del

Can you expand that enviromentally friendly house thought some?

Thank you; intriguing

Just as a note, both LegoLand and McMansion are not as localized as you think. We use both terms here in Arizona.

The proper term for Legoland is of course, zero lot lined. You can build to within 3 feet (1 meter) of the legal boundary of the lot. From an environmental perspective I like it since it reduces temptation to insist on a lawn in the desert.

I have some land in rural Arkansas, 7 miles from the nearest town. Some of it is hilly and I've always wanted to build a house into the side of a hill there. With a southern exposure and trees I can keep it cool easily. _{(Del, It has a creek and a pond (see avatar) and deer and turkey, and an occasional Bald Eagle)}

I see a mostly glass front, with enough of an overhang to shade the south side in the summer. Loft upstairs and mostly open space below. I guess from the front you would call it an A-frame on steroids.

I may, but may not $$$, cut sufficient timber off the property to build the house. Native materials would be used whenever possible and a good portion of the underground part would be concrete, for strength.

_{Of course, I will have to buy some type of earth mover}

I guess simplicity would prevail. Wood furniture and beams and all.

I have a city house already.

Yep, house inside a hill is what I reckon. You wait and see till you go inside. Well, we can't have it all now, can we?

Natural light and ventilation through out. Whats the problem?

I wonder what the neighbors are going to say

Too late, Ky.

Thank you ky it's a great looking place, how functional it is? What systems are employed and why did you prefer one over the other?

Hope that answers your questions. I could have gone into more detail but time, even on a Sunday, is rare. Are you any good at spraying concrete?

"I wonder what the neighbors are going to say"

There are no neighbors. And Weyerhaeuser Forest Products owns the adjoining property for miles around. It's like living next to a giant animal preserve.

Hi lynlynch

I just took the first hill I could find on Google and copied a house from Google and put it were I wanted it. Don't tell me you really know the area? Well, anyway, that's what my house would look like, at least the roundness and flow of things. If I were in Chris's house for a day I would start finding interest in maths, dog forbid.

I have noticed that other posters have taken the time to forward their ideas and I was lazy and did a Google. I can do better than that, it would have just taken too long, at that time, to get into details. Interesting thread by now.

Here are my requirements to start building and finishing a home in a set time/budget. For the one in the picture, including plumbing, 12 months with me and some young blokes who can handle the sound of a cracking whip and an earth mover. Once a week be let go at the nearest Hotel. Me pay. It is Sunday morning here, so bear with me.

Stage one

1. Have a weekend with the said blokes on the beach somewhere. Kids kit and caboodle sort of thing.

2. Find a suitable area. No kids or women allowed. Sorry but your influence will come into play when the final touches are put in place. No, not the kitchen. You see how careful I am to not to upset the ones we are building it for.

3. Start building a sand structure at will with the materials and tools at hand. The smallest holes, widows should allow a hand to go through, that kind of scale. The entry would be shoulder wide, so one can crawl in.

4. Seal the design with a thin layer of Plaster of Paris. Then the sand from the core is removed. Any changes can now be made. At this scale a matter of minutes.

5. Take the ropes and strings from the back of the truck and replicate. Yep, in different colors and sizes and then play sparky and the other trades needed to put in infrastructure. All from the out side around the now existing shell. All the time discussing methods and the anticipated results or procedures. Not rocket science really.

6. Plaster again.

7. Load up with sand and observe when the shell collapses. One is surprised how much load such a structure can handle. We did this once on a small scale and used coconut fronds as part of the structure.

8. Call the kids in the afternoon and see what they think of it and what they can find wrong with it.

During this time all aspects would be discussed with the guys in charge of the different trades. Plumber, Electrician, concretor, crane driver. From this exercise amounts and scale could be calculated off the top of my head. Building a prototype has always helped in the hands on department and doing it on a computer does not involve any kids and loved ones and beer and a beach party.

Stage two

9. Find suitable hill side and blast a hole in the side. Yep, just the way you like it. Get the heavy gear going and remove the debris and create a slab. Detail rock face and render if needed. I like it rustic in areas so no worries there.

10. Fill the area with two large inflated geo membrane balloons (instead of sand) and tie down. These don't go to waste but are used for the pool and water storage later on.

11. Use spray on fiber cement in a thin layer first. Maybe 1/2" would do. The test will be if one can walk on it. This will create a rendered surface on the inside.

12. Take all the inner elements out.

13. Place geo membrane over the whole lot.

14. Cover with fero cement.

15. Place plumbing. power and drainage on top and integrate onto first shell using them as a structural component. Perforated PVC drain pipe if required. Because about 70% of the roof will become part of the land scape that part of the irrigation and drainage can be left as is, no rendering, just membrane.

16. Place doors, windows, sky lights etc. into the shell. Nothing a bit of light steel and welding can't take care of. Because this would be happening in a tropical zone and the place would be cooled by cross ventilation, I plan to use louvre windows and sliding doors. I would use controlled mirror light and could do that here because we have sun light most of the time. For other lights and power I would use my water turbine. Oh, I forgot to tell you about the all year fast flowing creek, if I would shut up you could just hear it flowing.

17. Cover and secure the structure with a layer of light weight "foam concrete?" Just enough to cover the infrastructure and combine it with the thinner first shell.

18. Show the missus and lead her inside. Two story house with wide inner spaces and a set back second story. Safe in a cyclone and floods and fires and good for two life times, at least.

What a round of golf that was. Actually I had this conversation on a golf course with a mate of mine, years back. He was a master plumber and he liked the idea of less elbows and setting things in a way that they can be easily maintained or even changed.

I could go on for ever and think about this when I am reminded. Always something to learn and pick up. Some nice concepts and thoughts from others on this. Thanks to all.

In my dreams Mate, in my dreams, Ky.

