Off-Topic: The house YGG built (ok - not really)

I think it's going to be one hell of a house! Hope it all goes well for ya!

It's sensible to get the plans drawn up by an architect rather than buying the generic plans, that way you get to add your own bit of personality to the house.

Plus whilst that is happening, you can be drawing up plans for the party :)

Posted By: Jason G

Eric,

That's fantastic man!

Do you have any updated news on the housing development project?

Currently working with the engineer to try and develop a good road system. We're in talks with the owner of the neighboring property to try and acquire another 5 acres of his land.

What we're running into is the grade of the hill is just a tad too steep on our property alone and it's causing us to either build very few lots or build cost prohibitive retaining walls to support the road & homes. If we can snatch his property up, or at least a little of it, we can engineer the roads in such a way that eliminates that problem. It's a pretty slow process...lots of hurrying up to wait. We're going along as best we can though.

Posted By: Travis

Gorgeous house! I love the symmetry of the windows upstairs. Congrats on the huge upgrade.

But where are you going to put the helipad?

It's not the style of house I was originally planning but it really works on that lot which is shaped a bit awkward. I love the street frontage we get (it's like 125' of street footage). It's a classic design that, in my opinion, is rather timeless.

We're also bumping the ceiling height on the main & second floors from 8' to 10' to give it that extra openness that's really awe-inspiring.

There's room on the side yard for you to land the helo - when are you stopping by?

According to our estimates, we should be all moved in by mid September.

It's about a 5-10 minute drive from where I'm at now, depending on traffic. So...no, it's rather close.

My only gripe is that it's up on a prairie so the hill you have to climb is going to slaughter my MPG - but no biggie I guess. Long live Dubai!

Fingers and toes crossed for ya, I wish you the best of luck!

That's what they like to allow and commit to so they don't get themselves in trouble. I think I can push hard and get it done though.

If you're a sub-prime loan it takes longer because they have to dig a bit deeper and make sure you're going to be OK. Fortunately I don't suffer from that so we have a chance.

Did you guys see extreme home makeover? I don't know if I got the name right of the program but it's the one where they go and help a family that's had really bad luck and build a new house?\

The house was amazing. I love that Spanish home look.

Close, but the one they just did blows that away.

Yeah that's a Spanish style home.

Can you put pictures of the interior when you're done?

Geo tech study holes are being dug by our foundation guy tomorrow. Geo tech soil tests won't actually happen until next week but start crossing your fingers for me now. We're hoping for 2 things.

1. We don't want to hit basalt rock that's too hard to dig through (aka no basement aka no house)

2. We don't want a lot of water. It's on a prairie so you'd think being on a higher elevation it wouldn't matter. Yeah well Spokane doesn't work like that. Strange water around these parts.

We're putting in 2 bedrooms and 1 full bath in the basement, plus a full bar & theater. Sooner or later there will be a pool table as well - that's a must.

Meeting pushed to 2PM, he's got to be doing this on purpose.

And while we're somewhat on the topic of mortgage/credit/lending - here's a new blog post you might like.

So is everything good to go?

Get 'r done?

Can't wait to see it.

Eric, are you including any green building / home design techniques into your new home?

There is all kinds of stuff you can do.

For starters
use Compact Fluorescent Bulbs. Cost more than regular bulbs, but use less energy and last much, much, much longer.

invest in a low flow shower head that feels just like a regular shower head, just uses less water (and energy to heat that water): examples
TreeHugger's Series "How to Go Green"

There are a lot of green types of insulation that work just as well or better than typical. Just make sure your house is REALLY sealed.

You can add overhangs to the windows that, when done correctly, keep summer heat from the sun out and angled heat from the sun in the winter in.

Try bamboo, it's an incredible substance. Use it for your hardwood floors, or even your sheets.

Look for quality EnergyStar appliances.

You can design your plumbing to make use of "gray water". Grey water is usable water, but not drinkable if not filtered. Example: You wash your hands with soap -- gray water goes down the drain. You can setup your plumbing so that your toilets use gray water, or even have it flow outside to be used on your grass.

You could add a system to catch rainwater to be used in a garden/outside plants/sprinkler system/yard/etc.

There is a simple system that uses a pump to pull hot water from your hot water heater much faster than just letting it run normally. Result: Almost immediate hot water in your shower/at the sink versus having to let it run 10-15 seconds.

Just my initial thoughts. :)

BTW - has anyone seen this NanaWall ad above the comment box? It's freakin' amazing!!!

I'm going to talk to my plumbing subs about grey-water design. I just got done reading that site and it sounds like an amazing idea. It'd be fabulous to use the water from the shower somehow, even if it just went to a special tank that had it's own special hose attachment outside of the house for use whenever applicable.

The Aqus system that uses sink water for the toilet is an awesome idea too - and for only $200 each. $800 total and I could have my entire house outfitted with toilets that run off of used hand-washing water - WOW!

Thanks for all the links Kevin - I will look at these for my own place and potentially put them to use in our spec homes too!

I left a message for Tom Reynolds, the CEO of the company behind AQUS and am hoping to hear back from him about possibly becoming this area's representative, or at least getting the hook up on them so we can start putting them in all our houses.

