Finally Bought Some Land

[htwoopup]

Speaking of frost free spigots...absolutely necessary but so easy to do on the outdoor shower...Make the hot and cold pipes easily drainable. In other words, put a valve where you can get to it easily and have the pipes to the shower sloped to the valve a bit. Also, remove any back flow type thing in the shower head. In this way you can use the shower on those random warm enough to use it even though it is the beginning of December days. Just open the drain valves and the valve that turns the shower on/ adjust water temp before you leave or aren't going to use it for a day or so.

Also, a big hook or two nearby to hang a robe so you don't get icicles hanging off of you on your way back into the house.

The only thing nicer than an outdoor shower during a snow storm when the air is just below freezing is a soak in a hot tub while the snow is falling.

[ides1056]

You can use a barn valve instead of a frost free spigot.

The big white pine your wife is standing next to grew in the open, hence branches close to the ground. The small pines are red pine, I think. Maybe planted.

Sawyer tick repellent is available at WalMart in the sporting goods section. Sprayed on clothing it lasts 40 days or more. Takes the edge off being in the woods.

[j44ke]

We had a meeting with the architects just before we left for Italy, and the house has taken a slightly different shape. The square footage is the same approximately, but the house now has a large overhanging roof and extended slab to match that increase the total footprint by about 1000sqft. The indoor living area is now rectilinear, but the roof and the slab mirror each other in what is to my eye a 1960-ish "mod" shape. There are new perforations of the roof that have yet to be finalized - one idea is to plant trees that will grow from an open bottomed well in the slab up through a matching opening in the roof. Obviously this creates issues with tree roots cracking the slab, but the idea is intriguing enough not to reject it without some research. Other square and rectangular openings will be glassed or open depending on their location. The front of the living - dining - kitchen space that looks west is all glass sliding doors, so the entire "front" of the house can be completely opened, albeit with screens in place to prevent too much of nature from visiting the house. There is now a semi-circular outdoor eating space off to one side of the front area, covered by the roof and surrounded by screening. In the drawings it looks small, but it is slightly bigger than 13' in diameter. The mud room area is reworked, as is the stair and the arrangement of the main living area. The dining room is now between the kitchen and the living room, and the kitchen is out in the open rather than being sort of wedged between a door area and the mechanical closet. We still have a bedroom area patio or greenhouse, but the bedrooms are square now and a bit more logically arranged. The master bedroom may have a larger window. Original the outdoor shower was just outside the corner window of the master bedroom, but that will be a small porch area in the next design and the outdoor shower will be away from the house. We still have the cupola/office on the roof, but the temperature management hasn't been worked out entirely. The mock-ups and drawings show some sort of screen over 3 of the 4 sides, but we're not sure how well that works, nor are the architects.

The architects did calculations and created some interesting sun-angle movies for the different seasons so we could see how the sun moved through the house. They used the house model they'd built, and worked out the placement of a spot to match the angle of the sun in the winter, spring, summer and fall. This coming weekend we'll go out to the sight with a much larger model and take a look at how the views work, positioning, etc. We'll also meet with Tom Wessels on Monday for about 4 hours and see what he has to say about land history and management. So a fun weekend in store, as long as the predicted thunderstorms hold off until afternoon each day.

We really like the new shape and the extra extension of the roof (which by the way will be about 70% plantable to help with insulation.) And the living space makes more sense now, with the hallway really acting as a central space. The architects have worked with their engineer, and he is designing a beam system to allow the big expanses of space without support, integrated with a pattern of rectangular boxes that will both contain storage, the fireplace, bathrooms or house mechanicals and be supporting structures for the beam system. And there will be several steel poles ala Corbusier's Villa Savoye to provide additional support where needed. I think those show up in the drawings.

I personally am skeptical of the durability of the screening systems. A bear can destroy anything of course, so that's not an eventuality that one can really prevent beyond cleaning up spilled food, etc. But just under daily use, an old fashion wood framed screen will eventually tear and need repair or replacement. The screening systems the architects are designing into the house are like sliding curtain walls that roll in and out of a storage slot in the window casement along a track in the ceiling and floor. They have used them in a number of houses, and the oldest one is 10 years old, so we'll go check it out and see what it looks like. They say the systems have been very durable and have gotten better with each install, and they've been right up to now so we'll see.

Here are the new drawings.

