Stick it dont kill it...

One of my big worries about building a house is the Sick House syndrome. While I doubt that anyone in the family will get seriously sick, I do worry about the long there effects of some products that are being used right now. The Healthy Home plans site has some excellent resources about building healthy.

Powered by ScribeFire.

A rose is bueatiful because...

As I look more and more at others house designs I find it very interesting that you can just tell good design from bad. In our neighborhood there are four builders.

One my wife and I look at and immediately we can tell its a house built by him. He always has some weird thing that is out of place on the house. For example a house with no curved lines on it except the front door; or brick columns on the porch and no other brick. He is also the worst kind of builder if he can save $0.50 on something he will. We recently went to a parade house of his and the back door would not lock because it was not plum...

There is another builder in our area and his houses take a long time to sell. I have not been in any but they all seem a little small. But if you look at pictures of his work and you can tell he has no idea of a cohesive design theme.

The third builder has nice simple lines and follows a keep it simple mentality. While I like his work and the quality looks good there does not seem to be much value. Less cabinets, less sq footage, etc.

The fourth builder seems to fall in behind the third builder in design voice, but has a lot better value. More features for less money.

I know I wont use the first builder, the second one I might consider if I did the design work, the third I think is a candidate but I would want to know where my money was going, and the fourth is a leading contender.

See if you can tell which is which:

Dave Alan Homes
Elevation Homes
Highmark Builders
Shane Homes

Superficial Surfaces...

I am really intrigued by surfaces. I often find intriguing products that I see that I just want to find a way to use them in my home designs. I am really into architectural resin panels. Lumicor has a new line that are designed by Jhane Barnes one of my favorite textile designers. Checking out her site I find that she also has a line of carpets! I don't know that I will have the courage to use some of the wilder panels, and cost may keep me away, but its nice to dream.

What's it worth to you?

One of the best things about the web is the adventure that following a few links can can start. I was reading the "From the Ground Up" blog, and checked out his custom cabinet maker (Eastvold). From Eastvolds site there are links to a Laurel Ulland a local architect that I have looked at before.

I really like a well designed house, but I don't think that I will be able to afford an architect on my house. Most architects cost between 7% and 15%. That is on the entire project. For my two projects that means a minimum of $70,000, but more likely on the order of $100,000+ While I value an Architect I can't part with that kind of money; of course when you compare it to a Realtor its an awesome value! I'm not even sure that I want a builder! Their 20-35% markup seems like highway robbery! I understand they gotta eat, but maybe they could have hamburgers once in a while? On top of that several folks that I talk to wonder what the builder really does for all that. They had to spend significant time at the build site and every time the builder had a question they got a phone call. In my case I am working to be as educated as possible in regards to all phases of the home construction so at least if I do hire a builder I will be able to look over their shoulder and make sure they are earning their money.

Powered by ScribeFire.

What's it worth to you?

One of the best things about the web is the adventure that following a few links can can start. I was reading the "From the Ground Up" blog, and checked out his custom cabinet maker (Eastvold). From Eastvolds site there are links to a Laurel Ulland a local architect that I have looked at before.

I really like a well designed house, but I don't think that I will be able to afford an architect on my house. Most architects cost between 7% and 15%. That is on the entire project. For my two projects that means a minimum of $70,000, but more likely on the order of $100,000+ While I value an Architect I can't part with that kind of money; of course when you compare it to a Realtor its an awesome value! I'm not even sure that I want a builder! Their 20-35% markup seems like highway robbery! I understand they gotta eat, but maybe they could have hamburgers once in a while? On top of that several folks that I talk to wonder what the builder really does for all that. They had to spend significant time at the build site and every time the builder had a question they got a phone call. In my case I am working to be as educated as possible in regards to all phases of the home construction so at least if I do hire a builder I will be able to look over their shoulder and make sure they are earning their money.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Tubes (but not for the internets...)

I am seeing more and more PEX plumbing in houses that I visit. From what I understand copper is getting more expensive and this is driving the market for PEX. This of course confuses me as I have read that many plumbers charge the same price. The difference is that most PEX installations are run from a manifold in the basement and each faucet has its own individual run back to this manifold. With this style of plumbing you don't have to worry about the flushing the toilet and getting scalded in the shower. But for my money I would expect for a plumber to design a new house correctly and even with a traditional plumbing design this should not happen. So my theory is that plumbers are just making a lot more margin on PEX.
I also wonder about the health effects of plastics. Water is the best solvent around and I just have a hard time believing that there is no off gassing. I found one good article about a specific type of PEX that is bad. So when I finally get around to building I will consider PEX but only if it significantly cheaper.

Not so big; but...

I am a big fan of Sarah Susanka and her not so big house ideas; but... My family does not live well in an open floor plan, I am a firm believer in dedicated spaces for dedicated functions. Our living room right now functions as: Kids playroom, guest entertainment, kids art space, family relaxation area, etc... Needless to say it is never tidy and always a mess. My next house will have dedicated spaces for all these activities; in hopes that it will be easier to keep the rooms that should be neat and tidy in that state.

More on Cabniets

Like I have said I will more than likely go with custom cabinets but I really like the look of modern style cabinets. Kraftmaid has a newer line of cabinets called Venicia that are euro style (ie. not full frame cabinets). They look really nice on the web, but I have been unable to find them in any stores. I have also looked at Ikea's cabinet range they look good, but feel kind of cheap.