I have a automotive client who is really into the green tech and actually runs a non-profit trying to raise community awareness about all the possibilities. I'm going to give him a call as well and see where he points me. He's got his own bio-diesel system at his house (more like his estate) and never buys an ounce of gasoline. He has green technology all over his house and is actually building some town homes that are going to be almost self contained because of their use of green tech. He'll definitely be able to give me some insight.

Posted By: KMulligan

Eric, let me know what you hear from AQUS. Do you think there is a market for non-new home build installs? Wonder if they have anything in Alabama...

Very much so!

Posted By: Shawn81

How exciting! I just bought my first house last June and CAN'T WAIT to build my own one day. For now all I'm building is a new deck, but I don't think that post would be as interesting as this one :) Congrats man!

Thanks Shawn! Congrats on your new house too!

NIce! I love the little sitting area in the master suite, and the nice master bathroom with the walk-in. I live in a small condo (more a box, actually). I don't have a sitting area to have coffee in nor a walk-in.

WOW Eric :) I really envy you *turns green*

Do you have kids? Did you plan this house with your kids/future kids in mind? Seems like a nice home to raise a nice family

Well, if you act now your wife may throw in a kid right before Christmas. Hurry though, time is limited. This offer is only available for two more weeks, or else it's almost physically impossible to deliver the package until 2008.

:)

Here's the basement plan

I know we're talking about saving water and all...but how is one supposed to say no to WaterTiles?!

That looks heavenly...

Great time for the mortgage industry to collapse. Just my luck!

Thank the Lord for good credit.

go ahead and invest in a nice bathroom. it should cut your/your wife's spa trips by half :)

wow, this post was a great read. So inspiring to start saving/making money so I can get a house once I am done school.

Nice...I see it has a couple of guest rooms.

PERFECT. I'll fit right in. *snicker*

Congrats Eric!!!!

Check out the hole now...that's a big SOB

A basement is born

If that was my backyard, yeah - but my side yard is my backyard. There's 30-40' between the side of their house and the back of ours.

Posted By: Travis

The greenest grass in the world, and plenty of sheep to be ridden..............it's like a fantasy ranch. :)

Proud Partner of YGG

You're a sick man Travis.

Just an update: The loan has officially been funded. It sure felt good to get reimbursed for all my upfront costs. Oh, and it feels pretty good to finally own the land I've been digging a hole in for the last week. *phew* - now I can get some sleep!

Those be some nice footings there. ;)

Spokane, WA. You're all invited...except at this point I have to recommend you wear trashy clothes and your throw-away shoes, it's sorta muddy.

Sweetness. Where do you go to look at it?

Framing starts next Tuesday - thats when it REALLY happens fast.

So far everything has gone over budget - but I guess that's the way it goes, right? Especially when its your own house, you never cut corners. It's been hard to resist the "ah hell just do it" attitude when asked to make cost-saving or cost-slaughtering decisions.

Awesome. Interesting neighbors :)

Looking good. Quick question -- Windsor Enterprises -- your company or weird coincidence?

That's what I thought. I looked at the webpage and it didn't list Eric so... just checking. Nothing like family building your house!

Ran into some rather big hitches yesterday. For everyone thinking this is an easy process, I assure you it's not.

BTW - what do you guys think of crown molding accent lighting like this...

I think the technical term is "cove lighting"

Oooooh me likes! I think it does a nice job of emphasising your high ceiling especially from the ground floor. Gives a nice sense of space and very chic.

Holla on the green materials! Nice!

Unfortunately our builder is an arse and we can't change shit like this. Plus I'm not ballin' out of control enough right now to pay for it :) I'll look into though.

Looks pretty sweet. YGG open house party here we come baby!

36 inch BlueStar 22,000 BTU Cooktop w/Griddle

This thing is pure commercial grade - it has the strongest burner rating out of all cooktops/ranges on the market now. Yes that means even Viking and Wolf can't touch it. 22,000 BTU FTW. This is going to be a joy to use!

Bosh Dishwasher (German Engineering in da house - literally)

We went with the Bosh because of it's features. They have an Electrolux Icon dishwasher but it's shitty like all other American dishwashers. You'd have to read about it to understand what I'm talking about, but this thing is just awesome!

NOTE: Something was buggy and not letting me post all the links/pics in one post.

From the research I've done it's just as efficient with cleaning as a regular dishwasher. Do you know about the way it releases steam? Most dishwashers release steam either under the dishwasher or above it, right under your counter top. If you have granite tops it can really do some damage because of the soap left in the steam.

The Bosh sucks in cold air through the side which causes condensation out of the steam, which drips down through the bottom. It's all enclosed. No rotting cabinet wood or discolored granite. Frickin' awesome stuff! The stainless steel interior is also very nice.

Posted By: Eric

From the research I've done it's just as efficient with cleaning as a regular dishwasher. Do you know about the way it releases steam? Most dishwashers release steam either under the dishwasher or above it, right under your counter top. If you have granite tops it can really do some damage because of the soap left in the steam.

The Bosh sucks in cold air through the side which causes condensation out of the steam, which drips down through the bottom. It's all enclosed. No rotting cabinet wood or discolored granite. Frickin' awesome stuff! The stainless steel interior is also very nice.

Proud founder of YGG and stalkable onTwitter&Facebook.

Yea I read the condensation part and the stainless steel tub. Very excited. Just hope everything is dry! I guess we'll both find out, eh?