20’x30’ 1 ½ stories ??? With addition in Southern NH

[mvk]

Hope this blog thing works. http://mikesprojects-mvk.blogspot.com/

We would like to build a house on some land we have owned for a while. It will be our only house most likely. Would like to try to say what we want to do and then invite anyone who cared to too say what they would do. I have some pictures and drawings on the blog and some comments/descriptions. I would like to explore all aspects of the design/build process to help me think it through and to take advantage of all the expertise on this site. Not sure how to do this, separate threads for foundation, insulation, etc. or keep it all together?

We would like a one story house for ourselves and bedrooms upstairs for family and friends to stay over.  I would like a large open space with enough room for 3 or 4 couples and that would let me cook and also chat, or watch a ball game, and let me set up 2 poker tables and have a game when it was my turn. My wife is still not so sure about this open concept. I will be able to build in full sun.  I'm pretty sure I can't build on piers.
 
I would like a big garden, big pantry, a small wood cook stove, not the primary cook stove. I would like to have my bedroom on the southeast side, as well as the kitchen and a place to have coffee. I would like to have a sunny interior in winter. I would like to have a stone patio and stone barbeque pit where I can cook with wood, and I would like to shade it with an arbor and plants as well as shade the windows. I think that the house that I have in mind would work best with the site if it was dug in and maybe bermed on the north.

My wife wants the laundry on the main floor, a big walk in closet, a deck with a gas grill. She wants a full basement she wants her bedroom sound proofed so I can stay up and be loud but she won't have to hear me. She wants a hot tub with jets. She wants a sunny interior. She wants a build in china closet.

I have a floor plan that was adapted from a house that we were going to build about 15 years ago.It's just a single line drawing and not all the windows and doors are in.  It does some of the things I want but not all of them. I didn't want to shrink the main core and trying to get the laundry and full bath downstairs eats up a lot of space. I would like a mudroom and I don't have one on the plan. There will be a deck or patio in front of the bedroom with a door, probably a slider, but there is not a door to it from the house. It would work better from the east wall of the kitchen. That's a gable end, if I have a door out of the south wall it will be under the eave. The plan is just a starting place.

I'm not so good with the computer so I hope I did ok with that stuff any ideas on that would be welcome.

Mike

   

[glenn kangiser]

I think it would do well kept together, Mike then you will always be able to refer to it easily without looking allover as different threads would later get separated. 

Are you considering an old combo cookstove 0 we have an antique wood and propane or an antique wood heater with a cooktop on it?  Our Round Oak has a single flat cooktop area on it.

[mvk]

Glen what I had in mind for a wood cook stove was a small stove in a cabin in Oregon where I picked apples about 40 years ago. It had two plates on top and a small oven, I think we squeezed a small turkey in there once. Kinda take the chill off in the morning spring and fall while you make coffee, place to warm after shower with out heating the whole house, free heat in winter if you bake some bread or soup. My wife thinks I'm nuts but I bet her butt wont be more then 3 feet from it on a cold morning.

So I'm going to start my questions

I got a line on a small back hoe 1980 Massey Ferguson (3cylinder diesel) cheap, might need some work. My friend had it for his house and its been down his brother's but doesn't have that many hours on it. But even so it still looks to me that it might be a good idea to get someone in there with a dozer to do the drive. I got a couple of pictures of the drive on the blog. Anybody got any thoughts on what that would take. Glen how would you do that can you tell anything. I got some rocks but everybody does around here.

Perked my land 3 times twice myself with the state guy's help can't find any of the info, I'm missing a box from our last move, with a lot of stuff for a couple of houses for this place. We dug 6' hole and then small hole to do test. Whats the elevation of my leach field?

If I do a full foundation what is done about coating below grade these days?  How about for block?

We will probably heat with wood I have a old Shenandoah ,puts out a ton of heat, to big for a small house but will use it till I can afford a newer/nicer one. If I have a full basement I could probably put it down there and heat most of the house. I will need some thing else for the bank. Most people I know with post and beam (SIP's) get electric baseboard as back up because they were cheaper. Anybody got any experience, thoughts on this.

Guess this will be it for a while

thanks Mike

[glenn kangiser]

Here is the antique cookstove we got.  It is about a 1935 Wedgewood with 4 propane burners, 2 wood burners on the right and a propane oven.



I don't know your exact road building soil conditions.  Mine were really rough - about 1/3 boulders in clay and claystone and solid ridges of fractured but well stuck rock.  I would attempt it with the backhoe blading with the bucket - dig -transfer to the side - dig etc.  The hard spots I would tackle with the hoe.  You could get a addon digging tooth bar for the skiploader bucket or just get weld on tooth brackets and add replaceable teeth.  It really helps.  The hoe is not the best tool to make a road but if it was what I had I'd go for it.

