Victoria Cottage at Lake Cushman, Washington

[MikeT]

Here on the Oregon coast, the county in which I am building has gotten much more stringent in examining and approving plans.  Like with most things, the reason is recent experience:

The spate of storms the past decade have eroded the cliffs on which homes sit.  People used not to build on the cliffs but now they do.  And when the land below erodes, they want relief in the form of the county shoring up the area below with rip-rap, etc.  So with more building, the types of poor choices is more pronounced.

Also, on hilly areas, people/counties are finding that septic systems are failing and this is a public health issue.  People downslope tend to want to make sure that those upslope don't create a hazard.

Rural areas are experiencing real building pressures, and they are doing the best they can to accommodate and grow.

[CREATIVE1]

I can understand why areas that have been hit with earthquakes, mudslides, hurricanes, floods, and other natural disasters, as well as areas with environmental issues, are tightening up on regulations.  But so many aspects of building do not impact the environment nearly as badly as the owner creating a "stump farm" from a beautiful natural habitat, and that IS allowed.  And modern ways, code compliant ways, are not the only way to solve most of these problems.

When we built our two story "saltbox" on stilts in Florida, the inspectors were all over the reverse cantilever design, complained that one trap wouldn't hold water (my husband tore it apart in front of the inspector to prove that it did--still had to redo it), made us redo a plumbing stack that EXACTLY recreated on that had just passed across town, etc., etc.--and yet didn't pick up that the guy doing the framing made the upper open deck over the bedroom slant toward the house.  We eventually had to replace the whole back of the house after a series of failed fixes on that one, including the support beam for the second floor.

In Florida, building standards changed drastically after hurricanes devastated several areas.  But just going with hip roofs, having doors that open out, reinforcing garage doors that can fail and allow wind into the structure, and making a few other simple design changes would probably have done about as much.

This could be a long discussion, but I guess the bottom line is there is more than one way to skin a cat, and we're stuck with just one.

[CREATIVE1]

An update.  I'm working with a draftsman who doesn't really get what I'm trying to do, but with a little help from other professionals should be able to deliver what I need.  Hope to have new plans by the end of this week or so, and will try to post them here for comment.

[deertracks]

Hang in there and it will happen!!! The power of positive thinking works. It's very frustrating when they treat you like you are trying to do something so wrong.
Seems like the inspectors, etc. should be there to help considering the fees they charge
for permits and inspections.
Mt. Don is right about the east and west side of Washington state but we are all falling under the same
rules these days. We currently live on the coast but are building in NE Washington.
Keep dreaming of your view and hopefully all this will soon be a bad memory as you sit on the deck or porch
of your new cabin and enjoy the peace.
GOOD LUCK!!

[CREATIVE1]

Thanks, Deertracks.  I'm trying to be as philosophical as possible about the whole process.  Some problems can actually be solutions. For example, when the designer changed the living room beams from 2 x 8's to 2 x 12's, it brought the steps further into the living room.  But, at the same time, it might have made it possible to put a 1/2 bath on the skybridge with a small shed dormer, which really dresses up that side of the house, and to open up the back loft to the wing loft and turn it into a spectacular space.  Don't know if this will work, and am waiting with crossed fingers for his response.

I am thinking alot about living on the property, and that's what makes it all worthwhile. 

[CREATIVE1]

Things are moving along.  I've got a contact "on the ground" in Washington who's going to try to make the sprinkler requirement go away.  The fire marshal of Mason County hasn't called me back six weeks after the registered letter arrived!  I guess you can't really call him a "public servant."

My designer is getting on board with the plan changes.  No more post in the kitchen!  4 x 8 beams and a higher ceiling downstairs! 

When I'm ready to post plan pictures, I might need some help.  The files are too big to attach.

[John Raabe]

Is that a light at the end of the tunnel? 

[CREATIVE1]

Probably just the first step in the right direction.  BUT--it's a start, and hopefully a trend.

[MountainDon]

The files are too big to attach.

Too big as in computer file size (KB, MB), or as in inches x inches or pixels x pixels??
[... and "attach" as in using the "additional options" in writing a message? That's disabled to conserve forum disk space as well as bandwidth and resulting costs. Image hosting services like Photobucket are the way to go.]

