Making a House Low-Maintenance/Easy to Care For

[dex]

What do you think about these ideas?
Sustainable Shipping Container Homes

Compact modular green homes built for energy efficiency, indoor air quality and sustainability - GreenPod Intelligent Environments

Dry stack block surface bonded concrete block walls for HTMs

Friday Small House–Concrete Storm Drain Pipe House | Coming Unmoored -- Life in a Tiny Floating Home

 

[ERD50]

Wow, what a great thread - I don't even know where to start.

Hardiplank - yes, yes, yes, yes. Mine ( addition and back/side of the house) is just 6 YO, but I actually went out to inspect it, and it looks like it was painted last week. The metal siding on our old house looked 'chalky' - some people were having theirs painted. We moved.

As far as your 'guilt' over a non-optimal eco choice for some things - put in in perspective. I like to be 'green' where I can, but if that shower is going to last 30+ years, the difference between one material and the other is really very, very small. Look more closely at the things you do/use every day, week, month, year - on a pound-per-pound basis, that might help.

-ERD50

 

[Moemg]

I love the theramfoil white kitchen cabinets . They are easy to care for and go with whatever appliances you like . They can also be dressed up with hardware . I had them in my last house and they were a dream to care for .

 

[harley]

I've heard that about stainless steel too. Even if it's true (and I have no reason to believe it isn't), the fingerprints can be removed in a few minutes with a sponge and a little elbow grease, unlike chips.

Not true, at least the few minutes part. It takes quite while to scrub the fingerprints out.If you just rub it with a sponge and get the fingerprints out you end up with splotches that look worse than the fingerprints. If you use the stainless polish stuff you have to be careful not to leave too much on or your fingerprints will be worse the next time. We have stainless on our fridge and dishwasher, and it's truly a pain to keep looking new. If you don't care, not a problem. But I would recommend white. Chips are really seldom a problem, and a little enamel paint fixes them right up.

Aso, just fyi, the composite deck material needs to be pressure washed pretty much every year, unless you live in a very dry climate. They get mildew spots fairly easily, but clean up nicely with a light pressure washing. Still lower maintenance that wood, but not no maintenance.

I would also recommend quality vinyl siding over metal. Cheaper, lower maintenance, and better looking.

Lastly, don't make yourself miserable with to small a home, just to decrease housework. You'll end up unhappy when it's easy enough to just clean up as you go to keep things neat.

PS - Hardiboard is good.

 

[WhoDaresWins]

I am enjoying this thread very much! A lot of good ideas whether one implements one or two things or goes all out with a new home. Last year I toured some concept homes (small, sustainable, innovative) on the Mall in D.C. designed and built by various university engineering departments, and they were fascinating. The homes were complemented by appropriate landscaping, too. I was totally in love with the beach cottage design. There are lots of things I would rather do than clean house. I am trying to enhance my living conditions right now by donating unused items. It's a start...I don't have wallpaper now as in my previous house I spent close to a year scraping foil butterflies off the walls in almost every room. I have seen some fabulous wallpaper recently and I can definitely see the appeal.

 

[Brat]

I do not recommend vinyl siding, in general. The reason why I encouraged consulting with an architect is that they look at the building envlope as a system. There are locality specific conditions that impact that system. In the PNW the one system that has caused the most issues, IMHO, is EFIS fake stucco. Oh, could I show you the buildings under wrap in our area.

 

[samclem]

One thing I didn't make clear in my original post is that I want to build the house myself with my own two hands, not have it built for me.