I did most of my road with a John Deere 2010 Track hoe, so had a yard and a half or so tooth bucket on the front ane easily removed backhoe on the back.  Can't find a good pix of it right now - weighs about 15000.  I have done near a mile of road on steep hillsides with it and the Bobcat.  A friend did a mile of road in better area with just a Bobcat 843.

[glenn kangiser]

Your leach field will likely be 100 feet long maybe 3 to 4 feet deep with six inches to a foot of cover, but can vary widely.  The bottom of the leach field should be level following the elevation of the ground -- follow the contours - around a hillside etc but it must be level = tolerance allowed on level is about 2-3 inches.

Usually the profile hole or perk test will be dug to 8 feet if possible - as bottom of your leach field needs to be at least 3 feet above ground water or seasonal ground water.  They may allow a shallower design at the approval of the health official.

[desdawg]

Some of that driveway doesn't look that tuff. A little clearing will go a long way. I had one big rock that was a problem so I just filled over it. It wasn't sticking up high eonough to even make a good speed bump. But it wasn't going to come out of there either without some major work. And if it did it was going to leave a big hole. Think in terms of cut and fill. I would go for it with the loader bucket on the backhoe. If you aren't getting what seems satisfactory you can always resort to the wallet solution.  

Glenn, that kitchen range was a real find! I like your flu pipe too. It's a steady climb.

[glenn kangiser]

Yeah - I didn't want to poke a hole through the dirt roof above so went out under.

In building this cabin I often take a shortcut that will get things going then at some later period when that becomes not good enough I will improve it - speaking of the two pieces of glass and insulation above and below the stove pipe.

Seems we bought that stove for $250.00 - we love it.  It could use a couple burner repairs on one burner but works well for the most part.

[desdawg]

Well it is a neat stove. Not many of those left in captivity. I like it!

[glenn kangiser]

Thanks, des.  I wonder if the inspectors will allow me to have it? hmm

[kenhill]

Does the old Zenith still work.  My GrandMother had one.
"The Quality Goes in Before the Name Goes on!"

[glenn kangiser]

Yes, the 1938 Zenith still works.  A Ham radio friend repaired it for me -- a speaker was substituted before I got it, and the speaker coil is a choke for one of the tube circuits so caused overheating - I found the schematic on the net.

I have to replace the tuning rubber band as it breaks every so often - hard to find a suitable replacement -- I get the urge to hear the squeaks, squawks and noises every so often. 

Thinking about it, it was on another add on the internet and after talking to the lady a bit I found out it was the same lady we bought the stove from, but several months later.

[mvk]

Glen nice stove hadn't thought of a combination. The one I had in mind was smaller than the low part of your stove on the right. What's what on it, are the gas burners inside? Looks like they are solid plates? Is that a warming oven and storage on left? I haven't looked at what is available yet

Glen you said: Your leach field will likely be 100 feet long maybe 3 to 4 feet deep with six inches to a foot of cover, but can vary widely.  The bottom of the leach field should be level following the elevation of the ground -- follow the contours - around a hillside etc but it must be level = tolerance allowed on level is about 2-3 inches. Usually the profile hole or perk test will be dug to 8 feet if possible - as bottom of your leach field needs to be at least 3 feet above ground water or seasonal ground water.  They may allow a shallower design at the approval of the health official.

Glen most of the leach fields that I'm used to are rectangular? Guess it would be cheaper in one ditch.
It may have been an 8' foot test hole; the backhoe may have pushed the top soil, leaf mold away and then dug the pit I remember that it wasn't that hard to get in and out and there wasn't a lot of stuff falling back in. So bottom of leach field 3 to 4' deep and at least 3' feet above high water equals 8'? Does soil profile tell you where the water level is if you perk when it is dry? Clear I think, Thanks.

Drive way? Glen You got some big toys!

Desdawg says: Some of that driveway doesn't look that tuff. I would go for it with the loader bucket on the backhoe. If you aren't getting what seems satisfactory you can always resort to the wallet solution.   

Desdawg that's what I will try to do. Sometimes you just want to hear some one say what you are thinking . Did you do your own drive and post some pic's? I looked for that post today. Mentioned a hill in it? Couldn't find that post. Anyway that was my inspiration to try to get my own hoe and why I posted the picture of the hill.

Foundation coatings? I know that the key to dry basements is get rid of the water both above and below ground. I also have the slope of the land in my favor and can have drains around the footings and under floor but  I think I have pretty heavy clay soil and wonder  if I should coat the walls below grade. Concrete can be porous and block even more so. That old black stuff is pretty useless . Whats everybody think.

