Update

Well. We've been busy over that last few weeks trying to get all our paperwork ready for the big dig. We have finally closed on our house in Maine and are just finalizing our financing. We are hoping to close on the land around April 13th and should get started shortly there after.
I will be headed home on Thursday, so we want to make the most of my time home by getting the project rolling. After weeks of trying to get pricing together and worrying about when our Maine house would close, I was pleasantly greeted with two bits of great news the other day, our mortgage had been approved, and almost as important, the golf course is open!

It was a slow day today, put my ADD to good use...

Golf balls for sale...

Joe was on the prowl today while checking out the land. Looks like we'll have to open a used golf ball store, all proceeds go to Sawyer's college fund...

Land Pictures

Heres some picture of the lot, still some snow but looks like its dwindling! Hoping the course is open when I get home from work!!

Radiant Heat

I have been in contact with a company out of Barton, VT that supplies radiant heat systems. I had always wanted to use radiant if we ever built a house, but was under the impression that it was way too expensive. Much to my delight the Radiant Floor Company supplies system components and technical advice, allowing contractors and do it yourselfers to install much of the system with out the use of expensive plumbers or HVAC technicians.
After receiving their quote it looks like we will be able to install radiant heat in all three levels of the home. The basement will have radiant tubing laid within the slab and the main and upstairs level will have it running between the floor joists.
I was surprised to hear from them that the system they recommend uses a 200,000 BTU tankless water heater that will provide sufficient heat for the floors as well as the domestic hot water. The unit is made by a company called Takagi and is 95% efficient.

One of our goals while building is to create a home that is as efficient as possible. There are thousands of products available today to reduce electric and heating bills and we hope to use as many as possible to create a home that will provide minimal operating costs in the many years to come.

Our first step will be pouring the foundation and floors, we plan on using ICF's (insulated concrete forms) that will provide a high level of insulation in the basement. These will hold in a large amount of heat from the radiant coils that will be run through the basement slab, which would otherwise dissipate through an ordinary concrete wall and be lost outside.

Here is a short WIKI explanation of ICF's:

Insulating Concrete Forms (ICFs) are form work for concrete that stays in place as permanent building insulation for energy-efficient, cast-in-place, reinforced concrete walls, floors, and roofs.

The forms are interlocking modular units that are dry-stacked (without mortar) and filled with concrete. The forms lock together somewhat like Lego bricks and serve to create a form for the structural walls or floors of a building. Concrete is pumped into the cavity to form the structural element of the walls. Usually reinforcing steel (rebar) is added before concrete placement to give the concrete flexural strength, similar to bridges and high-rise buildings made of concrete (see Reinforced concrete). The forms are filled with concrete in 1–4 foot "lifts" to reduce the risk of blowouts like with other concrete form work. After the concrete has cured, or firmed up, the forms are left in place permanently for thermal efficiency.

Brainstorm

Here is a few houses we used when drawing up our plans...

Cupola

Every farmhouse needs a cupola. On a recent visit to Mason Brothers Architectural Salvage Warehouse Dani fell in love with this weather vane... Hopefully its still available when we go back.

Heres the floor plan we have come up with, I'm sure it will change as we go...

House Design

After much deliberation, this is the design we have settled on. We are going for a vintage farmhouse feel, and got lots of inspiration from Connor Homes in Middlebury, VT. We love the houses they build, but they are out of our price range! I will post some pictures of the houses that we used in our design process. Floor plan coming soon.

Arial View

This is the general lay out of our new lot. The red is approx. where we will be building the house and the light blue is the property border.

Back to VT

Welcome everyone. After a two year on and off search, we have finally found a buyer for our house in Maine. Pending any major disasters, we should be closed in a couple of weeks. We have moved out and are getting geared up to spend the summer building our new house. We have decided to move back to VT, as this will make things a little more comfortable for Mom and Sawyer as we all know I am gone far too much.

We found a piece of land in Hinesburg, VT that we liked and now have it under contract. As soon as our house in closed in Maine we should be set to close in VT and get started on what will be a long summer project.

The lot in Hinesburg is located in a small sub division about 4 miles from Dani's parents, and very conveniently borders the 4Th hole at Cedar Knoll Country Club. Dani's father Joe will be our General Contractor and I will be pitching in as much as possible every other month.

We will try to keep this site updated with pictures of our progression, random ideas for the house, and an open forum for anyone who has any advice. This our first time building so we are rookies and welcome any input or advice. Enjoy!