It’s a hot summer day. The sun is shining on your outdoor table, where a glass of orange juice is awaiting you. Your feet touch the soft grass and, right before reaching the place of relax, would love to step on a pleasant wooden surface, anticipating the delight of the fresh drink.

 

Or maybe it’s winter, and outside it’s cold and wet. You’d like to have some surface to walk on without mudding your shoes. Then, you think of what you might need…

 

In all these cases, and many more, teak is the right answer. Grey and green are no longer going to be the two predominant colours of your living space. Thanks to teak, the famous South-East Asia wood, golden, dark-brown and even reddish shades of colour will enrich the ‘palette’ of your home’s atmospheres.

 

Would you like to feel like you had parquet in your own garden? Think of modular decking system. Teak, in fact, is a new solution for many houses: a variety of timber that will give you the unique opportunity to create warm and welcoming environments, where to spend pleasant moments with your family and friends.

 

Ideal for offering a soft and relaxing decking for your patios, porches and balconies, teak also allows you to create a charming variation to more traditional tiles, and to add an exotic touch to your place. It suggests an ideal transition from your home to the surrounding green, so as to break all boundaries between the indoor and the outdoor of your house.

 

Traditionally used for garden furniture, teak is an excellent flooring and decking option, because it can excellently withstand the sudden changes of weather. It’s very resistant and never splits, cracks or warps. Moreover, it doesn’t cause rust when it is in contact with metal. You won’t have problems with termites, either, as they cannot attack it.

 

Zoning 101

Upon your understanding of what is important to you, gain an understanding of your local area’s land-use plans and zoning requirements. Otherwise you could end up buying a beautifully wooded, tranquil lot that is slated to be four blocks from a new six-land road and strip-mall – one that’s suddenly a lot harder to sell than you anticipated ten years earlier.You can usually review these ordinances by visiting your city hall.

What you need to know is if the local building authority and/or subdivision have requirements regarding the type of house that can be built in that area, and how the land can be used. Land use and and house style restrictions can surprise you — down to such seemingly odd things as the city prescribing the maximum width of roof eaves.

Questions you should ask:

-Where are the lot setbacks, and will you be able to fit the house you want on that lot?  -Would there be easements into those setbacks to consider?  -Would there be minimum or maximum requirements on the size of house in the area?

-Would there be any restrictions on roof type, exterior materials used, or style of house? For instance, in some neighborhoods in the southwest United States require that homes have flat roofs, while other urban-infill areas across the country are drawing up restrictions against such roofs. It is also common to see subdivisions with Architectural Control Committees that require a certain amount of natural materials on exteriors (such as wood or stone) which can greatly affect the price of the home you will build.

-Will the neighborhood association have any say over the type of house you are going to build?  -Would you need to pay dues to a neighborhood association? If so, how much are dues each year, and what do they include?

-Would there be restrictions on the types of animals you can have? Or whether or not you can park a trailer, a boat or an RV on the property?

Lifestyle & Amenities & Your Lifestyle:

What would be important to you in your daily life? Do you enjoy biking and hiking on dedicated trails on a daily basis? How much travel time can you handle when commuting for work? Do you want to be near family? Are certain school districts important to you? Do you enjoy motorized toys such as an RV, motorboat or snowmobiles, or perhaps you would like to raise a horse? Make sure you answer these basic questions before you get down a path with a certain lot that might leave you feeling shortchanged if local restrictions unexpectedly prevent you from satisfying some of these basic needs.

The Land Itself

Performing a soil test can be a worthwhile investment to assess the viability of the land you are considering.

Factors that should help you evaluate include:

-Identify the soil type of the lot, and will it require improvements to build the type of house you want? If you want a basement and your lot is rocky, you might have just signed up for $20,000 worth of blasting expenses. Similarly, a lot with peat underneath it can require $20,000 or more in pilings before you even start the foundation. More commonly, clay soil might require that you bring in some higher quality fill material as a base for your foundation.

-How deep is the water table? If it is high, you might have water intrusion problems in your basement. Too low and you may need to pay more to drill a well to supply your country get-away.

-Would you be on city water and sewer, or will you need to pay for a well and septic?

-Would you need to pay for water rights? In the west, it is not uncommon for areas separated by just miles to have vastly different water rights.

-Expect that there is always a tradeoff between how close you are to main roads and your exposure to traffic noise. Be sure to consider that balance in order to find what is right for you.

-Would you be near an airport? If so, what are the flight paths in and out of the airport, and are any new runways planned that could affect you? Screaming over airplanes while sipping your morning coffee is probably not your cup of tea.

