Starting our new life

[cat fever]

I think I stated it somewhere but we want to stay between 1600 and 2000 square feet. When we talked to the home designer the last instruction I gave was "minimum square feet while accomplishing our desired amenities."

I know he has a clear picture of what we want, we are just waiting for an email to check out what he has drawn up so far. The way I see it; the smaller the house, the bigger the barn. :laughing:

 

[buckeyefarmer]

My house is too big for just the wife and me, but we like it that way. Lots of visitors and family gatherings since we have the room and are on the water. Most every week this time of the year someone is staying, mostly weekends.

Cool, when can i visit?

I don't remember my exact house sf, and i designed it. Original was around 2400sf + basement, then i added garage with rooms over it, so in 3000-3200 sf range.

A properly laid out 2000sf would be adequate. Our master bedroom is almost half the upstairs.

Exciting times, yet stressful when building.

 

[goeduck]

We are building a 1900 sq ft slab house with no steps and handicap accessible doorways. 40ft away will be a 1900 sq ft shop with heated floor. Minimizing wood stove use.

Smart move to get into a house without steps, that is what I did well before retirement. Heated floor in the shop, nice touch. What is the heat source?

 

[ovrszd]

Smart move to get into a house without steps, that is what I did well before retirement. Heated floor in the shop, nice touch. What is the heat source?

Conventional propane water heater.

 

[CajunRider]

My house is too big for just the wife and me, but we like it that way. Lots of visitors and family gatherings since we have the room and are on the water. Most every week this time of the year someone is staying, mostly weekends.

Same here. This weekend we'll have 15 people at the house!

 

[coldsteelva]

My house has the engineered I-beam floor joists; super solid and no jounce. Things to keep in mind if you have a basement: if you might ever consider having a gun safe/vault/room work that into your plans and have the floor reinforced to support what you plan on putting in.

Also - consider a double width front door or french doors. Nothing worse than wanting to get something in the house and destroying your door frames trying to shoe horn it in.

 

[cat fever]

This is so true. Not sure what we'll do, but the front door will be wider than standard.


Question;

Is electric or propane for the water heaters best? I'm talking about cost per year. I do believe propane will heat faster.

 

[hawkeye08]

If you have water that is not too hard, consider an instant or on demand hot heater.

 

[ovrszd]

I've had electric for 40 years. I've been told repeatedly that propane operational costs are less.

 

[coldsteelva]

Propane is hotter/faster and seems to cycle less. I have had both in my short-ish life and the electric elements either burn out or they get encrusted with scale. I have a high efficiency power vent water heater, but based on your location and wanting this to last I would have a super efficient condensing boiler water heater (indirect water heater) combo installed. The propane furnace runs and uses its heat to heat the water in a super insulated holding tank (giant thermos)

Check up on the This Old House series: How to Install a Combination Boiler/Water Heater - YouTube