Firstday Cottage

Started by Robert_Flowers, September 09, 2005, 04:36:36 PM

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Dustin

That mini-loft idea might work if I need to add more flooring in the loft to reinforce it. Hope I don't.
Along the same lines, David also suggested something I could add if I can afford it: a little reading nook cupola on the top, accessable by a ship's ladder. Basically. it's built on the collar braces of the rafters and has it's own little roof with windows all around and seats on two sides, with a trap door entry. It might be at most, 4'x8'.  He said he'd include it in the plans and it might cost me another $5000, if I could get it approved.
It's be an interesting space, with a fabulous 360' view. My wife, understandably (we have three kids under 6), thought it would be a great place for her to escape occasionally.

Daddymem

Sounds neat...we have a lot of similar things called "widows walks" around here; it is where the ship captain's wife would pace waiting to catch a glimpse of her husband's ship coming home.  Of course you have to have something nice to look at...I wonder if I could see the pond from the top of my house, wait I live in the land of approvals don't think I'll even try.
Où sont passées toutes nos nuits de rêve?
Aide-moi à les retrouver.
" I'm an engineer Cap'n, not a miracle worker"

http://littlehouseonthesandpit.wordpress.com/


Ailsa C. Ek

QuoteAlong the same lines, David also suggested something I could add if I can afford it: a little reading nook cupola on the top, accessable by a ship's ladder. Basically. it's built on the collar braces of the rafters and has it's own little roof with windows all around and seats on two sides, with a trap door entry. It might be at most, 4'x8'.  He said he'd include it in the plans and it might cost me another $5000, if I could get it approved.
It's be an interesting space, with a fabulous 360' view. My wife, understandably (we have three kids under 6), thought it would be a great place for her to escape occasionally.

Oh my!  I've only got the one under-six-year-old, and I think it's definitely worth the $5000!   :)

williet

QuoteOk, in the latest iteration of this plan, I moved the vault over the living room and put the master over the kitchen. This looks a lot better to me, and somehow saves me some square footage.  I think I may also shrink the top half from 18'x20' to 16'x20', to save money. To see it, check out my blog under "Still Waiting":
http://hollishomestead.blogspot.com

I may be wrong, but I understood that this type of  house gains it strength not so much from the floor (which would be the only thing missing), but from the bents, rafters, and especially the interior/exterior sheathing (I really noticed the difference in how it all tied together once the sheathing went on when I walked around one without any sheathing and one with- the one with sheathing didn't "wiggle" at all). I'm not structural engineer, I'll have to rely on David's opinion on that, but they did say it was possible to do.


No engineer here either, just someone who loves old houses. If I'm right ... all the support on these houses is in the bents. The sheathing will hold it together, so you can do what you like to the inside. Of course, the flooring would add the the stability of the structure. Maybe the folks at FirstDay can help.
I still haven't had time to draw a real plan for our house, but it will be similar to the one you have. We like the open ceilings, but the space can be used for another room and the lower ceiling (8' or 9') will make the house easier to heat.
Something to keep in mind too, is the placement of the plumbing and lighting fixtures. No matter how cool the space, it will not be as attractive if there are pipes or wires running up a wall or hanging from a ceiling. I know in log houses the hiding of these was always an important consideration.
Please let us know what you find out in your meeting.  

Dustin

OK, I've finally got ahold of David and we're going back and forth on design ideas. I was up late last night working on some, based on his suggestions. The good thing is that I confirmed we can definitely do the cathedral ceiling feature.
My lastest idea is up on my blog, http://hollishomestead.blogspot.com
The challenge is finding ways to get all functions I want and hide the plumbing somewhere near interior walls.
Now, if only my house would only sell sooner....



rampage

I find the Firstday interesting, but how cost effective is it compared to building from scratch with easy to build type plans? One factor I've thought about is the fact that you get all of the material to build the Firstday all at once. This means you better have a good chunk of time to put it together as opposed to doing like Jimmy and ordering materials as he find the time to build. To lose a big chunck of time from making money from my work wouldnt make it worth it to me. I guess if it fits your personal situation its a good way to do it.

Daddymem

Looks good.  One thought we had on plumbing was to hang lattice from the ceiling (ours would be in the kitchen and the entry way), or put an actual ceiling in these areas to break up the wood scheme a bit.

Dustin

There are some advantages:
All the materials needed are included except for plumbing, foundation, appliances, fixtures and electrical.
You have an architect to assist you designing your home and are provided with a full set of plans.
You have technical (phone) assistance with the building of your home.
You have a predesigned process that is created for first-time builders.
They will help you find financing.
They will help you work with the permit process.
FirstDay homes are beautiful!


Disadvantages:
If you've taken on a project like this in the past, then you might not need the support they provide. You can save some money here.
Depending on where you live, you may pay quite a bit for the materials to be shipped. (After having seen the quality of the materials package, I think it's worth it however, even though I am having them shipped across the country.)

Having looked at all this, I feel that First Day was the right choice for me.