I'm not sure if you have been channeling your inner-architect, or your inner child, (or both) but I actually like the sandcastle idea. It is where we all learn of what nature has to teach. some structures stand tall, some fall, some wash away in the surf, some get destroyed by acts of malice.. but it is still educational. I like how you think.

ga

Chris

If your significant other isn't part of the design/building process from the outset, you'll be creating some significant issues you may not want to deal with - fruit of experience. Sorry, but it's demeaning for someone to tell you "This is what you want". The implication being, "If you don't like it, too bad." I've known more than one marriage to end because of that kind of thinking.

Thanks Jean

My cheeks were bulging to the one side. Must have been my tongue. You see I am supplying the shell and in real life Heidi knows all about it and what is involved and what it will look like. I would just not like her to be on site and witness my many failings and attempts. Once that is over she can build a nest to her likings. Just not the kitchen, as I said.

That kind of thinking? After 40 years we know who has the pants on for what occasions. This would be only a minor reason not to have the grand children around and let them use the adventure slide, fed by the creek and leading into the pool (not shown).

Sorry if I rubbed you up the wrong way. If you'd know me a bit better your concern would not have emerged.

In my dreams, only in my dreams, Ky.

When I was a youngster my folks had a friend build them a home nearly surrounded by an animal preserve and for several years the nearest house was over a mile and a half away, wow it was peaceful. Then some weird people built about a mile away; weird they're kids had to wear helmets when using the yard toys, swing-set etc.; pathetic.

It was 5800 sq/ft plus a full basement, 2-1/2 car garage with a loft, 1-1/2 car driveway and four car parking area. The well was 1207' deep and 120 gallons per minutes cold sweet water. There was electric radiant heat in the ceiling so each room had a thermometer.

The first floor was brick exterior with hardwood floor throughout with exception of linoleum in the kitchen and nook and family room. Kids weren't allowed in the living-room because it had a 24' x 44' white wool rug an Mama was real particular about it.

The first floor was comprised of kitchen, family-room, dining, living-room and master-bedroom; I remember the MBr had 280 sq/ft of closet space.

The second floor was comprised of four bedrooms and two baths each bedroom about 550 sq/ft to 600 sq/ft and being on a hilltop we could see the school bus turn on to our road ten miles away; that's when we left the house for the half mile walk through the wooded short-cut to the bus stop—but if afraid of ticks the road route was 3/4 mile.

The basement included a small shop area about 400 sq/ft, about 750 sq/ft each for billiards, ping-pong and then shuffle board and my make-shift indoor archery range. Total hallway about 20' length total. The water heaters were electric 100 gallons for each floor. There was an outside basement enterance off of the concrete patio outside the family-room.

We cleared about an acre and a half and planted a yard of grass; that's work.

wow.... every man's home is his castle.. but that really sounds like a castle! I love it.

Yes, I remember being able to hear a car coming for many minutes before it actually got to our driveway. My sister still owns the house I grew up in. We divided the family farm among the three children.

Now here I am in Arizona, wishing I could retire and go back. Oh well, someday.........

I grew up there. Our house was on the side of a hill. There was one other house within five miles of us. If you walked north or south you would go for about 5 miles to get to another road or farm.

There are tons more deer there now than 40 years ago.

i have lived in cabinetmaking and construction all my life cradle to grave. i plan on building on 20 acres with a flowing river and a waterfall 300 hundred feet away that drops 300 feet in four steps when i sell where i am now. this is a northern rainforest with trees (2000) over 5 feet in diameter and in spite of all these raw material resources i will build a concrete house that will not rot or burn or degrade for at least 500 years that will be poured in place or tilted up. these concrete parts will be formed in rubber or styrofoam moulds so that there will be no need for door and window trims or siding or roofing as all of this will be poured into the shape of the molds. the only thing to be added is the colouring. concrete is the longest lasting and cheapest building material there is and it can be shaped into anything you want. i don't necessarily want to be looking at concrete from the inside of the house but the amount of interior finishing and framing wood required for this type of construction is minimal compared to standard stickframed house. the inside walls won't really touch the concrete shell much just enough to locate the two in relation to each other. the exterior concrete is compete with all the finishing details for whatever style you want cast in the concrete.

Thank you great minds think alike

Yeah, but do you want or need it to last 500 years?
Concrete is rather unforgiving, difficult to alter, adjust, expand, add in wiring etc.
maybe concrete pillars with the walls made of foam and skimmed with concrete?
Concret can, on rare occaisions produce great architecture...but generally ends up loonkig like a 1960's mulitstorey carpark.
Dunno if you've seen the Grand Design programs... One bloke lived in the woodland which he managed, he built a beautiful house from the woodland timber, and jsut extended it when he had kids..it was like a fairytale house.(go on have a look...)

OK I appreciate that our climates are different and you want different things from a house....but concrete? It surely doesn't sit well as being part of the land and it's not environmentally friendly.
Maybe I'd use old car tyres or discarded smilies
Del

An 'A frame' home fairly typical in the mountains in the western US.

"Yeah, but do you want or need it to last 500 years? Concrete is rather unforgiving, difficult to alter, adjust, expand, add in wiring etc. maybe concrete pillars with the walls made of foam and skimmed with concrete?

Concrete can, on rare occaisions produce great architecture...but generally ends up loonkig like a 1960's mulitstorey carpark"

Speaking only for my Tropical paradise, I would never build a structure in wood here. It's not a matter of making it last half a millennium - it won't last three years with the termite problem that we have. And my house will not contain one stick of untreated lumber except for my antique furniture. Masonry is not an option here - it's a necessity unless you want to rebuild your house in three years' time.

Concrete can be beautiful; it can even be made to look like wood if you want it to. It's a matter of good design and workmanship. If your house has the proportions of an elevated carpark, it will look like one even if you do it in wood...

