We Dig Pools

Casa de Maraposa has broken ground! We'll at least for the pool. The pool which is located in the extreme rear corner of the lot has to be roughed in first to get too it. The guys at Precision Pools have been great to work with so far. he tile went in yesterday, nothing fancy, just some light blue generic tile. We are keeping this as simple as possible considering the home will be used by others. We did add a sitting bench and to raised section for a water fall (not sure what its called) but it added a little "extra" without costs or maintenance issue. Still on the fence about whether to use a saltinator (no chlorine) or a normal chlorine addition. The saltinator basically uses no chemicals supposedly cutting costs and adding a "green" feature but is not supposed to be like swimming the the Gulf. The setback area around the end and back of pool will simply be planted with Bamboo in pots. The neighbor graciously agreed to let us remove the Bradford Pear tree that overhangs the complete pool to help save us headaches. I hate these trees anyway and I agreed to plant him something back in its place - definitely will use something deciduous.

Power to Casa de Maraposa job site
Today the temprary power pole went up and hopefully the surveyors will be out to make a new survey of the lot and mark the corners of the house and pool. Working with the older survey, combined with the home and pool being set at minimum lot setbacks, it seems it will be $300 well spent now to avoid possible discrepancies later. Here are a few updated renderings of the Casa de Maraposa.

Permits Approved!
The building permits were submitted and approved in less than 2 weeks! As of Monday July 9th, we have been issued our building permit by Bay County. As far as I know from our contractor, there were no questions or issues brought up which I find somewhat amazing since this is a different type of construction method that the traditional stick build that these guys see everyday. Lets hope that this will not come back to haunt us during the construction phase when the individual inspectors seem to have their individual interpretation of the codes. But as far as the structure and site planning, I will assume they are happy with what we submitted and I am hopeful that they are as excited to see something "new" being built as we are.
As we begin on this project, I wil be updating regularly with photos and logs to document this project and hope that you will join in with you comments and questions.
Next on the agenda is 1. Getting the building panels on order from Transcon in Austin TX. http://www.transconsteel.com/ Yet, in speaking with Transcon this week, it seems that they have great new capacity in their new plant and the delivery time will be faster than what we will need. We don't want to store the panels on site but also don't want to be waiting on them. Thus schedule planning is crucial for an efficient project.
We will also be getting the pool permit and then marking the corners of the slab so that the pool (though small as it is) can be laid out and roughed in before the house foundation. This is due to the lack of accessability to the pool after the slab goes in.
Greg and Rusty (Arbor Homes), the contractors, will be getting temporary power out to the lot right away. Speaking of Greg, I had a great discussion with him today regarding our ability to meet more than the minimum number of points to achieve the Florida Green Building Coalition certification. I have been pleased with Gregs willingnes to "think out of the box" so far on this project. I know that he too feels that there has got to be a better way to build here on the coast that is green, cost effective, and strong while remaining easy enough to meet various types of architectural styles and tastes. Chandra Hartman of http://www.cfhdesignstudio.com/ is helping us along with the "green certification" and she plays a vital roles in seeing this project finally come to fruition.
So for now I leave you with a shot of the beach that lies only a couple hundred yards from the soon to be Casa de Marposa. Stay tuned...

Breaking New Ground
Here's a shot of the lot where the Casa de Maraposa will soon begin to take shape.

Cocoon Phase for Casa de Maraposa
After a few delays, we should have the engineering and drafting data from Enerloc this week. Once in hand we will review these drawings and give the OK to produce the stamped engineers layouts of the Enerloc build envelope. These, along with the the site plans, material schedule, utility layouts, and septic information, will all be delivered to the local code officials in Bay County to get their blessings. While we wait for the local code officials to approve (glass half full :), I will be looking at every aspect of this project where we can find some additional cost savings. Once the local code dudes have signed off and we have a permit, then we can let an order to Enerloc to manufacture the wall and ceiling panels and being site preps.
I have been soliciting some infomation from members at LiveModern.com on fence ideas and they have come up with some great resources. I especially like the use of framed translucent panels (FRP, Poly, etc) as well as some of the new bamboo fencing. There is some great info on these at lottalivin.com as well. So stay tuned - things have picked up to snails-trot pace now.

