Building a modern home in the woods • Hacker News Board

Re: Building a modern home in the woods

#461

Post by pixiemagic » Fri, Feb 04, 2022, 3:24 PM UTC

potatolicious wrote: post #369

tejohnso wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The size and extravagance of this thing is rather off-putting. I was expecting a modest off grid passive house.

What gets me is that the space doesn't seem to get you very much - it's a 3-bedroom, 2.5-bath house. I dunno, maybe my thought is unrealistic - but if I were to splash out a ton of money for a palatial rural manse, I'd shoot for something with a bit more space than a large-ish suburban home. Especially because one of the most common uses of such a property is entertainment - forget having folks stay over unless you m…

Yeah, that bit made no sense to me. I'm not familiar with the location but clearly it's rural and only accessible by car. They also were living in Vancouver which sounds quite far away, and presumably have friends/family there.

So how are they going to be entertaining people all the time (they specifically mention entertaining large groups being important to them)? Come over for an evening, except one of you can't drink and has to drive 2 hours back at the end of the night??

Re: Building a modern home in the woods

#462

Post by FuriouslyAdrift » Fri, Feb 04, 2022, 3:25 PM UTC

twobitshifter wrote: post #401

gautamcgoel wrote: post #394

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One question I always have when people build houses with large windows: don't you worry about someone smashing the windows and stealing stuff when you're away?

I have a full pane glass door into my shop. I’m definitely replacing it for this reason. Someone could absolutely break in by other means and there’s other windows big enough for a person (by regulation), but somehow a big door full of glass seems too inviting. That said many stores have big glass windows and their best goods out front. But on the other hand, other stores also have security doors that enclose everyth…

The company I work (manufacturing) has facilities in not-so-nice areas. We have had break-ins that used sawzalls or other large power tools to remove the entire door frame of steel doors (set in concrete walls).

If someone wants in, they're getting in.

All the break-ins failed to get anything of value, however... everything gets put away, there are cameras, and we are VERY friendly with people living in the area (imcluding employing as many locals as we can).

Of all the "security" measures, people living in the area were the best defense. We take care of them, they take care of us.

Re: Building a modern home in the woods

#463

Post by stickfigure » Fri, Feb 04, 2022, 4:31 PM UTC

bonestamp2 wrote: post #437

stickfigure wrote: post #423

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My property (rural acreage an hour north of SF) burned twice in the last two years. Black hills everywhere. But looking around now you'd never notice. Whether or not your home burns makes a huge difference. PG&E had the poles replaced in a week. If you've cut and mowed defensible space, your house will be fine and life goes on like normal. The problem is, folks love their tree-shaded homes and love building at the to…

Aside from all the big prep ahead of time, when we evacuate for a fire, is there anything we should be doing at the time of evacuation to help our house survive or easier to partially save... leave interior doors open/closed, leave drapes open/closed, leave hall lights on for firefighters or off to prevent electrical shorts, etc? I've also heard that the fire hydrants are typically on a different water infrastructure…

https://www.fire.ca.gov/media/5414/beforeduringafter.pdf

Shut all windows and doors to keep embers out. Open or remove flammable window treatments like drapes, but if you have nonflammable (ie metal) blinds keep them closed.

Related preparation: Make sure your soffit and attic vents have screens, and keep the gutters free of leaf litter (install gutter guards!).

Leave the electricity alone. The fire may never approach your home and you never know how long you'll be gone, it could be days and it sucks returning to a fridge full of rotten food. Power will probably go off for the neighborhood anyway.

Spend a little time cleaning up the area around your house. Move flammable items (furniture, toys, etc) either into the garage or away from the house. Shut off the valve at your propane tank, if you have one.

Assuming a rural district like ours, make the location of a garden hose next to the house really obvious. We go from house to house, defending each in turn as the flame front passes over. A brush truck holds ~300 gallons of water, which doesn't last long. Throwing a hose in the tank to top up while we wait delays the need to stop and refill (or call for a water tender, which might be busy).

I don't know the answer to your question about hydrant infrastructure, that sounds like something that will vary locally. In my district almost everyone is on well. Is your landscaping dry fuel or green grass? Personally I have an impact sprinkler on my roof and turn it on as soon as I hear about fire, in an hour the surrounds are saturated. Unless you hear otherwise from an official source, I'd start the sprinklers.

Re: Building a modern home in the woods

#464

Post by hutzlibu » Fri, Feb 04, 2022, 4:32 PM UTC

Meritiooo wrote: post #460

adamcharnock wrote: post #456

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is a fair point on climate change. I'm not really an expert on this, but I'll make some various points... I think winters have become drier, but April can be absolutely torrential. The specific location can also make a difference. I'm near the base of a mountain which I believe can prop-up the underground water table nicely, and can certainly cause more rain. I think Portugal being costal also helps with rainfall,…

How would I be able to check remote if a piece of land will have good or even very good internet? Is 15000 sqmt for 100k possible? Are you aware of any community to exchange experience?

"Is 15000 sqmt for 100k possible?"