You might consider some of the more innovative construction ideas out there, especially insulated concrete forms (ICFs) or structural insulated panels. Sure, both use polystyrene for insulation, but this house is going to last 30-50 years plus, and the walls will be saving money, oil, and electricity that entire time due to the highly efficient insulation and tight construction. The manufacturers run classes, or you can team up with a builder who will accept your assistance. The SIPs use OSB faces which make good use of waste wood and have very low VOC (incl formaldehyde) outgassing compared to many other manufactured wood products (esp MDF/HDF). The dry-stack surface-bonded masonry construction mentioned by dex is a very good way for a low-skill builder to get a very solid house. But, for energy efficiency I'd recommend 2-4" of polystyrene insulation in your climate (giving a whole-wall value of about R13-R25). Put a nice Grailcoat finish on the outside and you'll have a very low maintenance exterior. With either ICFs or surface-bonded masonry the termites won't touch your house if you use borate treated polystyrene (pest control is another maintenance bother/expense/environmental concern, after all).

 

[Brat]

Termites in the PNW... not unless they migrate from 'climate change'. Carpenter ants, yes, they can take up residency but can be discuraged by good design - don't stack wood near the home, keep decaying wood away from the foundation.

 

[samclem]

Termites in the PNW... not unless they migrate from 'climate change'. Carpenter ants, yes, they can take up residency but can be discuraged by good design - don't stack wood near the home, keep decaying wood away from the foundation.

They sure aren't the problem that they can by in Dixie (or Hawaii), but there are termites in the PNW

 

[travelover]

Interesting to note that southern termites are so respectful of state lines.

 

[ERD50]

You might consider some of the more innovative construction ideas out there, especially insulated concrete forms (ICFs) or structural insulated panels.

Another excellent suggestion. A home like that went up in our area recently. I would make a point of going slightly out of my way to take the route past it every couple of weeks to see the progress. It looked great, and then they put some rather bold blue siding that just didn't match the overall look, and it kinda ruined it for me. But I think it is a great construction technique (second maybe only to the spray concrete systems, but those are a bit 'out there' for integrating all the other old systems.).

Termites in the PNW... not unless they migrate from 'climate change'

In this (moderate) summer heat, I keep forgetting that one benefit of a typical Midwest stretch of 0F to 10F days is that it makes a great 'pest' deterent. But then, there are those heating bills... But the PNW does sound attractive to me.

-ERD50

 

[ERD50]

Interesting to note that southern termites are so respectful of state lines.

I was surprised to see N IL as 'moderate to heavy'. I honestly can't recall any first or second hand knowledge of significant termite damage in our area. I know they exist, but I never heard of any extensive damage.

From my small and unscientific sample, there must be a huge difference between 'moderate to heavy', and 'very heavy'. Of the people I know in CA and FL, most have had termite damage and/or 'tenting' of their house to prevent damage.


-ERD50

 

[REWahoo]

Interesting to note that southern termites are so respectful of state lines.

Nor do they apparently dare stick a single antennae across I-35 in Texas...

 

[samclem]

Floors and flooring:
Concrete slabs are pretty darn maintenance free IF they don't crack and if you don't have a water pipe break underneath them. You can avoid the first problem by hiring a really good contractor to do your slab, and ensuring he preps the lot correctly, uses high quality concrete, and uses appropriate steel reinforcement.

Basements: I like my basement, but if I were building from scratch I don't know if I'd have one. The conventional argument is that (in much of the country) you have to dig down at least 3 feet to get below the frost line, so you might as well dig farther down and get another level for "free." In truth, it's far from free (moving dirt costs a lot of money, and you still have to build walls, just like you would above grade). And what do you get at the end of the process? Some living area that is dark and possibly prone to flooding/condensation of the walls, etc. There are "new" methods to build directly on a slab with a thickened edge and have no problems with frost heave even in very cold areas. It's done by insulating the ground outward from the home using buried "wings" of rigid insulation. The natural heat from the ground warms the ground under the house and keeps it from freezing. The technique has been used in Scandinavia for many, many decades and it works great. It also saves money during construction. If you want the added square feet offered by a basement, it is cheaper to build it above grade. For more info, see the oikos site for a start. Based on what you've said, I think you'll like a lot of the ideas at that site.

