Greetings! Hi and Hello
Preamble
This post ties into my first post i made in the introduction section. There i'm providing background information on why some of these constraints come to be. You can either check that out or just accept the constraints. That's up to you
Here's the link to my introduction:
https://permies.com/t/273960/Permies-World#2861676
My dream
As i'm a self proclaimed all rounder and DIYer i dream of having built my own house. You can get an idea of my skills in my introduction. I know that i will have to learn a lot of stuff but that's a big part of why i want to do it. And the other reason would probably be to show even the stoic Swiss people that there are viable alternatives to conventional homes (aka paying less for heating throughout winter might convince a few). That being said, my situation gives me quite a few constraints.
Constraints
Building regulations: I live in Switzerland, enjoy to do so and will not change it. Although building regulations would be a valid reason to leave the country... it will be a big challenge to receive a building permit for a non-conventional home here. For example i think there is a regulation that newly built homes have to connect to the local sewer system. I do know about alternative systems to biologically clean grey and even black water but that's not the highest priority to me (there's always the possibility of upgrading my home once it's built). So instead of fighting a loosing fight and try to get a permit this way, i'd rather build a more conventional home and save my will to fight where it matters more.Land availability: Switzerland is small and densely populated (in my opinion already overpopulated). For reference it's difficult to find roads you could drive where you wouldn't stumble upon another village after 5 minutes of driving in a car. I know this is unheard of in american standards but hey, the world is a strange place That being said the prices of land are reflected in the available space. In addition to that i need a piece of land in a 'building zone'. We're not allowed to build a home in for example the 'farming zone' (you could if you were a legal farmer, having completed an apprenticeship as a farmer for example. I'm not one though). So it's basically impossible for me to own some land where i'm permitted to build and have some forest on the same piece of land. This will affect the building style a bit but it isn't a deal breaker. The advantage of the building zones would be that there's almost guaranteed to be connectivity to local sewers, fresh water, electricity and so on.'Modern luxuries': to convince my significant other and to have some traditional comfort we need some 'modern luxuries'. This would be reflected in readily available hot water, a TV or maybe a dish washer. You get the idea, we're simply not going to give up on some 'modern luxuries'. That doesn't mean that i wouldn't like the idea of let's say warming our water using some sort of RMH. It would mean that the 'ease of use' has to be given. The design would have to include a somewhat independent operation. So it would probably be a design where pellets or wood chips are being fed automatically and a thermal detector could divert the heating air to some place else if the water reaches too high of a temperature. Then the 'ease of use' would be sufficient and my partner could probably agree to living with it The superior building style (wofati-style): I reeeaally like wofatis. First of all a BIG THANK YOU to Paul! What i would like to do is integrate as many ideas of the wofati to this home. It would have to be adapted in several ways and maybe some aspects don't work but that's where i'd like to open up the conversation with you all.One-Man-Army: I want to build as much as possible on my own. I will have to rent some heavy machinery like an excavator. I am a careful person but i'm not afraid of machinery and am confident to operate a chainsaw for example. On the other hand some steps will need to be executed by professionals or are jobs for multiple people.
Room configuration (for now..)
I have spent the last few days pondering the layout of the home only to find out that some of my basics were wrongly assumed and i scrapped a good chunk of it. But some fruits of my mental labour still came to be so i now know how many rooms i need and have some idea for a layout:
Main area: the main area can encompass a living area, bedroom and probably the kitchen. If there has to be added privacy the room can be divided using large pieces of furniture. Construction vise it should be achievable as one room i think.Offices: we need two separate work spaces. My partner often works from home and i have an e-drum kit i want to be able to play and need a desk for my electronic tinkering as well.Wet rooms: We need a bathroom. We need a washing machine with space around it to hang the laundry (primarily during the winter). So integrating wet rooms into a wofati-style building will be a big challenge. So far i'm envisioning two fully tiled rooms with either a capable ventilation system or a dehumidifier. Maybe a combination of the two.
The wet rooms and the kitchen are the only rooms that need running water (warm and cold). They will be grouped and maybe can share some functionality. Just an idea but maybe if we were to cook on/ around the bell of a RMH the exhaust could be used to heat the warm water storage?
In any case neither the layout nor the composition of the rooms is definite. I'm open to suggestions or concerns regarding the matter.
Workshop
I am well aware that i'm lacking experience. I haven't built any house (yet). To have a smaller testing object i plan on creating a separate workspace as a standalone small wofati besides the main home. As dust and filth is a common occurrence when building stuff i have always thought of a way to not do such work in let's say the kitchen. When i'm capable of finishing a 'test-wofati' then i'm confident in my log piling skills to build a home for us.
Near future plans
As i am a student and will be for the near future, i have lacking funds. To make up for that i will have to spend some years after getting my degree working a normal job. This means that now is the perfect time to come up with the plans to follow through on my dream! This project will not be started in the next 4 years but that just creates the best opportunity to prepare for it thoroughly. Learning new skills, acquire the required knowledge and optimise the theory as much as possible so i can then spend the least time possible accounting for errors while building.
The hunt for knowledge
This is where you come into play! (or at least i hope so...
) I'm trying to be as open minded as possible. If you have ANY suggestion, concern, idea, mandatory structure i missed...
Please answer to this post! If you think this project is not feasible for my skills or i won't have a chance against the regulations in my country.. if the concerns are well founded and reasonable then i'd be happy to accept this as a failed concept and move on to do other stuff with my life. If you have any suggestion that you would have built yourself please tell me. If you have links to other forum posts i'm happy to read through them (i'm still getting used to navigating this forum.. the learning curve is a bit steep..). In the end reason is the most important criteria. If i don't have enough logs to build a wofati i might change the walls to stone or cob walls between the logs holding the roof. Anything reply is welcomed.
A good friend of mine is closing in on his degree in architecture. He already agreed to help think things through and adhere to the local building regulations. So the 'how' of this project will be covered mostly by me talking to local experts in their respective fields. The 'what' to build is where i want to include you! And let's face it.. you're the experts on wofatis, none of the locals have built one...
Conclusion
I'm only just beginning this project and i'm open for anything. I hope that we learn together, share our experiences and advice and if i ever get to actually building i would be able to return the favour and provide as many of you with information and motivation.
I've probably missed half of my thoughts but it's time to open up for a dialogue. I'm tired of monologueing my way through my brain.
Cheers!
Florian
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