Progress....but slowly
The Casa de Maraposa is slowly coming into a project. Gues you could say its still in the cacoon.
After much ado about windows and finding the right supplier for the impact sliders we want, and of course with price being a factor, we are on to the next step. This entails the drawings from CFHDesignStudio being sent to Enerloc (along with some of my $$) in Austin, TX to have the drafting and engineering services done. The guys at Enerloc, who I have yet to meet personally, have been great through all this planning stuff. And I really hope that the material quanities and deign work come back in line with the original estimate +/-5%. I should have some response from Enerloc in about another week. Enerloc is providing the complete panelized building envelope. They have an all steel and foam injected panel system - not a SIPS - but similar in that its panelized and should go up quickly while reducing waste and labor and creating a strong and energy efficient structure.
Greg Mahar at Arbor Homes in Grayton Beach has put together an estimate for construction that is, so far, within our target. He seems determined to look for economies in this new method of construction - at least new for this area.
Chandra Hartman of CFHDesign Studio is really ready to see this whole project come together. This gal has some great ideas and I hope we can get this one off the ground and move to #2.
I have included the preliminary plans that have been submitted to Enerloc for drafting and engineering of the panalized building envelope.
In the meantime, I am still working on the money side of this. Ugh.....

Casa de Maraposa - Baby Butterfly Steps

Well, I feel we are at the next juncture. I have had my share of investigatng SIPS for this project and believe that I have finally settled in on a panel system that will be a good fit for this project. With that somewhat decided on, we move on to more fun stuff. I have charged CFHDesignStudio with getting this project completely "built" on paper so that I can get this material to our contractor for some good estimating and then on to the lenders to see if borrowing the money is going to be a better way to build. This will be the fun stuff as we will be specing out all the great finishes and ideas I have envisioned for this clean, simple, modern, and affordable beach cottage. More to come...

Affordable Modern Housing for All
There is a new non-profit group in Birmingham with the intiative to provide affordable housing and to improve low to medium income neighborhood environments. The Simon-Cyrene Group, consisting of some very creative and caring persons, has taken on the charge to prove that low income neighborhoods can have modern, affordable housing in an attractive environment with the help of good direction and community effort. I will be following this progress closely and would really like to have a chance to pick their minds a bit and lend a hand. simoncyrene.org
Labels: affordable housing, affordable modern, low income housing

Smart-i-tects
The link below is a good take on a really cool small space by couple of foward thinking architects in Houston. Seems that between Houston and Austin, Texas has got some good stuff happening by very progressive and practical young souls.
www.dwell.com/inhabit/dwellings3956426.html

Changes in Attitudes

Welcome to my blog on a new home project I am beginning on the Florida panhandle. This projects has been in the works for quite some time - 3 yrs to be exact but things are finally starting to come together. Rather than take you through the history of MY development for this home at this time, I feel it more resourceful to simply bring you up to speed on who, what, when, where and why. And not in that particular order.

This project begins with an idea to revive what was orginally the Florida beach cottage before the days of Seaside, Rosemary, and McMansions on the beach. The small, family beach cottage - simple, functional, and affordable - is where I want to begin again using a simple, green, and modern approach without shutting the door on affordability nor on what actually worked in the past.
Basically, the area is unincorporated Bay County, FL, just West of Panama City Beach. The specific area is Laguna Beach, FL which was develped in the ealy 40’s as one of the first vacation desinations for those folks from Birmingham, Montgomery, Atlanta, and Dothan.

Through the years, much has come and gone in Laguna Beach. Once a swanky little community of beach cottages and a couple of local “hangouts” for the more affluent from the North, Laugna Beach has also seen its better times. It has gone from small little cracker style cottages in the 40’s to the cider block mid-century style cottages in the 50’s and 60’s to trailer homes in the 70’s and 80’s. The 90's have simply seen more of the same and in the recent years, the only thing to change was rising property values.

Nonetheless, there is room, architecturally, for something new, affordable, structurally sound, and different asthetically. Something that blends the old with what is available in this newer moden world. A design that connects the inside with the outside, that is smaller and a more managable scale. A design that respects the environment - "a green project". A more intimate, yet still casual setting. A design that meets the newer and more stringent building codes for wind loads without looking like a live-aboard Hummer.

This brings me to where I am today. Presently, we are in a holding pattern where we are awaiting some pricing and details to surface on the building shell. This home is presently planned to be comprised of the following components:

• SIPS (structural insulated panels) for the walls and the roof. These are sandwiched panels (see: www.sips.org) which have a very high strength and very high R values.
• Exposed and sealed concrete floors
• Modular kitchen and bath components (see www.ikea.com and www.kraftmaid.com)
• Exposed and/or high velocity HVAC (see www.unico.com)
• Tankless water heaters
• Thermal and impact resistant windows
• Decsiduous plants for landscaping (reduces watering needs)
• Cistern for rain water collection and irrigation

These are a few of the major design points that are guiding us and according to our designer, Chandra Hartman of CFH Design Studio, and also a member of the Flordida Green Building Coalition, this should get into the "green zone".

There are obvious hurdles, none greater than the budget. The goal here is modern, green, simple, and affordable. If its not affordable, then who will use it? No one. In fact it won't get built. Of course, an aggessive budget will be hard to meet. Even with seat equity invoved but I an damned determined that it can be done and will be a model of what can be done on more of these in the future.

Please keep posted for more news on this development and feel free to send me you comments.