Realtime Update, April 2023
We are getting closer to breaking ground and plan to start giving more real-time updates. In the April 2023 edition, we will share a few decisions and some exciting news.
A big part of building a custom home is planning. Inevitably, something changes, and you have to pivot. Neon (our architect and builder), made a visit to our build site recently to review where the septic field location will be. We had been planning the field to be in front of the house but the soil engineer and samples found that our original location had over 6 feet of topsoil, which isn’t the best for a septic field. Because of the topsoil depth, we have to move the septic to behind the house.
Neon also proposed changing the type of foundation and also the way the roof is constructed. Originally we had planned to use Superior Walls for our foundation but we have opted to go with a more traditional poured concrete form foundation. The change was made to help save costs and the same company that will construct the foundation will also build the driveway and complete all of the excavating. The roofing change was from SIPs roofing to traditional roofing. Similar story to the foundation, but the SIPs really requires a lot of experience to get it right and we wanted to be extremely confident in our envelope.
The exciting news is that we are going to be using t-studs for our exterior walls. using these types of studs will help our house be more insulated and will help us save on energy costs. This continues with our goal of spending money on things that won’t be seen but will make a big impact in the long run. Also, we are investing in things that can’t be redone later. We can change floor or light fixtures later, but we only have once to choose the best framing material.
This week we are working on ordering windows from Seemray. It seems funny that the first thing that will get purchased for our house will be the glass, but the windows are a huge component of the design, and they have a long lead time. Sugarfield will have tilt-and-turn windows. They are something we are really excited about. The window will swing open on a hinge like a door, and also tilt in from the top. They are European-style windows and they are actually being made in Germany and shipped to Ohio. We are reviewing our window schedule and making sure that the order matches the plan and that the windows swing open from the correct side.
We will continue to write about the development of our plan but we thought letting you all know what we are up to today would be fun. It is getting very exciting as this project gets closer and closer to getting underway.
