The home of my dreams

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phideaux

Old fashioned
Neighbor
HCL Supporter
Joined
Nov 24, 2017
Messages
19,538
Location
West Ky
I will never make it happen, but if I could, it would be one like this setting secluded on the side of Smokey mountains.
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Also being more laid back and simple in my later years, I could
Settle for this one.
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Bet y'all don't like log houses

Jim
 
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Phideaux, I have always loved log homes. Even when I was a child, I wanted to build my own. I do know a couple who built one themselves in Wisconsin. I have great respect and admiration for people who do the work themselves, knowing that having a professional or well experienced person would probably create a better build. After living in Colorado with all the wild fires, I have given up the idea. Of course, it would never happen at my age anyway, unless I win the lottery. I hear you have to play it to win it, so no chance of that either.
 
My wife and I decided years ago to choose dream retirement over dream home. While our house is probably considered by most to exceed being modest, it cost under our means back when we bought it and is nearly paid off. We intend to live here until we are deceased or can no longer live independently. At the same time my wife will be retired by age 50 and we should be able to travel and enjoy a very comfortable life, not to mention spoil our future grandchildren.

However, if I could go back 20 years, I would likely have bought a stone and log house outside of town on one of the small lakes.

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My wife and I decided years ago to choose dream retirement over dream home. While our house is probably considered by most to exceed being modest, it cost under our means back when we bought it and is nearly paid off. We intend to live here until we are deceased or can no longer live independently. At the same time my wife will be retired by age 50 and we should be able to travel and enjoy a very comfortable life, not to mention spoil our future grandchildren.

However, if I could go back 20 years, I would likely have bought a stone and log house outside of town on one of the small lakes.

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That is nice but really big to get old in. We built small but we were already feeling age creep in. More floor space more vacuming and mopping or sweeping if SHTF.
Then again if you have kids moving in to help thats fine.
 
Our home is about 2600 sq feet with 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, of course we have 5 (originally 7 kids) and a nanny living here too. I suggested to the wife when the kids are gone that maybe we should consider a smaller home, she shot that down quickly as she wants a place where we can host holidays without hotels coming in to play. We did however move the laundry room to the main floor so if we want we can essentially just live in part of the house. I am sure my wife will be hiring a cleaning service to help out when that time comes too.

I could live in a storage garage as long as it had internet and a private bathroom.
 
Well Jim, just move on down here. It is a nice area. Cabins have been a way of life for many years, still is in some areas.

When we get closer to retirement we plan to buy property closer in the mountains and build a small cabin. It's just to 2 of us and we currently have a 1400 sqft house. It's really more than we need. Of course we will need a large shop/barn/storage area. LOL
 
Well Jim, just move on down here. It is a nice area. Cabins have been a way of life for many years, still is in some areas.

When we get closer to retirement we plan to buy property closer in the mountains and build a small cabin. It's just to 2 of us and we currently have a 1400 sqft house. It's really more than we need. Of course we will need a large shop/barn/storage area. LOL

My house is 1900 sq ft....more than we need.
But, I have over 5000 sq ft in out building's .....which is too small.

I'm sure that we will die here, as all our kids and grandkids are within 4 miles.

Jim
 
If money was no object, and it had a helicopter pad, this would be my dream house.

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Many potential problems there. I could never look out the windows there. I also like being in contact with dirt, earth.

Having given up the idea of a log home because of the fire risk, stone has become more interesting and attractive to me. In my home county, most fields have rock piled in the corners from rock picking in the spring, preparing the fields for planting. There are many places to live that have plenty of stone. It is cool, and takes a while to heat up. It is fireproof. Add a metal roof, and you can be relatively safe in a wild fire.
 
I will say, that in my younger days, it was all about the house, the size, the type, the layout etc.
But,
In my older days , it's really not so much about the house , but about the location.
The site, secluded, the surroundings, the non-neighbors, the local facilities like doctors and hospital.

Jim
 
A few years ago, my wife and I decided to sell our home to move a little closer to town (I wasn't really hot for the idea, but she was... you know how that went). We decided to buy a big home because, although the kids were all grown and gone, we continually have family visiting from out of state. 3,900+ square feet and six bedrooms. Since that time, age has started to catch up with us (sadly, especially her: knee replacement, shoulder rotator cuff repair, two back surgeries since we moved in). And we're rapidly coming to the point where we'll be physically unable to maintain a home this large. My point in sharing: if you're approaching your "golden years", think about balancing the size of your home with your ability to keep it up as you age.
 
