Building a stick frame house in the woods in 90 days

[ljnelson109]

I'm paying over $3/gallon! This is part of the reason why mom is going with a heat pump w/ electrical backup and electric water heater.

Just spoke to Amerigas (both mom and myself have accounts with them), and they are emailing me the paperwork today, so I'll check out the options.

They were the ones who were quoting me the $1.00 delta between leased and owned tank. Every time I would request a fill, they would quote me a crazy price and when I said, "I own my tank" then suddenly the price dropped between $.80 and $1.00 per gallon!

I will be curious to hear what they offer. What I want to know is how I can get some of that $1.76 propane!

 

[pacerron]

Peter,
You might want to consider what the total front view will look like with the garage door you said you have chosen, in regard to having the stone in a horizontal line across or the up and over approach. The door and the bold colored stone you have now picked encompass the majority of the front view of the house as well as being the most frontal objects from the approach view. The selection and amount of stone coverage becomes very important now along with the surroundings. Do you want something that calmly blends with the environment or that boldly sticks out becomes the decision. That is the real value of the little software programs that let you put the picture of your actual house with the actual background and then change the colors of the house, the stonework, the landscaping, add grass, shrubs, foreign tree plantings, and flowers to see how they all blend. They have giant catalogs of house parts and other things like greenhouses, pools, decks, etc. that come with them and you can add your own. There may be later value when you finish the back yard.

The CAD type program that Jay has is beyond the functions that you need to visualize now, except perhaps for interior finishing.
You can get free or cheap little programs from the net or inexpensive ones from Staples or other local stores that still stock some software on discs.
You don't have enough time left in the project to learn a complicated program so one that lets you place your house in and add landscaping will be most useful at this point.
Ron:2cents:

 

[FairfaxStu]

They were the ones who were quoting me the $1.00 delta between leased and owned tank. Every time I would request a fill, they would quote me a crazy price and when I said, "I own my tank" then suddenly the price dropped between $.80 and $1.00 per gallon!

I will be curious to hear what they offer. What I want to know is how I can get some of that $1.76 propane!

I live in NOVA so you would think I was paying out the nose. However, that is not the case as I pay $2.159. The 500 gallon tank is leased from them and they came out and installed it underground and ran the line to the house at no charge to me. That is why is pays to shop around to see what your options are.
-Stu

 

[EddieWalker]

I like the look of the stone just on the bottom part of the walls. It looks unfinished or kind of like you started and changed your mind about it with the little strip above the garage door.

Eddie

 

[jinman]

I like the stone either way, but I think I'd choose just on the lower part of the wall because it agrees with the entrance-way. If you had added stone up to the the garage door level all around the entrance, then stone above the wall would agree in balance. It still looks okay either way.

Also, Pete are you going to put some flood lights in for the driveway and entrance walkway. If so, that wide flat facia board will make mounting the lights easier than the lap siding. With lap siding, the place I want to put the light always seems to be right in the middle of two planks.

 

[pacerron]

There's a little more to it than just comparing what you pay for electric per KWH, vs. propane per gallon vs. natural gas and other energy sources available.
Those are just unit prices. You have to compare how much heat you get per unit as well before having a good price comparison.
Cost Management Solutions LLC - Home of the Propane Price Insider

Ron

 

[pacerron]

I like the stone either way, but I think I'd choose just on the lower part of the wall because it agrees with the entrance-way. If you had added stone up to the the garage door level all around the entrance, then stone above the wall would agree in balance. It still looks okay either way.

Also, Pete are you going to put some flood lights in for the driveway and entrance walkway. If so, that wide flat facia board will make mounting the lights easier than the lap siding. With lap siding, the place I want to put the light always seems to be right in the middle of two planks.

Jim,
Your right about where they usually come out of a lap but that is what the trim box is for.
Another thing to consider if the decision is to put stone above the garage door... The cap molding that is used along the garden side of the garage and under and beside the front bedroom window will take up a lot of the space under the fake beam. The stone will be a much narrower strip than Peter depicts in his paste up.
Personally, I think going up and over the garage door makes too many conflicts of visual change. But I'm no architect; I even have to look up how to spell the word every time I use it.
Ron

 

[jdonovan]

Just spoke to Amerigas (both mom and myself have accounts with them), and they are emailing me the paperwork today, so I'll check out the options.

Have them run a tap to the back patio for a gas grill. Its a nice option and you almost never run out in the middle of cook out.

 

[BuilderML]

Hi Guys,
Can someone help me out with my previous post #1026&#1035. Sorry if i could do it myself i would. I really think it might look good with the stone stopping even with the lower wall and then above the garage door have an elliptical or slight curve of stone above it. After all the garage standing proud of the house is and will be the first thing you will see. Thanks in advance if any takers. :drink:
Ok i think i did a 5 year olds drawing of what i am talking about but i think peter will get the idea.
I think it doesn't over power the front but gives it just enough detail. I hope you like it peter:confused3:

The Grey area is where the stone would be and the 2 black spots would be for the lights

 

[BuilderML]

Hi Guys,
Can someone help me out with my previous post #1026&#1035. Sorry if i could do it myself i would. I really think it might look good with the stone stopping even with the lower wall and then above the garage door have an elliptical or slight curve of stone above it. After all the garage standing proud of the house is and will be the first thing you will see. Thanks in advance if any takers. :drink:
Ok i think i did a 5 year olds drawing of what i am talking about but i think peter will get the idea.
I think it doesn't over power the front but gives it just enough detail. I hope you like it peter:confused3:
By the way that little notch above the door is a keystone. Again sorry for the poor rendering but i think you'll get it
The Grey area is where the stone would be and the 2 black spots would be for the lights