Starting New House Finally!

   / Starting New House Finally! #42  
i've never heard of using foam in the attic...don't forget pictures of that part.
heehaw
 
   / Starting New House Finally! #43  
Alan,

On the bathtub issue, why wouldn't you just stay with a 6' tub?
If they framed that wall for the shower too tall why wouldn't you have them rip it out and re-do it?

I urge you to not be so quick to jsut "give in" especially since this is going to be your last house. It is not that big of deal fro them to rip that out and build it the way you want it.

I got a great idea from our GC when building our last house. For a change like you had, you use a Sharpie marker, write on an index card (they have great flourescent pink index cards now) the change made, and use that heavy duty wide scotch tape, like to seal boxes, to tape up the instruction right int he work area.

Just tape the instructions right on the job site. Even though you did it verbally it didn't make it through the communications chain. You leave the info taped up right where they are going to work, they see it, the whip out their cell phones they call the GC and confirm.

I am very appreciative of you sharing your construction with us. Thanks for taking the time to do that.
 
   / Starting New House Finally!
  • Thread Starter
#44  
rox said:
Alan,

On the bathtub issue, why wouldn't you just stay with a 6' tub?
If they framed that wall for the shower too tall why wouldn't you have them rip it out and re-do it?

I urge you to not be so quick to jsut "give in" especially since this is going to be your last house. It is not that big of deal fro them to rip that out and build it the way you want it.

I got a great idea from our GC when building our last house. For a change like you had, you use a Sharpie marker, write on an index card (they have great flourescent pink index cards now) the change made, and use that heavy duty wide scotch tape, like to seal boxes, to tape up the instruction right int he work area.

Just tape the instructions right on the job site. Even though you did it verbally it didn't make it through the communications chain. You leave the info taped up right where they are going to work, they see it, the whip out their cell phones they call the GC and confirm.

I am very appreciative of you sharing your construction with us. Thanks for taking the time to do that.

Rox, if it was really an issue we wouldn't hesitate to have them rip it out. Turns out we like it better the way it is, with a couple of "windows" at the top of the shower rather than stopping the walls short of the ceiling. Plus, we like the idea of the shelf rather than the larger shower.

As for the tub, we had to decide when they roughed in the plumbing. Once the drain location was placed and the concrete poured, we can't change the location of drain, so it is set. Before deciding, we checked out the 5' tubs and we fine with that size, since the actual tub is much larger than a standard 5' tub. Since it is corner unit the actual tub is bigger than a standard 6' tub. Going with 5' leaves us with a bigger linen closet, plus the shelf.
 
   / Starting New House Finally!
  • Thread Starter
#45  
Just started on second floor. Other than the rafters over the garage, the ones showing are just the front part of the cathedral ceiling for the living room. The rafters will go about 5' higher.

On the rear view, you can see the large porch and balcony with access from the loft and bedroom upstairs. The back of the garage is on the right.

We had a couple of crises today with the plan. Turns out the 13' of loft railing visible from below would only actually be 4' because of the slope of the ceiling. We decided to add a 4.5 foot knee wall at the back and raise the back of the cathedral ceiling to it. This opens up the view of the loft from below. The pitch of the back half of the ceiling will be much less than the front pitch, but there is about 6' of the front ceiling that will have a large dormer window so the slope to the top of the window will be more gentle also.

Another issue was a bathroom upstairs. We intended to put a full 5' tub with shower enclosure. One of the inexpensive one piece fiberglass enclosures. Turns out the while the plan shows the tub enclosure, there is not enough height at the back by maybe couple of inches to accomodate the height, so I guess we'll have to spend extra and tile above a tub unless someone has any other suggestions (can it be trimmed to fit). We might move the wall 3", giving the room to the bathroom and taking it form the loft.
 

Attachments

  • Framing 003.jpg
    Framing 003.jpg
    146.6 KB · Views: 196
  • Framing 006.jpg
    Framing 006.jpg
    206.6 KB · Views: 172
  • Framing 007.jpg
    Framing 007.jpg
    235.1 KB · Views: 183
   / Starting New House Finally! #46  
Alan L,
i wouold not be surprisd if you heard form bmac as i believe he had the same problem with the upstairs bath/toilet. it looked fine ont he plans but when built not enough height. You are really observant to catch this stuff really early in the project. Instead of tile, you might be able to put up those 4' x 8' laminated panels around the tub. they ahve come a long way and are much much nicer than they usd to be. Seems like it would be pretty easy to install that before the tub goes in and then install the tub butted up next to it. Jsut an idea for you.

The progress looks great. Can't wait to see the pics of that loft railing, I could not visualize it from the description. Ill jsut wait for a pic I know there will be oe coming soon.

Does the upper part of the garage tie into the house at all on the second story? Or is t a "stand alone roof?" Are you going to be able to utilize any storage under the garage roof?

the framers must be doing a good job or else you would have heard from eagle eyed eddie walker.
 
   / Starting New House Finally! #47  
Alan,
get your roofer to give you the additional cost for CLASS 4 SHINGLES. The only extra cost will be in materials (about double) labor is the same. Then get your insurance co. to tell you how much class 4s will reduce your insurance bill. State farm gives 28% (in NE Texas) others 20-25%. A little extra $ now returns $$$$$$ forever.
Jack
 
   / Starting New House Finally!
  • Thread Starter
#48  
capt jack said:
Alan,
get your roofer to give you the additional cost for CLASS 4 SHINGLES. The only extra cost will be in materials (about double) labor is the same. Then get your insurance co. to tell you how much class 4s will reduce your insurance bill. State farm gives 28% (in NE Texas) others 20-25%. A little extra $ now returns $$$$$$ forever.
Jack

Unfortunately there is no money for shingle upgrades. We are going with 30-year architectural shingles from Tamko. I'm not sure what class 4 shingles are, but going from 30 to 50 year shingles adds about $2000 in material cost. I spent that today in lap and gap cedar for the rear porch and balcony.

We really wanted metal, but we will just wait for a big hail storm in the next few years or wait til these wear out and then go with metal or better shingles.
 
   / Starting New House Finally!
  • Thread Starter
#49  
rox, the roof on the main house is higher but will tie in with the garage. It will look kinda "different", but we are hoping the combination will be acceptable. This is strictly custom plan and most houses like this don't have attached garages, but we did not want to have to deal with weather between the garage and the house.

We have taken some liberties with the design for functionality and for the rural country look. The roofline will be somewhat unbalanced as it will slope on the left and will be gabled on the right. Hopefully the shed porch and dormer will break it up enough that it will look OK. We'll find out soon!
 
   / Starting New House Finally! #50  
Is any part of the house brick veneer? I can't tell in all of the photo's, but I don't see a brick ledge. I'm assuming the back is probably siding, but I figured some of the front might be brick.
 

Tractor & Equipment Auctions

UNUSED Woven Landscape Fabric Squares (A50860)
UNUSED Woven...
2022 Chevrolet Tahoe SUV (A48082)
2022 Chevrolet...
2022 Load Trail Gooseneck Trailer, VIN # 4ZEGH3221N1266423 (A48836)
2022 Load Trail...
UNUSED RAYTREE EXCAVATOR MULCHER (A50460)
UNUSED RAYTREE...
2018 Kubota RTV 850 4x4 (A48837)
2018 Kubota RTV...
2022 Club Car Tempo Golf Cart (A48082)
2022 Club Car...
 
Top