Middle Tennessee - zone 7a
Erica Colmenares wrote:What are the things you wish you had in your house? Or what do you have that you love (or have found to be a mistake)?
'Every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain.'
Jess Dee wrote:
Have fun planning and building your house! I know it can be very stressful, but it is also an amazing opportunity.
I wish our eaves were longer, or that we had a covered porch on the south side, as we get a lot of summer sun on the house, heating things up.
I also wish our house was designed to 'work' without electricity. As it is, the furnace, water, and sewer (septic) rely on electricity for the fans/pumps, which means a power outage is a real pain in the neck. A gravity-fed septic system would be great, as well as some way to heat the house and move water around. We've been having more and more power outages as the local storms have gotten more severe.
Middle Tennessee - zone 7a
Felix Agricola wrote:
Passive solar design - an Architect is worth the cost.
That's my 2-cents worth ๐๐ฝ
Middle Tennessee - zone 7a
Felix Agricola wrote:
Solar hot water system with mains electricity back up. Estimate a number of water tanks then double it - never too much potable water. As others have mentioned in other posts, suggest planting fruit/nut trees immediately to maximise cropping, together with irrigation systems.
I'm a bit skeptical on using grey water, but will provide for it, simple fix and low cost if it doesn't meet expectations.
Middle Tennessee - zone 7a
Iterations are fine, we don't have to be perfect
My 2nd Location:Florida HardinessZone:10 AHS:10 GDD:8500 Rainfall:2in/mth winter, 8in/mth summer, Soil:Sand pH8 Flat
SKIP books, get 'em while they're hot!!! Skills to Inherit Property
Come join me at the 2024 SKIP event at Wheaton Labs
"Study books and observe nature; if they do not agree, throw away the books." ~ William A. Albrecht
Living a life that requires no vacation.
Middle Tennessee - zone 7a
S Bengi wrote:
You could send all your greywater thru this 'greenhouse' and grow compost.
Middle Tennessee - zone 7a
Mike Jay wrote:
Things I've liked from previous houses:
Driveway that doesn't face North so the snow/ice melts off it quicker on its own
Laundry/mud room by garage entry with a toilet
Pantry with countertop and power for stand mixer, grain mill, bread machine, etc
Good ambient light in summer. Seems weird but in my current house the kitchen is protected from direct sunlight all day and is rather dark.
Full basement with a large amount of storage on shelves in one room
Walk out basement with big windows
Root cellar in basement (not ideal but it is convenient and easier to make ideal if you're building from scratch)
Easy access from external wood storage to wood stove
Shower in master bath, not tub
Two plus bathrooms, one for us and one for all those other people
Attached garage is much better than separate.
Cathedral ceiling makes a small place feel much bigger
Carpet. Everyone's into hard floors now (including the wife) but I miss having softness underfoot
Middle Tennessee - zone 7a
Travis Johnson wrote:
As for the things I like. We have our deep freeze inside our kitchen hidden under an island. It is perfect, no going out to the mudroom or basement to get frozen food, it is right there in the kitchen. And the top of it doubles as an island for more counter space.[/quote/
I'm having a hard time visualizing this. It has front access? It sounds super-convenient!
Our current home has radiant floor heat and I will NEVER have a house without it. There is so much good about them, from effeciency, to not having dust blowing riound, even heat in every room, to drying delicates on the floor, to not having to worry about splills since they dry up, to just having warm feet in teh winter!
I wonder if that's as needed in Tennessee as in other areas. I love the idea of a warm floor in the winter, though.
Thanks, Travis.
Middle Tennessee - zone 7a
James Freyr wrote:
I'm currently building a house in Tennessee
While we can't predict the future, the home we're building is our forever home and we have us as old folks in mind with some of the design.
We did a few other things not so much for function, but what we like. For instance, one of our kitchen windows, the one behind the sink, is 6 feet wide, consisting of two 3 foot windows. The floor in the master bath is heated.
Middle Tennessee - zone 7a
Stacy Witscher wrote:I haven't figured out the gutter system yet, but just having less trees immediately around the house reduces the need for constant gutter cleaning.
I'm excited about planning a home, but I agree it can be overwhelming so many decisions. Good luck.
Middle Tennessee - zone 7a
Felix Agricola wrote:After all the needs and wants, secure dry weather storage for furniture, materials, tools, and workshop was a critical component ... besides the fact it'll be needed in the long term anyway - Man Cave/Dog House as required!
