Maison-Sur-Marais -- 20x44 in Eastern Ontario

[Kodakjello]

Hey Everyone,

I'm finally getting ready to break ground and I thought I would post the floor plan for the first floor. I've worked this over a hundred times since February so I think I'm pretty close to submitting these for the building permit. I'd love to hear what you all think of the layout. The kitchen and utility room+bedroom are bump-outs onto the porch.

I'll post some pictures soon of the landscaping progress we've made such as the driveway and bush hogging!



Shaun

[Miedrn]

I like the layout of the kitchen and living spaces. I like the open feel, especially if cathedral ceilings are involved. It's not for everyone, but suits me fine.

Did I miss the fridge? I can't find one although my viewing area is small on this computer.

Don't forget the pictures when you break ground! We'll cheer you on.

[jonsey/downunder]

Miedrn, Just do a right click, veiw image and it will open as a fullscreen image.

[Kodakjello]

Thanks mledrn, the ceilings are actually going to be 9' 6" high but they won't be catherdral because I'm squeezing a loft upstairs. Oh, and I did forget the fridge in the floor plan but it will be there in the end  

So, we were able to get most of the driveway base in and compacted today. Unfortunately, the dump truck driver couldn't negotiate the turn at the end of our driveway and he had to dump the second load in one pile. 22 Tonnes of 2"  crushed stone makes a BIG pile  :'( but we'll be able to move it next weekend when we rent a skidsteer.

I've attached a couple of pics of yesterday's fun!

[Amanda_931]

Nice looking dump truck.  No wonder the driver didn't want to risk it.

I've had rock delivered a couple of times.  One poor guy was terrified--by what the paved road from the highway, might do to his bee-you-tifull truck, wouldn't even try to put the rock where I wanted it.  Another nearly turned over in the dirt.  But that guy wasn't any more cowed the next time he came--no trouble at all that time.  That was the old, unwashed, but same size truck as the one whose driver got the shakes.  

I was very happy that I had a tractor with a loader on the front.

[desdawg]

It is always nice to see progress. You have a good supply of my favorite ingredient-trees. Looking good Shuan.

[Steve D]

Shaun,

I am from Ottawa, where are you building? It looks like a beautiful spot!

Great design! Is the loft to extend over both the living area and the bedrooms?

Steve

[Sassy]

Was just looking over the layout - I think I would like that closet that opens up by the entryway/stairway for a pantry in the kitchen, but then would also need that closet in the entryway  :-/ ... it is a nice plan, though - good use of space.    

[Kodakjello]

Latest news is I'm waiting to get the grey water system approved. After doing some research on my soil, it turns out the seasonal high water table is as high as 12" under the surface in the spring. Although,  it drops to well below five feet in the fall... So, I'm currently suggesting a gravity fed sand mound for the treatment option, even though they are supposed to be pressure injected but we'll see what the inspector says.

Steve D - The lot is in Montague Township, it's the South East corner of Lanark County and thanks for the compliment! To answer your question, the loft extends the whole length of the house, I didn't want to loose a single sqft  


Sassy - It's funny you mentioned that closet because in my slightly revised plan, the closet does double as a pantry for the kitchen....it just seemed to make sense  

[Kodakjello]

Well,

We've re-designed the house again and we're back down to 24x32. After designing a 1.5 storey house using balloon framing and 2x12 cathedral ceilings, the building inspector brought us back down to earth.   Here's a list of his points that will need an engineer's stamp:

1) 12" piers because I included some rebar for extra strength - why not? But anything with steel reinforcement apparently needs to be stamped, even though I've gone above and beyond code requirements just by adding rebar to the plan!

2) Any building using pier and beam foundation, higher than 1 storey needs to be stamped.

3) Collar ties that are not at the base of the roof triangle need to be stamped.

4) Balloon framing needs to be stamped to make sure the 3' high 2x6 "pony wall" can withstand the outward force from the roof. As if!

So, instead of dealing with the added expense of getting everything stamped for $$$ I've simply chosen to simplify the plan with a 24x32 base and a 12:12 roof with room for a heated loft space. This should also bring me just above the 1,000 sqft minimum for the zoning of the land. An unexpected bonus is since the house has almost half the footprint a metal roof might be possible  

[Kodakjello]

Yea! Our building plans were approved just in time to avoid the new 2007 development fees!!!  

I'm pretty happy! It's a great feeling when you can take something as well designed as the 20x34 universal plan and really customize it to fit what you need. The only structural issues I need to think about are a possible dormer on the south side and which porch will be the screened in porch.

I must say, even though it will be a lot of work, I am looking forward to researching details like tankless water heaters, low-VOC finishes, lumber sources, and home insurance providers. It's been a long journey (last year of university: 2000) and I know this is just the beginning but I feel that this will be a very positive experience in the end  

I also want to say thanks to everyone on this forum for the help I've received as well as the help I'm sure to receive throughout this process   Hopefully, the blog I'm planning on setting up will help those who are just starting out.