Overhead view of the site.

Attachment 103043

Main entry view of model

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Living dining kitchen view from outside model

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Elevated view of house

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Side view of windows/porch in front of living dining kitchen

Screen Shot 2017-07-19 at 10.59.09 PM.jpg

Floor plan

Screen Shot 2017-07-19 at 10.59.29 PM.jpg

Roof plan

Screen Shot 2017-07-19 at 10.59.42 PM.png

Thanks for indulging me on our project. The comments here have been helpful.

p.s. Also the garage just went stratospheric in coolness, but it is still under-development. Hopefully next week we'll have drawings.

[davids]

Jorn,

I like this much more (and I liked the first plan a lot!)

My only comment is that I'd forgo the trees poking through the skylights. You'll have as much woodland as you'd like just outside your doors, so there's no need to crowd the house's footprint, or to invite future problems with roots, etc.

And tell Wessels the Medomak alumni say "Hey."

[ides1056]

I will second nixing the tree idea, simply because removing it will be problematic and expensive.

We have had a bear visiting routinely in our barnyard, and he is unimpressed by my yelling and banging pots, so my wife went to buy a gun. The dealer said she was the fifth person that day to show up with the same problem. He said us a BB gun, which we have. I did, and he did not like it much.

Perhaps consider tambour doors you can pull down when you are away if this is a real worry. They'd lock up the house effectively, and might compliment the design.

I like this new design, but don't understand how that much glass meets energy codes. If you were to include insulated tambour doors, you might be able to have your cake and eat it too with an open plan that can be modified to meet the heating and cooling requirements of the season. They might be able to pull horizontally as well.

[j44ke]

I suspect the drawing/model we see this weekend will not have the live-in trees.

The energy codes will need to be solved obviously. That's one of the reasons why the master bedroom has less window area than the guest bedroom (the others being morning light management and storage volume.) But we've seen a house designed by the architect Toshiko Mori that is nearly all glass, and that house was able to address energy code requirements successfully. So we should be able to get it done, but it is an important think to keep in mind obviously!

David, we're pretty excited about meeting Mr. Wessels. I will pass along the greetings.

[htwoopup]

I'll go thirds on against the tree idea. Sounds cool but likely a PITA at some point for some reason. Plus, as noted, you got all the trees you need outside. Why you trying to make it be like an over done UES 30th floor terrace? Just kidding on that but you get my point.

As to steel beams...I did this when I built a house in LI so I could do floor to 12 foot ceiling to floor glass on a room that was 75 feet by 25. Easy peasy. Although in my case they put steel posts in a crawl space underneath also which I think was because I needed the crawl for zoning reasons. But you should be okay on slab. Thing withstood 110 mph winds from Sandy coming right at it. Odd watching that much glass bow and hum in harmonic something or other. Steel joists are your friend. They can be put up with a backhoe or two so you don't you get killed for crane rental.

Oh, and as I have learned in Quebec...you can make windows/ sliders in all kinds of glass that meets all kinds of requirements. Up here it is considered normal with no upcharge. Don't know about the Berkshires but I am sure in LI they would try to bang you for that but there really isn't much reason other than material cost which is really not that much more...at least in Canada.

[Will Neide]

Nice! Can't wait to see the garage.......and more importantly the new toys for the garage. :)

[j44ke]

The garage design has become a cantilevered roof slab that is at the same level as the house slab or just a bit below it. The grade of the land slopes down from the house end of the slab (the north end in the site plan overhead) so that the far end of it overhangs a patio that will be a combination outdoor bike workshop and post ride hang out spot. The garage itself will be a 3 bay rectangle that supports the slab with entries on the west facing side. The sketches the architects did initially had the entire garage clad in frosted translucent material (glass or plexiglass or something) with glass-paned articulated garage doors. However, the reality will likely be opaque walls but hopefully retain the glass-paned garage doors. One bay for bikes, one for the snow plow and quad and one for the Volvo. We should have actual drawings after this weekend. As with everything, final design will be subject to budget constraints! Must not spend more on the garage than the house.

[rwsaunders]

Jorn...if you can eliminate the steel and stick with wood structural members you eliminate another fabricator and erector and simply your life. Cool design. For green roofs, you'll possibly need to irrigate to keep the plants alive in the Summer as green roofs are not maintenance free. Green roofs also add weight, flashing and membrane details which you should discuss. So many systems impact each other, right?

