Lot cleared + Budget Angst

I've been out of the state on vacation.  On our way back from the Utah Arches and Canyonlands, we stopped by the property to see the progress.

Hard to tell from just this photo, but there was a 40-yard container on the road for a day that got filled with brush and debris.  You can see some logs on the left side of this picture. We'll cut them up and use them for firewood next year.

Excavating for the footings comes next.

I have been actively getting estimates for stairs, siding, in-floor heating. We're still working on finalizing the lumber package due to some questions about the glulams -- should be resolved soon. Plans are to begin framing at the beginning of September. With a roof on by the end of the month.

Here's the stairs I'll be getting for the exterior, and I got them to do the railing in black instead of yellow (for no addt'l cost!).

I've also been totalling up other costs and needs. I've decided to forego bringing in a propane tank and service, instead relying totally on electric.  What I realized is that I'm going to blow-out a standard 200-amp service due to electric in-floor heating, and electgric on demand water heating.  Not to mention an electric range, and an eventual hot-tub.

I have budget angst, and and am already looking for ways to cut costs and save money.  The first compromise was deciding to do pre-fab and site built stairs instead of the custom ones.  Even the outside pre-fab stairs will end up costing $4K, whereas the custom ones would've been more than double.  And the single, center-stringer stairs on the intrior have evolved into a double stringer, site built stairs, saving a cool $10K...! Yikes.

Groundbreaking - Trees, dirt, rocks, and a driveway.

So much going on right now.  I've got a video (below) that covers the exciting details of the groundbreaking, which was on Friday, July 14th.

Really excited about the big boulders and rocks Norm found while clearing the lot.

I love how he set the large, flat rock at the corner of the driveway.  I'm doing some investigation into getting a thick, steel 'KnArrow Haus' logo made that we can epoxy on to the face of the stone to mark the entrance. Worst case, I'll do some house numbers if the price for a logo is too prohibitive.

Still need to finish clearing the trees off the lot where the cabin footprint is and to dig the foundation. Hopefully in the coming week. We also need to get a big 40 yard continer up there to dispose of the trees. And we need some rocks to dump on the driveway to stabilize it. Thankfully, no rain the forecast.

A couple other videos.

This one is from the time lapse camera I mounted on a tree last week. Needless to say, I'm a little disappointed in the quality of the image -- notice the artifacting in the bottom 15% of the screen. Needless to say, that will be getting returned or repaired under warranty.

The next one is just documentation of the drive from the freeway to the cabin. This will show you that it's probably just a little farther than you want to walk in snow shoes pulling a sled with supplied in the winter.

Still trying to finalize the lumber package for the framers.  I've gone around twice with the engineering. Problem is, every time I ask him a question it costs me 110 bucks. (Ouch!)

I have bids in on a metal roof and am reasonbly satisifed with it. Going to go with 22 gauge metal to ensure durability. Probably silver.

It looks like I've got an excavation and septic contractor out of Lake Wenatchee to take on my septic installation. He stopped by Friday morning to eyeball the site, and indicated it would probably be sometime in August.

I'm juggling balls/bids with several different staircase manufacturers to get an internal and external staircase. The internal one will have single, center stringer.  The exernal one will have steel C-beams and aluminum treads to weather the snow. More on those after I get bids finalized.

Vlog: Site visit T-1 week to groundbreaking

Flegling attempt at a vlog. We visited the lot on Saturday to mount a time lapse video camera, pound some permanent metal stakes along the lot line, and get a better feel for cabin location and orientation.  There's also a cameo by Sammie, the wonder lap-dog.

We hope/believe the heavy equipment to start digging will show up this coming week.

No messes but plenty of activity behind the scenes

What's been going the past couple weeks?

Well, although I don't have much to show for it, I have spent a fair amount of time on the phone and in email getting bids from subcontractors for all the various bits and pieces.

