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Posted to Artist-Haven-Home by Kristin in Kansas City, MO
on 1/13/2010
Requests for bids are beginning, and it will be interesting to see the comparison between the resi-cost free residential construction estimate and our actual numbers. Will post that interesting bit of information as our numbers come in.
We're still hoping for good rates on the work we need done and with still lower than normal quantity of new construction in our area, I hope work goes quickly and according to most of the schedule. With remodels being the trend, though, we may still have difficulty with getting people to show up on time for the job.
We have decided to use Microsoft Office Entourage Project Manager to keep files digitally organized, linked and categorized, manage the calendar and activities, manage address book and other functionality. I've looked at a few resources and this seems to work well for me.
Looking forward to the process.
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Posted to Artist-Haven-Home by Kristin in Kansas City, MO
on 10/3/2009 10:49:15 AM
Well here we are. Working towards energy-efficient, as green as we can afford, with a focus on trying to implement creative uses of standard materials as much as possible. We've altered the roof slope so that we have less roofing material and less cost for installation for labor on a steep pitch. This also allowed us to raise the second story exterior wall height. We added a third garage spot and additional second story living space above the garage off the left side of the main home roof line. Our architect has surveyed and worked on designing the excavation of the lot to allow for a daylight basement on the southeast/southwest corner of the home.
We are going to be receiving bids for both stick-frame with closed-cell insulation for walls as well as SIPs from Thermocore of Missouri down in Jefferson City as they have an install crew that can be hired for installation and I feel their package has better energy-efficiency in a 4-1/2" wall than EPS SIPs. We've sited the home to receive passive solar gain in the winter and the metal awnings over the windows will deflect summer sun/heat. We are also running roof drainage into exterior landscape beds and then re-direct into a rain garden for reclamation of water. We'll be getting pricing for water catchment off of the roof on the back of the house to use for irrigation in garden beds, etc. to reduce our consumption of local city water. In reality actual rainwater is much more beneficial for landscape plants anyway.
Other important basic construction features we are working towards are the implementation of passive radon in the basement that will vent through the roof, we will be insulating with rigid foam insulation the exterior of the basement walls; however leaving insulation off of the interior of the basement walls in order to harness the absorption and release of heat through the concrete on the interior of the home. We are considering running PEX lines in the walls of the basement as well as on the perimeter of the basement floor for that radiant heat effect. The PEX in the walls may be redundant, but we have found some recent studies that it is a viable consideration.
If we go the SIP route or foam insulation route, we are definitely going to go with an HVAC system and implement EcoWorks DuctwoRx for air quality improvement. Our two boys have asthma related to airborne allergens and we're going for a clean-air environment. Along with that, we will be eliminating any carpet in the home and will be installing hardwood, tile and laminate in various areas in a cost-effective manner to maintain our budget.
Energy efficient appliances as well as a solar hot water system are additional features of the home.
If you have any questions or comments on any of this, let me know. If we're owner-building and can build what we want, it's great to show the community we can choose to build smarter and better than your average builder within each of our respective budgets as well.
Photos
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| Here's the front view. Not necessarily reflecting actual exterior finish treatments. Will post some views of 3D exterior view and interior view using SketchUp! later. |
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Videos
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Posted to Artist-Haven-Home by Kristin in Kansas City, MO
on 10/2/2009 9:54:51 PM
Well, its been awhile. But all for good reasons. We hired an architect who is passionate about green building and also about finding unexpected ways to be green that are not necessarily cost intensive. We're still interested in using SIPs for the walls of the home and the alternative if there's a cost savings is regular framing with closed-cell foam insulation, but are moving towards trusses and foam insulation for the roof. We stalled on pursuing building this past year due to some unexpected circumstances including current economic conditions; however, the upside is that we keep paying down on our lot and should have more equity built into it. I've also spent more time analyzing the finish and specifications on the home to build a strong budget and presentation to a bank when we move toward getting a construction loan. We're now hoping to start building in 2010. Photos of architect's renderings will be posted soon.
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Posted to Artist-Haven-Home by Kristin in Kansas City, MO
on 2/26/2008 8:49:03 PM
The plan has preliminary approval by the Association. Now I'm off and running to buy the plans and select a draftsperson/home designer that I've pre-screened or use the SIP manufacturer (if the City of Lees Summit ill allow it) to modify the plans and bring it into compliance with code (if it's not). Now all the balls start rolling at once - - multi-tasking begins!
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Posted to Artist-Haven-Home by Kristin in Kansas City, MO
on 2/22/2008
Well - What we thought was our dream lot became a problem with getting financing with a garage present on the lot. We were told that the garage was considered a "single family residence" and by the time we started over looking for new financing with a local bank that we didn't bank with the interest rate jumped. We decided to walk away and wait for a better lot.