The simplest posting method is the same as for photos. Photobucket.com is a simple to use hosting service. You upload the image file (JPG, or other) and paste the IMG tag here in your message. Photobucket can reduce the size of large images down to 1024 x 768 pixels or smaller.
General Photobucket Tutorial
Tutorial Section Specific to Resizing in Photobucket

If it's the disk size of the image that's the problem, that can be remedied in various ways. A Photobucket upload can help as large files are often also large dimensionally.

If you are a windows user, emailing images to yourself can also be used to reduce image size.
Email Photos to Reduce Image Size Tutorial

[glenn kangiser]

Creative has asked me to post these drawings for comment.

I'll do that and she can take it from there.



Main Floor



Upper Floor



Elevations

[John Raabe]

Nice work on an interesting evolution. Feels quite spacious.

[CREATIVE1]

And to think, this all started because I was required to put in code stairs and also needed a centralized wood stove!  I couldn't made the main wing much deeper because I needed room between the house and my 14 x 45 foot two story pole barn to drive to the the building we intend to use as a garage in the winter.  The front of the property is a bit soggy, so we couldn't build there.  All changes were site and regulation driven. 

Some notes:

The back and wing lofts (office, craft room) are totally open to each other to the ceiling, with the wing loft stopping at about 8 feet into the wing (den).  This creates a "light well" in the wing, which will actually be a library.  We have about 20,000 books, to be reduced somewhat before moving.

Knee walls are about 4 1/2 feet.

The gable end window (right elevation) is supposed to be rectangular.  We intend to trellis out that end (horizontally) with matching detail on the porch in the Front Elevation.  Too plain otherwise.

The Left Elevation backs up to a steep grade that goes up 200 feet.  The bathroom looks out toward a wall of ferns. The tub is a six footer, by the way, probably an old clawfooted one.

I want a casement window over the utility porch on the Left Elevation so that we can eventually build a bridge to the upper part of our property, which does have some beautiful areas to sit and walk.

The diamond window is too big.

There is a coat closet under the stairs, pushed back as far a possible (maybe three steps back).  Need that closet for the plumbing.

The 2 x 6 tongue and groove floor/ceiling is continuous into the wing, with wide spaced 4 x 8 beams throughout.  This isn't showing here. 
The downstairs ceilings are higher than eight feet, but I'm not sure by how much.

We want to use wood and log trim inside, and indoor windows where possible for light and ventilation.  The big window walls in the "L" (front elevation) are facing south, by the way.

I might also want to mix siding to highlight architectural features.  Shakes, lap siding, board and batten.  Ideas?

Comments especially needed on windows in the wing. The upstairs windows are fixed (don't open). (My designer likes absolute symmetry, have been fighting him all the way.)

[Sassy]

Creative, here's a pic of our clawfoot tub - I ended up getting the special type of tub that is insulated & keeps the water much warmer than cast iron.  I looked & looked at tubs - prices etc - this one is only a 5 ft tub - 6 ft would have been much better - we don't have a heater in the bathroom so that's why I didn't go for the cast iron, even though I ended up taking showers in the other bathroom in the winter. 

It's a Victoria & Albert tub...    Costco also carries clawfoot tubs - the 6 ft


http://www.englishtubs.com/shropshire.php

[CREATIVE1]

Very nice.  I was thinking along the same lines, depending on cost, etc. Cast iron IS cold.

Also looking at Chinese cypress tubs, but I'm not sure how long they'd last.  Also, side faucets and all kinds of fancy stuff (but not at fancy prices).

A budget cabin that lives like a woodland palace is the goal!

[Sassy]

A budget cabin that lives like a woodland palace is the goal!

That's what I say...     now, getting DH to agree - he thinks rustic & I mean RUSTIC is just fine 

[CREATIVE1]

Sounds like a MAN to me.     Mine is rolling his eyes at all the details, thinks I have psychological problems.  But you should've seen him when I pulled out the 3D walkthrough, which is a wow-wow-wowee.

[Willy]

Creative, here's a pic of our clawfoot tub - I ended up getting the special type of tub that is insulated & keeps the water much warmer than cast iron.  I looked & looked at tubs - prices etc - this one is only a 5 ft tub - 6 ft would have been much better - we don't have a heater in the bathroom so that's why I didn't go for the cast iron, even though I ended up taking showers in the other bathroom in the winter. 

