Long time lurker; first time poster - getting started with our land

7 years ago

This forum has already been life changing for me. My husband and I recently bought 58 acres in Oklahoma and I've been scanning floor plans like crazy but pretty much dislike them all. (I mean, they are fine, but don't work well for how we live). Virgil's suggestion of bubble diagrams has been HUGE and I'll start a thread within a couple of weeks with my attempt at that. So THANK YOU to all of you.

So here's the first place I need input. We are planning on doing this build in phases, first having a barn/garage with apartment built (and having driveway and utilities run at that time) and then living there for a couple of years while the house is designed and built. That means we'd be across the country (we currently live on the east coast) for the barn and infrastructure build but local for the house build. Not ideal. Another thought we've had is to pay cash for the utilities and driveway and put in a pad and live in my parents' RV on the land the garage is built (this land is RURAL so zoning is not a problem....they don't even have building permits), though RV living even for a year is not ideal in tornado country.

Do we can ahead and find our eventual builder to help us with the utilities and driveway or would that be premature and just something we should contract with various companies ourselves? I want to get the positioning right for an eventual house of 3,500-4,000 square feet so I can't imagine doing those things without know the approximate house and barn layout. But I'm also a compulsive planner so maybe I'm overthinking things. I mean, how much can they mess up a gravel driveway and then laying utilities along it? (maybe a lot)

Further notes...rural water and electricity are available at the road. Aerobic septic system will need to be installed. Gravel driveway would probably be just short of a quarter mile long. There is an underground pipeline to deal with (very common in Oklahoma).

I guess I'm just asking for general feedback/thoughts from the collective wisdom here. We are new to custom building so open to learning.

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Virgil Carter Fine Art

7 years ago

Well, OSU has one of the finest undergraduate architectural and architectural engineering programs in the nation. As a former student, faculty member and Head of the School, I'm completely unbiased about the program!

They would never consider your project for an educational project for the students, but many of the faculty practice architecture and do residential and small commercial projects on a regular basis. OKC and Tulsa also have many talented and experienced architects.

As for phasing the work, I caution against doing anything and anymore than you immediately are ready to do and have to do to occupy the land. That's because as time goes by your thinking will change and modify (humans do this a lot). You run the risk of making your early investments and improvements outmoded or obsolete.

That said, it's a good practice to master plan your site and project, exploring and deciding on building envelope location, how that will be accessed, general orientation. solar energy strategies, views and usable outdoor areas, utility access, well and septic locations, etc.--at least in general terms. An architect experienced in these things will be an invaluable ally early on and when you are finally ready to design and build. Until your house is designed (and it should be designed based on a sound understanding of your site characteristics), you will want to keep all of your site improvement options open.

As to the options of RV living or over garage living, etc., you will have to sort that strategy out as best fits your lifestyle, schedule and budget.

Good luck--exciting times ahead.

PS: Ron Walker (Walker Construction) is an OSU architecture graduate and retired home builder in the Stillwater area who may be helpful. You can tell him I recommended you contact him. He built my home when my family and I lived in Stillwater.

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Comments (12)

One Devoted Dame
7 years ago
I don't think you're over thinking things at all!!!

But I'm a compulsive planner, cursed with an unhealthy obsession with detail, so take me with a grain -- or a pound -- of salt, lol.

I know I will cause eye rolling and exasperated sighing all over the world (or maybe just this forum) but....

Have you considered working with an architect? :-)