2 months later a new lot in a different area of town at 1/3 the cost of the first lot becomes available. It will only have an indirect lake view but the amenities for the family and the access to great bicycling routes that are safe and less traffic congested is fantastic.
This time the lot and area of town warrant finding a stock plan for modification. We've decided on the L'Eaubelle plan found in the "Not So Big House" book and will be making some modifications to add a 3rd car garage and changing the deck over the garage into home office space that if we were to ever move would become a wonderful family room space with an indirect lake view over the ranch house next door.
We're meeting with the Architectural committee with the Association in 2 days and are working to find a draftsman or home/residential designer that is willing to take on the task of modifying our project with the changes we have in mind right away.
We'll still have our "Artist's Haven" and a great school district for our children. Looking forward to the process.
Photos
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| The L'Eaubelle before our modifications for a 3rd car garage and enclosed living space above the two-car garage. The Home Association is requiring different finishing materials on the exterior, so final results will be quite a bit different I'm sure.
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Posted to Artist-Haven-Home by Kristin in Kansas City, MO
on 8/20/2007
Have 5 builders lined up to walk the lot with me this week before we meet with the architect this Friday and to see how well the interaction goes. I don't just want to have a builder agreeing with everything I come up with. I'd like to have someone come along with some opinions and that will work well with our architect. I've already gotten a few that have tried to give me "scare" stories about other builders without naming names that may or may not have credibility and some that I get the feeling would rather not work with an architect. Could be just first impressions, but we'll see how it plays out. I'm just really anxious to see this thing fly and to start getting things going. I've been reviewing the forms and schedules on the website here and it's really a matter of planning and staying on top of things and most importantly rolling with the changes and the unexpected. I don't think I'll ever be fully prepared for the project, but fear can't be a factor. You've got to step out there and do your best and let it be a challenge and learning experience!
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Posted to Artist-Haven-Home by Kristin in Kansas City, MO
on 8/15/2007
The contract is in place and the seller's disclosure held some interesting information that went beyond what I had found out. Because of some issues between the seller and the lake association and city, there's a judgment that awards us all of the builder permits and sewer connection fee without cost. That was news to us and helps add a bit more % into our budget though we're looking at having to do a geological survey (core samples) to test out the rock content on the drop down to the lake and determine how much we can roll the house over the edge towards the lower level of the lot where the previous home's foundation is and from the main flat area on top where we intend to do most of the build. Pictures will be coming soon.
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Posted to Artist-Haven-Home by Kristin in Kansas City, MO
on 8/12/2007
We have a contract going into place on a 1st tier lot on a lake with a 2-car garage and boat dock in place this coming Wednesday. If you discount the "value" of the garage and dock, the lot will be about 1/3 of the overall loan amount. We'll have 11 weeks to work with the architect on the plans and to interview some GCs as a consultant on the project though I'd like to be the one doing the work and saving (making) the money. Will have to work from a GCs initial cost appraisal to close the lot-to construction to perm loan financing we've started. The lot had an older lake cabin that has been torn out, but some debris remains. I don't know that we'll be building all the way down there, and most likely will fill dirt in that area so that there is somewhat of a backyard greenspace from what we hope will be a walkout basement. Our loan closing is set for October 31st. This is going to be interesting as we're not working from the huge planning timeframe that is recommended in the "Book." It might go a bit slower, but if we get it started in November-Decemberish... maybe we can take it slow in the cold months and have time to get prepared for the larger build/finish components in late Winter/early Spring when it starts to warm up.
Photos
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Posted to Artist-Haven-Home by Kristin in Kansas City, MO
on 8/12/2007
We have a contract going into place on a 1st tier lot on a lake with a 2-car garage and boat dock in place this coming Wednesday. If you discount the "value" of the garage and dock, the lot will be about 1/3 of the overall loan amount. We'll have 11 weeks to work with the architect on the plans and to interview some GCs as a consultant on the project though I'd like to be the one doing the work and saving (making) the money. Will have to work from a GCs initial cost appraisal to close the lot-to construction to perm loan financing we've started. The lot had an older lake cabin that has been torn out, but some debris remains. I don't know that we'll be building all the way down there, and most likely will fill dirt in that area so that there is somewhat of a backyard greenspace from what we hope will be a walkout basement. Our loan closing is set for October 31st. This is going to be interesting as we're not working from the huge planning timeframe that is recommended in the "Book." It might go a bit slower, but if we get it started in November-Decemberish... maybe we can take it slow in the cold months and have time to get prepared for the larger build/finish components in late Winter/early Spring when it starts to warm up.
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