Planning new house

[buffalobillpatrick]

Closing July 29, 2016 on sale of current house.

Planning next build:
8,800' altitude, zone 5b (dry) Teller County 10 miles West of Pikes Peak.

IMO at high Colorado altitude there is no need for A/C, in Summer open windows at night is all that's needed.

Will design slab radiant floor heating system for 0*F
Slab will have 4" of type 2 EPS under & vapor barrier, drainage & Radon venting.


New house will be a simple to build rectangle with a steep 12/12 pitch metal roof.

Main level will be a walk-out basement to the East, 8" concrete walls.
Great room kitchen in front 1/2 & master bedroom & mechanical room in rear 1/2

The upstairs framing will use attic truss, I have used these twice before & think that they a very cost effective way to get upstairs rooms. There will be a bedroom in each end and a bathroom & stairs in the middle.

The upstairs front (East) will have a large balcony that also serves as shelter for parking under by front door.

For the main level the concrete exterior walls will be stucco. Inside next will be 3" polyiso foam (R-16.8 this is the latest aged value) that I bought cheap on Craigslist. Then 2x4 stud walls with R-15 Roxul Rock wool, then sheet rock, no vapor barrier.

Upstairs the only exterior walls are the gable ends. The outside will be James Hardie lap cement siding on vertical 1x4 Cedar nailers over 30# felt over OSB with taped seams. The insulation will be the same as the main level.

As there are big pine trees close on neighbors lot, fire risk must be considered.


So I am looking for input on a couple of things:

How to keep forest fire embers out of soffit & ridge vents?

I plan to mount the main level Windows on the inner 4" of the 8" concrete wall, water control is my question? Flashing out past window would look bad.

[lt190b]

Put a sloped sill (in the concrete) where the windows go.

[buffalobillpatrick]

On the windows in concrete wall issue, I'm thinking of having the concrete sub make the window bucks to be removed when the forms are stripped.

Then I can add mud to the head & sill surfaces with Top 'N Bond Concrete Patcher.
They both would angle down so the head would have a drip edge & the sill would direct water out.

[MEMPHIS91]

Don't let the embers in. use some aluminum window screening over the vents. It will trap the embers and let them burn out before getting into the attic, if you want you could do a couple layers just to make SURE nothing got it.
Safe AS much rain water as you can (2,000 gallons maybe more). Mix in some soap for better water penetration. Have a LONG water hose on a solar powered/battery backup water pump with fine mist spray heads to cover/double cover around the entire house. When there is a high fire risk use your rain water to keep things wet, or in the worse case the fire embers do make it to the area, the fine mist will put them out before reaching the house. I've seen forest fire "skip" over houses that used this method.

[Fordguy64]

I will be watching this one

[buffalobillpatrick]

Great ideas MEMPHIS91 Thanks a bunch

[buffalobillpatrick]

For the egress window & sliding door upstairs in the framed walls, I bought some flexable 9" Typar flashing. It can be formed as one piece around the corners and onto the OSB.

I will prime the OSB around the openings with Glidden Gripper. This stuff really works, u can even glue foam to foam with it.

To reduce infiltration (which is a BIG issue) I will prime & tape all of the OSB joints.

BTW, why don't window companies have to specify infiltration using a standardized method?

[buffalobillpatrick]

I'm a big advocate of lots of insulation, at a good price, 18" or so of blown in cellulose will be placed on the ceiling of the upstairs rooms & on the ceiling of the downstairs, outside the upstairs rooms, toward the eaves. Eave chutes will be used to keep the cellulose out of the venting.

No insulation in floor of upstairs rooms over downstairs ceilings.

The vertical walls (6') will get Roxul R-30 Comfort batts which are in a permeable plastic bag (I think) they are suppose to expand laterally if they can.

The upstairs attic truss presents a problem with venting the underside of the roof sheathing at the angled areas on each room side. This area is the nailer for the roof sheathing and the interior sheet rock.

The top cord is 2x8 (7.25" deep) that isn't enough for a vent chute + insulation.

The truss company said that they can easily scab on 2x4's on the inside, which gives me 3.5" more for 10.75" total.

For this angled area, I will build my own vent chutes out of 9" (3 X 3" layers) of polyiso foam (R-50.4)

I will attach 2x2 (1.5") at each side where roof sheathing meets the truss. Cut the polyiso 22" wide strips & can spray foam in gaps at edges, one layer at a time.

[mejunkhound]

re:
Safe AS much rain water as you can

Read that due to water rights laws (first in time, etc) it is illegal in CO to even have a rain barrel without having state granted water 'rights'. You are supposed to let it runoff so the state can allocate it ?

Obviously to the biggest political donors ?

Anyone conversant on that matter ?

As far as fie safe, CA has some pretty strict codes. Son built a house near Nevada City, stucco or brick or stone a must, no overhang, no wooden decks, etc. Might pay to pullup the CA fire zone codes and take a look.

BTW, at 8800 ft, your solar arrays, if you use triple junction cells, will give you abut 10% higher output than at sea level! Put an array on Haleakala, HI 15 or so years ago, have the wavelength insolation numbers somewhere if you are interested. Not as much advantage from single junction cell arrays.

[buffalobillpatrick]

DENVER (CBS4)– Gov. John Hickenlooper signed a bill into law on Thursday that allows for the collection of rainwater. The issue has been surprisingly controversial over the years as several attempts have failed in the state Legislature.

The issue became a battle over property rights, water in Colorado is the property of those downstream. It’s been illegal for more than a century to collect rain before it hits the ground.

“We just want to make sure we’re not the only state in the union where this is illegal. I think that’s why it gained so much national attention, even international attention,” said Rep. Daneya Esgar, a Democrat representing Pueblo.

The new law, which takes effect in August, allows homeowners to collect as much as 110 gallons of rain in up to two barrels.

So 2x 55gal drums is max

I have a good well on property, rated at 6gpm tastes pure & clean.
I had it drilled to 300' & artesian pressure filled it up to about 50' below surface, so quite a few gallons stored in hole.

I also have a 1200 gal. tank that I will keep full, planning to heat it with ground mounted solar panels.

No animals except cats & dogs, and no crops on my well permit, can have a small garden.

You can drink all the well water you want, but u have to only pee at home. Hehe