Firstday Cottage

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

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Robert_Flowers

 Good Little houses 960sq.ft.
Great prices the basic 16x30 1 1/2 story kit is only$27,700  :o
Robert  

http://www.firstdaycottage.com

Amanda_931

Yes they are.  Someone here talked to them seriously.

Do you have any real experience with them?



Daddymem

Hi...not totally off the burner yet  :P

Daddymem

#4
FYI  Firstday is expanding to a headquarters in Biloxi.  There is supposedly a new model as well.  We also discovered one is going in in our Town, the first delivery is literally next week.  Mommymem can fill you in more if you ask.


Chuck_Surette

Daddymem,

Has that Firstday near you, started going up yet??


Daddymem

Not yet.  We left our phone number with him, sounded like he may call for a hand.  We are visiting Firstday on the 15th.  There are supposedly a handful of them right around Walpole we can visit.  One of the employees has just about completed his.  I'll take pics and report back here.

Chuck_Surette

Sounds great.  Can't wait to see more pics.

What do you think about the lack of roof overhang on the Firstdays?


Daddymem

They can be designed with overhangs if you want.  I'm going to look into that option.  If you don't have the overhangs, I think you must use gutters.  I guess I'll see how I feel when I see one up close.


Amanda_931

Probably need gutters anyway, if you don't want a little rain ditch down below the eaves.

We'll be looking for your report.

Daddymem

Just about all the pictures show the use of gutters.  There is a picture somewhere on their site (details iirc) that shows one on Martha's Vineyard (again iirc) with built out overhangs.

Chuck_Surette

http://www.firstdaycottage.com/pictures/completed/Completed07.jpg

This shows one with sm overhang & no gutter - not sure where it is located.

I too, would opt for the exteded roofing option - sounds like the way to go.


jraabe

Roof overhang and the detailing of gutters is a local climate determined option. You can use extended eaves and gutters on just about any design.

In heavy snow country gutters are often ripped off so people need to go to gravel trenches or other techniques at the splash line.

Shorter eaves cut down the ice damming problem in some climates but can cause other problems when gutters back up in wetter climates.


Daddymem

Ice dams are sooo frequent here, I'm kind of getting used to the idea of no overhang.  I was going to look at extra long overhang with no gutters, but maybe little overhang with those vent like gutters (http://www.rainhandler.com/) may work since the roof is metal and pretty steep.

Chuck_Surette

Daddymem,

Same here in CT with the ice-damming. (damn ice)

My gutters usually freeze solid & water runs out the top - making a big mess, towards springtime-when water starts moving, but temps hover right around freezing.

Current home has no overhang  - so when gutter system fails - water is cascading down the side of the house.  

The rain handler's seem to answer the question of water removal & dispersion- I wonder how they do with a load of wet snow....

I like the idea of the Firstdays metal roof & eliminating gutters, but wonder - how much overhang is enough to keep water off the side of the house & also keep it away from the foundation.

Daddymem

Well, if you are up on your United States Geography and were wondering how FirstDay fared during all this flooding (Walpole is 1/2 hour northwest of Keene NH), all is well.  Of the dozen or so houses we are going to visit next weekend, a few are not reachable (due to roads and not home damage).  
This flood was amazing...we saw it first hand to a much lesser extent than Keene did, we were camping in West Ossipee on the Bear Camp River.  We arrived Friday afternoon to a very low and narrow river with a bank drop off of about 8 feet.  It POURED all night and day.  The river swelled, we were able to watch it rising up the bank (someone said at one point it rose 6" every 10 minutes.)  Camp sites got entirely flooded out (Mommymem may post pics).  The seasonal campers came and literally yanked their trailers, flat tires and all, right out of the sites.  We watched trees floating down the river.  We decided to pack up our rugrats...just in time.  The river overflowed the banks and over the road out.  We got the heck out of dodge and spent the night at my Gram's house.  We called the place on Monday and found out that the entire area we were in was flooded.  The portapotty next to our site is missing along with many picnic tables.  Everyone got out safely.

To give you an idea how much rain this is for the region, the 100 year frequency 24 hour storm volume is 6.2".  It was estimated that 8" of rain fell in a few hours in Keene and it wasn't hit as hard as Hinsdale!  There is more to come so we could still get washed out on our Walpole trip.  We'll keep you informed.

glenn-k

Chuck, on my mountain, 8' is not enough overhang to keep the rain from going 6' up the walls.  It rains horizontally here sometimes.  I think the rain screenwall is the answer to that.

Chuck_Surette

Overhang is a big deal for me - when I look at Old houses - they all seem to have one thing in common - big overhangs...

I went up to Firstday in Walpole yesterday & saw some flood damage - but not many houses...You couldn't reach them! Bridges were out & time was short.

No worrys - I did get to see John Hyslop's house, a funky 16x30 original on a slab– which has made me a believer.  Yes it had overhangs...

Ideally, I would build J/R's 2 story 20x30 Farmhouse, as it is a beatiful design/house.
But, the firstday is looking more & more like viable option to get a home in a hurry - that doesn't look like you rushed.

If you do get up there - check out John's house - It is pretty cool.

Glenn - what's the screenwall?

glenn-k

Its where there is an air space behind the external siding so that when water does get behind it, it will rapidly drain out.  Not tight against the felt or moisture barrier so there is no capillary action to keep things wet inside.


Chuck_Surette

O.K. Now you've got me thinking...

Let the siding dry from both sides.

Thanks Glenn

glenn-k

Here is a link to rain screen wall information, Chuck-- sorry I didn't have time to look for it earlier today.  Some is fairly complicated but the simpler stuff is there too and this should give you the idea.   You can even simplify it more if you desire.

http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/imquaf/himu/upload/The-Rain-Screen-Wall-System.pdf

Daddymem

#22
John is going to be our tour guide.  He mentioned a 22' wide house that isn't in the plans or on the web that could be interesting.  

We are going to look into ways to build a rain screen wall on the FirstDay as an option as well.

jraabe

I would agree on some common characteristics of longevity houses:

• Good overhangs on the eaves and gable ends -16" to 30"
• Self draining siding such a horizontal lap over vertical nailers, board and batt or shingle on a double wall framing system w/ heavy asphalt paper or equal for housewrap.
• A concrete perimeter foundation (basement or crawlspace) with a taller than usual height above grade (18" to 36")
• The house is built in the right place on the property (has good air and water drainage, gets good light, solid well drained soil, etc.)

trish2

A 22 ft wide house?  By all means please keep us posted on this.  I have a small sliver of space on which we hope to build a granny flat.  22 ft sounds like a possible match for our building pad.