Building a stick frame house in the woods in 90 days

[srs]

Pacerron, you are absolutely correct about having a personnel door. The 3rd picture in my post prior to yours shows an entry door and then you can go right into the basement or open up the large garage door if you wanted too. Gotta have a single entry door though.

Pete, I forgot to mention but at the top of my steps on the left side going UP the steps the builder put in a small room (4' X 5') for me with just a slop sink inside. I don't know if your mom would have any use for it but I know this sink gets tremendous use from washing the salt off the cars in the winter time to filling up watering cans, washing dirty rags, etc. If you want I can snap a picture later and post. Just another thought. Stanley

 

[sodamo]

+1 for personal door

Actually I planned on putting it same wall as the ladder, but wife told me I'd find it too inconvenient - she's right.
When raining, I often cut thru garage to get to tractor shed.



David Sent from my iPad using TractorByNet

 

[pclausen]

Day 52

 

[pclausen]

There will still be a personal door. It has just not been cut out yet. Was waiting on the stairs to get done to know how far in from the corner it can be.

 

[mjncad]

Pete, FYI here are a few pictures of my cellar steps from the attached garage to the basement. The steps are approximately 4 foot wide and I have a double door in the basement level that opens up for wide objects. The builder also put a drain in whenever I hose the steps down. I believe the drain goes to the sump pump. Just an FYI for ya!! Stanley

Excellent!

Pete,
Your latest pic day 51-5 shows all the windows cut into the garage.
It looks like you have eliminated the original door out the back to the patio, possibly because of the
stairs to the basement?
How much distance are you going to have between the top of the steps and the sidewall of the garage?
Since you are going to have your Genset on that side of the garage near the meter box you will probably have a concrete
pad or walk along there.
I do not like garages without a personnel door.:thumbdown:
Having to raise the double door to get outside from the garage every time is a pain even with an electric operator.
I would think your mom would like having a personnel door to let the dogs in and out, to come in from gardening to the mud room, read the meter, etc.
Living by herself on that back road she may prefer leaving the garage door closed while she is at home, even with the dogs for protection.
I have attached a quick mark up of your pic showing a personnel door where you now have a window.
Would that work?
Excuse my sloppy perspective; I only had 5 minutes to play with the pic.
Ron

I NEVER use the man door. Been here 23 years and don't miss it at all. I would call that a personal preference item.

mkane09

I would like a mandoor; but I live with using the garage door.

Pete beat me to it as I was going to speculate that the door wasn't cut in yet. I thought the mandoor was going to be on the wall leading to the terrace by the corner I suggested earlier that he locate the AC condenser.

 

[wmonroe]

Really looking good. I agree with the previous comment that your builder is doing a fine job, he is moving quickly but doing the work correctly and not cutting corners.

 

[pacerron]

Pete beat me to it as I was going to speculate that the door wasn't cut in yet. I thought the mandoor was going to be on the wall leading to the terrace by the corner I suggested earlier that he locate the AC condenser.

Going out the back to the terrace was the original location.
I would still prefer it there, ( yes, my personal preference !) but there could be some safety issues, as well, if the door located on the back is very close to the top of the stairwell.
The door would normally swing in with the hinge side away from the stairwell. Coming in from outside often leaves us old folks a bit blind for a little while until our pupils finally open up. Falling down an open stairwell immediately to the right of the door opening could be a potential hazard that is not necessary.
The space between the door hinge side and the Genset wall has to be pretty much left open anyway so the door can swing back against the wall it is mounted on, Mounting the door in the back corner so it can only swing 90 + degrees against the inside of the Genset wall may fix the problem of being too close to the stairwell but the area still must remain clear. That is why I asked Pete for the distance from the top step to the Genset wall.
Some counties now require a dam to keep liquids and volatile gases from going down the stairs into the basement along with a metal door with special seals at the basement level. If this is required in Nelson county, then the area between the top of the stairwell and the Genset wall will have to be poured another step height, 6"+ higher than the garage floor.
A lot depends on blending the final landscape height with the door locations as well. The plan calls for a stamped concrete deck from behind the garage
to almost the back end of the house. It will likely be poured at a level below the wood joist plate on top of the concrete prefab walls. Then the wrap around wood deck will be up a step to an inch or so below the first floor door bottoms.
Steps, stoops and other tripping hazards are not a friend to us as we age.
You can see by looking at any of the pictures showing the front of the garage that there is a bunch of fill yet to come before any apron or deck pouring begins.
Ron

 

[pclausen]

Pete, FYI here are a few pictures of my cellar steps from the attached garage to the basement. The steps are approximately 4 foot wide and I have a double door in the basement level that opens up for wide objects. The builder also put a drain in whenever I hose the steps down. I believe the drain goes to the sump pump. Just an FYI for ya!! Stanley

Very cool! That is almost exactly how mom's will end up looking I think. Is that a half wall you got, or does it go all the way up to the ceiling? I'm torn between a half wall (what the builder wants to do), or some type of railing. I feel a full wall will take away too much open space from the garage.

 

[pacerron]

Uh-Oh.........
I should have looked at all the pictures. This one shows that there is only about 48" between the Genset wall and the first step.
Since the meter box is already set where you want it, it looks like the personnel door needs to go up where the window is close to the front on the garage sidewall.

 

[srs]

Very cool! That is almost exactly how mom's will end up looking I think. Is that a half wall you got, or does it go all the way up to the ceiling? I'm torn between a half wall (what the builder wants to do), or some type of railing. I feel a full wall will take away too much open space from the garage.

Pete, it is a full structural wall. It supports the 4 foot wide steps going up to the storage space overtop the garage. I have shelving on the drywall side facing the garage.