Building a better home

[Excelsior]

Originally posted by: Howard
ICFs, radiant heating, hybrid solar lighting

"Combined-cycle" greenhouse (fish pond feeds plants which remove waste nitrate from the water)

If/when I build a house, it'll most likely be ICF.

 

[yllus]

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: yllus
I've been thinking for ages now of putting a 8" touchscreen LCD in every room of a house. Pair it with an extremely minimal CPU, and connect it via Ethernet to a central home computer. Then, with that touchscreen interface, have a simple menu system to control music, lighting, an intercom system and a view of the front/back porch via an IP-enabled security camera.

I really need to look into the minimal CPU that I could embed in a wall. The LCDs aren't so hard to find anymore.

I like that idea. A Mini-ITX system would be great for that, runs about $100 for a motherboard/processor/heatsink/fan/onboard everything. Or even a terminal-based system. It'd be nice to have one on, say, my nightstand so I can rollover and check the security cameras, make sure the doors are locked, turn on the outside lights, etc., before I go to sleep.

Hmm, I just found this and this and this for the CPU portion. I really need to buy a house.

 

[WolverineGator]

Originally posted by: Excelsior
If/when I build a house, it'll most likely be ICF.

We went to an Orlando factory/supplier that did this, but it was almost 2x the price They said you would save money, but only because of the speed that they can deliver. Thus allowing you to finish and sell faster reducing your interest cost.

 

[crab]

The house I'm building right now is Geothermal...Gonna be pretty cool.

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[Kaido]

Originally posted by: crab
The house I'm building right now is Geothermal...Gonna be pretty cool.

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Sweet, thanks for the link! Do you have a progress blog or thread anywhere?

 

[meltdown75]

Just be sure to use some good quality waterproofing membrane around your foundation walls and not some cheap alternative. Some people actually still use concrete block foundations rather than poured as well. These are two corners that you do not want to cut if you intend on having a high-quality home.

 

[crab]

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: crab
The house I'm building right now is Geothermal...Gonna be pretty cool.

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Sweet, thanks for the link! Do you have a progress blog or thread anywhere?

I honestly dont, beyond those photos, but I'm happy to give you any info you may need.

 

[hellokeith]

Cablelock for your foundation

Radiant barrier

Sprayed-in insulation

High insulation factor windows

Get all duct/ventilation tubes sealed

1 x Telephone cable, 2 x Coax cables, 2 x CAT 5e/6 cables, and 2 x speaker wires per room

Honda backup generator integrated with house main breaker box

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: crab

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: crab
The house I'm building right now is Geothermal...Gonna be pretty cool.

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Sweet, thanks for the link! Do you have a progress blog or thread anywhere?

I honestly dont, beyond those photos, but I'm happy to give you any info you may need.

Thanks, browsing now As I was typing that post, I thought to myself...a photo blog would be a fairly painless way to document the build, I wouldn't keep a text log...lol.

 

[Aquaman]

I'd like to build a cob (mud/straw) house or a berm house

Or both in one

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[Specop 007]

If I could build my dream house I'd go with one of those round concreete houses. INCREDIBLY efficient, and very very solid.

Barring that....

2x8's with spray in foam insulation. Very good insulation. A "fireplace" that was set up using a wood pellet stove rather then the traditional log fireplace. Tankless hot water system. That'd be the big things.

 

[slsmnaz]

Originally posted by: WolverineGator

Originally posted by: slsmnaz
Tankless is absolutely worth the investment

"There's a possibility of a savings from 2 to 3 percent of your energy bill because you heat the water only when it is needed."

Not worth it. "If a customer installs a tankless water heater, the customer is required by approved tariff in ... Florida to pay the full cost to upgrade their facilities (including cable and transformer) to meet the need.

We're building in south Florida. Certainly do your research for your area. Anyway, tank/tankless was a minor issue in our overall scope of construction. Nowadays you can get heat/AC units that are ceiling mounted so they take up zero floor space. I think this is becoming the standard since all houses around here do it this way.

Plumbers will screw you over. You have to go with their materials and if you bring your own bathtub or crapper they'll charge $300 extra to install it. LOL! If you aren't going to be the builder then you don't have to deal with contractors. If you go with a builder I think the best you can do is to do as much finishing work on your own such as installing your own tile and wood floors (we bought 18" travertine for $1.75 sq. ft.), doing your own painting, buying and installing your own fixtures (fans, lights, etc), save scrap plywood to finish your attic, and do as much landscaping as you can handle. What I'm talking about is not glamorous like home automation and connectivity, but it will save you money.

That was actually funny to read and mostly dealing w/ electric which I mentioned weren't worth it. It goes against everything I've ever been told by contractors and product reps (ones that do both traditional and tankless htrs) and seen in my own house.

Your experience w/ plumbers/contractors is a very rare one. Most don't care if they are actually contracted to do the plumbing on the house. You buy the fixtures and they deduct it from the price in their quote. Labor is not extra since they were already doing the work. I've been selling direct to homeowners and delivering to their contractors all the time. I've seen what some guys charge for fixtures, flooring, etc and it really is worth it to buy yourself and have them install.

 

[crab]

Geo system:

Basement:
-Climate Master 2-ton 2-stage Geo unit
-Single Pump
-10KW Electric heat
-Honeywell Visionpro Tstat

First Floor:
-Climate Master 5-ton 2-stage Geo unit
-Dual Pumps
-20KW Electric heat
-Honeywell Visionpro Tstat
-Hot water generator

Second Floor:
-Climate Master 4-ton 2-stage Geo unit
-Dual Pump
-20KW Electric heat
-Honeywell Visionpro Tstat

~1,000ft loop

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Specop 007
If I could build my dream house I'd go with one of those round concreete houses. INCREDIBLY efficient, and very very solid.