You do have to plan if you want to keep your costs down. Here of course nobody does any planning, so first the concrete wall is built, then some laborer spends an entire day chipping out a groove into which pipe or conduit is inserted, and another spends another day plastering over the groove! That I simply won't accept. I expect to go through a lot of construction workers early in the project before settling on a workforce that can be trusted.

The beauty of top-down construction is that the ferrocement shell roof can be wired in, plastered and finished by as few as three people if a mortar pump is available (no woring runs up there - just reinforcing wires and mesh). Now you have a weatherproof cover that allows the rest of the work to proceed at leisure, and ready access to labor when other jobs are rained out.

mmmmmm, tropical paradise.
Point taken.

Hello Mr. Cat. Houses that are built around here - southern b.c. , are typically stickframed (made out of 2x4 or 2x6) and they cost about 200 bucks per square foot to build - not including the cost of the site. I bet they will be under the excavator in 50 or sixty years and i believe that is a waste of resources - both time and money. Concrete houses precast into really well prepared molds that have all the finishing details built into the molds that are poured into sizes that can be shipped and craned up would put up a finished shell quite quickly and independant of the weather. I mean that there is no sideing - no window and door trim - no roofing except probably a membrane layer glued to the concrete, to be applied later - all that detail is made very carfully in the mold once and thereafter poured. the longest lasting rubber i know of is also the least expensive, a.k.a., brush or spray on latex rubber. What about the fact that large molds made out of latex will shrink and one will lose all that carefully made dimensioning ? If you put on the rubber with adequate thickness building fillers like ceco powder and before you pull the rubber off you put an epoxy or fibreglass shell over the back of the rubber that is thick and strong enough to take the rigors of use the rubber cannot stretch or shrink cuz it is glued to the hard shell backing it up. These mold sections need to be flanged so they can be bolted together and conversely unbolted to strip the mold. If you oil the latex mold with castor oil once in a while the rubber will last a long time for many, many pours. Now this outer shell is set up and the carpenters can go to town putting up the floor layers and interior walls. The interior walls are spaced 3 inches or so from the inside of the concrete shell so there is lots of room for wiring - plumbing-etc. The floor layers are not concrete so they are easily drilled into for amenities.

Love the concrete building - actually a concrete frame and floors with block fill. Long lasting and earthquake resistant which is important here (Western Turkey). Not hard to remodel in the future either - have done many apartments here for resale or rent. We used Dow XPS foam on the exterior with stucco coating. No structural wood in the place.

Earthquake code here calls for more steel in the concrete than İ have seen in many industrial structures.

Twenty-one years ago, standing on top of Mount Tamalpais and looking out over the Bay Area urban sprawl, I had something of an epiphany. I saw that cities bear a startling resemblance to a land-fill. Since then I promised myself that, if and when I ever build a home, it will blend in to it's surroundings.

So, where do I go from there? One obvious solution is domes, which end up looking more like a cluster of mushrooms than the affore-mentioned dump-site.

Lately however, I've been thinking about a small cabin in the mountains, maybe 600 square feet (55m²). Log and heavy timber on a native stone foundation. No need to insulate the walls, since logs are very thermally efficient (though I have no real idea of why), but the roof and floor would be heavily insulated. Gabled roof for simplicities sake, high pitched to shed snow. Open interior plan, since it would be just me and possibly one very special woman. Wood stove for heat, possibly even a cast iron wood range, backed up by an environmental energy system including solar panels, wind charger, heat pump, maybe even a small hydro-electric installation, assuming a running stream deep enough not to freeze solid in the winter.

Anything metal and subject to extreme corrosion, such as water supply and heat pump piping and chimneys would be made of stainless steel. Additionally, the roof would be copper, which lasts almost forever. All interior lighting would be LED for the sake of minimal energy use and longevity.

Beyond that it's kind of hard to say, since this is only in the dream stage just yet. But, the basic idea is to build a rustic sort of mountain hide-away that can operate totally off the grid, but still be reasonably comfortable and not require a whole lot of maintenance.

My dream is similar. It is a 24-foot square, with all four walls gabled. The roof is like the four adjacent faces of a rhombic dodecahedron with highest point at the center, lowest points at the corners; the gable tops are halfway between. This resembles a short pyramid rotated 45° to the square plan.

My wife's art loft would be centered above the dining area and similarly rotated 45°. The four outer quadrants of the plan consist of living area, sleeping area, kitchen, and bath/entry. Except for the bath, no interior walls at all.

Because of the mild climate, an air-coupled heat pump of 12,000 Btu/h will suffice, especially with the corner fireplace. Here, and in the woods, neither wind nor solar offers much.

One way I am considering is a custom PanAbode kit (Lincoln logs for older farts like me!)

A lot of things go into these sorts of decisions, what is reasonable and workable for me may not be for your situation. so first you need to decide what your design goals are, just like ANY design process. If you don't know where you are going, you won't know when you have arrived at your destination.

MY design goals would be to balance functionality, weather/hurricane resistance (I live on the gulf coast, you don't, so your mileage may vary), energy usage, aesthetics, usable area, and cost. The balance I strike will be unique to me and the balance may change as the research dictates.

I would probably shoot for a SEER of around 14 for the AC system. Higher SEERs are possible but they have the drawback of not removing enough humidity from the air. Since our dryest day here is probably your most humid, that may not be an issue for you to consider.

I would use both radiant barriers as well as an "Ice House" type roof.

I'll add more later when i have more time to expound.

Thank you for the time and information so far...practicality is often the greatest achievement.

Some folks are experiencing trouble with the drawer type refrigeration units and drawer dishwashers too.

I think a walk-in refrigeration unit maybe the ticket for functionality and economy, can a walk-in freezer be placed inside a walk-in cooler ya think?

