Building a new house and shop (8 Viewers)

[1911]

Well, the builder isn't up to Mark's standard of speed, but to be fair, the windows came needing assembly - apparently the result of Covid, as the window company can't get enough employees. They got all the master bedroom and master bath windows in today, including three big windows and a sliding patio door.

 

[Honger]

What's the plan for external finish on the exposed structure?

Also, debt free... hard to ever regret that. Congrats!

 

[1911]

What's the plan for external finish on the exposed structure?

Also, debt free... hard to ever regret that. Congrats!

Thanks!

If it's not ridiculously expensive, I'd like to put a stone facade on the outside, all the way up to the overhang of the parapet wall. I really like the dry-stack look. There are some cultured stone companies out there with good-looking products, that I would be willing to try and install myself, to save labor costs. The less-expensive alternative would be plaster/stucco. The good news is that with this kind of construction, the outside finish can be pretty much the last thing that we do, so we could finish the rest and move in if we wanted to, with the outside still unfinished.

 

[imyahucklbrry]

If the woman of the house will allow (once you get moved in) it would be great to see some interior pictures…

 

[Dunbar]

Pictures! I'm ready for an epic music festival with barbecue hog to feed thousands. Parker County will be on the map.

 

[Music Man]

Leave the outside alone and tell the tax assessor it isn't finished yet, that will keep the assessed value down.

 

[waiting for time]

Congratulations on your progress.

 

[1911]

Leave the outside alone and tell the tax assessor it isn't finished yet, that will keep the assessed value down.

Yes; I have successfully protested the assessed value that way already.

Congratulations on your progress.

Thanks Michael!

 

[1911]

Not the best light at dusk, but all the windows and the front door are in. Still need to foam and caulk some, and add some trim around the edges.

 

[65swb45]

Yup, beginning to look like a house.

 

[bkfj40]

Move in next week

 

[65swb45]

Move in next week

Considering that it currently looks a bit like a bunker, it seems appropriate to ask:

You and what army?

 

[Dunbar]

Before widows it reminded me of a WWII gun emplacement. However, he can either make it disappear into the topography or have awe like the Doge's palace in Venice.

 

[1911]

Considering that it currently looks a bit like a bunker, it seems appropriate to ask:

You and what army?

Before widows it reminded me of a WWII gun emplacement. However, he can either make it disappear into the topography or have awe like the Doge's palace in Venice.

Well, both of you guys are more kind than a friend who saw it in person and told me that it looks like a strip shopping mall.

This is definitely a case of function over form. My wife took some convincing, but came on board with the idea when she recognized the benefits of efficiency, low maintenance and low operating costs as we get older. A side benefit is that yeah, it's pretty much a big tornado/bomb shelter also. Perhaps there is a subconscious remaining fear of the cold war from my childhood? A shrink could probably have a field day with this.

If the mrs. had her way, it would definitely lean towards the Palazzo Ducale end of the spectrum, but she's actually pretty practical and thrifty about most most things. If we spend any real money on it, it will be for a nice kitchen for her. I personally really like the idea of disappearing into the landscape. To that end, I hope to use native stone (or at least native colored stone) to put on as a facade. But you never know when you might have to repel a blitzkrieg or an allied invasion.

 

[thatcabledude]

So dang awesome.

 

[65swb45]

Well, both of you guys are more kind than a friend who saw it in person and told me that it looks like a strip shopping mall.

This is definitely a case of function over form. My wife took some convincing, but came on board with the idea when she recognized the benefits of efficiency, low maintenance and low operating costs as we get older. A side benefit is that yeah, it's pretty much a big tornado/bomb shelter also. Perhaps there is a subconscious remaining fear of the cold war from my childhood? A shrink could probably have a field day with this.

If the mrs. had her way, it would definitely lean towards the Palazzo Ducale end of the spectrum, but she's actually pretty practical and thrifty about most most things. If we spend any real money on it, it will be for a nice kitchen for her. I personally really like the idea of disappearing into the landscape. To that end, I hope to use native stone (or at least native colored stone) to put on as a facade. But you never know when you might have to repel a blitzkrieg or an allied invasion.

There’s a lot to be said for keeping the missus happy.

 

[waiting for time]

just grow plants against the concrete and let nature create its own camouflage, cheap and keeps the tax man (the modern enemy) away. Or put some graffitI on the walls For the abandoned look.

 

[1911]

just grow plants against the concrete and let nature create its own camouflage, cheap and keeps the tax man (the modern enemy) away. Or put some graffitI on the walls For the abandoned look.

One of my sons already thinks it looks like an abandoned industrial facility, or at least it did before the windows and doors went in.

An interesting side note: the only way the tax assessors can see it is from aerial photos/google earth - it is not visible at all from the paved county road. We chose our building site that way; we could have built up higher and had a view, but we prefer our privacy and the view of our valley and trees over a view of the surrounding area. But the tax assessors did pick up the domes from google earth (I presume), before we were able to bury them.

 

[Dunbar]

Feed silos.

 

[1911]

May 2021 Google Earth imagery is now available; here is what the house looks like from above, though you don't get much sense of the hill that the house is built into. The retaining walls on each end stick out more than anything; they are vertical concrete walls 15' high. When I get around to stucco or stain them some neutral/natural color, hopefully they would disappear in future imagery. The top edge of the parapet wall, which you can also see as a white (concrete) line now, will also be covered with a metal cap in some neutral color to match the trim and/or stone on the front of the house.