Posted: 9/19/2007 5:48:13 PM EDT
I am preparing to build a house for me and my wife on a lot that we own in town. It will be a 3 bed 3 bath house. Two story with the bedrooms upstairs. It will have to be an all electric house because I can't get gas to it . I plan to put a pellet stove in the living room for backup heat with a battery backup to run it. I will have a diesel generator for backup power to the house. The house will have a two car attached garage and a separate oversized 1 car garage to use as a workshop. I am planning on building it with 2x6 construction for extra energy efficiency. My main HVAC system is probably going to be a heat pump system...probably a Ruud/Rheen since that what most of the contractors install around here. I am going to look into Trane units too though.I plan to have the structure and the exterior finish done by Amish builders and then I will finish the interior. Here is a link to the house plan that I am planning on going with: www.houseplans.com/plan_details.asp?id=2305&tab=Summary&OrderID= Any suggestions or comments? I'm especially interested in comment and recommendations on the actual build process and advise on things that you have seen go wrong with house construction. Thanks for any input!!!! |
I would love to have a basement but my lot area wouldn't be conducive to a basement. I'd be afraid that it would leak....even if it was properly constructed. It will probably be a crawlspace. |
| How about a shallow storm cellar. Don't know if you're in tornado country but you could at least have a secret stash. I'm looked at the plans for your house and saw you had a fireplace. I'm in the process of doing an addition and had a fireplace built too. I also had an outside fireplace built on the opposite side, but it's not open just back up to the other one. |
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Run an extra 1" PVC conduit or 3 between floors into a closet or someplace like a closet/wet-wall. Run one from the lowest floor or crawlspace up into the attic. Reason? Running wires, commo, cable.....at a later date. A friend told me about that when I was building my house. I figured 1" is good, 4" is better. I shoulda run 2  I've got cameras all over the inside and outside of the house, alarm connections and wired, CAT6 and fiber throughout, cable to every room....running them is so much easier with the conduit there.(no, I don't believe in wireless. They're all too easy to hack, and unless you're inside, you aint' hackin' my wires.) |
| If you can look int a bigger house, 10x10 is to small for the kids rooms. I have 11x11 and wish I had made them bigger. Go to 1800 sf if you can. Also run at least a 2" conduit. I had two of them and would like one more. I did do lots of wiring, tv cameras and speakers. |
Don't forget network jacks. Cat5 or Cat6, plus leave room for fiber. In 10 years you will probably connect all computers wirelessly to the net, but you never know. Fiber optic could still be a viable option depending on the speed capabilities of wireless. Plus a wired network is inherently much more secure than a wireless. It's kind of crazy how many wires we have running in our house: -Phone line 1 -Phone line 2 -Video network (3 separate lines) Cat5 -Comp. network (1 router, 1 switch) Cat5 -Comp. network (wireless) -Old cable wiring (The sad thing is that with the right adapters we could run everything wirelessly) |
It's still possible to hack a wired network... If there's a way out, there is a way in! |
Use SIP panels instead of building it with match sticks.  SIPs are high-performance structural building panels for walls, roofs and floors in residential and commercial buildings. Each panel is typically made using expanded polystyrene (EPS), or polyisocyanurate rigid foam insulation sandwiched between two structural skins of oriented strand board (OSB), but other surfaces are also available to meet your needs. The result is a building system that is very strong, predictable, energy efficient, and cost effect. A structural insulated panel (SIP) is a product that fuses a foam core, like expanded polystyrene, between two outer skins of Oriented Strand Board (OSB) to create a super-strong construction panel. They are used to construct exterior walls, roofs, ceilings and floors. Homes and buildings constructed from SIPs offer superior insulation qualities, exceptional strength, fast installation and a host of benefits to the environment. Superior Insulation -- The foam core of a SIP provides higher insulation values than many other insulation materials used in traditional stud-wall construction. Because SIPs have fewer gaps -- and because studs do not interrupt the insulation -- SIPs homes have proven to be less drafty. "Nearly 20 percent of a traditional stud-wall is made up of studs and other non-insulated materials," said Bill McGarrity, vice president at Pacemaker Plastics in Newcomerstown, OH. "The R-value of fiberglass insulation in the lab is significantly higher than how it performs in an actual wall. But SIPs, because they are comprised of solid insulation, perform virtually as well in an actual home as they do in a lab test. They also act as a barrier to external noises better than homes made from traditional construction methods." Owners of homes using structural insulated panels may qualify for the EPA's Energy Star Home designation, given to homes that benefit the environment through reduced energy usage. Homes that are given this designation may qualify for lower-interest mortgages or other benefits. Exceptional Strength - Since the finished panels are an integrated building product, literally acting as a structural component they are able to withstand and even surpass typical loads caused by winds, snow and seismic activity. There have been many documented instances of houses constructed with SIPs having fared severe weather conditions with minimal damage. Larry and Valerie VanZomeren live in Coopersville, Michigan. Their home was constructed in 1995 using structural insulated panels. Just recently, a violent storm with winds ranging from 80 to 130 miles per hour caused widespread damage to numerous buildings and homes in Coopersville. More than 400,000 people were left without electricity. During the storm, 5 trees, all in excess of 80-feet tall with trunk diameters from 12 to 16-inches, fell directly on the VanZomeren's home. At