What sort of trouble are people having with drawer type refrigeration units? I love them, but they're hard to find.

I should first count my money. Building is a difficult choice. Every 10 years you have different ideas. Built many already and my cousin became 72 and starts building again. I think you try every time something different. And also when your family and needs change you can use an adapted house. For me of course, where did I read it. a big work shop is what matters.

this is a fire and gasoline question... there are so many possibilities...

but a just to try and keep it simple.. a few years ago I came up with this idea for a solar house. basically 4 adobe style walls, glass front, insulated back, thermal blinds, greenhouse up top. huge timber beams. wrought iron breakfast nooks on side.. spanish cross negative extrusion on interior wall with 'bridge'. nicely landscaped (lots of green stuff), trellised patios & pool thick heavy rustic doors, wrought iron hinge & handle etc. This is just a concept set of renders.. so not really complete.

and as you can see, the doorways and windows are arched, so I added some interior 'postive' arches for artspace. (to put your art on). near the front. also helps with the thermal mass, and air ventilation duct hiding

sorry, I guess I really didn't answer your question bwire.

I live in a northern climate, but I think that some principles apply most anywhere. If you have the resources to create what you want, I think that creating thermal storage underground is a great idea, and place the house on top of it. If you design the energy systems right, the house should be able to maintain constant temperature and humidity values, that you find comfortable, and should be economical to build, operate and maintain.

I think cwarner7_11 has educated me on the use of Compressed Earth Block, which could be used to build a design such as mine shown above. If you can make friends with contractors in the city, then you can sometimes come up with some great deals on glass that is just being thrown in the dumpster when office buildings/floors are renovated. (sometimes full height tempered glass is used as partitions. I aquired 35 pieces like that (frosted and clear) a few years ago, but was told it is not best for greenhouses.. I forget why)

and it should have a fountain and pool right charlie?

Chris

My two big beefs with conventional home design- showers and kitchens are too small. The first thing I do in the morning is take a shower. If this is a pleasant experience, I have a good chance of having a pleasant day. If I have to stuff myself into a small closet where I bang my elbows trying to wash my back, and there isn't enough light to find the soap bar I just dropped, I am not likely to exit the bath in the most pleasant of moods. On the other hand, a shower with a glass wall lit by natural light from a beautiful garden view, big enough where I can actually maneuver about without banging body parts on fixtures- that is likely to give a good start to my day.

Kitchens- parties ALWAYS migrate to the kitchen. The family itself tends to migrate to the kitchen at meal time, in anticipation of the sustenance to come. Why not combine the kitchen and the family room?

yes... hmm... yes, I do believe you are right. Showers should be large enough for me and several um.. handmaidens... who can fetch the soap if they happen to drop it while frolicking! and I like multiple showerheads and some steam... (then handmaidens like the handheld type. ) (oops, I think my religion is showing again. )

Chris

That sounds remarkably Islamic, or erstwhile Mormon!

That said, I never could understand polygamy--who wants four mothers-in-law? That gotta be crazy, bro!

who said anything about marriage??

Okay, Hef, you win!

Maybe that explains the 4500 sf concubine condo house?

When designing our new home İ told the architect that İ was favor of the death penalty for those that design in small showers - he certainly looked at me funny. While that house was being built we were livingin an aparthotel that had about the samllest shower İ have ever been in - had to open the door to bend down for the soap!

I think showers should at least include a bench, an overhead rain type fixture a handheld wand and be no smaller than the footprint of a twin-sized bed. I don't like glass surrounds a curtain is fine; launder it. I guess I'm forward thinking an the shower should have a drying area incorporated too, with easy chair access. I don't use a chair now but who knows?

your house design shown is monumental. i have worked in a lot of 4 or 6k sq ft houses and i believe they are a nusance even to the people that own them more light needed as the ceiling rises heating costs the echo cleaning the whole thing the most convenient things are the closest at hand this idea of making the circuit breaker box divided up into rooms instead of 15 outlets is wonderful. i want to continue developing the concept of the best house as i plan to build yet another and for the first time for myself in the near (two-three) year future. the designs the design sellers spill out are pretty already done over and over and not much advanced function is present. lets drive this down closer to what a family needs to be happy and creative - geometry - ambient light - the sound and psychology of the effect of the interior on the people and pets within the structure all should be thought about

Used an electrical panel on each of 4 floors and all home run wiring - most anything can be moved into automation as İ chose.

Please forgive my ignorance, but what is "home run wiring?"

I think he means a straight run of wiring dedicated to a single room or device so you can separate circuits by function or room.

Thanks.

Ever since I learned how telephone wiring was installed in apartment buildings, I've wanted to do power the same way. Phone trunks are wired in a loop so there are always two paths to every point. To install an additional extension, you just tap into the relevant pair at the location where you want to install the extension. The only drawback is that somebody in another apartment with the necessary skill can tap into your phone, and only an impedance check on your line will detect the intrusion.

For power, I would run a loop from the master breaker through all the rooms and back to the master breaker. The loop would be of sufficient gauge to carry continuously if necessary half (two paths, remember) of the full ampere load allowed the by house service (typically 200 amperes in the States; presumably 100 amperes in countries with 220 V service). In each room, a panel would tap into the loop and supply individual loads (stove, heat pump) or groups of loads (lights, small appliances). For home automation I would probably use the vehicular CAN buss - a low-amp DC loop carrying (in this case) only control signals to switching modules at each panel, with possible breakouts to each load. A relay would be needed between the CAN module and each AC load, but the mass-market nature of automotive hardware would still make the resulting system cheaper than a dedicated home automation (e.g. X10) system and easier to get parts for in out-of-the way places.

