Category — planning

On the one hand, we’re hopefully building a house that can manage (maybe with some smart sensors and actuators, and a few well-positioned trees and seasonal shades) to use passive airflow to cool and maintain a livable temperature throughout the year.

But Hurricane Ike is reminding me that we need to consider humidity as well. One of the difficulties of maintaining old books, let alone artwork, is keeping mold from encroaching. In our case, many of the books are already moldy to some extent, and we plan over years to do conservation on them.

So we should think about whether there’s a “dry room” in the basement, or whether air conditioning will be enough to dry the internal house air, or whether we want some sort of special plan for the library or the storage section in the basement.

I don’t know the answers, I admit. But the northeast wind right now reminds me, by plastering the windows with heavy rain.

Continuing with the “easy” decisions, I’ve added a Page for the Garage. I’m showing a white garage door with some hardware. The hardware isn’t necessary (and in fact, I wouldn’t use it at all). I would also consider painting the door to match the house color instead of leaving it white.

The inside of the garage will be unfinished. That can come later (perhaps we’ll practice our drywalling skills?) There will be a spigot inside (if we can get it at a reasonably comfortable height, that would be nice) that bypasses the water treatment system. This is (mostly) so we can get plant water in winter.

I’ve been considering the driveway. Why? Because it’s a break from fireplaces and tubs and awnings and floors and…

One type of drive we’ve been considering is “tar and chip“. It’s the same road that you might find in rural areas — sort of a compromise between macadam and dirt — gravel embedded in tar.

Another possible driveway surface is concrete. Concrete is pricey, but it tends not to be as hot as asphalt (or tar) in the summer. However, it’s a hard surface, and since our driveway would be near the high point of the lot, we would have to figure out what to do with the runoff. One way to solve this is with pervious concrete. This is concrete with a relatively new formulation that allows water to go straight to ground, slowing its progress into the local watershed.

The problem with both of these materials is sourcing them. I’ve tried calling a couple of concrete companies, but no one has returned any of my calls. So I’ll keep trying.

Yesterday Bill and I went on an unplanned excursion to Walled Lake. We started out by visiting Ferguson‘s bath & kitchen showroom on Jackson Road. Ferguson is primarily a plumbing supply firm, but they offer some retail. We went specifically looking for the right size and style of tub to get for the master bath. Since Bill is the primary user of the tub, I want to be sure we get one that’s comfortable for him. So he sat in a few out on Jackson Road (where we also looked briefly at kitchen sinks — more on that later), and after eliminating the cleaning nightmares, we pretty much picked this one.

It seemed a little long, however, so we wanted to try a 5 and a half foot version. The showroom didn’t have any, so Jacqui (the very helpful showroom person) suggested that we go to their big “destination” showroom. Seeing as how we didn’t want to go home and mow the lawn, we decided we might as well drive out to Walled Lake.

Once there we were impressed with the size of the place, but disappointed with the selection. They had full kitchens displayed (some working), a section of building materials, a huge array of faucets and sinks and only a few tubs. None exactly like we were looking for, but Bill got into a 5.5 foot tub and we agreed that it would be too short. So, the 6 foot Archer it is. Yay! A Decision!

I like this tub for a few reasons: the styling is simple and a little squared off, the overflow is cool-looking and allows an extra inch of water in the tub, it is slightly deeper than a standard tub without making you feel like you’re in a coffin, and it has armrests. The six foot length gives me the chance to have my knees underwater And, since it holds about 72 gallons, it has relatively low water use for a soaker.

Along with the tub, we’ve decided that we’ll get the sink from the same line, but I’m not sure yet if it will be undermount or abovemount.

Then we have to decide on the faucets. This is hard, because I’m not quite sure where the valves will be located. I don’t think they should be in the external (south) wall, but that’s the end where the drain is so far planned to go. We may have to put the valve in the west wall (near the foot) which is ok, but I’m not well-versed enough in plumbing to know whether this causes some sort of issue with the drain. We’re ok with using one of those lift up drain stoppers rather than the remote kind.

Other issues in the master bath: faucets. Having just cleaned gunk out from behind our current faucets, I think a wall-mount lav faucet might be really nice. However, they tend to be more expensive and probably are more difficult to replace. So, back to the counter (or sink) mounted faucet. I prefer 8″ centers, two lever handles, tall spout, chrome. Again, styling should be simple and a little squared off. I’ll keep looking for this, but all of the master bath faucets should all be from the same series.

