Mobius, how goes the building process in New Zealand? Any pictures of your Jacobs I-style house to share with fellow Wright Chatters?
BTW, have you ever been to the Tresillian vineyard and bed & breakfast in West Melton (http://www.tresillian.co.nz/), with its house "inspired by the Prairie House concept of iconic American Architect Frank Lloyd Wright"?
Update from Mobius Sought
Sorry for the lack of updates - but there is precious little to report!
In the week prior to Christmas we finally got our "Resource Consent" approved. Our house plans violated a couple of local building rules: we broke the "Recession Plane" in a couple of locations, and have an exterior wall (Harage/study) which exceeds 9 metres without as break, and we have glass within the 3-metre rule in our lounge (Glass blocks) as well as having a bathroom wall which is closer to the boundary than is automatically allowed for.
We had to seek approval from all our neighbours, and this was a harrowing and stressful time when one of them wanted us to cove the roof! We finally got to the bottom of the problem: she was broke, and had just spent $1000 on the fence between our properties. I offered to write a cheque immediately for $500 and she signed straight away. Such a shame when people don't just come out and say what they want!
So, the external design is now approved and we are now working with the architect to create the working drawings. This will take up to a month. Following this, there is a 5-6 week (minimum) wait while the local council examines and approves the construction drawings. When that is approved, we will sign the building contract, pay a 20% deposit, and construction will begin.
I am hoping this will be no later than Mid-April, as my partner is off to Europe for 6 weeks, and I want to have the walls up (at least!) by the time she returns.
There is a small problem now however: I worked out all the distances based on the 1200mm x 600mm grid pattern (as close to 4'x2' as you can get in metric) and this included what are known as "HotBlocks" measuring 39cm(w) x 19cm(h) x 20cm(d) - with a 1cm mortar border, this allowed for a nicely fitting "block unit" of 40cm x 20cm x 20cm - fitting perfectly into the 120/60cm "unit".
The "HotBlock" is a concrete block with 4cm (1.5 inches) of polystyrene bonded to the internal side of the block. Such a wall provides improved insulation and is required if a single line of blocks are to be used simultaneously as the inside and outside of an external wall. (Go figure: I can have a wall of heat-leaking single glazed glass, but I'm not allowed a single thickness of normal blocks! It's the nanny-state gone insane!)
Anyway, I have been lied to somewhere along the line, and the architect now tells me that "HotBlock 24s" are required for Christchurch. These are 24cm deep, which absolutely ruins the "unit" system I have used in the house.
I'm meeting the architect tomorrow at 10am to try and figure out a way to get around the problem. I am going to suggest that we use the HB20s inside the house in the kitchen, and then transfer to the 24cm, wide blocks in the ceiling space. Wish me luck!
In the week prior to Christmas we finally got our "Resource Consent" approved. Our house plans violated a couple of local building rules: we broke the "Recession Plane" in a couple of locations, and have an exterior wall (Harage/study) which exceeds 9 metres without as break, and we have glass within the 3-metre rule in our lounge (Glass blocks) as well as having a bathroom wall which is closer to the boundary than is automatically allowed for.
We had to seek approval from all our neighbours, and this was a harrowing and stressful time when one of them wanted us to cove the roof! We finally got to the bottom of the problem: she was broke, and had just spent $1000 on the fence between our properties. I offered to write a cheque immediately for $500 and she signed straight away. Such a shame when people don't just come out and say what they want!
So, the external design is now approved and we are now working with the architect to create the working drawings. This will take up to a month. Following this, there is a 5-6 week (minimum) wait while the local council examines and approves the construction drawings. When that is approved, we will sign the building contract, pay a 20% deposit, and construction will begin.
I am hoping this will be no later than Mid-April, as my partner is off to Europe for 6 weeks, and I want to have the walls up (at least!) by the time she returns.
There is a small problem now however: I worked out all the distances based on the 1200mm x 600mm grid pattern (as close to 4'x2' as you can get in metric) and this included what are known as "HotBlocks" measuring 39cm(w) x 19cm(h) x 20cm(d) - with a 1cm mortar border, this allowed for a nicely fitting "block unit" of 40cm x 20cm x 20cm - fitting perfectly into the 120/60cm "unit".
