Building first home

FWIW I would wire extra power to the garage in 120V and 220V. As well as a garage sink. Always want one of those with random projects...

 

Very good idea. Not only can you use it for a work-clothes washer and dryer, a welder or dust collection rig, in the not-to-distant future you may well have a car that requires a 220V charging source too.

 

Maybe things are different in Canadia. You couldn't pay me to build or purchase a house in the US right now.

 

... ^^^... Me too ... ... exactly the same ... same with best subs too ...

However, one of my best friends, who was the best carpenter & sub I have ever seen, fell off a ladder last August, hit his head on an A/C unit and died on the spot .... so care on ladders & roofs is super important. Now, I do all of my own carpentry work with the aid of a helper and it is kicking my azz.

My main suggestion IF you were in the south, would be to get the BEST termite company in your area for the chemical treatment(s) and termite bond too.

Been there and done this one and could write a book on it ... termites can destroy your house and I mean super destroy it and you might not know it until it is too late.

PS ... Do you guys in Canada and way up north in USA have any animals and/or vermin that will eat or destroy your house. ..
.

 

Ya things are definitely different up here. Specifically where I'm locate there's somewhat of a boom going on.

Wouldn't want to build in the states right now unless it was a long term stay, but there are some good deals if you can buy. I know a fair few people from here who have bought places in Arizona. Good deals dollar is strong.

 

That's code here , we have to install a drained rainscreen system under our siding , although the OP's house may be exempt from that if his ICF walls classify as a mass wall as far as the BCBC is concerned .

 

Tyvek FlexWrap FTW

 

and a toilet

 

Termites and carpenter ants

 

I'm about 99.9% sure the US house market hasn't bottomed yet. Needs about another 2 to 3 years for all the ARMs to truly kick in.

Grats on the house. Hope it works out well for you.

 

yes

one wouldn't want to buy a home in one of the best buyers markets in decades.

best to wait for the tide to change and buy when it's a sellers market.

 

It's a tricky business of you're only in it to make money. It's really about the job market. See decent paying jobs coming, it's a good time to invest before everyone does...

Up here we had our recession before the rest of you. Small northern area driven by forestry. Mills shut down. People left. Starting to pick up again. If you bought a house 2 or 3 years ago you probably just made 20 percent.

 

Yes .

There is no way to directly compare Canada's housing market and what has happened in the US .

We were not as exposed to the types of foreclosure risks American banks took on people

 

It's really not the mortgage lenders fault...

but then we are into politics and I don't want:
a) to hijack the OP's thread.
b) see the ban hammer.

 

Ya shit let's get back on topic here. Thoughts on wood fireplaces?

I like open fireplaces, nice to sit by. Enjoy taking the truck down a back road to get firewood as well.

 

Get a woodstove instead of a fireplace , way more efficient

 

agreed

funny, but many here in FL have fireplaces...I've had a few in past homes. The ladies love 'em. but they take up a lot of space and are not used much.

when we were planning our newest build...I mentioned to the wife: "design a home in winter, and you want a FP...design a home in the summer and you want a pool"

we settled on a new puppy.

 

Using wood heat in Florida and using wood heat in Northern BC are two different topics

 

truth

 

Just a heads up I have my AA in Architechtural Tech and a month from my BA in Design Studies. Worked for 3 firms, done quite a bit of demo/remodel, and do welding. I have ACAD 2012 and Sketchup 2010 if you need some drawings let me know. See the answers below to what caught my attention.

You using the concrete insulated walls for the basement only? I was confused on your wording if you were going to take that all the way up to the roof or not? The basement layouts I have done out here are usually at min 12" plus ext insulation, gravel, and backfill. Dont think you want to carry 12" ext. walls all the way up.

If it were me I would look into foam insulated prefabed walls. Get them in all sorts of dimensions and if you give certain companies your plans they will prefab them out to fit exactly in the house. Makes installation super easy, carry a high R value well above 20 if I recall correctly, structural walls so you dont need a whole lot of engineering on the walls to support the roof and you can carry the same ext. dim. that they call out for at 2x4. However, I would still want to run 2x6 ext. with 2x4 int. just because of the roof height and heating in the winter up north.

With certain SIPS you can run whatever kind of siding you want. Its essentially OBX glued over foam on both sides.

You will want the heat pump if you are up north. The heat pump will act as a mind trick in that your feet will be warm from the insulated floor thus making you think your whole body is warm. This will cut down on heating cost drastically as well as wear and tear on your heater and air handler.

Heat is no the only factor, moisture and sun exposure as well.

Dont go crazy with the can lights, you get to many and you will over heat yourself depending on the wattage you go with. Most sellers give a range of height and how much light is given on their sites by can size. 4- 6" cans should be sufficient at 8-10' with low watt bulbs. Also think about layout of walls and pictures, crap your going to hang if you want to do angled cans.

Now are you talking about a double 20 circuit or two seperate circuits. At my bosses shop we run a Square Wave Tig, Single Stage compressor, Plasma, a 180c, and a 140c 220volt welders of a single double 50. At any given time we will be grinding, running the comp, band saw, and plasma or welder at the same tiem without blowing the fuse. If you are going to have a welder and a comp in the garage I would op out for atleast a double 30 to run everything off of and then one or two single 20 amps for wall recepts.

And siding all depends on climate, dry, wet, salty, exposure.....