I’m having difficulties in figuring out the shower. Most showers I’ve seen have two (or three) solid walls and two (or one) glass. We’d talked earlier about having a glass-block shower, but the kits call for two frame walls and two glass walls. If we want to get daylight from the window to the sink, we need three glass walls. Again, we could have a “sideways” mounted valve set (perhaps with an overhead showerhead?).

As for other design, this is probably the only room where we might consider having tile. It really depends on the shower enclosure, I think. Overall I’m not seeing “spa” so much as “sanitary, with touches of decoration.”

It was a useful trip. In the next post I’ll talk a bit more about the kitchen.

Today Bill and I met at the lot with Tim Clark of Cribley Well Drilling. (By the way, it was another gorgeous day to be at the lot, if a bit windy.)

We discussed some of the issues surrounding the placement of the well, especially since we’re supposed to drill it before we start the house. Tim said that one thing we want to be careful of is knowing where the well will be relative to the mechanical area of the house. It’s easier (i.e. less expensive) if the inside water equipment is on the wall where the well pipe comes into the basement. If not, then they’d want to put the water supply piping underneath the basement floor (which requires some extra planning). The other thing to be careful of is any grading that will be done around the wellhead. It’s not a problem, just something to be aware of since the final wellhead will be only about a foot above grade.

Given that we want to stay away from the house, the septic tanks and from the eastern lot line, we figured on putting the well to the north of the house, on the western edge of the hill where it just starts to drop off. If that spot doesn’t work out for some reason, we should go further west towards the bottom of the hill where it starts to level out again. They don’t recommend drilling on a slope (especially if we’re planning on putting some of the basement diggings there). According to the county website, the only distance requirement is 50 feet from septic tanks, 100 feet from drainfields and 3 feet from basements — there are no property line requirements. We also want to avoid any utility easements, of course.

I took a couple of pictures of the location we identified as a possibility (Tim drove a stake), but it’s hard to get a good feeling for where it lies without having some landmarks. I’d say it’s about halfway between the 2nd and 3rd tree (from the east) identified on the Topo, about 20-30 feet north of the north edge of the building envelope, along the hill just before it begins to drop off steeply (those two blue dots on the image are Bill’s and my guesses as to where the stake is).

I get the impression (looking at our neighbors’ well permit data) that we don’t have to be exact, we just need to be able to show that once everything is in place, all of the isolation distances are met.

We talked about the possibility of hitting a dry hole (or one that doesn’t give us as much water per minute as we like). Tim said that it does happen, but he doesn’t expect it here. If it does, we can move the hole another 100 feet or so and try a different formation. We also talked about water quality. Tim suggested that we were going to want water softening, but that we shouldn’t plan on figuring out what/how much until we start to get water into the house and can test it properly.

Speaking of which, the well will be dug, but unless we make arrangements for a temporary pump and an electricity source (generator or temporary pole), we won’t have water until we have plumbing and electric in the house.

Here are a couple of shots of the blue stake. You’ll have to look hard to see it, I think.

My friend Laura and I went to IKEA this week (it helps to go in the morning on a weekday), specifically to look over the kitchen cabinets and sinks. After coffee and a cinnamon roll we strolled through the showroom, where we saw this sink. It is a simple apron-front porcelain single bowl sink. I liked it because 1) it is “farmish,” 2) it isn’t terribly expensive, 3) it will work with laminate and 4) it’s a decent size. I am less happy with IKEA’s faucets, so I would have to find some single-hole faucets, but I do know they’re available.

In another of the “rooms” I saw a cabinet arrangement similar to what I’m expecting for the fridge area. Whether or not the cabinets over the fridge are full-depth is still to be determined, but the microwave-on-a-shelf next to the fridge is what I’m interested in.

One of the cabinet door-styles we’ve been considering is a simple frame with inset panel (not exactly Shaker style, but simple). However, since I also want drawers in nearly all of the base cabinets, I’m concerned that the framed fronts are too busy. So, something even simpler (or perhaps with smaller frames) — in wood colors. There are a couple of options, for instance Fagerland or Kalsebo. I liked the detail in Tidaholm. Unfortunately it is oak. I also liked Askome but it is one of the more expensive styles. One of the advantages to using IKEA cabinets is their drawer hardware, which is made by a well-known high-quality manufacturer. One of the disadvantages (I’ve read) is IKEA’s difficulty in getting the entire kitchen order right the first time.

The last thing I looked at was this bath sink. It comes in two sizes — I thought the smaller one would be good for the powder room & lower level bath, and the larger one for the two main baths. I don’t know if it can be wall mounted, but it can go on a vanity or on legs. I didn’t see any particular vanity at IKEA that I wanted, but the sinks appear to be sized to fit on American style cabinets.