The "HotBlock" is a concrete block with 4cm (1.5 inches) of polystyrene bonded to the internal side of the block. Such a wall provides improved insulation and is required if a single line of blocks are to be used simultaneously as the inside and outside of an external wall. (Go figure: I can have a wall of heat-leaking single glazed glass, but I'm not allowed a single thickness of normal blocks! It's the nanny-state gone insane!)
Anyway, I have been lied to somewhere along the line, and the architect now tells me that "HotBlock 24s" are required for Christchurch. These are 24cm deep, which absolutely ruins the "unit" system I have used in the house.
I'm meeting the architect tomorrow at 10am to try and figure out a way to get around the problem. I am going to suggest that we use the HB20s inside the house in the kitchen, and then transfer to the 24cm, wide blocks in the ceiling space. Wish me luck!
How many escape pods are there? "NONE, SIR!" You counted them? "TWICE, SIR!"
*Plotting to take over the world since 1965
*Plotting to take over the world since 1965
Thanks Richard, for the thought - but we are so far down the line of design and drawings that to change now would result in me having a seizure of some kind.
I never in my wildest dreams imagined there is so much to specify in a house, BUT I have thought of EVERYTHING. Experienced people say "Oh, Chris, you will have forgotten a bunch of stuff" but in fact, that is NOT true. There is NOTHING in the house I haven't considered. My 27,500,000 polygon 3D model attests to this fact!
The "Block Problem" has been solved by some juducious use of block-cutting, in a critical area - and I have almost settled on what gas fire to install. Only things left are the types and power ratings of our gas califonts, the air conditioner, the embedded 5.1 surround sound system in the lounge, the kitchen floor (Probably silver cork tiles), and few Kitchen details.
---
I never in my wildest dreams imagined there is so much to specify in a house, BUT I have thought of EVERYTHING. Experienced people say "Oh, Chris, you will have forgotten a bunch of stuff" but in fact, that is NOT true. There is NOTHING in the house I haven't considered. My 27,500,000 polygon 3D model attests to this fact!
The "Block Problem" has been solved by some juducious use of block-cutting, in a critical area - and I have almost settled on what gas fire to install. Only things left are the types and power ratings of our gas califonts, the air conditioner, the embedded 5.1 surround sound system in the lounge, the kitchen floor (Probably silver cork tiles), and few Kitchen details.
---
How many escape pods are there? "NONE, SIR!" You counted them? "TWICE, SIR!"
*Plotting to take over the world since 1965
*Plotting to take over the world since 1965
Progress Report
We have the initial draft of the engineering for the rooves of the house. Quite a lot of steel involved - as opposed to stacking and wedging 4X2s to create the roof and fall...
http://www.4sure.co.nz/downloads/davies ... eering.pdf
I still don't know what the cost is for all this heavy lifting design and engineering work is, but if it comes in under $10K I'll be OK with it.
I swear, our local City Council is absolutely paranoid: to have an internal gutter fitted in front of the clerestory windows in the kitchen bathroom, they made my architect jump through hoops (and probably balance a ball on the end of his nose, too!) and they insist that the water from the "core roof" can not just fall into this gutter, (60 cm drop) but must have its own gutter and downpipe feeding into it. Pure, unadulterated lunacy!
http://www.4sure.co.nz/downloads/davies ... eering.pdf
I still don't know what the cost is for all this heavy lifting design and engineering work is, but if it comes in under $10K I'll be OK with it.
I swear, our local City Council is absolutely paranoid: to have an internal gutter fitted in front of the clerestory windows in the kitchen bathroom, they made my architect jump through hoops (and probably balance a ball on the end of his nose, too!) and they insist that the water from the "core roof" can not just fall into this gutter, (60 cm drop) but must have its own gutter and downpipe feeding into it. Pure, unadulterated lunacy!
How many escape pods are there? "NONE, SIR!" You counted them? "TWICE, SIR!"
