20x40, lots of ???'s

[LadyCash/TC2]

Dh and I are considering our future house.
It will be 20x40, gable roof, very simple plan, turned long ways.
The LR (17x20) is to the left, stairs in the middle, kitchen and dining (19x20) to the right, with the kitchen in front, dining in rear. Pref with open staircase. Fireplace/woodstove in both LR and DR, with LOTS of tall windows wrapping the corners. That's all for the main building, first floor.
There will be an enclosed breezeway connecting the kitchen to the garage, and it will house the 1/2 bath, laundry and freezers.
House will have standing seam metal roof, and stained T1-11 siding, porches front and back (long sides).

We are undecided a/b the upper floor(s).  If 1.5 story, it would have a bedroom on each end, with one bath. We would then add a master suite off the LR at a later date. If 2 story, all bedrooms above. Now the ?'s

1. Better to go 2 story now (cost-wise) or ok to stay 1.5 and add main floor suite later?
2. Are dormers very costly? How a/b skylights in metal roof? Better to go without either?
3. Anyone stained T1-11? Good idea?
4. Anyone use a spiral stair? Good idea? How a/b furniture moving from up/down? Better to to with straight stair?
5. We are considering having it framed/roofed by a builder, then finishing it ourselves, as DH works shift work, a great deal. Any suggestions a/b  this?

I think that's it for now, but I'm sure to come up with other 's later. Thanks for all your help!

[LadyCash/TC2]

Ha! Just had another ?

In order to achieve the "roomiest", "airiest" feeling, what's the best ceiling height? 9ft, or maybe 10?

[Amanda_931]

It usually works best to have the land first before locking house plans in stone.  (with acreage it's not a bad idea to live on the place for a year to learn how light, shade, and drainage work--my four years are a little much)

My house in Nashville was raw T-1-11.  Always did look nice.

Windows wrapping the corners can be tricky.  Frank Lloyd Wright did it, though.  One needs something solid to prevent racking close to the corners.

Dormers are not terribly expensive, especially shed dormers--less flashing required.

I'd definitely do the main stuff now.  Size the ceiling joists for rooms above and that kind of thing.

Among many others my pet design peeves include no bedroom on the lower floor (consider having to convert the dining room into a bedroom for someone who'd had a stroke, or someone who was in for six weeks of broken leg in a cast), spiral staircases, especially the small ones designed to save lots of space, and also ladders to upstairs if they get daily use.  

Skylights can be done with a metal roof.  Need to plan for them.  Depending on what kind, they may need to be framed in, water directed past the frame.

Optimum ceiling height--low in very cold climates, high in hot, unless you are completely addicted to Air Conditioning.  Less volume to heat (or cool) with low ceilings, and heat stratification--all that hot air at the top--can be your friend when it's hot.  

[jonsey/downunder]

Hi and welcome aboard Ladycash,
Amanda has already covered some of my points but seeing as I have already gone through this with the spell checker I will post it anyway.
My input, for what it's worth, would be if you have the cash put the 2nd story on as you go. Alterations later will cost you a small fortune. The dormers I will leave to someone else, same for the cladding. The spiral stair looks great but not really practical for moving furniture up unless you have a big opening at the top. Getting a contractor to do the early stage of the work should be fine; it will get you into the home earlier.
Ceiling height would depend on your  preference, and the local climate would need to be considered. High ceilings usually require a lot of heating. I'm sure  other folk on the forum will have a few more ideas.
jonesy.

[John Raabe]

I would suggest a full sized code stair - U or L shape will probably work best.

One Bedroom on the main floor is a good idea but does not have to be added initially.

A full two story (such as the universal cottage below - which has side porches in the plans as well as the end porch), will usually cost a bit less per SF of usable space than a 1.5 story with dormers. However, you might like the looks of the latter better and the upstairs rooms can be more interesting.



Ceiling height - 8' to 9' on the main floor works well. 7'-6" to 8' on the upper. If you go 10' in some of the areas (you can raise part of the upper floor for this) you can have the tall windows you mention and transoms over the doors.

[LadyCash/TC2]

Thanks so much, y'all!
FWIW, we live in southeast Georgia, so heat is def. a prob. Very mild winters though.

Very true a/b the land, how you need to get a feel for it, ect. We are learning this now, with our 1 acre.
As most of the SE Ga land is flat, and we're on the 'red' side of the Altamaha (the southern, high, sandy, bluff side), flooding is rarely a prob.  Basements, however, are extremely rare/limited to the few areas of bluff hills in the north of the county.

Can someone explain racking to me?

I too, am leery of the spiral staircase, but DH suggested it for openess, space savings.  He also prefers the ground master, so we'll prob go with that.

Glad to find this forum, and thanks again for all the help!

[glenn kangiser]

A product called Defy that I get from the Log Home Store will give you UV protection and allow the wood to breathe - keeps out something like 97% of the water and comes in various color stains from near natural to dark and colors.  Wood does not get a shiny varnished look with Defy.

I agree with Amanda and Jonesy on their comments. One room downstairs at least usable as a bedroom is a good idea - I have a couple of small circular stairs- big furniture moving on them is not great- I have alternate ways to move though.

[glenn kangiser]

Racking would be tendency of your building to start leaning sideways over the years if not properly braced.  I believe John has mentioned that bracing needs to start within 8' of a corner - Codes require proper bracing and John's designs are properly braced.  A local engineer or architect modifying plans should take the bracing into consideration.

[John Raabe]

Racking is not so much an issue of time but of the very unusual forces of strong winds and earthquake. Any house with structural sheathing (plywood or OSB under siding, or T1-11 single wall properly installed) has much greater racking resistance than older board sided homes.

Code is usually met if you can have a 4' wide panel of sheathed wall all the way to the roof somewhere within 8' of the corner. If you work a little harder and put in some brackets you can shrink the panel down to 2'-8".

Here is a link: http://www.iccswwc.org/documents/R602.10.6AltBracedwallpanel.pdf

Here is a link to an earlier discussion: http://countryplans.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=01;action=display;num=1101859153;start=3#3.

[glenn kangiser]

I guess that shows you what I know-- I just pile dirt against all sides of the house and figure that will take care of it-- I'll crawl back down into my hole now.

[LadyCash/TC2]

Thanks for explaining that to me.  I'll definately keep the extra bracing in mind.

[John Raabe]

Glenn:

Piling dirt on all the walls is a time tested brute force technique that cuts down considerably on the wind pressure.

In fact, it was one of the favorite solutions for a 1950's era atomic bomb shelter.