[j44ke]

Jorn...if you can eliminate the steel and stick with wood structural members you eliminate another fabricator and erector and simply your life. Cool design. For green roofs, you'll possibly need to irrigate to keep the plants alive in the Summer as green roofs are not maintenance free. Green roofs also add weight, flashing and membrane details which you should discuss. So many systems impact each other, right?

The beams will be wood - a type of modern glue laminate - but details are with the engineer currently. And the roof construction will in someway be integrated with the supporting structure (beyond just being attached to it/supported by it,) but I am vague on the details. The roof looks thin in the model photos, but it is actually a chunk. Scale is deceptive. We should receive more info this weekend. The architects have built green roofs on several buildings of varying size and complexity, including their own house, and the membrane they used on their house is really substantial. Not what I'm used to seeing. It means building a stronger roof obviously to support not just the weight of wet soil but also all the membrane which as you know can become quite heavy. I think at one point they covered the drains on their house and filled the roof (it has ~18" parapet walls) with water as an experiment (their own house has become sort of a laboratory of design and engineering) and no leaks and the roof didn't collapse. There will be a spigot on the roof - I've already asked about that - and a way to set up some form of drip irrigation. I'm a drip irrigation pro from gardening in AZ though I am sure everything has advanced since then. There's undoubtedly an app for that now.

I think until we get the microclimates figured out, the roof will have sempervivum on it. Those are the original roof plants from way back. Charlemagne even issued an edict that required all houses to have sempervivum (also called hen-and-chicks or house leeks) planted on the roof as a way to prevent roof fires from chimney cinders.

[ides1056]

check out Resource Conservation Technology- they sell a variety of roofing membranes. I have used the acrylic one to waterproof the floor in my wife's NYC lab: did 2200 sq ft of 8 x 10 rooms by myself with a pair of scissors and paint rollers in two weeks. The floor has had constant foot traffic in a chemical environment for twelve years without issue or repainting.

Green roofs make sense in some situations, I guess, but I am not an advocate.

Having had to deal with this recently in my mother's condo to meet the needs of my 90 year old stepfather, be sure to put plywood backing under the concrete board in the shower so that should you need to install grab bars and the like there is something solid to anchor to. Better yet, make everything ADA compliant to begin with. It won't compromise the aesthetics.

[Badonkadonk]

this house is clearly gonna be awesome!!! come in at budget and you have discovered a tear in the fabric of reality as i have experienced it ;-)

[Will Neide]

No issues with snow buildup on a roof like that?

[j44ke]

Meeting with Tom Wessels post-poned a few weeks due to lightning and a couple hours of torrential rain this morning. Disappointing but I can understand how a tree expert would know his lightning & thus when to stay home. Got new house plans this afternoon with several areas reworked with much better solutions, so the plan is getting really good now. Garage is more modest now (sigh) but more likely to be affordable (yay!) The cupola has been redone to meet energy code, the guest bedroom is smaller and the master bedroom is larger w/more glass. We've retained an engineer for structural design. Now in the market for a master of the brush hog who will wipe the site(s) clear of 4000 black raspberry bushes that have sprung up this summer so we can do some topographical surveys of the house site. Can't see the ground for all the ground cover.

No issues with snow buildup on a roof like that?

Sure - all the typical weight/drainage/weatherproofing issues - but that's why we just hired this nifty engineer to make sure those are addressed to perfection! We got a much more detailed description/explanation of the roof material during this meeting. The current plan is to use cross laminated timber supported by strategically placed (designed by the aforementioned engineer) steel columns. If you are unfamiliar with cross laminated timber, you can see some of it in action here in this rather mad (and slightly irritating) project from the British television show "Grand Designs" that uses cross laminated timber for the floors, walls and roof of the structure. Our project is totally rational in comparison, but more on that when we have the finished drawings and plans from the architects in the next couple days.

Grand Designs S14E2 North Cornwall The Cross Laminated Timber House - Dailymotion Video

[j44ke]

This architect seems to use cross laminated timber quite a bit.

Kidosaki Architects Studio

And here is another good example.

clt-house.jpg

[j44ke]

New and improved! So far, each iteration of the plans has been an improvement, which I think is a good sign.