-Will the land be hilly or flat? If you like a lot of light in your basement, a walk-out lot is ideal. Conversely, a lot with a steep slope may require you to build retaining walls you hadn’t planned.  

Shear failure with post and beam home plans is much more difficult to envision than bending failure. In fact, with light frame construction, shear failure seldom comes into play, whereas it is an important consideration for heavy timber framing, particularly with a very heavy load such as an earth roof or a steam train.

One good way of explaining shear is to think of it as a combination of compression and tension stresses. Remember that the top surface of a beam is in compression, the bottom surface is in tension, and the centroid (middle part of the beam) is neutral (thus also called the neutral axis.)

Some authors, without explaining the relationship between shear and tension and compression stresses, describe shear as the tendency for all of the wood fibers of the beam to “shear off,” particularly at the edge of the post or wall support. While not complete, the analogy is true enough for our purposes, and may be easier to understand than lots of stress analysis.

However – and this is the strange and interesting part – the structure at the top is actually stronger on shear. The effect of the sliding feature of the wood fibers over the neutral axis is increased, because the compression stresses on the top surfaces of the two spans are causing a tremendous tensile stress at the top of the rafter directly above the girder.

Think of it: If the two spans in the post and beam home plans are each trying to pull away from each other, because of the load on each span, those wood fibers at the top of the rafter (over the center) are working really hard not to break on tension.

All of this translates to lower shear strength at this location. In the top picture, shear stresses over the supports are clearly the same at all four shear locations, expressed by the fractions l/2 in each case. But, in the bottom picture, the shear stresses are expressed as % at the walls at the right and left but increase to Ys where the long rafter is supported by the girder in the middle.

The upshot is that shear strength is gained by using two ten-footers instead of a single zo-footer supported in the middle. It is also true, as we have said, that bending strength is slightly diminished in the former example, and deflection is increased – but if the weak point in the engineering happens to be in shear, the former example may be better.

This situation may work in our favor, when you consider that two ten-footers are much easier to handle – and certainly less expensive – than a single twenty-footer.

Deflection

Deflection is similar to bending … But different. Bending concerns us most when it translates into bending failure, which is a bad thing. With deflection, we can tolerate certain amounts of it in certain circumstances. Springiness – or stiffness – in a floor is a characteristic of deflection. When dealing with post and beam home plans know that cracking plaster on a ceiling, or separation of taped sheetrock joints, is an indication of excessive deflection.

Learn more about post and beam house plans by visiting: http://houseplanstimberframe.com/

Don’t pay a contractor? – Build your own home

You’ve heard the stories before…

The contractor made 100 grand on the job and I never saw him!

The job took a year longer than planned…

The job cost twice as much as the original budget…Where are my sub contractors?

Why not cut out the contractor and keep all the money for yourself? Good idea but can you handle the truth

One of the primary jobs of the general contractor (GC) or homebuilder is to manage the sub contractors. A sub contractor (see partial list below) is defined as someone who contracts with the GC – like a plumber – while the general contractor contracts with the owner. Therefore, the GC’s contract with the owner is the main contract and the GC’s contract with the plumber is a “sub” contract. A typical custom home can easily have over 100 sub contractors, and one of the primary jobs of a contractor is to oversee all of these independent businesses.

So what makes a good homebuilder?

Relationships

A good homebuilder has strong relationships with sub contractors and suppliers that may have evolved over many years. That relationship involves a level of trust, understanding and expectation. Have you ever hired someone for any kind of work? It takes a while to figure out that person’s strengths and weaknesses. The same is true for homebuilders. Managing multiple sub contractors means coordinating the schedule, overseeing the proper materials and installation, contracting, and paying each sub contractor.

Expertise

Sure, a “non-professional” can hire sub contractors and buy materials but it’s going to be harder for someone to comprehend all the aspects of the construction process the same way a professional does.

I could probably learn how to do brain surgery too! But I’m not sure you would want to be my first patient!!!

According to Dr. K. Anders Ericsson, a Conradi Eminent Scholar and Professor of Psychology at Florida State University who is widely recognized as one of the world’s leading theoretical and experimental researchers on expertise, it takes about 10,000 hours of practice to reach the level of expert.

Expert – 10,000 hours – that means 250 weeks @ 40 hours or 5 years.

Technician – 5,000 hours to be very accomplished

Advanced – 2,000 hours you become pretty good

Layperson – has little or no practice in a field

And we are not just talking about expertise in hundreds of different construction trades and techniques, but also the Building Code, local rules and regulations, human relations, management, legal issues, safety, and political savvy.