A few years ago, my wife and I decided to sell our home to move a little closer to town (I wasn't really hot for the idea, but she was... you know how that went). We decided to buy a big home because, although the kids were all grown and gone, we continually have family visiting from out of state. 3,900+ square feet and six bedrooms. Since that time, age has started to catch up with us (sadly, especially her: knee replacement, shoulder rotator cuff repair, two back surgeries since we moved in). And we're rapidly coming to the point where we'll be physically unable to maintain a home this large. My point in sharing: if you're approaching your "golden years", think about balancing the size of your home with your ability to keep it up as you age.
That is a big home. I think of: yard work, maintenance on the house (paint, repairs), cleaning the house, and ultimately, moving out of the house. All work and at a certain point in time, a person cannot keep up with it. We probably all have more than our parents and grandparents. Someone will have to deal with it, sooner or later. I have had this discussion with many people over the years. I have too much stuff. I keep working on it one box at a time. I keep a box that I fill with stuff that I don't want or need. When it is full, it goes to the thrift store, and a new box is started. But, there is so much for preps, food storage, tools, home maintenance stuff.
 
Jim after giving this thread some more thought, as much as I like a log cabin, Thats probably not going to be my first choice if we get to build again. Mine would be a timber frame. You still get the very nice wood features, but using SIPS the house seals up better is super insulated and doesn't require special treatment for the logs, or for running electrical or plumbing. Cabins are a pretty close second though.
 
You know what, when I am out and about in the countryside the old wood built houses have fallen in on themselves and are done for. While the old stone houses look like they could be restored and moved back into.

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Give me about 900 square feet built into the side of a hill, with a walk out basement, overlooking about 6 or 7 acres of water. Somewhere I can row out in a little jonboat at 7 AM and catch bluegills, and come back and fry 'em up for lunch. Then I can shoot targets off the deck. And it should be about 15 or 20 minutes from town so I can go for coffee if I feel like it...
 
Here is something that seems to work to fire proof wood such as cedar shakes or log homes.

Penetrating water based concrete sealer. Just soak down the wood and let her dry.

I have done a few tests with boards and a torch. It will char the wood but it has not caught fire. One board laying in the field has turned grey and still beads water after 10 years.
 
If money was no object, and it had a helicopter pad, this would be my dream house.
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You just want to see the Jehovah Witnesses show up out of breath:rolleyes:.
 
@The Innkeeper We are right there with you. Our dream home will be about 1000-1100 ft2, stone with a copper roof. I am slowly working on designing it. I also want very low maintenance- no paint. Once you paint something, it requires more maintenance. We are still working it all out. We have a few years. That said, those homes above are gorgeous.
 
@The Innkeeper We are right there with you. Our dream home will be about 1000-1100 ft2, stone with a copper roof. I am slowly working on designing it. I also want very low maintenance- no paint. Once you paint something, it requires more maintenance. We are still working it all out. We have a few years. That said, those homes above are gorgeous.
Sounds awesome to me
 
I've designed (in my head) my dream house. Started out as a log cabin, until I learned exterior needs to be sprayed routinely to persevere the wood. Exterior is now stone. Exterior wall will be 2x4, a inch gap and then a second 2x4 wall. Inch gap provides for a thermal barrier plus cable run.

Master bedroom, bathroom and wash room on main floor. A second master bedroom on the second floor loft. Living room and dining area is open to the second floor timbered roof.

Heat provided by zoned PEX piping in the floors. Assessable in the full basement.z

Stove fireplace is wood and gas as a seco army heat source. Air vents at the top of the chimney to circulated the warmed air back down to the living area. Coiled copper pipe in the firebox to heat domestic use hot water.

Heating and air circulating pumps will be 12 DC. Ground mounted solar with battery bank in garage.

Breezeway connects the house to the garage. Optional "storm shelter" under the breeze way.

Rustic with low maintenance as a priority.
 
I live in earthquake zone 3. No big quakes historically and the known faults are short so magnitude 6 is likely as bad as they get. Stone won't stand up to even small quakes unless it is reinforced with steel.
Winds just over 100 mph are not uncommon and snow loads are heavy. Winter temps get into the teens (F) and rarely into single digit for short periods. I also get the occasional ice storm or freezing rain so good insulation is a must. I prefer wood frame construction with lots of insulation and double sheathing (one 3/4" outside and one 5/8" inside) to provide good shear strength. Steel reinforced concrete foundation with anchor bolts every 32 inches to keep the house on the foundation and H16 ties from the roof trusses to the wall. Summer wild fires are common but not a real threat in my area. I still use type X drywall inside and out covered with Hardie board sheathing on the exterior walls followed with Hardie board lap siding. That provides about 1-1/2 hours of fire protection at 1500F for the stud walls. The walls support R30 insulation and the ceiling has R60.
The result is a tight house that is thermally efficient and looks quite "normal" outside and inside. The walls are thick but you don't notice except at the doors and windows.
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This is the first house I designed and built. It has since been added to with a laundry room in back and an enclosed porch in front. It is the "backup bugout" location.
 
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