Building a house. in Home Repair & Improvement http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r23292035 en Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:42:49 EDT Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:42:49 EDT Re: Building a house. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23441636 cissado : When you decide on the structure and insulation of the house, you really need to have the hvac system sized properly for the house. Don't accept a "4 or 5 tons should be good" estimate when speaking to your potential contractor. They need to take lots of measurements and calculations to determine the exact size of your system. Doing this will make your home very efficient. Not doing it will do the opposite, and/or make your house uncomfortable.

Geothermal is expensive, but a lot of the price goes to the drilling of the holes or the trenches. If you did them yourself, like you mentioned, you would save some money and it would definitely be worth it.

"If I could do it again" after all my research, I would use spray foam insulation, geothermal or very efficient Variable speed heating/cooling units (sized properly in a very airtight house), and if budget and rebates allowed a solar system.

Honestly, I don't think $200,000 is enough, but you may already know that in the back of your mind. If you're very handy and can negotiate some of the build yourself, then you might be able to do it.

What's the old saying?.... "Whatever your budget is.... double it.." Something like that. lol

or "Add 50%"... Not sure, but it's definitely MORE than whatever the budget starts with. Good luck.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23441636 Sat, 05 Dec 2009 08:42:09 EDT Re: Building a house. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23440605 Eat Me : I thought that solar was heavily subsidized?

In NJ it is very heavily subsidized and the payback is around 5 years, plus the system pays you for renewable energy certificates plus the excess power sold to the utility.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23440605 Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:28:31 EDT Re: Building a house. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23439196 Bink63 : Uh...

Geothermal Heat Pumps can also use lines simply buried deep enough in the dirt.

:uhh:]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23439196 Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:51:02 EDT Re: Building a house. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23436941 Waterbug : Several people have mentioned the importance of being sure that you can get a sufficient water supply from your well. Nobody has mentioned that when you have geothermal heating/cooling, your well/water table is a shared resource. The water table has to be large enough to support both needs. True, the geothermal water goes directly back into the water table, but if it is marginal, it could lead to problems or loss of efficiency.

EDIT: Geothermal efficiency is dependant on the depth of your well. The deeper the well, the higher the cost to pump a gallon of water. Twice the depth may cost 4 times as much to pump a gallon of water.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23436941 Fri, 04 Dec 2009 09:17:52 EDT Re: Building a house. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23436124 boogi man : love my geo thermal unit its around 20yrs old and going strong. very very efficient
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my site]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23436124 Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:49:11 EDT Re: Building a house. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23436084 KrK : Also, consider a steel roof. Especially if you go with SIPs.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23436084 Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:27:53 EDT Re: Building a house. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23436053 KrK : Is there a pond on the property of decent size? You could do a geothermal system without having to do the digging, and instead use the pond as your heatsink/cooler.
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"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power." -- Benito Mussolini
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23436053 Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:16:26 EDT Re: Building a house. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23430713 Steve Gordan : Get the best contractor your budget will allow, Be prepared for delays,Monitor the progress of the house building as much as possible, Watch your construction allowances,Build for resale,Don't overbuild for the neighborhood.

»www.tenderwarehouse.com]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23430713 Thu, 03 Dec 2009 04:32:30 EDT Re: Building a house. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23296502 morbo : instead of solar, make use of natural lighting, airflow, and use high-efficiency systems to reduce overall energy needs. most people could dramatically reduce their energy needs by doing those things.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23296502 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:12:44 EDT Re: Building a house. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23295943 nunya : 2nd SIPs or prefab panels. Concrete or steel are good options too if you can afford them. Wood is so 20th century.

My guess is that Maryland is not a solar "hot bed", so to speak. Your money would probably be better invested in efficiency.

In regards to the well, I have also seen people shoot a well where "all the neighbors work fine" only to find it can't deliver enough clean water. They waited til after the house was done. They both spent in excess of $8K trying to get something that would flow.
One guy pays to get a cistern filled. The other paid to have the closest neighbor's well upgraded. Then they had to trench over quite a distance (and under a creek, ironically).
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Looks like Reverend Wright got his wish - God Damn America.
Nancy Pelosi - House Minority Leader 2010
Harry Reid - Senate Minority Leader 2010]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23295943 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:30:32 EDT Re: Building a house. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23295836 Shark_615 : SIPs

A little more expensive than tradition stick frame but it is more eco-friendly and it is exceedingly efficient. Building the envelope is fast, east and a one shot deal (farme,insulation,air/vapour barrier and sheathing). Plus the buildings are very durable and much stronger than the stick equivalent.