Flow of work

Have you heard of a construction job that took longer than it was supposed to?? Unfortunately it seems to be the practice not the exception… Did you see the movie “The Money Pit” (a must see if you haven’t!)? “Two weeks” is the answer to every question about how long it will take. Obviously, some smarmy contractors are at fault here. However, the client also has a responsibility to bear. The number one reason jobs slow down (assuming an attentive and professional builder is running them) is lack of appropriate information. The plans aren’t specified properly. The owner hasn’t finalized a decision.

When the flow of work is mismanaged or changed, it can have a devastating effect on a job. The longer a job takes the more it costs – interest cost, overhead and rental costs to name a few. A well run job requires a good “helmsman” steering the way. Changes are inevitable in a custom home but the fewer the better. Good planning helps a huge amount, but when there is a change, the contractor needs to steer the appropriate change through design, permitting (if necessary), pricing, scheduling and execution to get the job back on track.

Sub contractors work differently than general contractors and it is important to understand this relationship. A sub may have 5, 10 or 20 jobs going on at a time and if a job changes or isn’t ready when the sub is told to be there, it wastes time (time is money) for the sub. Inexperienced contractors fall into the trap of not having the job prepared or the appropriate specifications or materials available.

Quality

Aside of overseeing the flow of work, a good contractor has a solid understanding of all phases of construction and (hopefully) design. The contractor needs to know everything from what makes a good foundation installation – items such as clearance to rebar – to the particular type and quality of a piece of wood – quarter sawn, rift cut, hard or soft. What makes a quality tile installation or retaining wall waterproofing system. The practices change in different parts of the country and different climates.

The contractor must understand the ever-changing building codes and regulations. He also needs to maintain a safe job site and insure all sub contractors follow the same practices.

Certainly building a home is not brain surgery, but just like every other profession, it looks easier than it is. If you want to take on building your own home there are many good books available to help you get started. In addition, research other ways to build such as getting the assistance of a builder as a consultant or hiring an experienced building supervisor. Whichever way you go – learn what you can ahead of time. Even if you hire a contractor, you will still be heavily involved and making 1,000’s of decisions to get the custom home you want.

Good luck!

Partial List of Sub Contractors

Windows and Door Supply

Alarm

Archeologist

Asbestos Abatement

Backhoe and Bobcat

Bee’s Nest Removal

Cabinets

Carpet

Chimney Sweep

Concrete

Concrete Resurfacing

Concrete Coring

Concrete Pilings

Concrete Retaining Walls

Decking

Drainage

Drywall

Electricians

Engineers

Excavation

Framing Carpentry

Fencing

Finish Carpentry

Fireplace Masonry

Fire Sprinkler

Garage Doors

Geologist

Grading

Handyman – Repair

Hardwood Flooring

HVAC – Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning

Hot Tubs

Interior Design

Insulation

Fiberglass

Spray Foam

Kitchen Design

Lab Testing – Mold Testing

Landscaping

Landscape Maintenance

Landscape – Tree Service

Lumber Supplier

Low Voltage

Computer

Phone

Audio Visual

Alarm

House Control Systems

Masonry

Moving and Storage

Native American Monitor

Oil Tanks

Painting

Painting – Decorative

Pest Removal

Plumbing

Pools

Radon Gas

Railings

Retaining Walls

Roofing

Roof Trusses

Screening

Sealants

Seismic Retrofitting

Sewer

Sheet Metal

Siding

Specialty Items

Sauna

Secret Rooms

Wine Cellars

Sprinklers

Solar Electric

Solar Thermal

Stone Fabricators

Stucco

Surveyors

Trash and Hauling

Tile

Installation

Supply

Waterproofing

When planning to build your new home taking time to visit a display home can help you better visualize what you want. For many of us, the plans do not come alive until we’ve seen them actualized in front of us. If you are trying to select a building company to construct your house it is also an excellent opportunity to see an end result of their work.

Most show homes are built from one of the standard plans a builder has that are classified as a “ready-to-build” type dwelling. These are designs that a company has created to meet the needs of different budgets, section sizes and family requirements. You don’t have to stick one hundred percent to a plan when constructing your own home, but they can certainly give you an excellent base to work from.

When walking through a display home there are several key things to look out for.

1. Check out the level of workmanship. Not all are created the same. You can get a huge sense of how solid the building is, what the finishing is like and how it fits with your family and lifestyle.

2. Ask if the house you are viewing has the same specifications as the plan you want. Sometimes additional specifications are added to show you what you could do with a bigger budget, and larger section. These additions should be pointed out to you so you know what is not part of a basic plan.

