My retirement home ideas

[rmorey]

Hi Michelle,

Your project sounds great. I would make just one suggestion. Moving everything close together under one roof will contribute to a sedentary lifestyle. The more fit you can remain, the less likely you will develop medical issues. Detach the barn and build a woodshed! :thumbsup:

 

[dave1949]

Michelle,

The location of your retirement home has a lot to do with how it is built. It sounds like you anticipate a northern climate area. It is a lot easier to get out of the house and be active outdoors in milder climates as one ages. You might consider that if going to the woodpile is something you would prefer to avoid. :laughing:

Is the location set in stone, or have you considered other locations and climates?

 

[Walkin Horse]

36" doors everywhere possible. At least in 1 br and bath. A 5' turning radius with a step in shower and ADA toilets. Raise your electrical outlets and lower your switches. Use decorator switches because they are easier to use. Door handles instead of round knobs. Don't put a vanity under bath sink.
For the fun stuff. Lots of recessed lighting tile hardwood floor granite counters led dimmer switches. Walls scones on dimmers. A big front porch.

 

[PAGUY]

Rethink wood heating in retirement. Lots of work for old age retirement living.

Barn built with rear up against a bank that could be tunneled for root cellar.

Garage door on side of barn for vehicle to be parked inside out of weather conditions.

Emergency generator for those times when power goes out.

Kennel run on opposite side of garage with interior pen area in garage.

Geo-thermal HVAC system for energy savings and reliable comfort through-out the living quarters and barn.

Just a few ideas that would make retirement years easier on them old bones of the future years.

 

[Jim Timber]

I'll second the max insulation and Geo-thermal heat pump suggestions. Propane will be a back-up heat source in my next house. Walls will be offset studed double 2x4 construction (7" thick) with rigid foam on the exterior of that.

I have R31 walls in my shop (24x35x11) and the annual heating bill to keep the place at 55F or better for 6+ months of our heating season is $300 with natural gas at $1.25/therm. I didn't insulate the slab either, and it's heated with a 75Kbtu hanging heater (not exactly the utmost in efficiency).


I'm also in the design stage of building what will be my retirement house, even though I have a good 25 years+ to go yet.

I'll echo the suggestions about making the bathroom and kitchen spaces WC accessible, but you'll also want a ground floor bedroom and full bath - regardless of where the master is. 3/4" plywood in the tub and toilet walls will facilitate grab bars - easier to install it now than open up the walls from the other side to put it in later. I'll also be insulating my bathroom walls. No one wants to hear people doing their business.

Lastly, maybe design a spot for an elevator. You don't need to install it from the start, but making a vertical hole in the framework from top to bottom is a lot easier when you're building than when you're adding it later. I plan on having a 6x6' corridor from top to bottom which can at least be opened for furniture before being utilized for an elevator.

 

[suzy]

Those outside wood boilers generally take pretty big logs...I wouldn't put one of those in for my rust-in-place dream home! I have been green with envy over a friend's Scan wood stove, so efficient and stylish! I even saw a wood cook stove with a ceramic top! Oh well, in the meantime I like cooking on my Fisher in the kitchen! I also am paranoid about carpenter ants and so insisted on the separate wood shed. It is about 6 feet from the basement door and in case a build up of big chunks of wood occurs, I can slide out the electric splitter and reduce big chunks to size and drop them in basement woodbox.
A tiled shower room off the mudroom is another dream house idea...as is some sort of carport. When we built our wrap around porch, we put plug- ins on the outside edge for plugging in vehicles in the winter without tripping over cords.
I was in a wheelchair for one summer and pined for a shower on the main floor, but was quite happy to have sponge baths out on the porch! An outside summer shower is one if the things I like out at my cabin.

If you went with a sod roof on your house, you could have it come off and cover your earth bermed cold room and even use it as a sloped access point to the roof and chimneys.

 

[Jim Timber]

Our "mud room" will have a walk in shower and will be tiled up to wainscot height or better for ease of cleaning. Central floor drain and all.

We have a decent chunk of acreage and a goodly bit of mud, so the mud room will see mud!

I'm still not sure how to fit it into the designs I have in my head for the rest of the structure, but it'll be between the garage and house with some kind of direct access to the outside so I'm not tracking mud places I can't easily hose down afterward.

 

[GPintheMitten]

A covered porch or deck would be in my needs list. I love being on a covered porch in the rain. Doesnt even have to be real big. It could also be used to have a few days supply of fire wood just outside a double french or sliding patio door in the Big room with the fire place.

Now regarding burning wood, I love it as back up heat and ambiance but it is work and messy. I have that in the cabin and wouldnt change it. But at my home, I compromised and got a natural gas cast iron stove with fake logs. Turns on with a click of a button, even has an option for a remote or thermostat. Sure is convenient and clean and it is great to warm up with after being outside in Michigan's cold winters.

 

[GPintheMitten]

Do you have a loader on your tractor? That would also be a must have for the retirement years if you're in the country. Not so much if in a condo.

 

[GPintheMitten]

Another thought. Even though we plan to stay in a place forever, especially a place that we retire in, things change and circumstances could cause you to want to or need to move. I would want the place to appeal not only to me but to a wide number of people for resale.

For me that would be no sod roof and no attached barn, things like that. Mabe an attached garage and close barn and kennel maybe with a paved walkway, possibly covered if it is a need.