The power buss loop would of course be heavy-gauge wire and very expensive per running meter, but it would be replacing a plethora of smaller-gauge wires running point-to-point, so both the net component cost and the cost of installation would be lower.

I blundered into the advantages of automotive hardware when I was wiring a 40-foot motor coach for use as a high-end motor home. No CAN buss back then, so I ran a single power cable (heavy gauge welding cable, to allow for vibration) forward and another aft from the midships battery station and set up a relay board in the back. I then ran a bunch of 32-gauge (very small) control wires aft from the driver's station to the relay board to switch power to the rear and 'midships loads. It worked like a charm, and after removing nearly 150 pounds of damaged point-to-point factory wiring I replaced it with less than 20 pounds of wiring that did essentially the same job. It then occurred to me that simply changing the relay contact rating from 12VDC to 110VAC (this was in the USA) I could use the same system in a home.

bad idea, if you had a short you'd have TWO paths for twice the current before a breaker tripped. leave the wiring to the pros.

There's got to be an answer to that, because power distribution systems covering entire neighborhoods are also built as loops, to minimize the number of homes affected when work has to be done on part of the system. Two main breakers, perhaps - each with half the service capacity rating?

Mind you, what are the odds of a short occurring other than at a load, which is always downstream of a branch line breaker? In the forty-odd years I've been taking an interest I can't think of a single example.

As for leaving things to the pros: the worst boo-boos that I remember were all created by licensed professionals. I'm afraid that competence can't be taken for granted.

you have hit the nail on the head or otherwise hit a 300 yd. drive down the middle, (same sound) The family needs come first and foremost. In todays contract and subcontract world very little attention is paid to the people who live in the house. one day there is a back hoe on the site and the next day a house. Lets develop a new breed of general contractor, whose job 1 it is to plan the site first, then the house second. Proper and extensive planning about family and site will make it easy( and cheaper ) to turn the house into a home at the moment the family moves in, and with in budget. I have this crazy idea that might work. phase 1. Bring a "solar foundation" out of the ground utilizing a 4.5 foot mini basement and in floor radiant heating, and a small solar greenhouse. Install the solar collectors and the heating and cooling system, and have them working. install the water and sewer, irrigation system, move any topsoil till last thing. Now invite the family to come and camp out on their site, and see how it feels to wake up there. See how the first light comes on site and wakes you up. See how the afternoon light travels. See how hot it can be on the west side of the house. Then design build or modify a print and build phase 2 upon an existing site right away. The family would now have the option to delay the house portion till later, when they could afford it. If this idea was done in a spec. situation, who knows? Bottom line the family would have more options, and more control. This structure could be used as a real estate office where family's could see what kind of homes could be built on this. My Idea is that just about any home would flourish on this. I have been a plumber for 35 years and the last trade to leave. Most people are so excited when their new home is started, but as I'm hooking up my last sink and the family is moving in, they're not so happy. If family considerations were first, that would and should change.

Thanks for letting me bend your ear.

Hi Craig. I couldn't agree with you more in your suggestions about planning for the house to take care of the peoples needs in a well thought out manner. Its not that people have very different needs and some sort of design system could build up from a collection of good ideas that i would like to see poured into molds and I know not many people want to live in a lego set so these parts need to be really well designed.

I like the idea of the family sleeping and waking on the site before the domicle is constructed. The life of the land and our life in it comes first, next and always - especially critical, the more of us there are.

A few years before the bubble burst an associate discussed with me his desire to build a home for him/wife and two young kids. He was somewhat discouraged because he wanted more than his pocket book could handle but basically he wanted his children to grow up in better area.

I suggested a program he was unaware of which the township would defer payment for the land (2 acres), and hook-ups for ten years. This was great news but still he couldn't swing the house they had in mind and a 45% house was also out of reach.

What worked out for them was building the basement only, with in-floor heat and partitioned. The first floor decking was in place and a roof framework with steel sheeting for temporary shelter.

A year afterward they had a lockable shell built, a year later half the home was live able and now they're not discouraged.

I guess we're friends...

4 or 6k sq ft houses and i believe they are a nuisance even to the people that own them

Yep but having one person per 750 sq/ft makes cleaning a little simpler an then it's not so cavernous.

time is the rate of dissipation or motion direction in as many dimensions that are generated, of energy - energy is motion

Love your tag line...

I still have many of the flat carpenters pencils; they don't roll away.

I like it! Very good planning.

Is this a house or a hotel?

just a concept really.. about a 54' square footprint. 3 stories, but lots of open space.. about 4500 sq ft I think.

Chris,

nice house.

Spacecannon

Holy crawl space art man...

Y'all had that expanse of glass in the far north?

Being the odd ball that I am. I thought of having a developed short yard that could sheltered during winter by a shell, maybe on tracks so one could maintain the garden year round...

I found a nice container based but styrofoam house. It is available.

http://www.real-estate-bahamas.net/

Great thread!

Because I don't have a lot yet (desiderata are: north-facing slope, near but not in town, limestone or sandstone bedrock near grade), I don't have a specific design, but I carry with me a file folder into which I stuff notes that will eventually contribute to that design. A sampling is below.

Basic goal is to have a space that I own, that does not own me. No mortgage or other debt, even if that means building and/or furnishing in stages.

Top-down construction: permanent shell roof in ferrocement gets built first, sheltering the remaining construction work so that it can proceed whenever money and manpower are available.

A basement, where construction materials and tools can be sheltered during construction; it will be my laboratory/workshop afterward.

A "security core" combining the functions of safe room, emergency supplies storage, gravity water tank, generator room and comm center. Utilities will be grouped and clustered to the extent possible around the core, both to save cost and for maintainability.

Bathroom ventilation is upside down: air intake should be near the ceiling, discharge at floor level. The conventional system pulls bad odors up to nose level!

