Thanks GW! [large pics, sorry]

9 years ago

We've been in for a few weeks now -- while there's a lot left to do inside, we have a house! I wanted to thank folks here for all of the help and input on the structure.

[I can't seem to get photobucket to change the html when I resize to make the photos smaller]

Garage: We have a detached garage connected by a breezeway. Originally designed with a hip roof, at the suggestion of virgilcarter and a lot of others we changed to a gable-and-shed which allowed us to drop the plate. This turned out to be fortuitous because the architect had not accounted for a large tree limb.

Couldn't just do a gable since we needed to make the breezeway roof connector work out but also wanted to keep the garage ridge height down:

Vents and air intakes: We really wanted to minimize roof penetrations, so the architect designed chimneys to contain the vents. We had an issue with an intake placement given the required distance from exhausts, but thanks to worthy, Renovator8, dadereni, live_wire_oak and others, here it is, on the back of the chimney on the back side of the house. I think it looks better than a mushroom! (couldn't even get a photo before a lot of the leaves came down.)

And windows: Had a lot of questions addressed here and in Windows by millworkman, lzerac, rosefolly, billygoatjoe and others. We ended up with Loewen French push out casements and casements, LoE 272. These are lovely units, really liking them so far and the clear vg fir is standard. Downstairs we have the retractable screens and fir trim (this is a crank because I couldn't reach a pushout over the sink). We will leave the little pull tabs on the retractable screens so that I can reach them since the windows are set at 7' (as opposed to 6'8" at our old house) -- turns out just a few inches can make a big difference.

And upstairs we used mostly the swing screens and painted trim:

Anyway, thanks to everyone!

This post was edited by Oaktown on Wed, Oct 22, 14 at 19:32

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Comments (7)

Kiwigem
9 years ago
Looks stupendous, Oaktown! I hope you'll share more photos.
War_Eagle
9 years ago
Love the trees.....I was in same situation and did everything I could to save all my giant oaks (GC). Well unfortunately I have lost two and another looks like it might have to be taken down next year. How much excavation was done around your trees? What precautions did you take to save the trees? Did you have an arborist on board to help? I barricaded around all my trees with tape to keep vehicles/machinery away, limited excavation as much as allowed, etc...
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Oaktown
Original Author
9 years ago
War_Eagle, there was an existing house on the property that we tore down to build ours. The trees were a large part of the reason we bought the property and I hope they'll still be here after we're gone.

We had an arborist out just after we closed on the property, the same day as the surveyor. Our house is mostly on the same footprint as the prior house -- in fact, the tree near the garage was right up against the old house (you could easily touch the trunk while standing in the house) so they had to be extra careful during demo. Our builder felt confident about protecting the trees, they were fenced off, etc. With respect to excavation, we don't have a basement and they dug by hand if they were near the roots. I think at the breezeway there was a root in the grade beam pour so they wrapped the root to allow for some movement.

I hope the all the trees make it. Good luck!
amykath
9 years ago
Can you tell me more about your siding? It is lovely! We are deciding on ours now. We want a creamy white exterior and are using dark bronze exterior colored windows. We have been looking at smooth stucco and stone. However, I love the interest the siding you have adds to the charm.

Your house is fabulous!!! Congrats!
Katie S.
9 years ago
Almost anything would have been nice on your lot with those beautiful trees, but your home Is especially lovely. Would love to see some pictures to get a sense for the layout and how it sits on the lot.
Oaktown
Original Author
9 years ago
aktillery, the siding is "board-and-batten-look": Hardie panel with applied trim. If you are considering something like that you might look at Kiwigem's thread that touches on some of the construction implications for vertical siding.

cas81611, planning to post more pics at some point after we've cleaned up :-P The property is under an acre so the trees really dictated our house placement . . . we're nestled right in there.

Thanks all --
redheadeddaughter
9 years ago
Oaktown I'm just swooning. The kitchen view, the cutting board, is that wood on the walls? Those lights above the sink! The details are making me greedy for more photos. Well done. Congratulations!!!

Thanks GW! [large pics, sorry]

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