3. Visualize how you and/or your family will use the layout. The plans can be altered to fit your particular needs from adding on more floor space to creating particular features that give you some individuality. It’s important to recognize that a display home does provide you with a completed product at a set price, and if you are on a budget any changes will cause the price to change also.

Once you have viewed a display house, sit down and think on the things you loved, liked and or disliked. With these points in mind, make notes detailing several different options that you could explore depending on budgets and time-frames.

The best part of walking through a display home is the fun of experiencing a three dimensional, life-size model of your dream house, before you begin to build. You can walk in a life-size dream of what your life will be, once your own new place has been built.

As we brace ourselves against the approach of winter months and our summer holidays and weekends of sailing, golfing, days out at the beach or just lazing in the garden become a distant summer memory, our minds turn to what we can do to get through the winter months. Generally, there is a certain gloom that approaches at this time of year, the thought of cold wet wintry weekends, dark mornings and dark early afternoons is a struggle for many but it really only takes a bit of imagination and a firm grit of the teeth to look at just what is available. Ignore the weather, get yourself some walking boots and a good water-proof jacket, hat, scarf and gloves and look for weekend breaks closer to home.A popular weekend destination is Suffolk, a perfect location for long country and coastal walks and has an abundance of cycling routes for those that prefer two wheels rather than two feet! Boasting miles of unspoilt coastline, tranquil countryside, high quality arts, high quality food and enchanting towns and villages, you’ll find yourself spoilt for choice!Steeped in history, Suffolk has an abundance of historical houses, Ickworth, Kentwell, Melford and Otley hall to name just a few. There’s also a choice of castles, Framlingham Castle, a magnificent example of a late 12th-century castle and Orford Castle which was built between 1166 and 1172.There are a number of towns and villages that are worthy of a visit, probably best known of them all is Lavenham. From the 14th to the 16th century, Lavenham was at the centre of England’s cloth making industry and it was exporting its famous broadcloth as far as Russia and North Africa. In 1524, it was named the fourteenth wealthiest town in the country, however heavy taxation in the mid 1520s and disrupted export markets through war on the continent brought a rapid decline in the industry. All this helps explain why most timber-framed buildings here date from about 1460 to 1530 since there was no wealth left to build anything of quality later in the century. Many reminders of its industrious past still remain, including the beautiful 16th century Guildhall which dominates the market square. Once a meeting place of wool traders, a prison, workhouse and almshouse, it is now owned by The National Trust and has a beautiful garden where dye plants are grown, including Woad which was used to dye various shades of the famous Lavenham Blue Cloth Today, Lavenham is the country’s finest example of a Medieval town. With over 300 Listed buildings and a labarynth of small narrow streets, it has changed little since the 15th century. The Church of St Peter and St Paul, dating back to 1486, dominates the town, with its tower standing at 141ft high. Its significant size reflects the prosperity of Lavenham at the time. For that bit of luxury after spending all day touring the wonderful sites of Suffolk, in the town of Lavenham you will find The Swan Hotel, with it’s 4 star rating it offers a blend of 15th Century heritage and 21st century comfort, and it makes a perfect base for touring. For those that appreciate fine dining, the restaurant boasts two AA Rosettes for its fine food.

Taking time to build your own home is the best way to go. That is, if you know what you are doing. First off, you will need to know your budget and the cost of building your own home. The cost will depend on many different things, but mostly the process in which you build your home, and the home that you choose to build.

Fundamentally, the process that you choose will depend on one things. How much time do you have to spend on the project. To build your own home the most economical way, you will want to act as the general contractor. You will need a lot of time to do this, however, the savings will be astronomical. To act as a general contractor you either need lots of experience or a guide that will walk you through the entire process. Luckily, there are several guides available via the internet. These guides are available for the owner that wants to act as the general contractor, but also for those wishing to hire a builder to handle the day to day activities. 

Now that we’ve highlighted the two ways to save on costs, what about getting the actual cost to build information. There are several sites that offer house plans online. The great thing that they have started doing is offering a cost guide to each plan, without having to buy that actual plan. The other thing that you will want to check out is the estimated cost per square foot in your region. These numbers are the average, and if you do your guide research and use all the knowledge and information available to you, you will see a cost per square foot that is much, much lower. Land is something easy to price right off the bat. Check your local real estate websites and get a general idea of what land is going for. 

InsideOut Buildings: garden offices without compromise  

Lancashire-based InsideOut Buildings design, supply and build environmentally sensitive outdoor granny annexes and garden office spaces. A top quality timber frame room in the garden is a real alternative to moving house and a solid investment in uncertain times. InsideOut have carefully researched natural building materials that look beautiful as well as being energy efficient and eco-friendly. This unique combination of cutting edge methods and traditional materials make InsideOut Buildings function as effectively as any indoor room. They are warm in winter and cool in summer, and require minimal heating.