two and a half tons per trunk, the structure of the house remained intact and unharmed except for a few shingles and some siding. In March of this year, a deadly tornado ripped through the town of Clermont, Georgia. Elton Palmer's home, built with SIPs, was among the few left standing. Five other homes were completely destroyed less than a quarter mile away. Fast Construction and Finishing -- SIPs are joined together quickly and easily by inset splines. An experienced three-person crew can complete the panel erection of a standard 2,000 sq. ft. house in as little as one day and completely "dry-in" the SIPs in as little as three days. Because windows, door openings and roof gables can be precut within the SIPs at the point of manufacture, precision measuring and cutting at the job site are significantly reduced. SIPs also make inside finish work easier to complete. Drywall goes up fast by affixing it to the interior OSB panel. Cabinets also are installed quickly since they can be bolted directly into the OSB panel and electrical distribution is easily accomplished by running electrical wire through horizontal and vertical chases that run inside of each panel. How is a SIP used? SIPs are available in a variety of shapes and sizes and can be used to construct a variety of different residential and commercial buildings. SIP applications include the following: Timber and Metal Frame Buildings - There has been a rebirth in the popularity of timber- and metal-frame buildings due in large part to SIPs. These panels allow timber- and metal-frame buildings to be constructed quickly and affordably. Cathedral Ceilings - SIPs are ideal for cathedral ceilings in log cabin or timber-frame roof applications. The panels are simply affixed to the exterior of the roof trusses, providing superior insulation. Shingles are then applied. Custom Applications - SIPs can be made in many thicknesses and of a variety of skin materials to meet different load span and insulation requirements. In many cases, window and door openings, gable end walls and plumb-cuts can be made in the factory according to specifications. This ensures ease of installation at the job site. Marketplace Advancements * SIPs were first introduced in the 1950's, but recent developments in the industry have resulted in significant market growth. * According to the Structural Insulated Panel Association (SIPA), there are more than 100 U.S. panel manufacturers who produce in excess of 32 million-ft2 of panels every year. If current industry projections hold true, SIP production could grow to between 50 and 112 million-ft2 by 2000. * "SIP manufacturers are seeing growth of between 15 and 30 percent a year," said Butch Johnson, panel marketing director of Perma R Products of Johnson City, TN. "Perma R Products is seeing growth between 25 to 40 percent. More and more home buyers are embracing this high-quality approach to home building." * When choosing between a home using SIP versus a traditional construction method, quality is the chief reason structural insulation panels are chosen. In current market conditions, the costs of SIPs and traditionally constructed homes are comparable. * "Generally people building a SIP home are not as concerned about initial cost as they are about quality," said McGarrity. "They want the added strength, quiet and insulation values that a SIP home offers. But the fact is, because of the efficiencies and ease of building a SIP home, the overall cost of building one is very competitive with more traditional construction." Environmental Benefits - According to the Structural Insulated Panel Association (SIPA), SIPs offer several benefits to the environment. Because SIPs effectively replace conventional stud-wall construction, fewer mature forest products need to be harvested. The outer OSB skins of SIPs are made from "engineered wood" that is manufactured from renewable, fast-growing trees. And because SIPs offer superior insulation qualities, heating and electric bills are reduced and the result is that fewer fossil fuels need to be burned. |
You take all the fun out of a burning house, don't ya?!  I've seen one of those built. They go up fast, they sure don't come down/apart fast. Initial cost is quickly repaid by lower heating costs. Next house will be that type of construction.....except concrete and steel sandwiched between cement and steel 
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Kids rooms should be made intentionally small. You want them to be cramped an move the heck out as soon as they are old enough, and not slingshot back.
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If I had to guess, it's for safety reasons. Propane is heavy than air and therefore sinks/accumulates in low lying areas, while NG is lighter than air and so rises. |
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I'm definately interested in SIPs and ICF construction but it probably will end up being regular 2x6 frame construction. Most builders in this area aren't interested in "exotic" methods of building. Most houses here are built with 2x4s and that would be ok but I'd rather have the stronger house of 2x6s along with the higher level of insulation. Anyone have experience with spray foam insulation as far as cost vs fiberglass? I'm hearing 1-2 times more expensive. |
My first house had pvc drain line laid under the basement slab diagonally, meeting at a sump well installed when the slab was poured. This setup worked great. I had to add a line at the sump pump discharge to get the water away from the foundation, otherwise it simply circulated down the outside of the wall and back to the pump. I think you should take a look at some display homes if possible in order to get a good calibration on the size of the upper story rooms. Including the area of the garage and the attic above the garage in the area of the house is deceptive on the part of the plans seller, and possibly the architect. That's a 880 square foot house and it's going to be crowded. |
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Look into American Standard or Ameristar brand HVAC equipment. It is made by Trane and costs a fraction of the price because it doesn't carry the Trane nameplate. Actually Trane is owned by American Standard. They are the exact same furnaces and heat pumps. If you set them side by side you couldn't tell the difference. |