I am building my first home. Lucky me because it is in the woods! It is an adventure I surely will not forget.

Me with Rory

Friday, February 26, 2010

Breather

Been taking a couple of weeks off from house design research. I needed to let my head clear and catch up on some other things.
Daughter, on the other hand, has been drawing up all the graph paper plans into AutoCad and making necessary corrections. So while I am focusing on writing stories, she is busting her butt on the design.
I went to a lit and small press fair on Saturday at my school. Sunday I went to a gem and mineral show and a flower show all at the museum.
It was great to get out of the house and not think about the new house. I have to nurture my spirit and rejuvenate my body with all that good energy from the crystals.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Enjoy the tour

Thank goodness

I appreciate help from others as I create this project. A friend of my sister's recently paid me a visit with log house plans! "Who Hoo," as she would say.

She loaned them to me to glean for details. I had been trying to get a real hard copy set for a while and then she laid them in my hands. Her Dad had given them to her, a while back, for her dream home.

She is someone who loves lakes and woods and most things country. A connoisseur.

She even offered to loan me an appropriate book,



but after my recent water spillage on one of my Mackie books I figured I better pass and get it from the library instead. lol

It is a good recommendation about a lady building her own log cabin. And when I say she is building it, I mean she is out there with the axe cutting down the trees.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Drawing, drawing

I am spending most weekends drawing and researching details of log home construction. Whew!
Some people let their architect decide on windows/doors and colors for everything. For me, that just isn't what I want to do. I may only have this one opportunity to have a home of my own and I want it to have my signature on it.
I like making things and building a house is one BIG art project. I like knowing how it will go together as that is part of the house building experience. I also realized yesterday that it will leave me much better prepared to deal with the builder and the building inspector. Maybe if I was in another income bracket, like a more realistic one, lol, I would let others run the show, but who knows. Right now I feel more prepared to take on this very enormous project. The more I educate myself the better.
TBD: Do I want to walk out basement wall concrete or conventional framing? What angle do I want the porch roof as it connects to the house roof?
This weekend I spent figuring out window and door dimensions. Of course that means I ran around the house with my measuring tape and notepad and sifted through window and door specs from various manufacturers.
Ciao.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Another Home Show



This time I went specifically to look at windows. Boy, those home shows are tiring. It is a lot of walking and it was really cold in the outer ring.


On the flip side, though, it was great to see so many window brands at one time in one place. The Andersons and Marvins, of course, seem to be the best. I do want wood, but I am getting a sneaking suspicion they will be the most $.


A side by side (one unit) double hung wood window med size from Pella is $2,000.


What the XXXX (heck)?


Talked to one log home dealer and again I am told one can not have a solid log wall on the gable end peak. The builder/manufacturer I am getting the logs from says you can and so does B. Allan Mackie, the god of log homes.


Cousin G has one gable end peak all log. Sometimes I think the dealers don't want to cut the angle so they say it can't be done.



This is Cousins front with the gable end solid log to the peak.

I put my name in a drawing for a wood stove, but they haven't called me yet to tell me I won.