If you want to do do geo-thermal then doubly so as it will allow this sort of system to work well. They are so effecient I have seen SIP homes that use only a small wood burning stove as their source of heat.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23295836 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:11:58 EDT Re: Building a house. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23295381 abslte18 : Great that is what I was looking for. I already found somebody local who will install them but I would much rather hear from people then trust just the installation companies.

I will continue to research them. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23295381 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:57:33 EDT Re: Building a house. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23295170 Msradell :
said by abslte18 See Profile :

said by Msradell See Profile :

You mentioned which type of geothermal HVAC system is best. The most efficient are the ones that actually use water for the heat exchange. Since you already are drilling a well if it has enough flow it would make that option very feasible.
Do you know how well they work? Will they keep my house say at 70 year round? Are they really that much more energy efficient/cost then an electric or propane HVAC system?

I will have wood burning stove for the winter since I am allowed to harvest some of the wood each year for a fire place.
I am a friend in upstate South Carolina who has one in a 2800 square foot house. His average utility bill (total electric) is less than $100 and the highest if only about $120! Maintaining any temperature he desires is not a problem. Another friend in upstate New York just installed one last year and his highness heating bill last winter was about $100.

You can see that based on these examples they're very efficient and are able to maintain whatever temperature you desire. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23295170 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:15:34 EDT Re: Building a house. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23295097 abslte18 :
said by Msradell See Profile :

You mentioned which type of geothermal HVAC system is best. The most efficient are the ones that actually use water for the heat exchange. Since you already are drilling a well if it has enough flow it would make that option very feasible.
Do you know how well they work? Will they keep my house say at 70 year round? Are they really that much more energy efficient/cost then an electric or propane HVAC system?

I will have wood burning stove for the winter since I am allowed to harvest some of the wood each year for a fire place.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23295097 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:54:46 EDT Re: Building a house. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23295034 Msradell : You mentioned which type of geothermal HVAC system is best. The most efficient are the ones that actually use water for the heat exchange. Since you already are drilling a well if it has enough flow it would make that option very feasible.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23295034 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:33:02 EDT Re: Building a house. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23294358 KoolMoe : Solar for the whole house may not be practical or in-budget, but a solar hot-water system should be. With the rebates you mention, a few panels and a dual elect/solar system could cut a lot off your bill, especially if you have a few people who shower, wash clothes, etc.
I'd love to do a solar hot water system here if I had any spare cash...and didn't have huge trees all around the house (which I'm not complaining about ;-))
KM
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Don't Lie - Be Kind - Realize your Potential]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23294358 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:40:36 EDT Re: Building a house. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23294341 bent :
said by tschmidt See Profile :

Since you are in Puerto Rico reducing cooling demand will be a big deal.
The property is in MD ;)
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Greedy Old Pigs]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23294341 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:35:17 EDT Re: Building a house. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23294308 tschmidt : We bought our property about 30 years ago. Had some earth work done, installed well, septic, electric and rough driveway. Bought a used mobile home and lived in it for couple of years. Getting all the site work done first was important since it is very difficult to control costs. We were pretty maxed out when we started building the house and any significant cost overrun would have been disastrous.

After we got the site work done built house. Was nice being on site since we did a lot of the work ourselves and we were not paying rent at the same time we were building.

There is a lot of low budget stuff you can do to improve energy efficiency. Site the house properly to take advantage of solar gain in winter and shade in summer. Since you are in Puerto Rico reducing cooling demand will be a big deal. Get an overall idea of what is appropriate and construct the stuff that takes advantage of low hanging fruit now and add to it later as time and money permit.

I'd explore the possibility of geothermal heating/cooling

/tom]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23294308 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:23:16 EDT Re: Building a house. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23293307 hortnut : I started a project on 5 acres a while back. It had been recently surveyed. And once closed, the prior owner put it a road.

