Tiny signs of progress and the power of CAD

Yes, that is our building permit posted proudly on our new property.  We returned from an outstanding trip to Idaho to visit our daughter to find this evidence of progress.  It seems like a long and dusty trail to get to this point.

We met with our future builder at the urging of our real estate agent.  We came prepared to discuss all of the specifics of our project (NOT !!).  Actually we had some vague ideas of what we wanted in a house.

It was our intention from the beginning, in fact well before the beginning, to build a nice little ranch to grow old in.  The allure of one floor living is especially acute when I descend the stairs early in the morning looking for that first caffeine score.  I feel like roadkill, really old roadkill.  And the idea of carrying the laundry from the second floor to the basement and then back up again when it's done seems ludicrous.  Seriously, who came up with that idea?  So a ranch made perfect sense.

Unless you're building it.  There's a good reason why you don't see a lot of ranches built these days.  Our builder explained it well.  Everything is bigger.  The foundation is the entire square footage of the house.  More excavation, more concrete, more roof.  The cost per square foot is close to 40% more than  a two story cape.  So I guess I'll be sucking it up and dealing with stairs for a few more years.  One welcome exception, the laundry room is on the second floor.

Our builder was incredibly patient dealing with our changes, hence the beauty of computer aided design.  He would forward a set of floor plans to us, and we would each make changes, often conflicting changes.  I would suggest moving a wall here, adding a closet there, and Stephanie would be doing the same thing from her office.  Our builder just clicked a few times and new plans would magically appear in our email.

What room required the most changes you ask?  You would think it would be something key, like the kitchen or perhaps the main living area.  Not even close.  The closet in the master bedroom required the most discussion.  We messed with the size and the adjoining closet and the door at least fifteen times.  Our builder would number the plans each time he made a change.  I believe the final plan was called "Taylor Ferrisburgh 19".  To our credit, he told us the record was 28 different iterations.  Good thing there wasn't another closet in our plans!!

At the first meeting with our builder, he introduced us to two levels of home efficiency.  The energy star home or the silver standard is considered to be a very good quality home, according to Efficiency Vermont.  The ceiling insulation must be R-49, walls must be R-20, appliances must be all energy star rated, the list goes on and on.  A sliver standard home is considered to be a very efficient home.

But why opt for silver when you can have gold?  The gold standard as rated by Efficiency Vermont includes ceiling insulation to R-80, walls are R-40, appliances are all CEE Tier 1, 2 or 3.  I don't even know what half of this all means, but it does sound impressive!!  Plan on spending 15% more for a High Performance home than you would for an energy star home.

First Floor

After much discussion, soul searching and sleepless nights, we decided to go for the gold standard.  It makes me feel like I'm doing something positive for the environment, we'll be lowering our carbon footprint and best of all, I'll be able to heat this puppy with a Bic lighter.

Second Floor

So here are the sorta final plans as well as an elevation for the front.  At the time of writing this, we are the proud owners of a very rocky driveway, a hole in the ground and several huge piles of dirt.  Next time I'll share some of our experiences with the bank and the joy of finally making some headway.

Stay tuned - film at 11…

Our home, someday!