*Plotting to take over the world since 1965
*Plotting to take over the world since 1965
Keep the faith Mobius!
You're doing something very special...don't let the idiot bureaucrats get you down. I went through the same thing when I built my FLW inspired home. It was maddening dealing with these people. People are truly afraid of what they don't understand!
You're doing something very special...don't let the idiot bureaucrats get you down. I went through the same thing when I built my FLW inspired home. It was maddening dealing with these people. People are truly afraid of what they don't understand!
"It all goes to show the danger of entrusting anything spiritual to the clergy" - FLLW, on the Chicago Theological Seminary's plans to tear down the Robie House in 1957
I had another small victory today: The idea was to have a heavy duty chain hanging from the largest overhang at the northern corner facing the street, where it is approximately 12 feet from the house...
My idea (which is "borrowed" from my parents' Usonian Wannabe which I grew up in) is to have the chain feed into a cone-chaped pre-cast concrete basin sitting atop an open storm water drain. The concept has been used successfully in the past, and my twist is to attach a pipe from the bottom of the basin, which will maintain a water level roughly 30 cm deep. Inside the basin I will mount a submerged spot light which will play up under the soffits, and in any kind of wind, or rain, the rippling water will dapple soft lighting effects over the stacked block walls.
Both arhitects who have worked on the drawings were fairly confident the council would reject such a system, and require ugly downpipes rather than my attractive chain...
However, my engineer used to work for the local council (and was heavily involved in the new building code and the local district plan) and he advised me to contact a council building permit engineer directly. So, I rang the guy and explained what I wanted to do, and he said "The council has no problem with that system, provided that the engineering in the overhang is sufficiently strong to support a 150 Kilo load placed on the chain." (My engineer tells me the house will support at least a 500 kilo load at that point, so this shouldn't be an issue.)
He further went on to say that the only stipulation the council has it that ALL water collected from rooves must be collected such that it feeds into a grey-water system (for flushing toilets etc.) or feeds directly into the storm-water drain system. Most specifically the roof water must not be permitted to enter another property.
So - another small worry laid to rest.
We are getting closer every day to breaking ground on this thing!
Now the only issue is finding an appropriate concrete basin! I have had no luck so far. The design I want is circular, and cone shaped, with roughly 30cm base, 1-metre top and rouhgly 40-50 cm tall. It must weigh in excess of 60 kilos, or I will have to cement it to the drain, to stop theft, and or vandalism.
My idea (which is "borrowed" from my parents' Usonian Wannabe which I grew up in) is to have the chain feed into a cone-chaped pre-cast concrete basin sitting atop an open storm water drain. The concept has been used successfully in the past, and my twist is to attach a pipe from the bottom of the basin, which will maintain a water level roughly 30 cm deep. Inside the basin I will mount a submerged spot light which will play up under the soffits, and in any kind of wind, or rain, the rippling water will dapple soft lighting effects over the stacked block walls.
Both arhitects who have worked on the drawings were fairly confident the council would reject such a system, and require ugly downpipes rather than my attractive chain...
However, my engineer used to work for the local council (and was heavily involved in the new building code and the local district plan) and he advised me to contact a council building permit engineer directly. So, I rang the guy and explained what I wanted to do, and he said "The council has no problem with that system, provided that the engineering in the overhang is sufficiently strong to support a 150 Kilo load placed on the chain." (My engineer tells me the house will support at least a 500 kilo load at that point, so this shouldn't be an issue.)
He further went on to say that the only stipulation the council has it that ALL water collected from rooves must be collected such that it feeds into a grey-water system (for flushing toilets etc.) or feeds directly into the storm-water drain system. Most specifically the roof water must not be permitted to enter another property.
So - another small worry laid to rest.
We are getting closer every day to breaking ground on this thing!
Now the only issue is finding an appropriate concrete basin! I have had no luck so far. The design I want is circular, and cone shaped, with roughly 30cm base, 1-metre top and rouhgly 40-50 cm tall. It must weigh in excess of 60 kilos, or I will have to cement it to the drain, to stop theft, and or vandalism.