The screened-in eating area has changed shape a bit, and instead of having a sliding screen that wraps around a cylinder, the shape is more triangular with fixed in place screening and a (yet to be designed) door opening on the side facing the kitchen. Less sexy but much more practical so much more sexy wallet-wise.

The fireplace has moved from the interior wall in the dining area to the exterior wall next to the living area. Again, more practical location for a chimney.

The outside wall of the guest bedroom is now 100% house mechanicals and only opens to the outside of the house. This allows the bed to be opposite the current position in the drawings - that is, back to its original position.

The small garden between the guest room and the master bedroom will be a Japanese-style dry garden with a large stone to (more than likely) be found during construction. Originally there was going to be a tree planted in a recessed box as part of the slab, and the recessed box was going to be fairly deep & open to the east (i.e. the "backyard") so the roots could escape into the wild. But we were concerned about that area becoming a real moisture pit, so the dry garden will allow us to use a shallow box closed on all four sides without any water added for irrigation.

The master bedroom has been completely rejiggered, and it is now all glass on two sides. The bathroom is only slightly reduced in size. The position of the bathroom now allows for the shower to have a skylight over it. There is a trick door that opens into the dry garden area and is mirrored by one on the guest room side of the garden. This actually allows for hauling laundry from the master bedroom to the washer/dryer that are at one end of the guest bath. The headboard of the bed is a honeycomb of storage shelves on its opposite side, and the wall facing the honeycomb is clothes closet, drawers and storage.

Other things - slightly larger mud room area by the front door, slightly different arrangement of the kitchen to allow work to be done facing the view...

...and the garage! The roof of the garage will be level with the slab of the house. There will be wide stepped stairs that lead down the grade to the garage floor level and entry doors. Garage was sketched out as 3 bays, but now having checked the cost of garage doors, it is roughly 2.5 bays with 2 doors. Right side (facing) is bikes and storage, and the left side is car, tractor and storage. Like the house roof, there are skylights in the garage roof. These skylights will be a heavy-duty material that allows walking and generally destructive behavior above while remaining translucent enough to transmit light into the garage below. The top of the garage will be a combo barbecue and picnic area with stairs that will go down the south side and lead by way of a wide trail to the lower house site that will be cleared and graded as a sort of garden/fire pit/arena/open space.

Also the cupola is now much less of a glass box and more of a large windowed room, partly due to costs and partly due to energy code requirements (mostly as a result of all that added glass in the master bedroom and the main entryway.

BTW, the roof will be cross laminated timber as mentioned above, but that will mean no beams spanning the space. The ceiling will be the flat underside of the cross laminated timber planks. That effectively adds to the head room - or the perception of headroom. And the garden is not as much of an insulator as I thought. The garden is actually more adornment for a large flat box that will hold the surface mounted insulation atop the cross laminated timber roof. The insulation will cover the entire square area of the floor plan beneath the roof but not extend to the edges of the roof where it isn't functional.

Tomorrow I go meet our driveway guy to start some clearing so more detailed site planning can be done by the architect. There is a site survey in the near future so the topography is sorted, so I suspect we'll be hiring a surveyor soon. We now have an engineer working on the project to make sure everything works. After the house location is fixed and the garage set in relation to the house, we'll know where to put the electrical box and what the route of the driveway will be.

Here are updated images.

Site overview



Floor plan



Roof plan



Entry



Kitchen to Living Area view



Master Bedroom view



Dry Garden (no tree, rock yet to be discovered)



Cupola view



Roof view



Front view



Garage



Garage plan



Whew.

[DCT]

Important Question

When is the VSalon bike weekend from your new place?

[j44ke]

Two years from now. It will be immediately preceded by the VSalon Trail Building Adventure.

[Mark Kelly]

The architects did calculations and created some interesting sun-angle movies for the different seasons so we could see how the sun moved through the house. They used the house model they'd built, and worked out the placement of a spot to match the angle of the sun in the winter, spring, summer and fall.

For those following along at home: this is a feature built in to the rendering program in AutoCAD. Got to Render -> Set Location and put in the latitude and longitude of the site. Back to the Render menu, double click Sun Status and turn default lighting off. You can then manipulate the date and time data to get sun traverse.

Obviously for this to work the orientation of the drawing must be correct: up is geodetic north.

I'm currently using this to plan the north shade and solar installations for the house to be built in Beechworth. I'm doing the design myself, I can't afford an architect.