All surfaces finished for ease of cleaning. Screens and mosquito curtains easily removable for cleaning, and easily replaced. The house must serve me, not vice versa!

Openings and roofline designed and oriented to maximize natural ventilation and to make the best use of natural lighting.

Rainwater collection.

Wind and/or solar energy installation sized as grid supplement rather than replacement. Turns out that alternate energy sources are hugely cost-effective if they are integrated with conventional means. Example: Use solar thermal collectors as pre-heaters for laundry and dishwashing, instead of designing them for full output and peak temperature. Cost drops enormously, and the grid power that is saved by preheating pays for the much cheaper installation very quickly.

Lots of dry space for books and papers. I'm a bookaholic. I moved to the Philippines with a 40-foot container, about 5,000 books and seventeen file cabinets. Since then, I've bought more. The papers are getting scanned, but I will always have a strong preference for paper books over ebooks.

Levels: If I find the ideal sloping lot, the house will be a stairstep design with a single straight stairway flanked by a chairlift for my old age.

Enough for now.

It's nice to dream of the specifics, heating, materials, s/sufficiency, etc.
but.. initially would it be better to consider the strategic elements? e.g.

Security. Surviving if there was a war, or terrorist threat?
Flexibility. Needs change, families expand, and then children leave home.
Usability. Energies deteriorate with age, physical abilities are impaired.
Sustainability. Surrounding developments, lands and property confiscated.
Aesthetics. Palaces can be ugly. symmetry and style can be a lasting pleasure
etc. etc.

Personally I strongly favour stone. (the pyramids have lasted well?)
Always. Quality materials. Good, well treated, hardwood can last 1000 years.
The natural provisions, of drinking water, and fertile soil.
Proximity to essential facilities. Doctor, dentist, hospital, etc. etc.
Quality remain to enjoy, long after the brief pleasure of economy.

Paradise is by choosing well, and how you make it. (IMO)

I was very lucky to buy mine when only 21. The pleasure is endless;
and the only down side is.. you can never break away or leave it.
One old man said to me (about selling his home): but.. where would I live?

jt.

If you live in your best suit, what do you wear on Sunday?

On a hillside over loking the bay - four floors: a) daylight basement for guests and parents to come to live when they choose. Utility room, safe room and entry from garage b) ground (entry floor) salon, TV area and kitchen with two large balconies and a kitchen patio - wifes office and my office separate corners c) first floor - master bedroom, walk in closet, master bath and laundry - storage area - large balcony and spa area d) attic - two bedrooms plus storage area and sauna The house height allows natural draft to sweep through the home and keep it cool Security - magnetic contacts and light barriers on all potential entries with PİRs used in a few locations. Extensive CCTV system with recorder hidden away Automation - fully automated with full expansion potential. All wiring (each circuit) is home run (meaning one plug or switch has it's own circuit) Well on site with emergency generator Water heating - solar panels with electric backup - 350 liter tank Very well insulated - air source heat pump - in floor radiant heating with fan coils for heating/cooling Smoke detectors in all living/sleeping areas - moisture detectors in all potentially wet areas with solenoid valve in water supply. LAN - Cat5E cable to all rooms and potential consumers on the lot A few things we would do different in another house but generally quite happy

A modern earthshelter built into the hillside and energy efficient as much as possible.....self-sustainable with mix of PV-solar, passive solar, themal solar and wind turbines...also very environmentally friendly in regards to the surrounding ecosystem. Would be constructed of reinforced concrete and have massive skylights throughout the roof. All lighting and heating to be digitally controlled and state of the art, thereby bringing housing into the 21st century. Would go for LEED certification if possible!

That's just for starters. I've always wanted to build one since high school back in the 'mid-70's.

In the first place design entryways and at least some rooms (including toilet - a composting one is a good idea - no chemicals - this is tree food) accessible to persons using wheelchairs or walkers. You may not know anyone like that now, but you may someday. Also stairs should be shallow and deep enough that small children can navigate them safely (of course if they're going to slide down & climb up the banisters all bets are off).

And Legos can give some good ideas about building for access. Interior walls should be designed so that if you have to replace wiring or plumbing, it's behind panels that can be lifted out so you don't have to tear walls down. Plumbing should be on the outside walls wherever possible so that leaks aren't catastrophic, and it should also be accessible from the outside (without having to tear out brick walls for instance, for pity's sake). All plumbing should have bleed valves at the highest points and drain valves at the lowest points - and valves so that all units can be shut off individually. (We don't have building codes here in rural WV, is why I mention this.) Have your wiring done by a professional! (I, for one, am sick of malfunctions due to hillbilly/hippie construction.) Let your water pump be accessible, so that when it has to be replaced, it can be put on a dolly and wheeled out and the replacement wheeled in - backs are fragile. (This goes for all major appliances.)

Let your crawl spaces be ample enough to allow someone bigger than an eight year old (or cats- AAARGH - pace Del) to get in there and they shouldn't be dark and stuffy. I like to know where the spiders and snakes are to avoid close encounters - for the sake of all concerned. Nature's creatures have their place, and it isn't my face or the back of my neck.

It's a good idea to put on two roofs with an air space between so you don't lose heat so rapidly and can go without air conditioning. Trees are a big help here. If you build your house over a cellar be sure and insulate all floors, doorways and walls that abut that space - or the rooms above it will be COLD in the winter (here in WV anyway).

An attached greenhouse, with glass doors, is a wonderful thing - especially if you don't have space to garden outside. In the dead of winter you can smell earth and tend growing things - it keeps your spirits up. Also, you'll have fresh salad and flowers year round. And since you have to be "mother nature" - the wind and the rain year round - you become sensitive in the microcosm to the effects of variations in temperature, humidity, light - what will grow in which microniche created by the other plants... Also, animal behavior - you'll learn a lot about aphids, ants, whitefly, slugs and AAARGH the aesthetic sense of cats (pace Del).