More on LED lighting...

So after reading those documents it is important to note that LED lighting uses similar energy to fluorescent lighting, and the reason they are lower in heat output is that they typically radiate their heat up into the celling or wall (which is bad if it is an insulated space). So I don't know if LEDs deserve a green rating (one wonders what hurts the planet more LED manufacturing or Compact Fluorescent?). What I am really interested in is the colur changing capabilities of these lights. How cool would it be if at a dinner party you changed the lights subtly in the living room to cool and at the dinner table to warm to get folks to gravitate to the table? Gotta look for a fixture that lets me do that!

Forget Plastics LED is the future!

Most of us love the look of those nice halogen lights that are used to fill in the lighting in a room. I was recently at a co-workers house in his brand new basement and it looked great, but after 3 hours under his halogen lights I was sweating like a pig! I was at the state fair and saw a display about residential lighting using LED! This is the latest thing. Similar look to halogens and much lower power and heat.

RPI has a great site that explains residential LED lighting options.

A geeky house is a happy house

One of the things that I really want in my next house is a truly wired house. the eHomeUpgrade blog is a good resource for finding new and cool technology for the house.

Sticks are OK!

One of the sites that did the best job of convincing me that building with wood was possible was possible was the Building Materials and Wood Technology department of the University of Massachusetts (My alma matter!). Their publications are very good and are backed by solid research; not blind faith: what a concept!

A Path to success...

One of the better house construction sites out there is the Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH) site. While this is funded by many of the industry heavy weights it does have a lot of great information.

ICF

Early on in my home building odyssey I was very skeptical of the way homes are being built. Issues with mold and water damage had me thinking that homes built from wood were just not viable. I was convinced that Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF) was the way to go. I found lots of excellent sites on ICF construction and products. The ICFHomes site is one of the best. The ICF fourm over at GreenBuildingTalk is also great.

As I did my research I began to feel more comfortable with stick built homes. As will all things knowledge is power. It is not that wood is a bad way to build, but rather there are more folks building with wood so there are more bad buildings made of wood. Mistakes can be made with concrete just was easily and they are typically harder to fix. I am still considering ICF as my wife is still convinced it is the right way to go, but we will see.

For the Pros...

The Journal of Light Construction (JLC) has a great web site with a good forum for builders. They specifically don't want owner-builders on the forums, but it is a great place to read about how to d things the right way (and avoid hiring the guys who do it the wrong way). The interesting thing about this forum is that unlike Owner-Builder forums people don't stop posting when they are done with their project. Forums like the GardenWeb and the OwnerBuilderBook tend to be an endless series of the same questions asked and answered by folks as they move through their project phases.

Pay and pay and pay and pay....

Hennepin county has a great site that lets you look at land values and the property taxes that are paid on each lot. It is very useful for finding tax cheats (Mr. Lake front for $350,000!). It even links to MS Virtual Earth that will show you aerial photographs. Take a look at my block.

The man works at keeping you down...

Most of the time the government does not publish cool guides on how to build houses. Minneapolis has been working hard of late to make sure that people don't build houses there. They must be morally opposed to having large closets and attached garages (They are for the weak! The weak will live in the suburbs!). So I spend a lot of time reading the zoning codes to make sure that my design ideas can actually be implemented.

Kitchen that stirs me...

I plan on going with custom cabinetry but Merillat has some very interesting designs. This kitchen just speaks to me on some base level. I don't think it would be very practical however, think of all the dust bunnies under the counters!

Psyche out...

Splatgirl is another blogger in Minnesota that is building a modern house. She has not updated here blog in a year, but reading it gives you a real insight into the psyche of someone that is building a house. Some of the things in her place are truly out of this world! (Take a look at her shower!)

How to build a cold cliamte house...

Ok so your tax dollars do actually buy something. The folks at building sciences have put together some fascinating documents that tells you how to build a house for your climate. I live in the "Cold Climate" and after reading this I am going to skip a lot of the fads (geothermal heat anyone) and invest in better insulation (wrap that baby in pink!)

A Kindred Spirit...

The local newspaper has an excellent blog from a writer that is building a new house. While he is using a GC and architect it is amazing how much he is getting into the design process. He worries about the same kinds of things I do and obsess over the same kinds of details (faucets anyone!!!)

For the true home builder Geek

Ok if you really want to geek out (as in bring your own chicken) on building informaiton the Building Sciences web site is a great resource. It has all kinds of information on best practices and very specific information on how to build a good house.

Were from the Government and were here to help...

Believe it or not the US government actually has some good info on energy efficiency in home construction!

US DoE Fact sheets

More than a little Wee...

Weehouses is a prefab builder that is actually based in the Twin Cities! They are building a house just a few short blocks from my place. I don't think I would actually consider their buildings but they are cool to look at and give me inspiration to keep things small.

More than a mobie home!

Pre-fab construction is a hip fad that all the kids are talking about. The Fabprefab site is a great resource for information about all kinds of pre-fab building.

Nice Building, Eh...

While I don't live in Canada the government there has some very good resources on energy efficiency and best practices on building a home.

Their natural Resources site has a great Portal for residential construction with a lot of information.

In the Begining...

...there was the desire to build a house that better fits our family. One that is easier to live in and has place to put all our things...

This blog will serve as a place for me to organize my thoughts and keep track of all the things that need keeping track of.