After wandering around upstairs, we went to the marketplace area. I managed to leave after spending only about $20. Not too bad.

Today we talked briefly about the proposed site plan; I can go to the county sanitarian to get the new soil evaluation (especially since the spring road load limits have been lifted). We also talked about a new(ish?) product that combines sheathing with insulation, which we’ll consider because it adds R-value as well as reduces the number of components in the house (no need for housewrap or OSB sheathing). (Bob assures me I will have a superinsulated house.)

We also spoke briefly about Living Space Builders (whom Bill mentioned in his recent post). Bob said that Krainski visited recently, and might be interesting to talk further with.

Next we went over the current basement plan. Not too many changes, except the outline has been somewhat simplified and the bath organized a bit. One of the issues we’ll face is the steep slope behind the garage next to the walkout patio area. How to keep the earth in place, well-drained, and attractive without messing up the foundation? In addition, Bob has started working out some of the structural issues. Basically, the stair tower walls will be the primary interior load bearing walls. In the end, we will have at a minimum a “partially finished” basement because we’ll have some walls as well as a toilet + sink.

To do: Bob to continue with the construction drawings. Bill & Barbara to contact Living Space Builders. Barbara to get soil evaluation arranged. Next review in about 3 weeks.

Spent Saturday lunchtime last week listening to relatively standard—though interesting—arguments that household superinsulation, buying alternative energy, and installing geothermal heating and cooling are smart things to do. Admittedly these were sessions hosted by a nonprofit promoting household energy conservation, DTE’s office selling alternative energy, and a guy who installs geothermal. No little coincidence, eh?

But that’s OK. Somebody has to do it.

Was surprising to sense a lack of adaptation of the message for the self-selected Ann Arbor attendees. After all, we’re from Treetown, and we decided to go to the damned seminar already. We’re probably the highest per-capita density of greenish upper-middle class people in the state, and so it was strange hearing things described that are relatively commonplace. Probably well-known to most folks in the room.

It was essentially a trade show, with folks in the hall at the Ark pitching everything from standard window replacements to insulation to amusing black-box “EMF protection devices”. The presentations were engaging, with relatively few outright sales-lies; the DTE host, at one point, said, “DTE’s Net Metering program pays you retail prices for energy you send to the grid.” Not as far as I can tell, it doesn’t.

Among the vendors who were called up onstage at the end was Kamil Krainski from Living Space Builders — a crew we haven’t heard of before that day. Not sure if they’re new, or have been hiding in the wrong marketing circles, or what. He pitched SIPs and ICFs, specifically saying they can build houses using modern high-tech green materials and methods at no additional cost over traditional materials and methods.

I’d like to see that, so I chatted briefly with him. Didn’t get much chance to pursue the argument, but we’ll probably look them up. There’s a good market around here for smart builders who can follow up on promises like that, and plenty of room lowballing the premium prices the first-movers have ben quoting. We’ll see what happens.

Things I want to consider as we start to get real numbers:

• Flooring: what about varnished plywood?
• Roofing: many barns I see have asphalt shingles.
• Kitchen: IKEA may be an option…
• Shoji screens: replace with one moderate-sized framed opening looking over the open space?
• Possible postponements:
  • Basement (except for the bath & plan for fireplace)
  • library built-ins & fireplace (plumb it, though)
  • back patio
  • screened porch (still need deck)
  • library terrace

These are only my thoughts. I haven’t discussed them with Bill much, but I wanted to get them down so I don’t have to dwell on them.

Kitchen and Laundry

We currently have GE Profile appliances in our kitchen, and they work and look ok for us (except the over-the-range microwave, which first burned out the lamps and then stopped heating after only 6 years). So with that in mind, and reserving the right to change out as models/features change here are my appliance selections:

As for the range hood, I really don’t know. It depends a little on what the ventilation system requires, doesn’t it? I mean, I really like this hood (it’s $2500 on sale) but I don’t know if its mechanics are appropriate. I’m looking for something to handle the smoke from steak seared in cast iron pans, stainless steel or stainless + glass, with some good lighting.

Bathrooms

This is more difficult, as I haven’t been able to spend much time looking at vanities, sinks and so forth. I have, however, picked the toilet (I figure we’d get all four the same):

Toto CST744SL Two-Piece Elongated Toilet (“Drake”) Mfg Page. The list price is about $500 each (including the “soft close” seat) — web sources are about 40% off that. (Buying 4 from Faucet Direct, to name one, would cost about $1300 shipped.) Color: Cotton White.

I’ve been keeping a couple of scrap spreadsheets with this info on it. I’ll try to get it put together better within the next week.