I'd like to pose another "What would you do?" to this question in the following category: Adaptive Access.

With the myriad of ideas that your mind can conjure up with all of the latest and/or most latent technology, few of us will pause to think of what could befall us later in life.

With that thought in mind, I would think backwards from the age of say, 95, and design a home which would accomodate myself and a loved one, or three that has cheated death through lucky genes or medical miracle intervention/invention, and take it from there. Every room and every detail in the house will change once you place the disability factor into the final equation, from door sizes and even the door handles, to counter-tops, bathrooms, stairs, windows, floor surfaces, etc.

In short, if you are designing your home of a lifetime, it had better incorporate the unforseeable which will ultimately and without fail, rise to greet you. Ideas?

I would opt for a heavily earth-bermed, single story (if on flat land), with a south-facing glass-covered Trombe Wall for winter heating. I would have the roof covered with the new tile-shaped solar collectors (made in the USA!) to provide whole-house electricity. Everything electric inside, including a plug-in hybrid vehicle in the garage.

The solar panels could heat the house in the winter, but the Trombe wall would lower this need, allowing more current to be fed to the grid for power credit.

I would start with a dry well drained foundation plan. Curb appeal is nice, but solar appeal is better. I would use a 450 gallon solar tank with heat exchangers. The heating system should be radiant in floor system. Lite weight concrete is best 1.5 inches. Domestic hot water could be a optimized gas unit, with heat exchanger pre heat. The south side of the home is dedicated to the sun, and also a small green house. Plants do not do well behind glass walls and the green house will overheat, so use double hung windows with screens. The 4.5 foot crawl space is dedicated to absorbing the 55 degree earth temp. and giving it to the house. warm in winter cool in summer. Provide a good stairway to this space, and semi finish it, and it will provide a very nice place. If you like to burn wood, use a masonry stove and a good chimney, using heat exchangers to pre heat water. Use the eastern morning sun to wake up with, and understand that the afternoon sun can over heat . Treat your home as if it was a boat, and you are the captain of your ship. See the storms coming and batton down the hatches. A well built solar house will weather the storm quite well with out wasting energy. Build small and insulate well. Be careful where your roof sheds water and snow, it can cause problems by sending too much water to your foundation, instead of away from it. The path of the sun will also show you where to shade, which is the best air conditioning. The north side of the house is one zone, and the south side is one zone. You do not need any more. Good air circulation is a must, and the green house will waft nice smells through out. If you keep it simple it will provide a good shelter for a long long time.

Being a contractor and having built a lot of houses I would build an Acadian style house using red iron for a base. This design uses a porch all the way around the house keeping the sub from working on the doors and windows. It also always let you be in the shade no matter what time of year. Also, using the red iron you can place doors and windows anywhere that you want because the structural steel makes that possible. I would also try to build it into the side of a burm or hill so that the basement area could be used as a parking area for vehicles, boats etc. I would also put in a 4 or 5 thousand gallon fresh water tank for just in case using the water from the storage like on a ship. Insulate the entire home with polyurethane foam. Use aquapex manifold system for the water system with rannai propane or natural gas demand hot water heaters. If the home is located in a cooler climate where it snows I would install a outside boiler wood or pellet fired for hot water and heat in the winter and then use a water system for the a/c in the summer. Of course all of the doors and windows need to be double pane. Also in the center of the basement area I would build a safe room which would be solid concrete floor walls and ceiling for a food storage area and a place for safe haven in case of a storm or intrusion. This room would also have private place for storage for a gun and ammunition collection. You can take this idea and expand on it as much as you want with the pitch of the roof enabling an additional floor only having to install dormers. It has a minimal amount of outside walls space and when you put on a metal roof you will be good for at least fifty if not seventy five years.. I plan to build one like this in the near future as we have moved from Florida to Oregon.

Need a Recycle room. large Garage.

Basement and thermal well. Roof slopes or roof plane is aligned for maximum solar incidence. Entrances and windows consider Riots and Mobs. No glass insulation (this leeds to bad air). Air ducts and plumbing accesible. Bar Joist roof supports and drop cieling. 3" cast in place concrete walls using 4"x4" galvanized welded wired .20 " gage reinforcement. Roof built same way but only 2" thick. Catch water run off in tank. Boric acid insect barriers. Hard floors. Floors and Walls flood and leak damage proof.

I've used a root cellar but a pantry is convenient

A stairwell directly to the basement from the garage; even if detached is sweet. What are the pro's and con's of a vehicle maintenance pit in the garage floor?

I do find poured concrete construction favorable; fire ins is nearly 1/4 of a stick frame.

My wife says I'd be fine in a cave because I don't turn on many lights and use only a few windows. The view is great every time I go outside.

In the summer/fall of 2008, there was a show of pre-fab housing at MOMA: www.momahomedelivery.org. I like MIT professor Larry Sass' Housing for New Orleans. He built a shotgun house as a 3D jigsaw puzzle, put together with glue-guns rather than more traditional carpentry. His house parts were of plywood and plastic and light enough for two people to assemble.

I've been interested to read peoples' ideas about using rubber molds and concrete sections. I'm a little more comfortable with mold-making than carpentry - but you'd need a building dedicated to making your molds, since the brush-on rubber requires a controlled temperature to cure properly, as well as adequate ventilation, since it contains toluene. It's also expensive - but molds are re-usable and if you were only doing a few basic parts that wouldn't be such an issue. But, I'm also thinking that concrete sections may be too heavy for two people to wrestle.