It's a Victoria & Albert tub...    Costco also carries clawfoot tubs - the 6 ft


http://www.englishtubs.com/shropshire.php

WOW That's looks so cool like right out of the Old West Days! I love the natural look and decor you picked out. Mark

[glenn kangiser]

Gotta be careful here, Mark.  A man was involved with that too.  OK -- I admit it-- just the building out of junk part.

[Willy]

Gotta be careful here, Mark.  A man was involved with that too.  OK -- I admit it-- just the building out of junk part.

I would love to get a bunch of those planks for my cabin! Over Laping them like that worked out great for the iregular edges. Your giving me ideas. Mark

[CREATIVE1]

Sassy----  Is that your tub in your bathroom, with a rocking chair no less?    I thought the picture was from some fancy catalog.  Good job.

I like rustic, as long as your don't lose too much skin when you brush against a wall while stumbling to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

By the way, I used to have a bathroom that was 4 feet wide and twelve feet long, with a toilet at the end.  I saw an article suggesting using foil as wallpaper to brighten up a room, so I started glueing foil to the walls and ceiling.  WELL, got to the area above the shower and saw two bolts of electricity coming down.  I had on rubber shoes, so I just ended up at the bottom of the shower with numb arms crying my eyes out and then going for the ice cream.  After that, if you touched the walls (two feet apart) while going to the john, you got ZAPPED.  A great party trick!!  We finally disconnected the whole room and hung a trouble light over the sink.....

[glenn kangiser]

We call them photography accent lights.  I have wired the bathrooms though.  Part way.

[Sassy]

    That was really some decorating, Creative!  Glenn used to try to shock me with a magneto - he said it would help my sore muscles    he'd wind it way up - I'd chicken out & make him shock himself - he acted like he didn't even feel it.  I finally got the nerve to let him try it on me - wow, it really had a punch!  I didn't let him try that anymore - he thought it was funny 

Yes, that is my bathroom.  I have to choose all the furniture & fixtures as lots of times Glenn thinks "it's not necessary" - but I like things to look a certain way - I really liked the wood siding, the way he did it.  He was going to build a shower in there but I didn't know when he'd ever get around to it as there was so many other things to do so I decided a clawfoot tub would look good in there.  Through the years I've shopped for antique furniture, too.  The chest is actually a side board I think you would call it or a buffet for the dining room - I have the table & chairs in the kitchen/den area but this worked out good for the bathroom, & yes, the BR is big enough for a rocking chair - it was in the bedroom but was in the way.  On the wall you don't see, there is a big built in shelf for books, linens etc that is actually built into the wall & is underground - gives me extra room & then a shelf on top of that where I have lots of family pix.  Don't know if that explanation made sense      I have towel racks on the wall next to the tub & also put brass outlet covers for the switches & plugs.  I didn't buy the fancy faucets for the tub - the shower head is from Costco & the faucet is actually a brass faucet normally used for the garden to attach a hose to  (standard extended nipple hose bibb) but I liked that better than the one Glenn was going to install.  The faucets that are custom made - those ones that fit on the side, are 100's of $$$.  DH thinks I have psychological problems too...   

BTW, I was telling Glenn we needed to finish the wiring in places - the bedroom & bathroom are wired, though   

Thanks, Mark!

[glenn kangiser]

The bathroom is big enough for a rocker because it has three boat docks for a roof.  Maybe I should buy a boat now.

[CREATIVE1]

That bathroom stuff was fun, but back to the nitty-gritty.  I AM CURSED!!!  Tracy at permitting says I'm "having an adventure", but NOOOOOOOOOO, I don't think so.

After going round and round with my designer, I finally got something in DWG format (opens in Autodesk) and sent it to one of my clients in the trade for review.  Among many problems, the first and second floor don't exactly fit together, to the extent that the pesky steps I redesigned the house to accommodate are slightly out in the yard if I overlay the PDF's.  My client says the dimensions are off as much as 18 inches, depending on which point you start with.  I think I have to fire him and start all over.  That's what I get for being in a hurry.

He has about $800 of my money, and apparently nothing he's done is usable.

[MountainDon]

Oh dang!! How could anyone, other than a novice, do that!?? 

It must be making you crazy!