Home building tips please

I am 24 years old and in college, however when I am done here it is looking more and more certain that I will be moving to the country and would like to build a home. I have minimum experience. I used to work building homes, but mostly did framing and some painting. A wee bit of electric, ventilation stuff but not enough to say I know much.

Long story short, I want to start gathering research and experience now so I can be prepared in a few years. Any starting points? Maybe some websites that give good tips or even let you design a sort of CAD home?
-would prefer a log/stone/natural look
-self sustainment is vastly preferred, water, heat, backup electric
-don't need many "extras" I don't even watch TV. Just living essentials

I will be out in the country, away from the city, so anything up that alley would be appreciated. I know this is semi-vague but I am in the beginning stages of my research and while this is a truck forum TW folks always seem to have solid links, advice, and entertaining banter


Thanks!

 

My first suggestion would be to ditch the log home idea

Go with a well insulated frame , preferrably thermally broken

Wire for a generator panel

Consider a hydronic heating system

Install a woodstove

 

I figured you'd chime in thanks man.

I just need a good start, do and don't list, and some links for info.

I'll google "thermally broken" and "hydronic heating system" right now haha

If anyone else has tips I'm open to them, I have a while to research but like to start early.

 

Also throwing it out there that I plan on gardening and canning, etc . . . And will have help building and sustaining home from family. I've been drawing up layout ideas

 

At my camp we route our rain water into a barrel for drinking water. Also made it out of metal so the coons couldn't get into it.

 

Thermally broken frame basically means you have some insulation on the exterior side of the framing , generally 1" styrofoam , this insulates the wood frame and stops what's known as " thermal bridging " .

Thermal bridging is the cold transferring through the studs , plates etc of the wall . Wood generally is R1 per inch , so even in a 2x6 wall with R20 batt insulation between the studs , everywhere there is a stud or a plate , the actual R value is R6 , by adding 1" of Styrofoam to the outside you raise the frame R value to R12 and the cavity R value to R25 .

Hydronic heating is basically tubes filled with warm water that heat the floors , ie " heated slabs "

 

Why dont you put up your drawings?

 

That should have a filter on it for human consumption

 

Yeah log cabins look awesome but you're gonna want somethin with good insulation. I'm in the process of building a house right now for work. It's been a really good learning experience and I hope I will be able to build my own one day

 

OP , will this construction be in an area governed by building codes / inspections ?

 

Not to mention more expensive , difficulty running services , specialized construction / assembly to allow for shrinkage and settling

 

I'm hoping to sort of disappear somewhere in the midwest here, but I don't know yet. We do have a very small piece of land up in South Dakota but it's too close to town, so we'll be selling and moving. To where I do not know yet. I really am in the beginning stages of this. I like the NE, WY area but don't know anything "for sure" yet.

 

Oh and before Lisa shows up

SIPS suck

 

Probably best to make sure your plans would meet whatever local building codes / bylaws you would encounter

 

heh heh, okay. Thanks for the pointers guys, I've got about ten websites open full of info too, so this is going to be a slow n steady thing, a lot to learn.

 

If you want to disappear I would make the home as energy efficient and self sufficient as possible. Go off the grid.

 

That is kind of the plan, back to the basics living too, just growing food, chopping wood, etc. No TV, no cement or city lights, ahhhh I can just about smell it I wanna go back to basic living but with modern help, ie- modern water filtration, heat/insulation system like mentioned above, etc. Will have a fireplace too, because why not?

can't just jump out headfirst though, need to research!

 

That would be pretty awesome. I would love to live like that. Then maybe the discovery channel will have you in a show. The 2nd last frontier haha

 

haha if the discovery channel finds my I wasn't very off the grid...

it's not really about disappearing though, I just want to self sustain out somewhere in the wilderness the best I can. I think it's better living. There's just a TON of info on it and a lot of it contradicts, so I figured people with experience might be able to chime in and say "I wish I would have used this or done this" etc . . .

Hopefully some other people can get some good ideas out of it too, maybe modify their homes a bit

 

We boil it and filter it of course