Thanks everyone and Happy New Year!

Shaun

[glenn kangiser]

Great that everything is progressing well.  Please keep us up to date.

[Kodakjello]

Well, I thought it was time for another update! As I mentioned, we have settled on the 24x32 single storey house with the 12:12 roof and heated loft. We've had quite a bit of rain the last few weeks so I don't expect that we can get started on the foundation for a while. However, I should be able to start the grey water leach pit soon.

I thought you guys and gals might be interested in a way to increase the insulation value of your walls. I had actually thought up this idea while I was looking at some 1950's houses. On a cold February morning, looking from the street, I saw that their roofs were frosted up everywhere except where the rafters fell. I started thinking of ways to reduce the thermal bridge that the rafters created and came up with something just like this:

http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/Conservation/MooneyWall/MooneyWall.htm

I expect that I will be using this method for all of the exterior walls as well as the roof rafters. I think this will make a big difference when it comes time to spray the Icynene and it will solve the "double top plate leaking heat even with spray foam" problem.  

[MountainDon]

http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/Conservation/MooneyWall/MooneyWall.htm

Interesting method. Ya' know you've set back my thinking/planning.   :-?

[John Raabe]

I like that Mooney wall system. Very cost effective I suspect. The blown cellulose can likely be done by smaller crews and DIY folks. This is not true of foam insulations or BIBS.

Nice informational images too. You can actually learn the system from the article. It's not just marketing fluff!

[Kodakjello]

The only drawback is the fact that you'd need to use some sort of blown in system, either cellulose or foam. I was trying to think of a way that this could work for a standard tract house but I came up with nothing.

Amazing how so many methods and ideas can be floating out there without being linked to other web pages. In my 5 years of surfing the web for house construction techniques, I had never run across the Mooney system!!

[Amanda_931]

A quick search for insulmesh turned up something that looked remarkably like flimsy 2x4 welded wire.  From Australia, maybe.  

It does support insulation, but you wouldn't have to cut a hole to try to blow insulation into the cavity.  

[Kodakjello]

Update: The CB88 hot dipped galvanized post bases have been ordered for the beams. I've settled on 4,600 psi concrete + 6% air entrainment for freeze/thaw protection and Fibremesh for early crack control. I'm going to be purchasing zinc plated threaded steel rods which I'll have to cut down to size for bolts.

Also I'm going to be building the composting toilet outhouse over the next couple of weekends to get ready for when the real construction begins. It feels great to get things rolling after waiting and dreaming these past six years!

Kodakjello

[Kodakjello]

Hey everyone, I've got some pics of the tool shed / outhouse we were working on this past long weekend. We had decided on an 8x8 base with 8 foot walls and a shed roof. However, once we were on the site we changed our minds to an 8x8 base with 6 foot walls and a 12:12 gable roof. Luckily we had ordered enough 2x4s to put up the gable roof and the ridge board supports. All in all it turned out really well for my first structure.  

The shed's design is 2x4 walls 16" oc, 2x4 rafters 16" oc, three floor beams [(2) 2x8], 3/4" OSB flooring, and 5/8" sheathing for the walls and roof. I was actually very surprised at how solid the structure became once we placed one course of sheathing on the walls. Big difference. Anyway, I'm going to be using the same building materials that the house will use, to finish the shed. That way I'll have experience applying all of the various techniques and products. I now need to figure out how to install top and bottom flashing for windows and doors, and how the building wrap meets with the flashing. Any information sources on that?

Here are some pictures of the shed as we progressed over the weekend.

[John_M]

Hey...it looks great!!  Good luck with the rest of the project!!

[glenn kangiser]

Good job.

[John Raabe]

Kodakjello:

Nice little shed! The pictures are very helpful for folks as they show how the basic framing goes up.

Thanks for the posting.

PS - Here is a pretty good review of window installation and flashing from This Old House.

[Kodakjello]

Thanks for the link from This Old House, it does clear up quite a few things, I'll read the rest of their pages too .
I'll make sure I post more pictures as I go. I know how much step by step pictures have helped me along the way.

Kodakjello

[desdawg]

ALLRIGHT! Do you have grid power? That roof, if oriented to the south would make a good place to locate some solar panels.

[Kodakjello]

Well spotted   The roof is 12:12 so it should be almost perfect for solar panels. We do have grid power but I'm going to be installing two 100AH AGM batteries in a battery tray inside the shed. They will be connected to a charge controller and a 100W solar panel on the roof. I'm going to install a small true sine wave inverter for powering the electrical tools while we build the house. In the future this shed will double as a very small workshop / garden project centre so I wanted to build it with a little flair.

In the end the house will be solar powered + wind turbine on a grid intertie system with an emergency battery backup system. Long live the sun!

Kodakjello