Surely it is.

https://www.idealista.pt/en/point/comprar-terrenos/39.62296/...

Re: Building a modern home in the woods

#465

Post by Gravityloss » Fri, Feb 04, 2022, 4:38 PM UTC

bradlys wrote: post #442

Gravityloss wrote: post #375

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wasn't looking for wisdom but potential explanation...

Build channel by Matt Risinger on YouTube is good.

I meant explanation why this particular house consumes so much energy...

Anyway a rhetorical question as the article was mostly about the visual and social aspects.

Re: Building a modern home in the woods

#466

Post by potatolicious » Fri, Feb 04, 2022, 5:19 PM UTC

pixiemagic wrote: post #461

potatolicious wrote: post #369

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What gets me is that the space doesn't seem to get you very much - it's a 3-bedroom, 2.5-bath house. I dunno, maybe my thought is unrealistic - but if I were to splash out a ton of money for a palatial rural manse, I'd shoot for something with a bit more space than a large-ish suburban home. Especially because one of the most common uses of such a property is entertainment - forget having folks stay over unless you m…

Yeah, that bit made no sense to me. I'm not familiar with the location but clearly it's rural and only accessible by car. They also were living in Vancouver which sounds quite far away, and presumably have friends/family there. So how are they going to be entertaining people all the time (they specifically mention entertaining large groups being important to them)? Come over for an evening, except one of you can't dr…

Yep. My partner and I have had the same thoughts about having a property outside of the city that's large enough to entertain in. We jokingly call it The Compound - but there is something to the name I think in terms of how it needs to be designed to fulfill that need.

At a bare minimum it needs to be large enough to have a guest suite - the central socializing spaces like the kitchen and living room also need to be scaled for that use.

Ideally (assuming a grand budget) you can have separate structures for guests entirely.

But certainly one has to assume that guests are bunking over, given how remote the location is. It seems eminently unreasonable to assume guests are driving several hours at the end of the evening.

Re: Building a modern home in the woods

#467

Post by doublepower » Fri, Feb 04, 2022, 5:41 PM UTC

We're about to embark on a similar (less fancy) project on San Juan Island in WA. The architect we're working with built a more modest, energy efficient home (designated ZERH, zero energy ready home) similar to what we're shooting for. Her blog is wonderfully detailed about building choices, complexity, tradeoffs, etc: https://www.domaindesignarchitects.com/blog

Re: Building a modern home in the woods

#468

Post by bogomipz » Fri, Feb 04, 2022, 5:52 PM UTC

willidiots wrote: post #336

cols wrote: post #168

Beautiful house and there was a day I would have been extremely jealous but... I live in Oregon and in 2020 chose to (was not officially in an evac zone but the smoke was awful) evacuate when the horrible Beachie Creek and Lionshead [0] fires ripped through the Santiam Canyon. Houses that my wife and I had looked at possibly purchasing were torched, as well as some of the most pristine ancient forest I've seen [1]. M…

I live in the forest in rural norcal and everything you say rings true. We had a huge fire come within 3 miles of us last year. This year's obviously going to be just as bad given the prolonged dry winter. The neighborhood is aggressively managing the fire risk, yet it seems it'll never be enough. It can happen anywhere though. I have immediate family who lost their home to a fire last year - they lived in a town of…

>"Use intumescent coatings."

Can you say what would be some good and/or practical choices for this?

Re: Building a modern home in the woods

#469

Post by bogomipz » Fri, Feb 04, 2022, 6:01 PM UTC

What a beautiful home and and setting. I was curious about a couple of design choices given the environment though:

Wouldn't the flat roof be problematic in area with significant snow accumulation?

Wouldn't the amount of glass also be problematic in terms heating efficiency?

Would a home like this require significant maintenance? As fantastic as that roof is, wouldn't it also require constant landscaping? Similarly with the pool, I'm wondering if maintaining a pool in the forrest with no barrier or fencing like this would be almost a daily undertaking.

Re: Building a modern home in the woods

#470

Post by folkrav » Fri, Feb 04, 2022, 6:30 PM UTC

elihu wrote: post #421

qbasic_forever wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't believe no one at any step of the process gave them a warning about flat roofs, huge glass windows, having a pool, etc. in frigid mountain areas with tons of snow. I feel like there must be a lot more to this story, like cycling through different architects and engineers until one would finally not tell them the idea was bonkers.

I wonder if the pool can tolerate freezing solid in the winter, or if it cracks the concrete? Flat roofs might be okay if they're built right. In Oregon, people would look at you funny if you built a house with a flat roof, and yet almost all our commercial buildings have flat roofs, so apparently it works out somehow. (Oregon has one semi-famous flat-roofed house that I'm aware of, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. I…

> I wonder if the pool can tolerate freezing solid in the winter, or if it cracks the concrete?

A lot of people have inground pools here in Quebec. AFAIK it's just a matter of removing some of the water before it freezes, to minimize the effects of expansion. It does tend to generate small cracks, but nothing that can't be patched over with annual maintenance.