FOOTING FORMS

Footings should get poured next week. Detail below of a helical pier with top plate welded in place.

HELICAL PIERS

The house footings will be supported by a series of 42 helical piers. Each pier is made of solid steel square stock and is "screwed" into bedrock located about 15-feet below grade in our case. Piers come in 4-foot sections and are coupled as they are sunk into the ground. Based on the results of the soils test, piers were not required per building code, but we opted to incur the incremental cost of the pier system as insurance against settling issues which have occurred to several homes in the area. Shown below is the small track-hoe used to install the piers.

DIRT

Ubiquitous "dirt has been moved" photos.



Go Chase!

ELEVATIONS

Front (east) elevation - Entrance on left.  Double intersecting shed roofs allow for window placement along the upper living room section.  Two of these upper windows will be operable to facilitate ventilation during warmer months.  Roof material plan is for standing seam steel.  Siding to be a combination of corrugated steel below roof lines and Hardiepanel and Hardieplank on walls.


North elevation - Living room windows (3 ganged) with set of french doors (not visible - obscured by garage) to the left of windows.  Master bedroom to right.


West elevation - Backside of house exposed to western sun so windows minimized.


South elevation - Basement level walkout.


Living Room Section Drawing

FLOOR PLAN

We initially started this project as a two story based on Dwell's "Next House" with a main floor master and bedrooms upstairs located around a central area open to living below.  Cost considerations moved us to a ranch with bedrooms in the basement.  From here we found a lot with walkout potential and covenants that would not restrict roof pitch or building materials.

We basically kept the "Next House" floor plan concept with an addition to get a guest bedroom / office.  Main floor is at 2469 square feet.  Living area will be vaulted using exposed glue-lams.  Garage space was doubled - more room for mostly bicycles and a shop area.  The 90-degree orientation of the garages allows for minimizing the driveway width going to the street. 

Main Floor


Basement has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and 2 large open family areas.  Walkout is on the right side below. 

Basement

BARE LOT

Pic of the bare lot with the house perimeter staked out.  We walked out the lot with the builder today and we will need to make some adjustments to the garage bump out to be able to move the foundation to the north in order to accommodate the walkout basement on the south side.  Drainage issues stemming from the existing neighbors improperly sloped landscape will need to be addressed with the grading of our lot.

Front Elevation, Street View of Lot, & Plot Plan below

FIRST POST

It has taken a couple years to get this project off the ground. Basically, we are building a suburban home for a family of five. We are trying to incorporate a modern aesthetic to the house and using some less conventional materials to differentiate this house from the standard offerings. The plans are nearly complete and the lot has been purchased. Tomorrow we will tour the lot with the house perimeter staked out. Pictures to follow.