Felix Agricola wrote:Hired storage is expensive, so the cost saved will go to constructing a huge shed before house work starts. (Ideally, the shed will provide intermittent accommodation when I'm there, saving more expense.)
My online educational sites:
https://www.pinterest.ca/joelbc/homestead-methods-tools-equipment/
https://www.pinterest.ca/joelbc/mixed-shops/
Tina Hillel wrote:As far as rain harvest, the small roof does better than I expected. The downspout goes into a water barrel which has a buried hose connecting it to a couple more barrels in the garden.
Middle Tennessee - zone 7a
Erica Colmenares wrote:
Great list, Mike! Can you talk about why a basement isn't good for a root cellar? Is it too warm if it's under a heated house? And what about the attached garage? It's more convenient, but I'd heard that it's more likely to bring rodents into the house or some such thing.Mike Jay wrote:Things I've liked from previous houses:
Root cellar in basement (not ideal but it is convenient and easier to make ideal if you're building from scratch)
Attached garage is much better than separate.
SKIP books, get 'em while they're hot!!! Skills to Inherit Property
Come join me at the 2024 SKIP event at Wheaton Labs
Iterations are fine, we don't have to be perfect
My 2nd Location:Florida HardinessZone:10 AHS:10 GDD:8500 Rainfall:2in/mth winter, 8in/mth summer, Soil:Sand pH8 Flat
Erica Colmenares wrote:
The brain-twister for me right now is having the garden downhill from the house. That's what we'd want, right, so that we can use the rainwater to irrigate the garden? I haven't quite understood the sequence, but I do have the oasisdesign site bookmarked, to read through soon!
Erica Colmenares wrote:
Felix Agricola wrote:What is it about grey water that has you skeptical?
Predominantly the bioaccumulation of chemicals in the soil, pollution of groundwater, and potential for runoff on small acreage farms.
I'm meaning long term viability and leaving no contamination for future generations to clean up.
It takes a sizeable reed bed to treat household water effectively, and a lot of self control to remove the cocktail of chemicals and medications used at home.
For example, a typical household of four produces a lot of grey water per day (at least one shower, sinks, laundry, etc).
Perhaps a more sustainable but expensive solution for onsite treatment is a tank system, there will always be a degree of sludge, but that is not usually an issue.
'Every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain.'
Iterations are fine, we don't have to be perfect
My 2nd Location:Florida HardinessZone:10 AHS:10 GDD:8500 Rainfall:2in/mth winter, 8in/mth summer, Soil:Sand pH8 Flat
Middle Tennessee - zone 7a
Iterations are fine, we don't have to be perfect
My 2nd Location:Florida HardinessZone:10 AHS:10 GDD:8500 Rainfall:2in/mth winter, 8in/mth summer, Soil:Sand pH8 Flat
Middle Tennessee - zone 7a
SKIP books, get 'em while they're hot!!! Skills to Inherit Property
Come join me at the 2024 SKIP event at Wheaton Labs
Mike Jay wrote:
Now for the wood stove. They are awesome. They also are messy. Be sure to have a good plan for how you'll bring in wood since you'll be dribbling bits of bark as you travel.
Might you want the master closet door on the left side of the closet? With a bed against that right wall it means a long walk around the bed to get into the closet.
One last silly thought. What if you turned the staircase 90 degrees? So when you walk in the front door you have 8' before you hit the railing. It would create a bit of a hallway to the North of the kitchen but it would make the entry feel bigger and that spot is kind of wasted space given the shape of the great room. This is my weirdest idea so feel free to flush it immediately
Middle Tennessee - zone 7a
No man is an island.
Erica Colmenares wrote:I was thinking that it would be nice to have the light from the window come into the room, that's what guided my placement.
Yup, just like that. Headroom is worth checking, it might make the staircase too long E/W. But I like the larger foyer. As long as that doesn't shrink the great room too much for you. I always have trouble figuring out how furniture will go in a great room.Erica Colmenares wrote:Like the attached?
SKIP books, get 'em while they're hot!!! Skills to Inherit Property
Come join me at the 2024 SKIP event at Wheaton Labs
Middle Tennessee - zone 7a
SKIP books, get 'em while they're hot!!! Skills to Inherit Property
Come join me at the 2024 SKIP event at Wheaton Labs
Middle Tennessee - zone 7a
SKIP books, get 'em while they're hot!!! Skills to Inherit Property
Come join me at the 2024 SKIP event at Wheaton Labs
You frighten me terribly. I would like to go home now. Here, take this tiny ad:
two giant solar food dehydrators - one with rocket assist
https://solar-food-dehydrator.com
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