Construction – Basic Ideas

 

 

We have purchased 1.4 acres on Lake Fairlee with two 1940’s cabins in excellent condition.  Our goal is to create a place where our extended family can return to the upper valley and share vacation space. (not all at once – there are five surviving siblings with numerous children from 8 to 38).  We want to build a vacation home, primarily for summer use but winterized for shoulder season and occasional snow season use.  And for resale value?

 

Single story: all living functions on one level.  Utilities below; storage below and possibly above.

 

We hope to draw heavily on traditional “camp” appearance in our design, especially exterior appearance.  At the same time we want to consider our impact on the environment in our design and materials choices.

 

We want a house in the woods, not one surrounded by a lawn.  We will cut enough for safety, and to improve our view of the lake.

 

The focus will be a “great room” for living, cooking, eating, and office.  Large and open feeling.  A cathedral ceiling with exposed beams.  Views of the lake.  Historically we live and entertain in our kitchen, so I envision an expanded kitchen, to include living and dining and working spaces.

 

Covered porches, both screened and unscreened, large enough for eating or entertaining.

 

Instead of closets and cupboards, open shelves, in kitchen as well as bedrooms. (mostly)

 

The master bedroom should be situated for privacy and quiet, should noisy offspring be using the great room.  Its bathroom should be accessible only from the bedroom.  Shower not bath. 

 

The second bedroom is intended to be minimal.  It will probably see alternative uses.  We intend our primary guest spaces to be the two cabins and a platform tent.

 

The second bathroom will have an exterior door for access by guests staying in the tent.  It also will serve as our “powder room” and guest bathroom, so it has to be convenient to the main living area and the second bedroom.  We are discussing the necessity of a tub in this bathroom for future needs.

 

Washer and dryer should be convenient to bedrooms, with space for folding and storage.

 

We want ceiling fans(s) in tall spaces for circulation.

 

 

 


Construction Details – Notes

 

 

Foundation:

            Partial basement (unfinished) containing furnace, water heater, pressure tank, etc.

            Full perimeter foundation under house (not deck/porch portion)

            Exterior façade: fake rock wall

            Exterior entry – no inside stairs

            Possible storage under deck/porch hidden by latticework

 

Exterior walls:

8” novelty siding, pine, stained similar to cabins

            consider 2x8 studs to allow for more insulation

 

Interior walls:

            Drywall painted white.

            Unpainted pine door, window, and floor molding. (tentative)

            Ceiling of living area knotty pine t&g – to tie in with the great room ceiling.

 

Floors:

            Wood floors throughout.  We need to determine just what.  Bathrooms?  Kitchen?

 

Heat:

            Gas furnace hot air. 

?Is there any way to have alternative, e.g. radiant floors?

            Ventless propane “franklin” stove in great room

 

Windows:

            Casement rather than double hung or sliding for more open area

            What are cost considerations? What materials?

 

Roof:

            Standing seam steel, pitched to shed snow (5/12?)

                        on ventilation strips – air moves freely under the steel roofing.

on hard form insulation panels – what kind of R value can we get?

Interior should be knotty pine on exposed beams.  Cathedral ceiling over the Great Room.  Win suggested using 1½” t&g sub-flooring for strength, then the beams could be farther apart.

Roof over porch could be lesser pitch (and rest steeper?) with a partial gable over the south end of the great room, with overhang for winter sun and summer cool

Exhaust fan(s) in gable(s) over living wing.  “Attic” storage over living quarters.

 

Doors:

            All 36 inches wide unless otherwise specified.

 

Exterior Trim

Idea: construct porch posts and railings of rough logs.  Continue this theme throughout?  What about door and window molding?

           

           

 


Unanswered Questions

 

Window size and placement

1.      we want lots of view space, and lots of open ventilation, but want to minimize heat loss

2.      windows to ceiling or roof-line make space light and airy; down to 30” or 24” above floor allow best views of lake

 

Foundation perimeter

            How much of house over basement or crawlspace?

            Process and timing for digging and determining?

            And what to do with overhang – cantilever – post area (part of master bed and porch)

 

Roof

I like a gabled roof.  Simpler construction?  Simpler lines.  Window at south end for winter sun and light year-round.  Exhaust fans in north and east gables.

We still need to determine whether the porch roof is pitched less than the main roof throughout.  This will impact lots of major design considerations, like the location of the ridgepole and the simplicity/complexity of the exterior profile.

Also undecided is the overhang.  We prefer no rain gutters, except where entries cannot be gabled (front door) or otherwise protected.

 

Entry

Do we want to move the mud room to the kitchen entrance, making the “front” door our summer entrance? I have always used kitchen doors, whether or not they were the designated entrance, and drew the initial plan to reflect that bias.

 

Uncovered Deck

We have planned for a large covered area, both screened and not.  I would like to consider an adjacent uncovered deck area, perhaps terraced a few feet lower, and perhaps separated by a distance greater than the overhang to allow snow drop – perhaps to a planted area.