Dustin

One thing I did notice is that we could hide plumbing by boxing in sections of the ceiling or wall and using either more wood or painted sheetrock. I could also take the opportunity to use those places to put can (or other types) lights and hide electrical runs.
Having looked at the pictures from other FirstDays, and after touring some, I feel the house would actually benefit from a little painted sheetrock to break up all the "wood-ness", and have seen several examples of this.
By the way, have you noticed the activity on this thread? 103 replies and 3000+ views!
Gee willikers!


Daddymem

#109
They don't have to ship it all at once.  Two deliveries I think and it could be different for different size houses.  This 24 footer they have is really gonna do it for them I think because it is very close to what people think of as a conventional house as opposed to the narrow 16-footer they have.  I am trying to convince my wife to do one wall per room with drywall painted brightly too.  What I really like is the simplicity of the construction, just looking at them you can pretty much figure out how to build it.

Dustin

I need to ship it all for me since it would save on shipping. For you, on the east coast, it would be no big deal.

Daddymem

Yeah, a couple of boom truck deliveries.

rampage

Do you guys know if they have ever built any Firstdays in FL. Some of the Prefab websites I've checked out say in the fine print "not available in FL". I'd like to see them do a Firstday on Assembly Required on the DIY network.

Daddymem

Talk to John: info@firstdaycottage.com He'll get back to you quickly.  I thought I heard something about setting something up in Louisiana or Alabama but I forgot to ask about that.


williet

QuoteTalk to John: info@firstdaycottage.com He'll get back to you quickly.  I thought I heard something about setting something up in Louisiana or Alabama but I forgot to ask about that.
I'm in North Alabama and I'd sure love to see one. They told me the closest was in Ky.(I think) .... He did say that I could get one when we were ready ... just not one close by yet.

Dustin

Welll, things have changed again.
Talked to David, and found out that I would have to pay full price for the loft space. This made the house 2000' sq ft, which is WAY bigger than I want to pay for, I was looking at more like 1700' sq ft max.
So, the loft idea is out for now, and it's back to the drawing board again. I might do a 18'x40' or 18'x36' and add a little 16'x18' one-storey bump-out for the living room. This is very close to my design and adaptable. I just need to move things around.
On the other hand, I could build one of those new 24'x36' houses, but the posts down the middle keep getting in the way of my designs!

Daddymem

#116
Did David or John send you any plans for the 24 x?  I can email a pdf of ours.

Dustin

Sure, I'd like to see it- send it over. Is that what you're going with, a 24'x36'?

dustinhollis@cox.net


Daddymem


williet

Quote24x33-4 comin at ya
Hey Daddy,
Would you copy me too on the plans?
williet_6757@yahoo.com


Daddymem

#120
 sure, when I get home from work.
sent

Klaus(Guest)

Hello, we pretty much have our plans all fiqured out for our firstday.  We are now trying to get the financing.  So was wondering what others experience was with this type of house.  We where with one bank that approved us just fine, but then because they had never heard of a construction of this type, and where so much was shipped at once, said they would only  release the funds for the house until it arrived, which prohibits getting the foundation ready for when the package arrived.  So we have decided to try IndyMac, has anyone here used them, and did if go well?   If anyone has links to there sites showing the progress of there firstdays, please post!! Thanks

Daddymem

We went with a local branch, but with real estate so high and us owning both a home now and land to build on, it may be a bit easier for us.  The vast majority of our costs will be covered with the sale of our current home and with the credit line we have we can get a good start without the construction loan.  

Klaus(Guest)

We took out a line of credit on the home we live in, to purchase the land, clear it, pay for power, and water, etc.  We need the loan for the house package, and foundation, buildiing permits etc.  Once we sell our house, with another lot , we too should be able to take care of most of the constuction cost.  We are building a faily sizeabe firstday, roughly 2700 sg ft saltbox, with addition that will have a catherdral the full height of the house.  Our problem isn't getting the money, it is the local branch where we are moving to not understanding the firstday, they approved us for more than asking for.  They just won't release any other funds to have the site ready to start the house until they are sure we have everything they will have paid for to firstday.  We dont' owe anything on the 5 acres we are building on, and the value has almost doubled in the little over year we have owned it, the bank just dosen't understand this house, they want to treat it like a manufactured.  Thanks for your quick response!!

williet

QuoteWe took out a line of credit on the home we live in, to purchase the land, clear it, pay for power, and water, etc.  We need the loan for the house package, and foundation, buildiing permits etc.  Once we sell our house, with another lot , we too should be able to take care of most of the constuction cost.  We are building a faily sizeabe firstday, roughly 2700 sg ft saltbox, with addition that will have a catherdral the full height of the house.  Our problem isn't getting the money, it is the local branch where we are moving to not understanding the firstday, they approved us for more than asking for.  They just won't release any other funds to have the site ready to start the house until they are sure we have everything they will have paid for to firstday.  We dont' owe anything on the 5 acres we are building on, and the value has almost doubled in the little over year we have owned it, the bank just dosen't understand this house, they want to treat it like a manufactured.  Thanks for your quick response!!
I thought FirstDay would help with the banking ..... We will pay for it when we purchase it, so I haven't looked into this aspect of the "kit" .... but I'm sure I read somewhere the folks at Firstday would help.