I would also like to talk about insulation. What I'm thinking is walls 2x4 or 2x6 with 2" of high r shield. My thoughts are the foam can be made pretty air tight with good installation techneqe. Years ago I was leaning towards double wall construction. I think that I may have more windows then might be good if saving heat was my first priority so I don't no at what point paying for more insulation is wasted that's a trade off that we can live with since we will use wood primary. I also have seen settling in blown in insulation at least the dry cellulose and in fiberglass batts. So anybody do this? Where does the foam go inside or out? Also if we have a upstairs that may or may not be occupied/finished. What would you do. I will insulate the roof but should I do the floor? John has mentioned BIBS as one of his favorite methods anybody have any experience with it or a price? Someone also had a post about spider insulation (BIBS without a bag?) anyone use this or no someone who has mostly cost. Seems like both of these would not settle.     

Thanks Mike

[glenn kangiser]

This stove was in the transition period from wood to propane so I assume that influenced design.  The 4 interior flat plates are removable and the propane burners are underneath with pan grates to support the pans.  The right burners - one front and one back are the wood stove section.  It also has a propane lighter for the wood.  On the left is a small complete propane oven with a thermistat and on the bottom is a propane broiler with a round aluminum perforated pan on the bottom like a pizza tray.  It is the only thing I could find a patent date on dating it at 1935.  They are hard to find and while we paid around $200 or $250 as I recall, they go at around $2500 to $4000 or so on the internet.

The leach field is many times multiple 100 foot long ditches with rock or modules giving a rectangular area.  How many and how long are determined by the number of rooms and soil conditions -here standard leach fields are spec'd by the health department official.  If the soil profile is good then the perc test is not required.  The health department officials are trained in examining the soil for old water flows below - signs of oxidation - etc.  Generally where trees and brush grow well is also a place where a leach field will work well... and yes - roots can be a problem.  8 foot hole could give 5 feet to the bottom of the leach lines - 6 foot hole at refusal (can't dig more) could give 3 feet at the bottom of the leach lines but make 3 or 4 lines required instead of 1 to get the required square footage for the number of bedrooms (375 per bedroom?) counting the surface area of both sides of the trench.

Check this topic regarding waterproofing and french drains. http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=2041.80 #87

[mvk]

Glen great pic's of the waterproofing. the foundation coating says elastomeric is this a step up from say 20 years ago and is the plastic 6mil poly. whats that fabric cost. I guess the idea is the water runs down the wall to the drains and the fabric keeps the clay/silt from clogging the holes. How much water are you getting ready for? Used to rain all winter out your way? Looks like you could have a lake there between the rock and wall and water pushing out the rock? Ever work with block would you do the same? Whats the next step up in waterproofing?

Septic. I'm pretty sure that the slope from septic tank to leach field is very low, but what about from house to tank. This would allow me to get a idea of my house level I would prefer not to pump. Anybody have a good site on septics to study up on them.   

Great deal on the stove glen.
Thanks Mike

[glenn kangiser]

Yes - that is a waterproofer - I would use that or equivalent on block also.  6 mil is an added protection stuck to the wet sealer.

I don't know the cost of the Miradrain as Mike, the owner provided it.  The fabric is already on the outside and the thimbles in the plastic make a constant drain to make the water go down to the French drain at the bottom.  The French drain has it;s own sock of geotextile fabric on it -as provided by mike or you can buy the 100 foot rolls of perf 4" pipe and put a sock over it yourseld - it is available separately - hard to do though.  The problem here is the rock leaks water and the concrete is a dam so water can build up behind it causing good leaks well up the side of the walls.  Only about 25 to 50 inches of water per year up here.  French drains finished outside and some interior drains under the floor in case the outside ones ever fail is my plan here.  Easy and cheap to do now but a real pain if you want to di it later.

Search septic here for lots of info.

Slope is 1/4 per foot (with minimum 1/8 per foot on 4" by special approval of the building official only) if I recall correctly, but you don't want the shallower unless it is no way to avoid it.  Not steeper either except elevation drops or the water will run off and leave the solids lying there in the pipe.

[dmlsr]

have you got started yet??? what town in NH are you???


Dave

[mvk]

Dave
I live in Milford, lands in Wilton, lived in lyndeboro for years. No haven't started yet. We will have to sell some houses first and the market being what it is we are kind of up in the air. I had hoped to get a backhoe and do some stuff this summer kind of on the QT before starting the Permit process. We have had some setbacks both financial and health.

Your not far, had thought about contacting you, really like your place, great job.

Mike

[dmlsr]

let me know if you want to stop by some time



Dave