 InsideOut Buildings source materials for their garden offices locally wherever possible, choosing UK suppliers who have high levels of environmental integrity and smaller carbon footprints. As a result the company’s long-life, natural construction materials use very little energy compared with imported materials, man-made UPVC and other plastics.

 Traditional ‘breathing wall’ building methods combined with eco-friendly insulation means InsideOut buildings enjoy super-efficient air circulation and no condensation. Global warming is made worse by  the 25% of CO2 emissions that come from domestic buildings. We specify materials manufactured in the UK using low levels of industrial energy, chemicals and transport to reduce CO2 emissions.

Low-E double glazing, Scottish larch cladding and cedar roof shingles combine with low toxicity water-based paints and stains to create garden rooms and offices with reduced environmental impact. InsideOut never compromise on quality and take pride in fine craftsmanship. This, combined with truly intelligent design, makes InsideOut’s buildings highly economical to run, with very little heating and no air conditioning needed. And, unlike many semi-permanent garden buildings, they are real buildings, constructed to last for decades.

What will you see in your mind’s eye when heard wooden house? Warmth and nice house or you might imagine the Johanna Spyri’s famous story, Heidi who lives in lovely wood house with her grand father in the Alps. Wood house consider identical to a house in the village or mountain range, which represents coziness and pleasantness of living. Thus wood house be an alternative house beside common brick house. Type of wood house is divided into several types; one of it is log home. Log home appearance is “more wood” than other types of wood house.

Log homes are also divided into two types; handcrafted log home and milled log home. Handcrafted log home is typically made of logs that have been peeled but are otherwise essentially unchanged from their original natural appearance when they were trees. This type of wood house have been built for centuries in Europe then brought to North America by the colonist in the early 1700’s. The other type is milled log home, which first appeared in the 1920 that were precut, and shape. A milled or machine-profiled log home is one constructed of logs that have run through a manufacturing process which convert them into timbers that are consistent in size and appearance.

Before it built into a gorgeous log home, logwood have trough several treatments.  Traditionally logs that are cut from the forest, brought to a mill or to a log home construction yard, bark removed, and then used to build the handcrafted log homes, or sent through profiling machines are usually referred to as “green” logs if they have not been air-dried or kiln-dried. “Green” refers to moisture content that the actual moisture content of “green” logs varies considerably with species of tree such cedar, fir, spruce, pine, etc, season in which it was cut down, and whether sapwood or heartwood is being measured. Green logs may have moisture content between about 20% and 90%. Alternatively, sit logwood in the open air to dry naturally but it would take a long time to dry a logwood. Otherwise, mills that have a kiln on-site have the option of artificially accelerating the drying process. Green timber is placed inside a large oven where heat removes moisture from the logs.

Those treatments are required for strength and durability therefore is a long lasting wood house. A high degree of craftsmanship are also required when built this kind of wood house. Thus, log home appears in wide of variety that has rustic looks and brings warmth ambiance to the environment.

When considering buying investment real estate properties, why not take a look at Eastern Oregon homes for sale? Eastern Oregon is known for its vast, spacious landscape ideal for comfortable country living.

Eastern Oregon offers comfortable living that’s right for those who are looking to build their homes in an area where there are variations in seasonal climates, and where history and modern-day living meet. The area’s economy rests mainly on agriculture, timber and mining. Plus, with the rise of historical tourism, the region is now becoming a main attraction for those who seek to learn about America’s early days.

For those who find country living an ideal choice, Eastern Oregon homes for sale rest on some of the best locations anywhere. Most of the homes in the region sit on spacious country areas, surrounded by pines, timbers and the breathtaking views of Elk Horn and Eagle Cap Mountains. For the true nature-loving families, listings of comfortable country homes in Eastern Oregon offer the best value for money.

For those who seek value for their investment, finding the right real estate company offering properties in Eastern Oregon is imperative.  Plenty of resources, including the locals and even the Internet, can point you to realtors with exceptional reputations built on providing quality real estate properties in the area.

Whether you are looking to invest in real estate, or to buy a home to raise a family or to retire in, you are sure to find something that fits your needs in Eastern Oregon.

Resource Box:

Intermountain Realty is a company that has over 40 years of expertise in providing investors with listings of Eastern Oregon homes for sale and other investment properties in the Oregon-Idaho area. The company prides itself in its vast knowledge and expertise in the business of real estate and in providing customers outstanding service with the highest integrity. To learn more, visit http://www.intermountainland.com or call 541-523-4434.