Author Topic: Advice: Building a New Home  (Read 1182 times)

MidwestMustachian

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Advice: Building a New Home
« on: May 26, 2023, 09:38:49 AM »
Hi all, my wife and I are in the process of designing a new house on some land we own. This is on a farm that has been in the family for almost 200 years, so we would like to design something that will be beautiful and used for many generations to come. Any recommendations from the community on building something awesome/beautiful but smart financially? We have 3 kids and may have more down the line, so it will need to be a fairly large house as well. Have been inspired by Simon Sarris's "new old home" series if anyone has seen that.

Bonus question: any opinions on timber framing? I have a friend who is a timber framer, and leaning toward working with him to build the house for the beauty + longevity of timber framed structures.

RWD

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Re: Advice: Building a New Home
« Reply #1 on: May 26, 2023, 10:01:25 AM »
There's some really impressive stuff with prefab these days:
https://undecidedmf.com/the-simple-genius-of-a-prefabricated-house-my-net-zero-home-build/

For a new build you should absolutely be focusing on energy efficiency.

Laura33

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Re: Advice: Building a New Home
« Reply #2 on: May 26, 2023, 01:18:13 PM »
1.  Make sure you and your wife are on the same page about priorities and finances.  Even when it's fun and exciting, building a home is super stressful and can reveal some differences that you never knew were there.  So no matter what, prioritize that connection and cooperation in both the planning and implementation phases.

2.  Put your money where you can't see it.  Sorry.  It's not particularly fun, but it is by far the best financial choice for the long-term.  This includes:

a.  A good architect who knows about energy efficiency.  Your biggest cost driver will be the amount of square footage.  So hire an architect who can plan a smaller house that will still meet your needs -- or maybe develop a design that starts small now but has a pre-planned expansion ready to go when you add those extra kids.  Clever use of space is always better than more space.

b.  Energy efficiency.  Spray foam insulation is absolutely worth the price, because it also works as a barrier against leaks and can get into areas that are very difficult to manage with more traditional insulation.  Good-quality windows are worth the money -- but you also need to ensure they are installed properly (which a decent modern window, a lot of heat gain/loss is due to leaks/gaps around windows vs. through the windows themselves).  This is also where a good architect can earn their keep, with things like large eaves in hot climates and south-facing window walls/passive solar in cold ones.  Siting, orientation, and overall plan are worth their weight in gold when done properly, and can never be fixed for any amount of money when they're screwed up.

c.  Quality construction for anything you want/expect to last over say 10-15 years.  E.g., do not buy particleboard or MDF cabinets for anywhere they may get wet, because if they do, there's no fixing that.  It's a giant PITA and huge cost suck to replace kitchen cabinets, so it's worth paying up for well-constructed drawers (e.g., dovetail joints or the modern equivalent), heavy-duty glides, 3/4" plywood construction, and the like.  OTOH, it's really really easy to replace a countertop.  So if your budget won't cover both good cabinets and fancy countertops, go with the good cabinets and laminate countertops. 

d.  Ease of maintenance.  This is purely a lifestyle thing.  We bought a house with vinyl siding, which I have always, always hated.  19 years later, we've had to do precisely nothing to it.  OMG am I a convert now.  YMMV, of course, but do pay attention to lifespan/maintenance along with cost.

e.  It may be worth it to consult a landscape architect/designer if you're building from scratch.  You really want to make sure that groundwater and stormwater won't settle/collect around the house, so you want to have everything sited and graded appropriately.  That can also help you start to get a sense of what the property will look like in the end, so you can think about views from various locations and make sure you have windows in the right spots and plants in the right spots and all.

3.  As a practical matter, take plenty of time to develop that plan and to work through the motions of daily life to figure out how you will live there.  Example:  when we did a huge remodel c.2006, I designed the kitchen myself, because the whole triangle workspace didn't fit with the way I cook.  So I did different zones -- so for example I have my fridge right across from the island sink, with a drawer with knives and cutting boards right next to the sink, so I can do veggie wash/prep all very easily - then turn around and plop it on the stove, which is surrounded by the spatulas and pots and pans and stuff I use on the stove.  The other side of the stove is a baking center and dry good storage, along with bowls/mixer/whisks, so it's equally convenient for mixing and that part of the prep.  The dishwasher, OTOH, is on an entirely different leg of the kitchen, because DH does that, so he has a separate big sink for dishes next to the dishwasher, with all the dish storage right above.  The more thought you put into that kind of detail up front, the better the house will suit you long-term.   

4.  Where you can, take advantage of periodic sales.  We bought all of our appliances on Black Friday with a 30% off deal, then stored them in the garage until now. 