Before I bought it I made visits to various county/state agencies [unincorporated area]- zoning, setbacks, taxes, maps, water rights/permits etc. Talked with my soon to be neighbors - started a network to find local recommended trades people, what they were getting gpm from their wells, etc.

1. Drilled the well next and had it tested for gpm [actually well driller did that] and for potability.

2. Got temporary power installed. And set the pump.

3. Put in the Septic System.

And then ..... as nunya said "it's 90 miles an hour with every other trade and utility until it's done."

I have had 2 friends invest a lot of time and money and then put in the well, only to find that the water was not even good for washing clothes or watering the lawn. Also had another that had a good 'perc test', only to find they had to do some exotic, costly septic system.

Have fun, the planning and execution can be very rewarding.

my $.o2
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Darn, its gettin that time to go to Wallymart to gits me picture taken agin.
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23293307 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:02:09 EDT Re: Building a house. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23293173 abslte18 : I was thinking solar might be a little too much right now but awhile ago I did see that Md was offering a ton of rebates on solar. Just trying to get an idea of what I might as well write off now or continue to research.

I wasn't really sure of the cost of a geothermal system. I know I can dig the trenches and do majority of the plumbing work. I know of 3 different ways to install geothermal but really would love to hear from somebody who uses it. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23293173 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:36:39 EDT Re: Building a house. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23292958 HarryH3 :
said by abslte18 See Profile :

What type of earth friendly options would you use? Rain water collection system, geothermal heating and cooling, solar power?
Just those 3 items can eat up a large chunk of that $200K. :( Solar power is the most expensive of the 3. It would cost around $90K to install a solar power system here that could provide about half of the power I need. :(

Also investigate property tax rates in the area to make certain you can afford to stay in the house after it gets appraised. :o

2x6 Walls with an insulation barrier between the studs and siding, along with sprayed-in foam insulation would make a great start. Then add some GOOD quality dual-pane, low-E windows. Spray foam the attic also and your energy bills should be quite low. It's difficult to increase R-value once the house is built, so do as much as you can while building.

Prices for labor will vary wildly in Maryland. If you're near heavily populated areas, expect pretty high prices. The further west you go, the more reasonable I would expect the prices to become.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23292958 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:04:35 EDT Re: Building a house. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23292702 nunya : After working out a strict budget, a land survey would be the first order of business.
Consulting an architect would probably be second.
Then, an access road (State / local approval is probably needed to intersect or join existing road.)
Power and well would be next.
After that, it's 90 miles an hour with every other trade and utility until it's done.
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Looks like Reverend Wright got his wish - God Damn America.
Nancy Pelosi - House Minority Leader 2010
Harry Reid - Senate Minority Leader 2010]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23292702 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:21:02 EDT Re: Building a house. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23292223 abslte18 : 16 acres. Thirteen of which are part of a forest preservation project. Those 13 acres must remain intact but I could possibly obtain the 6 acres in front of my lot for a farm. I was thinking of raising a few Alpaca's and Guinea fowl ;-). Maybe a cow or 2 but I have to get the house thing settled 1st. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23292223 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:54:53 EDT Re: Building a house. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23292203 Chuckles : Must be a lot of land to need a 200ft road. How much land? I'd start a self sustaining farm if I could.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23292203 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:50:59 EDT Building a house. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23292035 abslte18 : So you inherited some land and want to built a house in a few years where do you start? The land has been perc tested for a septic system I do believe.

Where do you start in building a home? I have seen nice homes on the 84 lumber site but do I want those? I realize that with out set money figures this may be a little hard but I was hoping to keep the construction and supplies around 200k. The land is in Northern Maryland.

I will need a road approximately 200ft an power is set about 350ft from the road. I need a septic system and a well. This will be my final house so I would hope for it to last for generations.

What type of earth friendly options would you use? Rain water collection system, geothermal heating and cooling, solar power? I have seen autoclaved aerated concrete has anybody worked or know about this stuff?

I would like 4-5 bedrooms 2.5 baths so is 200k reasonable? I do not know if I can build a basement yet which will surely affect the cost one way or the other.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23292035 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:19:56 EDT