Building a stick frame house in the woods in 90 days

[FairfaxStu]

Pete:

I know I am jumping a few weeks ahead here so bear with me. IIRC, I saw a pic on one of your other threads that appeared to be appliances in boxes in your shop. I suspect those are for this project. Do you have a drawing of the kitchen design? Also, what appliances are going in?
-Stu

 

[KennyG]

Just got back to this thread and noticed the discussion on fireplace inserts. My take is that this is not a place to go cheap. I bought a house with an economy insert once and it was awful. It was shallow so it produced very little heat (even with fans) and was very touchy on backdrafting and letting smoke into the house. To top it off, it did not have an external combustion air intake and it was very difficult to start without smoking unless you opened a window. This is a major problem with very tight houses. I have an Osburn stove now and, if I was installing an insert, I would get their bay window insert. The typical insert doors don't seal well but the ones with stove type doors seal well enough you don't need a chimney damper.

 

[KennyG]

Another comment on the deck/railing. Trex is pretty good. I installed Azek because my contractor thought it was a better product and I'm very happy with it. You might want to look at both.

For railings, steel or aluminum is the way to go, if you can pay the price. I have Fortress steel railings and they look great. Just brace yourself before you add the prices up.

 

[dave1949]

Inserts do need fans to kick the heat out into the room. The fans cans be noisy enough to bug some people. I would look for a quiet fan, and a fan that can be easily cleaned/maintained or replaced.

If your Mom is like mine, she will turn on a gas insert now and then to take the chill off. For the elderly who tend to think 78* is about right, having an insert that warms a favorite sitting area can actually save overall heating costs.

 

[pclausen]

Pete,
Have you given any thought to what kind of surface material you will use on the slopes under the wrap around deck sides to control erosion and not have it a PITA to maintain?
RonView attachment 307699

Ron, I plan to go with a heavy plastic with large rocks on it.

 

[pclausen]

I know I am jumping a few weeks ahead here so bear with me. IIRC, I saw a pic on one of your other threads that appeared to be appliances in boxes in your shop. I suspect those are for this project. Do you have a drawing of the kitchen design? Also, what appliances are going in?

Good catch Stu!

Yes, we purchased all the applicanes on Black Friday at Sears. It averaged out to about 50% off!

Fridge:

Kenmore Elite French door refrigerator 31 cu. ft. 72053 - Sears

Dishwasher:

Kenmore Elite Dishwasher 24 in. 12783 - Sears

Wall ovens:

Kenmore Elite Electric Double Wall Oven 30 in. 48193 - Sears

Cook top:

Kenmore Elite Gas Cooktop 30-in. 31113 - Sears

Here's a very crude 3d rendering of the kitchen. The builtiin desk will look nothing like what is in the pic, and of course there won't be a microwave hanging below the cabinet next to the fridge.

Cabinets will be by these guys:

Marsh Furniture Company - Kitchen & Bath Cabinetry

The style will be Summerfield II in the natural finish (very light).

 

[pacerron]

Pete,
You were making me dizzy
RonView attachment 307780View attachment 307781View attachment 307782

 

[FairfaxStu]

Good catch Stu!

Yes, we purchased all the applicanes on Black Friday at Sears.

Looks very nice and somewhat similar to what she has/had. The two things I don't see are a range hood and the aforementioned microwave. I can see your Mom not needing a microwave, but the range hood is a must.

 

[pclausen]

The cook top is down draft, so no range hood is needed. That is the same setup she has now. Also, the upper oven in the wall oven is a microwave. I had the wrong link above. Here is the correct one:

Kenmore Elite Electric Combination Wall Oven 30 in. 48903 - Sears

 

[Gudor]

I have so enjoyed following this thread (which I started following a couple of weeks ago and finally got caught up...which is awful as now I have to wait for future posts like everyone else )...so thank you very much pc...

I had a question and couple of comments for you. In the wall corner cabinet, there appears to be some sort of drawer/pullout on under the door - what is it?



Regarding your appliances, I hesitate to suggest it (because new appliances seem so hit and miss with all the computers/etc.), but you may want to consider looking at an online seller. It looks like you have about 5% sales tax (not bad considering we have nearly double that in WA), but when I was getting new appliances (fridge, micro, stove, dishwasher) we decided on the Cafe series from GE. Best price I could find locally was over $7K (plus nearly 10% tax). I got them all online for I want to say just under $6K, no sales tax, and free delivery. I don't think I got used equipment or anything like that, and the only problem I ever had was with the microwave (which was fixed under GE warranty). Been nearly three years now, and all good (knock on wood). Of course, we don't get the support of Sears - but I found that I was dealing straight with GE as we purchased the extended warranty with them even though we bought online. Maybe others know more or have had experience with buying appliances online vs local that could chime in.

I don't know about others...but I love counter-top-depth refrigerators. They have their cons - more $$ (at least they used to be), less space (inside fridge), and less models to choose from...but I love how it keeps the fridge from 'intruding' into the kitchen space. Plus, it looks like you will have a walk-way in front of your fridge, and the doors don't come out as far as a traditional model, which would be nice in front of a walk-way. OR, you could achieve the same look by recessing a standard fridge into the wall behind it (kind of like some medicine cabinets in bathrooms). It can look perfect, especially if you box/frame in the fridge.

Also, I know it is a 'crude 3D model of the kitchen,' so it might be dealt with already, but I would consider the following regarding your fridge. It looks like it is tucked up right against the wall. This can cause issues for opening the door (or opening it far enough to pull out drawers/etc.). A nice solution (which does require taking some space - like 3" or so from the length of your counter), is to 'frame in the fridge.' You basically install a small filler strip (say 1 1/2") from the floor all the way up to the to the top of the wall cabinet on the wall side of the fridge, while on counter side of the fridge you install a pre-finished piece of plywood (including filler strip). It is kind of difficult to explain, last pictures might help, but I bet your contractor/cabinet supplier will know. In fact, it is shown, although hard to see, on the website of your cabinet guys - you don't see the side of the fridge this way...so clean, neat, and looks more 'finished,' IMO.



Lighting (both under cabinet and over cabinet) is AWESOME...very functional (at least under, especially with dark counter tops...great for young and old eyes alike), very nice for indirect lighting, they make great night-lights (your mom gets up for that late night glass of milk), consume next to nothing (LED strips), and are CHEAP if installed before the kitchen walls/cabinets are finished. An earlier post referred to this type of lighting for the stairways I believe. It is the same thing...as he said, make sure you get the right color (warm-white unless you want that hospital feel ).

I am attaching a couple of photos of my kitchen. Notice how you don't see the side of the fridge (counter side), and while I didn't shoot the angle very well for this, you can see the filler on the left of the fridge (hope it makes my previous explanation easier to understand). The first has my upper lights off, the second has them on...lower lights on for both shots.




Whatever you decide, it will be sweet and I am sure done correctly via your contractor.

Thank you once again for sharing.

Gudor