5.  Take your time choosing your builder.  Any builder is used to building a certain type of house, with a certain level of finish.  If you're not going to be building the standard house, you need someone who will take the time to listen and is willing to do things your way.  (We're rebuilding now after a fire, and this is our third project with our guy, and he now just rolls his eyes at us when we come up with something else -- but he always makes it happen).

6.  Splurge on a couple of things that are really special to you, and go lower-end on everything else.  Don't get sucked up into the idea that everything in the house needs to be at the same cost level (which is what will happen if you go to like a kitchen designer or something).  Really, Home Depot/Costco/scratch-and-dent stores/recycle shops are just fine for 95% of things -- particularly for things like appliances, which have a limited shelf life anyway.  So build your choices around those options.  But at some point, you're going to feel like you're spending all this money, and yet you're not getting anything that you actually really want, because you're compromising on everything (at least, if you're like me you will).  That's the point at which it's very helpful to say, "dammit, I really want those real wood floors, even if they are $1 more per square foot, and that's where I'm going to splurge." 

uniwelder

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Re: Advice: Building a New Home
« Reply #3 on: May 26, 2023, 01:29:41 PM »
Don't burden your kids with the idea that they should continue living in the house after you've passed away.  Just because the farm has been in the family for 200 years, doesn't mean they'll want to continue living there.  Build a house that will suit your needs for the next 50 years if you're intent on staying until you die, and make sure there's a bedroom (or something that can become a bedroom) on the first floor with everything wheelchair accessible.

zolotiyeruki

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Re: Advice: Building a New Home
« Reply #4 on: May 26, 2023, 01:42:47 PM »
2.  Put your money where you can't see it.  Sorry.  It's not particularly fun, but it is by far the best financial choice for the long-term.  This includes:

a.  A good architect who knows about energy efficiency.  Your biggest cost driver will be the amount of square footage.  So hire an architect who can plan a smaller house that will still meet your needs -- or maybe develop a design that starts small now but has a pre-planned expansion ready to go when you add those extra kids.  Clever use of space is always better than more space.
...
c.  Quality construction for anything you want/expect to last over say 10-15 years.  E.g., do not buy particleboard or MDF cabinets for anywhere they may get wet, because if they do, there's no fixing that.  It's a giant PITA and huge cost suck to replace kitchen cabinets, so it's worth paying up for well-constructed drawers (e.g., dovetail joints or the modern equivalent), heavy-duty glides, 3/4" plywood construction, and the like.  OTOH, it's really really easy to replace a countertop.  So if your budget won't cover both good cabinets and fancy countertops, go with the good cabinets and laminate countertops. 

d.  Ease of maintenance.  This is purely a lifestyle thing.  We bought a house with vinyl siding, which I have always, always hated.  19 years later, we've had to do precisely nothing to it.  OMG am I a convert now.  YMMV, of course, but do pay attention to lifespan/maintenance along with cost.
...
3.  As a practical matter, take plenty of time to develop that plan and to work through the motions of daily life to figure out how you will live there. Example:  when we did a huge remodel c.2006, I designed the kitchen myself, because the whole triangle workspace didn't fit with the way I cook.  So I did different zones -- so for example I have my fridge right across from the island sink, with a drawer with knives and cutting boards right next to the sink, so I can do veggie wash/prep all very easily - then turn around and plop it on the stove, which is surrounded by the spatulas and pots and pans and stuff I use on the stove.  The other side of the stove is a baking center and dry good storage, along with bowls/mixer/whisks, so it's equally convenient for mixing and that part of the prep.  The dishwasher, OTOH, is on an entirely different leg of the kitchen, because DH does that, so he has a separate big sink for dishes next to the dishwasher, with all the dish storage right above.  The more thought you put into that kind of detail up front, the better the house will suit you long-term.   

These points in particular resonate with me.  I can give some examples to reinforce them:

3.  I spent several years optimizing the layout of our basement to maximize the use of space, until the time came to build it.  As a result, I only have one minor complaint about how we laid it out.  The rest is perfect.  I considered walking paths, where furniture is arranged, how people will move from one area to the next, what each space would be used for, etc.  For example, I left a larger landing area at the base of the stairs, with a 36" door opposite the stairs, so that moving large items up or down the stairs is much easier.  Instead of opening up directly into the large living space, the bedroom and bathroom both open into a little 4'x4' nook.  I built a custom ceiling to allow for easy access to everything in the floor joists above, without the look of a suspended ceiling (which DW didn't want).  Lots of electrical outlets.

Here's another example, similar to Laura33's:  in our kitchen, the sink and stove are on the same wall, with the dishwasher in between.  If you're facing the dishwasher, the island is right behind you.  I hate that arrangement, because when a kid is unloading the dishwasher while I'm bringing breakfast from the stove to the table, I have to take a giant step over the dishwasher door on my way.

