What would be the best kind of house to build based on the following?
Modular Home Questions November 17th, 2009I would like to build a house on land near the Smoky Mountains. The land is wooded and not on a busy road. I live a day’s drive away but want to build this house as a vacation house and eventually a place to retire.
So, the house needs to be:
-attractive – a log home would be pretty or a traditional looking home
-large enough to handle a family – at least three bedrooms
-built well enough that it will last at least 50 years (NOT a trailer)
-able to handle being closed up for whole seasons – sometimes 6-9 months at a time.
-able to resist things like flooding, insects/termites/mice
-It would be nice if it had some level of green-ness but that can come later
I could find someone who could check in on it every few months to make sure there isn’t flooding or whatever.
So what do you think? Modular? Log Cabin? Traditionally built home? Basement? Slab? Stilts?
I appreciate any information and advice you have!! I’ve just started thinking about this so I have a blank slate
Thanks for the info and tips on log homes. I’ve been interested in them since I started seeing so many companies spring up ten or fifteen years ago – I figured that meant there had been some advancements and new designs in that type of structure. I’ll look into it more!!!
November 17th, 2009 at 8:11 am
Your questions are very difficult to answer without knowing anything about: you, your family, your living habits, the site, and how you plan to use your new home.
And there are other questions your should be asking yourself, like:
When do I plan on building? What do I plan on spending on construction? Is my site suitable for construction? How am I going to use the house?
Consulting with an architect will help you figure these things out and more that you haven’t even thought of. And these are the items that need to be figured out before you worry about finding a caretaker for the times you aren’t there.
The style of the house can be decided by your own aesthetic or you can let it evolve as a response to your needs and the site itself. From the little bit of information you have given, it sounds like you are going to want more then a McMansion dropped down on your land, so you should take your time and do it right. Going modular may work, but you will be likely more limited in how you will want the house to work for you. There are plenty of "green" ways of traditionally building a house and materials that you can use, which an architect will be able to help you with.
If you want to be in your new vacation home sometime with in the next 2 years, I would suggest hiring an architect soon, as it will take several months for your house to be designed, drawings completed and estimates from contractors to be delivered. But be aware, that any architect worth his or her salt will be very busy and not likely to be able to take on new projects for several months. Yes the housing market is slowing some, but The Have’s and The Have-More’s aren’t slowing down at all.
If your time frame is further away, then get a binder and start putting things that inspire you in it. If you are several years away from doing anything, then it doesn’t make sense to think about some of the things you bring up because when the time comes to build, who knows what will be available to you that isn’t now.
Being able to build a vacation home is a great accomplishment for you and your family, take your time, do it right, build the best you can afford, and your home will be something that your children will be able to enjoy for much more then 50 years.
November 17th, 2009 at 8:11 am
I use to build log homes. There are many different designs from almost as many companies. The log walls are great at holding in the heat as well as keeping cool in summer. Being in a mountain area I would highly recommend a tin or steel roof…it’s more fire resistant than any other roof…plus it last longer.
The logs provided by this log home companies are treated for insects and will resist them for many years….but added protection with a log oil is best to be applied after a few years to keep the logs looking good and insects out.
Get the logs that are cut on 3 sides….they fit together better and you have a smooth flat wall on the inside to hang pictures or shelves.
Get one with a fire place that will be able to heat the whole place….after all…you’ll be in an area where you can get lots of wood to burn.
November 17th, 2009 at 8:11 am
Before you say that the ‘green’ could come later consider the advantages of doing it right the first time instead as an afterthought. Look into straw bale, cob or other natural materials,(save some trees for the next generation), generally cheaper cost for materials but more for labor. Also, utilize passive (if not active) solar in youre heat/water systems(this pays for itself fast).
As a natural materials builder I recomend that you look at these options. Log cabins are not efficient use of trees and are not insect/termite/mice proof, cob can be. Straw bale is great in cold climates with it’s R-40 insulation value. Have seen straw bale building after a flood, clean it real well, do some patching, home sweet home, also if you use rice straw you will have no termites, mice or even cock-roachs in youre walls! Rice straw is such poor feed that although roaches can eat it , they don’t mass reproduce with that as a food source.
For the sake of the future generations I also recommend photovoltaics, water catchment- permaculture. Although these may be new terms for you today by the time you are ready to start building you will hear them again. In five to ten years these words will be as common as ‘hybrids’ in todays automotive scene, yet ten years ago only the designers were familiar with them.
Flooding can destroy any home, the straw bale I saw had water but not ‘flowing water’. Moving water can remove embankments, bridges, levees all kinds of things. Good luck and have fun;-}
Peace Bob