I am planning multiple structures, as well, and am looking forward to the design process, starting with a general, macro-level layout of the entire property.
sheepla
Original Author
7 years ago
Oh my gosh, I should have said that from the beginning. Yes, yes, yes, we are going to hire an architect. Would an architect be involved with the utility and driveway layouts though? That's the sort of thing I don't know.
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Thank you Anglophilia and mojomom. We are pretty set on having the extra bedrooms in the basement. As mojomom said, this is very common where we live , even in high end homes, and I have no qualms about it whatsoever. Mushcreek, I am glad you chimed in. I have followed some of your threads and really respect and admire what you have accomplished. We will also be DIYing some of our build (although not nearly to the degree that you did). rrah and mushcreek, I'm glad to hear that you enjoy your deck space. We will have to think about what will give that space the most utility for us personally. jannicone, thanks for answering my question. These insights are helpful. chisue, I appreciated your post. Good point about living spaces. I hesitate to use the word "forever home" but we really do plan on this being the last move we have to make. Obviously life could throw some unforeseen circumstances at us, but barring anything really really surprising we plan on staying here. Again, this is a very rural area, and people just don't buy and sell to the same extent that they do in the city or even larger towns. To me, it's almost a foreign concept to buy/build for every stage of life. I'm trying to stay away from the idea of building the "perfect" home. We do want a well built and thoughtfully laid out home. If that doesn't work perfectly for every stage of life, that's okay with us. I've seen the small farmhouse that my dad was raised in. He had five siblings, and they also took in his grandparents towards the end of their life. Looking at it now, it would be almost inconceivable for even a family of three to live there, but they obviously made it work (although I'm sure it was far from ideal). Standards of living sure have changed! I also think that's one of the big advantages of a forum like this. As we move through the planning process, I may not necessarily know what we'll need for those different life stages, but people here who have been through that can hopefully offer some insight and advice based on their personal experiences. chisue, I also thought it was interesting that you said "You don't want to spend your children's growing up years concentrating on creating The Perfect House to house them." That's a great point, and also one of the reasons we're not building yet! Our children are young, and building a house is a big commitment. We're doing okay where we are for now. We plan to GC our own build, and also DIY a portion of it. I know that's going to take a lot of time and focus, and I'm not prepared to take that away from my children right now. When they are a little older they'll be a little more self-sufficient, and also able to contribute more to the process.
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just_janni
7 years ago
Looking at your project in phases and making sure you can utilize things / only do things once should be part of the architect's value add.

I would start now about siting the eventual home etc. I'd hate to have to redo a driveway because lack of foresight had it in the middle of the front yard... ;-)

ODD is right - a phased macro-level layout of the property would be perfect here.
One Devoted Dame
7 years ago
Yes, sheepla, architects absolutely design the approach to the house! :-)

Isn't it a shame that no one seems to know what the heck an architect actually does??? Before lurking on these forums, I had no idea of *half* of what they did, lol.
sheepla
Original Author
7 years ago
I'm having such a hard time even finding what architects to set up meeting with. Houzz listings for the area all appear to be home designers, not architects. Small town listings (what few I can find) give no information. I may have to go to Oklahoma City (about an hour a way) to find the architect part of it. It's so hard to get good service providers when you live far away and can't just rely on word of mouth.
Architectrunnerguy
7 years ago
An hour away is no big deal. I live in Annapolis and had folks drive down from as far away as Philly and up from as far away as Richmond.

As far as to what architects do all day long, after 40 years, Mrs. Architecturnnerguy is still trying to figure that out! And we do pay attention to siting. Great thread here http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3285825/what-makes-a-house-have-good-design?n=39 about that and a bunch of other stuff. #'s 1,3,4,6,9,15,22,48,57,62,67 and 68 on my post there all have to do with siting a house.

And a recent thread on finding an architect. It gets into that towards the end but the whole thread is good http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/4353695/architect-versus-online-plan-what-is-the-secret?n=50

Exciting time ahead for you for sure!
sheepla
Original Author
7 years ago
Thank you. That second thread in particular was so helpful. Though Google seems to desperately want me to use the Oklahoma State School of Architecture as my architect.

Hmmm....only 20 minutes from campus....I'm not opposed to being a class project.....
Architectrunnerguy
7 years ago
I'm not opposed to being a class project.....

That's come up before and I hope Virgil (former architecture professor) rings in.

Generally not a good idea. Schools usually have their own well though out class/instruction criteria. And students, while having the same talent range of people that have been doing this for a while, generally aren't as "real world" ready as the latter. Exceptions of course and I know some personally but the "odds" aren't with you. I thought I was "hot stuff" at 22 but it was nothing to now, (22.1.....ok couldn't resist) 40 years later!!

You're spending a healthy six figures of your hard earned money over time in an endeavor with no "do overs". If you were having open heart surgery would you want an intern doing it or someone who's been at it a few decades? Just a thought.
sheepla
Original Author
7 years ago
I was totally kidding. I'm a lawyer and very much understand the value of experience! I just thought it was funny that google seemed so determined that OSU be my choice.
One Devoted Dame
7 years ago
Wow, talk about being handed something on a silver platter!!! Sheepla, you are LUCKY! You goin' to Vegas any time soon? ;-)
sheepla
Original Author
7 years ago
Holy cow, what are the chances! I'm so amazed all I can do is repeat what my husband said when I read him this....Go Cowboys!

Long time lurker; first time poster - getting started with our land

Virgil Carter Fine Art

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