Finishes are relatively cheap and easy to upgrade after the fact.  Floors, paint, appliances, counters, plumbing fixtures...even cabinets are relatively easy to change down the road.  Structure, insulation, weatherproofing, utilities, overall layout?  Those are a lot harder.  So take the time to plan those out very thoroughly.

In terms of material selection and weatherproofing and insulation details, I recommend Matt Risinger's youtube channel.  His content focuses on building high-quality homes from a builder's perspective, so it's all about weatherproofing, building for maintainability, longevity, and strength, designing for efficiency, etc.

Laura33

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Re: Advice: Building a New Home
« Reply #5 on: May 26, 2023, 03:03:00 PM »
in our kitchen, the sink and stove are on the same wall, with the dishwasher in between.  If you're facing the dishwasher, the island is right behind you.  I hate that arrangement, because when a kid is unloading the dishwasher while I'm bringing breakfast from the stove to the table, I have to take a giant step over the dishwasher door on my way.

LOL.  So my kitchen is an L-shape, with dishes/trash on the short leg and cooking on the long leg, with an island that runs along both legs.  Most importantly, the fridge is on the very end of the L, and I have two pantries -- one in the inside corner of the L for stuff I cook with, one entirely outside the L for breakfast foods, kids' snacks, etc.  I also curved the outside edge of the island, so it's more like an arc than a rectangle, to provide a natural path around the outside of all of the action.  The entire focus was to keep people the fuck out of my way.

Kids still rocketed through my space, because kids.

Poeirenta

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Re: Advice: Building a New Home
« Reply #6 on: May 26, 2023, 04:53:00 PM »
Kudos to everyone who has already mentioned energy efficiency. One of our favorite things about the small house we built is how well it performs in even in extreme heat and cold with minimal inputs needed. If you are able to use earth berming this is much easier.

Also consider building for your hazard profile, which I guess would be tornados/derechos in the Midwest? We built ours to be wildfire resilient and it survived a massive firestorm in 2020.

One thing we wished we did was to put in a heat recovery ventilation unit. We run on solar electric, no grid, so we were worried about power loads. Our house is very tight so we have to open windows to keep our propane appliances from backdrafting if we are using an exhaust fan.

And if you can build in a nice screen porch, who doesn't like that! I'm sitting on mine right now. :-)

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joenorm

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Re: Advice: Building a New Home
« Reply #7 on: May 26, 2023, 06:14:31 PM »
I like the Pretty Good House concept myself

https://www.prettygoodhouse.org

Timberframes are beautiful if you have money to burn.

uniwelder

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Re: Advice: Building a New Home
« Reply #8 on: May 27, 2023, 08:44:25 AM »
Regarding permanence, most houses in the US are built of disposable materials.  @Laura33 already mentioned this about particle board cabinets. 

If I really wanted a permanent structure, I'd use autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC).  Its very common in Europe and what I built my dream garage/workshop out of 15 years ago .  The material consists of cement mortar that is foamed with air (aluminum powder is added while liquid, creating a gas that expands), then autoclaved to cure quickly, and cut into solid blocks.  It resembles pumice stone.  The material is structural (8-12" thick wall is common), a good insulator (I think 8" is equivalent to R-19 when considering thermal mass), completely fireproof (won't crack due to extreme temperatures), relatively light (floats in water, though blocks are 20-30 lbs apiece), and can be cut with woodworking tools (it will dull them unless using carbide).  You lay them with thinset mortar and reinforce corners and door/window openings with rebar.  I built the entire wall structure of my 1,500 sq ft garage myself and would do it again if building a house.  The outside gets stucco and interior can be plastered or drywalled.  They also make floor and wall panels (20-24' spans I believe) and lintels that are rebar reinforced.

At the time, it was price competitive, and there were various plants trying to expand in the US.  However, it never really took off here, so they almost all closed.  I think there is still a plant in Florida and maybe one in Texas or across the border in Mexico.  I don't think the material was the problem.  Rather the issue was finding competent contractors to install, as masons wanted to treat it like regular concrete block.

edited to add link--- https://www.cement.org/cement-concrete/paving/buildings-structures/concrete-homes/building-systems-for-every-need/autoclaved-aerated-concrete
« Last Edit: May 27, 2023, 08:49:58 AM by uniwelder »

uniwelder

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Re: Advice: Building a New Home
« Reply #9 on: May 27, 2023, 11:01:28 AM »
There's some really impressive stuff with prefab these days:
https://undecidedmf.com/the-simple-genius-of-a-prefabricated-house-my-net-zero-home-build/

For a new build you should absolutely be focusing on energy efficiency.

fascinating tour of the facility

former player

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Re: Advice: Building a New Home
« Reply #10 on: May 27, 2023, 11:51:37 AM »
Please, please, don't build too big.  It's the mistake almost every self-builder makes.  It's expensive, it's wasteful, it's harder to keep running, it needs more furniture, it encourages the purchase of more useless stuff.

