February 2021 Building a Home Thread
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Buzz Solo in northeast MI
3 years agoEmily
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February 2020 Building a Home
Comments (109)@cd7733 I can totally relate to decision fatigue. There are so many decisions to make. When I was buying lights I called Lighting New York with a price question. The lady who answered was so nice and ended up giving me a pretty substantial discount. @shead Congratulations! I remember when you posted the pictures of the damage. It must have been devastating, but now you can look forward to getting back on track. @Lou Myers Thanks! One good thing about our former builder was that he hired an excellent trim crew. I was going to wait until all of the floor is down to post a picture, but what the heck... Pardon the trash and dust. I'd estimate we are about 40% complete. Unfortunately even when the inside is complete in less than two weeks, we can't get a certificate of occupancy without the yard being graded and the landscape installed. The ground may not be dry enough for another month or two....See Moremost efficient house shape
Comments (53)Shape is not the only variable to factor into this equation. In some cases, shape can even become a negligible consideration. The fact is that there are many variables and when they are all known and/or all considered simultaneously, then an overall shape of the home can be considered which may or may not contribute to some improved energy performance. The following are some other variables to consider: -the total window area ratio to wall area -the expected performance of your window selection (double glazed/triple glazed etc.) -the amount of large open areas in the home (based on the design) -the type and thickness of insulation type -the overall building envelop design (wall composition etc.) -the design of the HVAC system (location of machinery, diffusers, intakes, sizing of ducting) I noticed the above may not apply to your specific question however, I will leave it for your reference as it is also useful to know this information if you are considering energy efficiency. On another note, speaking to efficiency in terms of cost effective designing, I have the following comments. Foremost, I want to point out to you that interior finishing selections, lighting and plumbing fixtures, and custom fabricated cabinetry and millwork, can on its own, add an enormous cost to your project. For reference, it could be as disproportionate as equaling the cost of the construction of the home itself in extreme situations, so certainly something to keep in mind. The lesson learned here is minimalism will often equal significant cost savings in many situations. However, there are strategies in order to acquire a high quality interior on a budget but this will require certain knowledge and a keen oversight on every detail of your project. For example, lighting and plumbing fixtures should you choose brand name products, will often come with a price tag that you cannot do much about, whereas cabinetry fabrication or millwork is a much more flexible variable as you can design the home and/or source the fabricators in order to minimize these costs. The take away here is that you must know where you can and cannot save, and attack the ones you can save on with conviction. There is an intimate balance to understand at the end of the day. The other consideration is your project delivery choice. Will you hire a builder, design-build firm, Architect then builder, architectural technologist - then a contractor or builder, or will you project manage all trades as if you are the contractor after an arch. tech provides you with permit. Each option has pro's and con's, and the bottom line is the $$$ for each is the most significant variable. Regarding what others have mentioned, I am in agreement, the less angles, the simpler the shape, generally the cheaper the construction costs. That being said, if I were to design an open concept space with large spans that required structural steel or engineered beams instead of typical wood framing, then regardless of a simple shape (rectangular or square), you are adding an additional expense to the equation with structural due to design preferences. Both in the engineering side, and the construction. The take away here, is that there are many variables to consider. When each one is factored in simultaneously, then you will be able to define with more certainty, whether the design you are choosing will be the most cost effective choice overall....See MoreMAY 2021 Building a Home
Comments (437)#Marie J. Hah, re the projects. 2 1/2 years in and we are still working on “projects”. We built a one level with a walkout lower level. Decided to pay them to frame the lower level in 2018 when we were building. (REALLY GLAD WE DID IT NOW) lol. We are taking on the Sheetrock a little at a time. Just going to finish bedroom/bathroom and a small cat room for now. It’s slow going. Lol. You have a beautiful house! And LOVE your kitties! I just lost my 19 year old cat. It broke my heart.💔...See MoreOctober 2021 Building a House
Comments (423)@Verna Lee I hope you find someone to help you inspect things. So far, there is really only one thing that I missed that is still bothering me. There is a can light only about 14 inches from the back wall of the laundry room where the W/D will sit. I had intended to put upper cabinets there, but to pull them away from the wall so that they are more easily reached from the front of the machines/counter. Well, if I do that, the light will shine down on top of a cabinet, not the countertop. Unfortunately, we can't get into the attic very easily as we had spray foam put up there. DH gave me that look of..."don't even think about asking the electrician to move them out". I need to put my Timothy Leary thinking cap on to find other ways to make the cabinet design work. Things are moving along on our guest house. Inside and outside are primed and 1 coat of paint on (@nhb22, at this stage, I see a pale grayish white with the teensiest bit of green on the walls (in certain light and at certain times of the day). I think it's from the Low-E windows (grrr). Hoping that when the second coat goes up, it's a bit warmer. If not, I'll wait until I know what furniture will go in there and repaint down the road, once there is electricity to really see what things will look like. Thank goodness it's only 900ft. (DH would kill me if I held things up now.) I knew that I should pick a paint with a tad bit of red in it, but then changed my mind on the last day and went with a paint color that a decorator chose instead. DH and I hung the internal doors over the past few days (ok, DH hung them and I held things up/handed him things here and there :). He's never done it before, so I was really pleased at how things turned out. He continues to surprise me at his ability to learn a new skill on the fly....See MoreEmily
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