Flooring: The acid-dyed concrete floors look great to my eye, but they do require re-sealing every few years. You might like cork. It's natural and renewable (though most of the flooring does contain artificial binders/glue), it feels really good underfoot, and it is fairly durable. I know vinyl has a bad reputation, but I like very much the high-quality sheet vinyl floor in my kitchen and bathrooms. No grout to clean, wipes up easily, doesn't break my dishes when I drop them, and it wears well. I think you are smart to avoid wall-to-wall carpet. I like our real hardwood floors. A few throw-rugs (pick them small enough to wash at home and you'll do it more often) for the spots where your bare feet demand it.

 

[samclem]

I was surprised to see N IL as 'moderate to heavy'. I honestly can't recall any first or second hand knowledge of significant termite damage in our area. I know they exist, but I never heard of any extensive damage.

From my small and unscientific sample, there must be a huge difference between 'moderate to heavy', and 'very heavy'. Of the people I know in CA and FL, most have had termite damage and/or 'tenting' of their house to prevent damage.


-ERD50

I live in an area marked "moderate to heavy" and the buggers feasted very well on the joists and subfloor in some areas of the house before we moved in. I haven't seen any maps that declare any significant parts of the continental US as "termite free."
I'm a big believer in the penetrating borate treatments for wood framing. I'd definitely specify them if building a new house, and I'm spraying all my rim joists, mud sills, and the outer 2 feet of my floor joists and subfloors as I can get to it. The little devils might still get by this barrier, but at least I'll have done what I could. Plus, it's a lot less expensive and toxic than the conventional soil treatments.

 

[kyounge1956]

(snip)Maybe a central vac? They aren't cheap, but they can be convenient. And, the dust-filled effluent gets sent outside your home's conditioned air spaces--good riddance!(snip)

I was given an old Royal upright as a gift years ago. All the central vac system needed for the house I have in mind would be to make one of those fabric sculptures to turn an upright vacuum into a housemaid for it, and leave it parked in the corner plugged in at all times. Unfortunately this version of a central vac doesn't have the advantage of shooting all the dust outside the house.

 

[kyounge1956]

(snip)Husband & I saw this at the Seattle Home Show. This, or something like it, would be worth exploring: www.fabcab.com Note that it is accessable. (If the link give you an OOPS just click on Home again)

I saw the FabCab too. I really liked it, but those big timbers would be more than I could handle. I think it also had too much glass in the facade both for my personal taste (it would be like living in a fishbowl) and for the climate (too much heat loss in the winter). The small and simple floor plan with a shed roof is very much the way I've been thinking though. Did you see the "NW Modern" at the Home show in, IIRC, fall 2008? That's actually a park model RV but it was another nice layout.

 

[kyounge1956]

No baseboards.(snip)

What do you use instead at the joint between flooring and wall finish?

 

[kyounge1956]

Personally I am a big fan of having a large combination laundry room, dressing room, and closet. The idea is that you can take the laundry out and hang it up (or put it in baskets on shelves or in dressers) without having to carry it anywhere.

I nearly have this situation now, with my laundry closet in the hall by the entry of my dressing room where my closets are. It sure makes my daily life easier than in some previous homes.

This idea would almost be an extension of Samclem's idea of "no closet doors" if you just put the rods upon which to hang your clothes, along one wall. You could still see all your clothing when you are dressing.

There was another thread where this came up, about having the laundry near the closet. The laundry area in my townhouse is on the top floor between the bedroom and the bath. That's where almost all the dirty laundry is. It's so much more convenient than carrying everything down to the basement to wash, then back up again as in my previous house.

 

[Katsmeow]

If you are interested in metal siding/roof you might consider a metal building. I know a couple of people who have started with a metal barn and finished it as a house inside.

With regard to handicap accessibility, bear in mind that the space required to really make it ADA compliant (if you choose) is quite a lot. We are building a house and started out wanting to have the master bath and a secondary bath both handicap accessible. It added several thousand dollars of cost to each room mostly because of additional space requirements. The 5 foot turning radius was requiring each bath to be much larger than usual.