Septic - not much progress

The quest for an installer has been a difficult one. The construction industry is crazy across the entire state due to the economic and real-estate boom. Getting someone willing to drive up to our lot to do the install has proven challenging. I'm hoping to close on the septic installer and get someone scheduled early this coming week.

Windows - on order

We ordered Pella Impervia windows for the cabin. See the previous post for details.

Exterior Doors - out to bid

Katie and I decided on a 3'6" x 8' fiberglass door with 5 square small frosted windows stacked vertically up the door. We found several suppliers and expect all to be back to us in the coming week with estimates. Still need to get on the garage door to get a bid for it, though.

Lumber package - out to bid

I put out the plans to several lumber suppliers in the area, all of whom are very busy.  It's going to take them a while to generate a take-off of the package, but their ability to supply things quickly is usually not a problem. Not too worried here, but need to get this finalized.

SIPS - in process

I'm working with a SIP panel manufacturer to get the SIPs specified and ordered. Planning to get this nailed down this coming week.  They have a 6 week lead time currently. Gotta get going if we're going to hit the end of August.

Roofing - finding bidders

I've sent the plans to one friend who owns a roofing company to see if he can take on the project. I also called a friend who's been in the roofing business for decades, has run roofing companies and has done projects from Alaska to Florida. He strongly recommended standing seem metal instead of corrugated, because the snow will tear off any exposed fasteners. He also gave me some pointers on how to install at the top and bottom eves for durability and to prevent water and ice infiltration.

Siding - finding bidders

I've done a little research but haven't made much progress here.

Exterior stairs - stalled

There's a local stair *tread* company that manufactures reinforced concrete treads -- but only the treads. The guy who makes the metal stringers is "way busy" -- he promised he'd take a look in a week or two.

We do windows - Pella to be exact.

After getting bids from several different suppliers, we're putting Pella Impervia windows in the cabin.

Now, I know what you're thinking: (Pella!? This guy can't be on much of a budget. Those are expensive!)  Well, they are more expensive than the typical baseline windows, but not that much more.

I got a tip from a friend to try Lowes.  Lowes carries Pella and you can custom order sizes, finishes, etc.  And they are MUCH less expensive than ordering direct from Pella. AND Lowes is having a 15% off sale until July 18th.

A few changes to the original design after working through everything.

• The Pella Impervia have fiberglass frames, and we added foam insulation (to reduce cold transfer) and added the high-altitude modifcations because we're above 3600 ft.
• I reduced the sizes to 3'x6' casement windows from 4'x8'. It's REALLY hard to find 4x8 windows that aren't custom and/or unreasonably priced.  And a 6' tall window allows us to install them 2 feet above floor grade, eliminating the extra charge for tempering the glass that would otherwise be required if they're installed closer than 24" to the ground. (The are additional requirements in the International Residential Code-the IRC-that require opening restrictors on windows on upper levels.)
• 3x6 also allows us to add another window across in the bed and bunk rooms and the family room), thereby maintaining overall glazing area (and the views!)
• In each bedroom, we have one casement window to comply with egress requirements.  The other windows are stationary, picture windows.
• In the family room, we're stacking 3x6 picture windows with 3x1.5 awning windows to allow for venting.  We'll better fill the vertical wall space with glazing to take advantage of the views. 
• In the basement and the powder room, we're putting 3x3 casement windows.
• The frames are black both inside and outside. We think these will go best with the rough sawn wood we expect to put on North and South facing walls on the interior; and with the corrugated sheet metal and charcoal colored hardipanel on teh outside. 
• To the fiberglass frames, we added the foam-filled option -- very energy efficient and durable. I thought about wood on the inside. Although it's beautiful, it's just too expensive and would require ongoing maintenance. 

I want to build this cabin just once, and to build it *right*. I also don't want to spend every waking moment on maintenance. The fiberglass frames should have a long life with no maintenance.  I've learned over the years that it's cheaper to buy the right thing once, than to buy the wrong thing first and then the right thing afterward.