Barring that....

2x8's with spray in foam insulation. Very good insulation. A "fireplace" that was set up using a wood pellet stove rather then the traditional log fireplace. Tankless hot water system. That'd be the big things.

Dude across the street from me has one adjacent to his house. I'm not sure if it's a guest house or what. Very unique.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: yllus

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: yllus
I've been thinking for ages now of putting a 8" touchscreen LCD in every room of a house. Pair it with an extremely minimal CPU, and connect it via Ethernet to a central home computer. Then, with that touchscreen interface, have a simple menu system to control music, lighting, an intercom system and a view of the front/back porch via an IP-enabled security camera.

I really need to look into the minimal CPU that I could embed in a wall. The LCDs aren't so hard to find anymore.

I like that idea. A Mini-ITX system would be great for that, runs about $100 for a motherboard/processor/heatsink/fan/onboard everything. Or even a terminal-based system. It'd be nice to have one on, say, my nightstand so I can rollover and check the security cameras, make sure the doors are locked, turn on the outside lights, etc., before I go to sleep.

Hmm, I just found this and this and this for the CPU portion. I really need to buy a house.

I was thinking some more about this. I've seen a couple home automation systems and so far I haven't really been impressed. Someone needs to write some open-source software for home control. I made a mockup of what I want my panel to look like, should I ever decide to put one in:

http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/kaido/panel.jpg

Edit: I should explain a little bit more -

Basically a very simple, quick-to-use touchscreen system. You click on say, climate, and it brings up a levels option - basement, 1st floor, 2nd floor. From there it brings up the floor plan and you click on which room you want to control, then you can adjust the temperature as you like. Or override the setting and adjust the temperature for the whole floor or house. Dang, I need more free time to design this stuff

 

[Aquaman]

Originally posted by: crab
Geo system:

Basement:
-Climate Master 2-ton 2-stage Geo unit
-Single Pump
-10KW Electric heat
-Honeywell Visionpro Tstat

First Floor:
-Climate Master 5-ton 2-stage Geo unit
-Dual Pumps
-20KW Electric heat
-Honeywell Visionpro Tstat
-Hot water generator

Second Floor:
-Climate Master 4-ton 2-stage Geo unit
-Dual Pump
-20KW Electric heat
-Honeywell Visionpro Tstat

~1,000ft loop

That's a huge house man. I am envious. If you don't mind me asking..... how much more did it cost you to use geothermal instead of conventional heating?

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[crab]

Originally posted by: Aquaman

Originally posted by: crab
Geo system:

Basement:
-Climate Master 2-ton 2-stage Geo unit
-Single Pump
-10KW Electric heat
-Honeywell Visionpro Tstat

First Floor:
-Climate Master 5-ton 2-stage Geo unit
-Dual Pumps
-20KW Electric heat
-Honeywell Visionpro Tstat
-Hot water generator

Second Floor:
-Climate Master 4-ton 2-stage Geo unit
-Dual Pump
-20KW Electric heat
-Honeywell Visionpro Tstat

~1,000ft loop

That's a huge house man. I am envious. If you don't mind me asking..... how much more did it cost you to use geothermal instead of conventional heating?

Cheers,
Aquaman

We honestly never priced oil or gas...we couldnt find anywhere suitable to put three big AC units with all of that deck space, so we went geothermal. It was very expensive in the beginning, but it should even out costwise after a couple years.

 

[crab]

You guys would be proud to know that the audio/video/security/HT budget exceeds the HVAC cost

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: crab
You guys would be proud to know that the audio/video/security/HT budget exceeds the HVAC cost

:thumbsup:

Edit: YoYo would be proud :laugh:

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: crab
Geo system:

Basement:
-Climate Master 2-ton 2-stage Geo unit
-Single Pump
-10KW Electric heat
-Honeywell Visionpro Tstat

First Floor:
-Climate Master 5-ton 2-stage Geo unit
-Dual Pumps
-20KW Electric heat
-Honeywell Visionpro Tstat
-Hot water generator

Second Floor:
-Climate Master 4-ton 2-stage Geo unit
-Dual Pump
-20KW Electric heat
-Honeywell Visionpro Tstat

~1,000ft loop

crab in the early stages of contracting

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Specop 007
2x8's with spray in foam insulation. Very good insulation. A "fireplace" that was set up using a wood pellet stove rather then the traditional log fireplace. Tankless hot water system. That'd be the big things.

Interesting, I've never heard of wood pellet stoves before. That would be a nice option if your power goes out in the winter...I was just listening on the radio today that a couple nearby towns lost power - no heat for their homes, yikes! (14F outside!)

wood pellet 101

 

[Kaido]

Are there any drawbacks to skylights?

 

[imported_elwood]

How about a steel home? http://www.heritagebuildings.com/steel_homes/

 

[skyking]

Originally posted by: Kaido
Are there any drawbacks to skylights?

Leaks. They are problematic if not done exactly right, and may still leak even then.
I prefer designs using clerestory windows.
Those are conventional to install, you can protect them from the driving weather with a nice eave and still let the sun in, and you can reject the heat with a good blind system.
They can be openable for ventilation also.

 

[Apex]

Originally posted by: Kaido
I'd really like to get a home custom-built in the future. Just for fun I've been looking into building materials, HVAC, and so on. First off, what about water heaters? Is it possible to run 2 water heaters so you never run out of hot water? Or get multiple on-demand heaters? (heard they don't have great flow)

You don't really need multiple unless you have a huge place. Just get a Takagi T-M1 Mobius. It's the highest flowing one at 5 gallons per minute at 77 degrees F rising.

http://www.takagi.com/web2003/c07.htm