Children can share bedrooms.  Children of the same sex can share bedrooms after the age of 9.  Babies should be in the same bedroom as their parents for the first 6 months.

Bedrooms should not be big.  They need room for a bed, a wardrobe/dresser and maybe a desk.  That's all.  Not much point in having a family if all the space for activities is in separate bedrooms rather than the family rooms.

Make the entrances generous spaces, that's where you need it, particularly with a large family.  Make the stairs and hallways generous spaces, it makes them easy to use and gives a house a quality it doesn't otherwise have.  Keep all the other rooms on the smaller side: a smaller kitchen area with a good sized dining area attached is ideal - look at restaurant kitchens: they are tiny because it's efficient not to have to walk between different jobs, and a big pantry is much more use than rows of kitchen cabinets.

Pay lots of attention to insulation, energy efficiency, natural light and ventilation: if you get these right you house will be easy and cheap to run and a pleasure to live in.  If your house needs to be heated you won't get better than underfloor heating and a heat pump.

Use local materials and building styles.

Good luck.


Dicey

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Re: Advice: Building a New Home
« Reply #11 on: May 27, 2023, 11:52:22 AM »
Best thing I did in the last one I designed fromt scratch was to plan for a "two-butt" kitchen. The footprint wasn't large, and I wanted an island. We had to go with custom cabinets to make it work, but it was worth every penny.

P.S. Laura33 is very wise.

NV Teacher

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Re: Advice: Building a New Home
« Reply #12 on: May 27, 2023, 02:56:38 PM »
Having lots of family experience building houses plan on it taking twice as long and you think it will and costing twice as much as you think it will.

bacchi

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Re: Advice: Building a New Home
« Reply #13 on: May 27, 2023, 05:42:32 PM »
4.  Where you can, take advantage of periodic sales.  We bought all of our appliances on Black Friday with a 30% off deal, then stored them in the garage until now. 

+1

We bought some of our materials off of craigslist, like rigid foam board for the walls and roof decking. Brand new and 1/3rd the cost!

Rural

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Re: Advice: Building a New Home
« Reply #14 on: May 27, 2023, 06:43:56 PM »

We did everything on our house, from building the road in to the property to digging in the footprint (earth sheltered house) to all the design and structural engineering, to the hammer-in-hand building.

We also bought materials as we found them on sale/salvage - if you're planning on a barn, it can really pay off to build it first so you can store supplies.


Seconding the energy efficiency, earth berms, and high quality materials where it isn't obvious. And building for the hazards you expect.


We've been in our house nine years this weekend, and the invisible places where we put money are still so much more important to us than the appliances and finishes. They add to quality of life every day.


Oh, and however many power receptacles you think you want, double that. You'll never be sad if you don't use one you have, but it'll never be cheaper than during the build to put some in "just in case."




jeninco

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Re: Advice: Building a New Home
« Reply #15 on: May 28, 2023, 04:37:07 PM »

We did everything on our house, from building the road in to the property to digging in the footprint (earth sheltered house) to all the design and structural engineering, to the hammer-in-hand building.

We also bought materials as we found them on sale/salvage - if you're planning on a barn, it can really pay off to build it first so you can store supplies.


Seconding the energy efficiency, earth berms, and high quality materials where it isn't obvious. And building for the hazards you expect.


We've been in our house nine years this weekend, and the invisible places where we put money are still so much more important to us than the appliances and finishes. They add to quality of life every day.


Oh, and however many power receptacles you think you want, double that. You'll never be sad if you don't use one you have, but it'll never be cheaper than during the build to put some in "just in case."

My mom, who designed several physical chemistry labs, had two electric strips put down the entire length of her kitchen, both sides.  With at least two circuits.  it's hard to have too many outlets, especially in the kitchen!

We're re-designing our house to explicitly be more efficient and resilient. In addition to what's already been said:
You can have energy modeling done on your structure. Almost any money you pour into efficiency will be returned later in fuel costs you're not paying. Right now you can also get federal tax credits for things like heat pumps, which I believe work in most of the continental US.  Insulate LOTS!
Seriously think about how big a house you'll need. What happens when the kids move out and there are only two (or, heck, three if one comes back) of you living there? Are you thinking about intergenerational living? We see tons of situations around here where people add on or buy a bigger house when their kids are small, then by the time the kids are late-teenagers they're not home much anyhow, then they move out -- and then the parents need to move to a smaller space.
What spaces will you use the most? Think hard about what you want in those spaces. Also consider some different possibilities for how the future will go...