01-24-2010, 06:01 AM
Blend and David,
Thank you so much for taking the time to write, I really appreciate your input.
It has been a long process of narrowing down what we want, how we wish to live in the house, space requirements, air flow, big eaves, large lanai and then wrapping it up in a cohesive design. David, I am such a visual person, so I went about this somewhat backwards...not a lot of sanity check...Oh DEAR! We did however have criteria for the house established before I started drawing, but as I drew and drew I could see more possibilities, then each revision, and even new concepts also revealed new possibilities to fine tune the house’s livability. I know, the problem is I could go on with this revision process forever... not a good approach. However we have finally hit upon a design that works on so many levels. Although we are still not sure we can afford to build it, or how much we may have to take on ourselves.
Thank you Blend, I hear what you have said with regards to the strong footings and slab tying the whole house together. Now I clearly see the picture of why a slab is appropriate not only for seismic stability but also in our case, for two stories on a flat lot. Thank you very much. Plus I now understand that the final specifications of the footings and slab will be based on soil results and will be the responsibility of the engineer to specify.
I was concerned about the slab cracking and letting in termites, plus centipedes. However perhaps if we use a sill sealer www.protectowrap.com to take care of any unevenness between the slab and the mud sill, to help keep out the critters.
Then I also read about using Basalt rock as a termite barrier under the slab. http://www2.hawaii.edu/~entomol/research/r_btb.htm I know many punaweb bloggers are using construction materials that are not food for termites, but I think we are going with conventional framing, and then just tent the house as we do here in CA.
On any exterior wood we are considering using Permaflex-Al as a coating. http://www.sanitred.com/permaalqualities.htm I became familiar with this through a European architect who covered a whole house with it. It’s very expensive but if it lives up to what they say about it, then having a permanent water proof solution would be worth it.
Any in-put on the above three website information would be greatly appreciated. We’re trying to do the best we can on our budget. Thank you for the help!
Oh, one more thought Blend, what are you using for floor joists - timber or engineered joists? As it stands now we have only one joist span over 12'. In that particular location an engineered beam will be necessary to carry the load, otherwise everywhere else is strait forward.
Thanks again,
Barbara
Thank you so much for taking the time to write, I really appreciate your input.
It has been a long process of narrowing down what we want, how we wish to live in the house, space requirements, air flow, big eaves, large lanai and then wrapping it up in a cohesive design. David, I am such a visual person, so I went about this somewhat backwards...not a lot of sanity check...Oh DEAR! We did however have criteria for the house established before I started drawing, but as I drew and drew I could see more possibilities, then each revision, and even new concepts also revealed new possibilities to fine tune the house’s livability. I know, the problem is I could go on with this revision process forever... not a good approach. However we have finally hit upon a design that works on so many levels. Although we are still not sure we can afford to build it, or how much we may have to take on ourselves.
Thank you Blend, I hear what you have said with regards to the strong footings and slab tying the whole house together. Now I clearly see the picture of why a slab is appropriate not only for seismic stability but also in our case, for two stories on a flat lot. Thank you very much. Plus I now understand that the final specifications of the footings and slab will be based on soil results and will be the responsibility of the engineer to specify.
I was concerned about the slab cracking and letting in termites, plus centipedes. However perhaps if we use a sill sealer www.protectowrap.com to take care of any unevenness between the slab and the mud sill, to help keep out the critters.
Then I also read about using Basalt rock as a termite barrier under the slab. http://www2.hawaii.edu/~entomol/research/r_btb.htm I know many punaweb bloggers are using construction materials that are not food for termites, but I think we are going with conventional framing, and then just tent the house as we do here in CA.
On any exterior wood we are considering using Permaflex-Al as a coating. http://www.sanitred.com/permaalqualities.htm I became familiar with this through a European architect who covered a whole house with it. It’s very expensive but if it lives up to what they say about it, then having a permanent water proof solution would be worth it.
Any in-put on the above three website information would be greatly appreciated. We’re trying to do the best we can on our budget. Thank you for the help!
Oh, one more thought Blend, what are you using for floor joists - timber or engineered joists? As it stands now we have only one joist span over 12'. In that particular location an engineered beam will be necessary to carry the load, otherwise everywhere else is strait forward.
Thanks again,
Barbara
Hawaii Dreaming