We ended up scrapping the idea of accessibility in the secondary bath. We kept it for the master bath although the separate toilet room will be too small to be truly ADA compliant. However, the wall that separates it form the rest of the bathroom can be removed.

For the shower we elected to build one that one not have a raised threshold or door so that someone with a wheelchair could just wheel straight in. To achieve this requires a larger shower than normal since the floor needs to slope to a drain and it can't be too steep.

It did allow us to get rid of the shower door entirely since the shower is now 7 ft long.

 

[kyounge1956]

You might consider some of the more innovative construction ideas out there, especially insulated concrete forms (ICFs) or structural insulated panels.(snip)

Another excellent suggestion. A home like that went up in our area recently. I would make a point of going slightly out of my way to take the route past it every couple of weeks to see the progress. (snip)

I have heard good things about SIPs but they are not a do-it-yourself method unless you already know how to operate a crane.

I'm planning on using straw bale for the walls, but I keep waffling back and forth between load-bearing and infill. Which I end up using may depend a lot on the permitting authority. Bales have high insulation value and are possibly more forgiving of low construction skills than some other materials, and they can make a safe building even in a high seismic risk area, which western Washington is. Here's a really impressive video of a quake test on a load-bearing bale building designed to replace more traditional building materials in Pakistan after the big earthquake there a few years ago. Maybe just watching this video will be enough to convince the inspector.

 

[ERD50]

I have heard good things about SIPs but they are not a do-it-yourself method unless you already know how to operate a crane.

But ICFs don't need a crane, but you will have a cement truck come to the sight (something you'll need anyhow for a foundation):

Home Construction - Insulated Concrete Forms

they are made of expanded polystyrene - similar to the white, insulating foam used for take-out coffee cups. They either stack together like giant interconnecting, toy building blocks or are separate panels connected with plastic ties.

During construction, the forms are filled with concrete, becoming a permanent part of the wall assembly as well as adding a two-inch thick layer of foam insulation to each side of the wall. Reinforcing bars can be added for earthquake safety.

DIY a house (even a small one) is a huge undertaking. I think I'd welcome any opportunity to 'outsource' most of the labor of constructing walls to a cement pour operation.

Plenty of other benefits also:

Boasting an R-value of 21 and up, foam block walls are so well insulated that manufacturers predict a home's monthly heating and cooling costs can be reduced up to 75 percent. As a result of the added insulation, the size of the home's heating and cooling system could be reduced by as much as 50 percent. The walls are fire, earth quake and termite resistant, and the layers of foam insulation provide excellent soundproofing as well as backing for drywall on the inside and stucco, lap siding or brick on the outside.

Good luck, whatever choice you make! I know that the pace I tackle remodeling projects, or even maintenance projects around here as I get older, I couldn't even think about building a small house, or even a garage for that matter. It would never get finished.

-ERD50

 

[Carnage]

What does everyone think about running coaxial, phone, and T1 into every room of the house? I think that would help with resale value. Also, I know a lot of people that wire for surround sound as well. I don't know if it fits "universal design" but I think its best to keep your house as flexible as possible.

 

[REWahoo]

What does everyone think about running coaxial, phone, and T1 into every room of the house? I think that would help with resale value. Also, I know a lot of people that wire for surround sound as well. I don't know if it fits "universal design" but I think its best to keep your house as flexible as possible.

A couple of years ago I would have said "absolutely", but it appears wireless is the wave of the future. Not much need for phone or T1 wiring in all rooms today...

 

[samclem]

If you truly mean you want to build the house "by yourself," I'd suggest you fully evaluate that position. Even lifting and positioning those straw bales is more than 50% easier with two people. Unskilled labor can be hired cheaply in most places. On the other hand, having someone present who has experience in whatever method of construction you are doing is worth a lot.

Every environment has it's building challenges. In the PNW it is liquid water and water vapor control. Strawbales can work there, but it's not the first location that comes to mind if a long-term durable house free of mold issues is desired.