Shotgun houses are charming; they're simple, traditional and remind me of houses I made when I was a kid, out of paper and cardboard. They can be ornamented (or not) and painted to suit. You can put basic sections together in any arrangement that you like. I favor a courtyard facing south with a greenhouse (passive solar) at the back. Some half-hardy trees and shrubs will survive a winter out-of-doors, with protection. I like formal gardens (espaliered trees, knot gardens, etc.) as well as wild gardens, but since a formal garden is labor intensive, it needs to be in a small controlled space, for one person to manage well - and get anything else done.

A big consideration in construction methods is the slope and behavior of the land itself. Around here, there's a lot of yellow clay that shifts and slides. I've seen concrete floors, on what passes for level land in these parts, that the earth just moved out from under, so the floor fell to bits. You'd have to do a lot in the way of reinforcement and drainage, which would depend on how much you could spend. This makes me wonder about cracking in concrete walls as well. Wood is a little more forgiving, and on pilings, a house can let some flow pass.

Sorry I haven't gotten back to you sooner, it has been a hectic long weekend.

The issue I would really like to expound on is design for the climate and the area. far too many government design criteria are developed for northern climes that simply do not work down here in the south. Double pane windows with an R11 rating are really overkill down here. the temp differential between our hottest day an the inside temp is about 25 degrees. The delta-T on the coldest day is about 50 degrees but the average is closer to 15 degrees. Heating efficiency is not our biggest problem, Natural gas is relatively cheap for us and we only have 30-40 days of really cold weather anyway. Our issue is Air Conditioning. that is our biggest electrical expense by far. it dwarfs all of the rest of our electrical usage completely. But very high SEER AC units are designed for climates with relatively low humidity levels. Again, they work great in the midwest or northeast where the humidity is relatively low and the delta-T is small. but down here the coils run warm enough that they don't bring the air down below the dewpoint and the air that comes out is cold and damp and it causes mold growth. Houses are also built very tight without any filtered outside air intake in the AC system. This causes indoor pollutants to build up and since the building is at a negative air pressure, dust and dirt is sucked in through whatever cracks and crevices it can which usually means it comes from the attic which is often very hot. Which brings me to another point. Attics should not be sweltering, ideally they should be the same temp as the outside air. They need to have LOTS of soffit and ridge vent ventilation.

One more point is foundations. most all foundations these days are of the post tension type. These things are frankly crap. they aren't rigid at all and the soil around here is clay. clay moves and expands and contracts. if your foundation is flexing with the clay, your house is going to come apart in short order. Foundations need to be rigid enough to withstand that, but nobody designs foundations that way anymore.

Hi there,

Insulation is a value that cuts both ways, for heat and cold; r-11 is abysmal for you or my conditions; when your mean is 50°F mine may easily be -10°F. I have friends around your area an their homes have R-19 to R-25 sidewall with R-38 ceiling and underfloor; a few are built on posts or piers. They do have de-humidifiers but the insulation and dual pane windows allow them to lower the tempurature until is uncomfortably cold when outside is sweltering.

Radiant barriers and low-E glass are far better than insulation by my way of thinking, most of our heating is radiant, not through conduction. R-11 walls with a radiant barrier and low-e glass single pane windows will outperform double pane r-11 windows and r-19 walls in the summer, and since our winter is so short, the advantage over the winter month(!) is outweighed by the summer performance.

Yes but R-19 with radiant barrier is better still.

On one they followed my example and added another wall married to the original gaining 8" of space for insulation and capped with a radiant barrier and of course good DP windows; the pane gap was 3/4".

I'm hoping to somehow generate a discussion detailing themes of appliance systems usage. Any Ideas how to kick one off?

Toward the upper right of the CR4 home page are buttons for "Ask a Question" and "Start a Discussion." Gine it a title and off you go.

I have ten countertop appliances, but not that many outlets, let alone separate circuit breakers for each. Plugging/unplugging stuff is unhandy, so it might be nice to brainstorm a few ideas.

Maybe I just ought to get an old Monarch woodburner with all the fancy cast iron goodies....

How about a plug strip with an outlet every six inches the length of the countertop?

Don't forget to run Cat-6 throughout the house, everywhere you have an electrical outlet you should have a RJ-45 socket too. Virtually EVERYTHING these days has an IP address. Even your toaster will need to tweet you when your toast is ready.

This subject of appliances and the electricity for them is interesting. The lower cabinet gables can be made wider, say 3.5 inches or so and hollow. Near the underside of the counters you arrange electrical switches for your various lights in the kitchen so you don't have to reach to far to get at the switch. Some electrical outlets can be put in these gables also for those appliances that just don't lend themselves to plugging in on the splash wall.

Personally I want a kitchen storage that is housed in a chase that is on the outside of the house. Its cables with platforms that you can elevate to you instead of crawling or climbing to get that pop-corn popper. In a 3 or 4 foot wide stretch of wall one would have 20 or 30 times that right in front of you when you want. This cabled platform system doesn't just go up and down - it circulates around sort of like an elongated ferris wheel. It goes down below the floor level or up above the floor or both.

"Any Ideas how to kick one off?"

When you create your new thread, just click the "Statistical Analysis of Appliance Use" button on the CR4 text editor toolbar, and then everyone can put in their data, which will then be compiled for you. no problemo!

Absolutely Cwarner (and I would not expect Texas to be any hotter than Panama, it never gets above the low 100's even in the depths of August). Much of the accumulated wisdom from the past has been lost upon tract home builders unfortunately.

Just in general (and ideal) terms...

A house in a rural setting, with a view. A house that could be on a retractable frame so that it is either above ground or below ground as desired. Also, preferably with the roof carrying the part of the land that it is replacing so when retracted the home site now seems as it was before building. Of course vents would have to in there somewhere, but the idea being that the footprint of the house should be minimal when retracted. No neighbors closer than at least a half a mile. As much "green" energy as possible; the goal being as much independence from the electrical grid as possible.