How many escape pods are there? "NONE, SIR!" You counted them? "TWICE, SIR!"
*Plotting to take over the world since 1965
*Plotting to take over the world since 1965
Mobius wrote:Now the only issue is finding an appropriate concrete basin! I have had no luck so far. The design I want is circular, and cone shaped, with roughly 30cm base, 1-metre top and rouhgly 40-50 cm tall. It must weigh in excess of 60 kilos, or I will have to cement it to the drain, to stop theft, and or vandalism.
How many do you need? I did not want to use downspouts either, and a continuous gravel French drain was not possible. I tried chains, but did not end up being happy with them; they made the corners look tied to the ground, when the eaves should help the roof "float".
I just poured a few grated conc. basins connected to a separate line than the foundation drain, that will in the future feed a cistern for the garden. At the moment, it drains into a ravine next to the house, then to open water. When it rains, I enjoy watching the water gush from the gutter through open air into the basins.More kinetic drama than the "Italian oi lamp" poetry of the drip chain.
Regardless of how the water drains, you can pour any configuration you need for tha basins.
I only need the one. And thanks for your observation about "attaching the eve to the ground". It may well be that I am unhappy with a chain and end up ditching it, and just let the water drop into the basin by gravity alone.
Knowing what I know abour freight costs, it would be completely out of the question to ship a 60+ Kilo concrete bowl half way around the world. About the farthest I will consider shipping one is from Auckland, about 1000 klicks away. Even that would be a few hundred dollars.
My quest continues...
Knowing what I know abour freight costs, it would be completely out of the question to ship a 60+ Kilo concrete bowl half way around the world. About the farthest I will consider shipping one is from Auckland, about 1000 klicks away. Even that would be a few hundred dollars.
My quest continues...
How many escape pods are there? "NONE, SIR!" You counted them? "TWICE, SIR!"
*Plotting to take over the world since 1965
*Plotting to take over the world since 1965
OK, the engineering drawings are almost complete. I have posted three of the draft documents in PDF form for you to examine:
http://4sure.co.nz/nzonia/engineering01.pdf
http://4sure.co.nz/nzonia/engineering02.pdf
http://4sure.co.nz/nzonia/engineering03.pdf
This means fullworking drawings should be complete by the 30th of March. Then we have to submit the plans to the local council for building consent. This process usually takes 5-6 weeks depending on the design. If they have to come back with queries, the countdown STOPS, until they get a response.
I'm hoping and praying that there will be no hiccups.
Hope aint a strategy though - and praying? Well, that's a waste of time...
Engineers fees are $8,213 including tax.
http://4sure.co.nz/nzonia/engineering01.pdf
http://4sure.co.nz/nzonia/engineering02.pdf
http://4sure.co.nz/nzonia/engineering03.pdf
This means fullworking drawings should be complete by the 30th of March. Then we have to submit the plans to the local council for building consent. This process usually takes 5-6 weeks depending on the design. If they have to come back with queries, the countdown STOPS, until they get a response.
I'm hoping and praying that there will be no hiccups.
Hope aint a strategy though - and praying? Well, that's a waste of time...
Engineers fees are $8,213 including tax.
How many escape pods are there? "NONE, SIR!" You counted them? "TWICE, SIR!"
*Plotting to take over the world since 1965
*Plotting to take over the world since 1965
JimM wrote:It certainly will be stronger than any "real" Usonian!
When I queried John (our engineer) about how strong the roof would be, particularly over the large overhang at the front (where the drain will be) - as relates to snow-loading from above and wind loading from below (it faces the nasty North West, which can be gale-force) he replied; "Chris, even though Christchurch never gets more than 30cm (1 foot) of snow (snow is rare) this corner will support at least 5 feet of snow, and then you jumping up and down on it as hard as you like, without an issue. Wind loading is set to exceed 140 knots, so you should be safe."
I like to hear stuff like that!
The total for the engineering drawings, and a site inspection/excavation/soil-report has come to NZ $6700 (or around US $4700) which is actually NZ $1300 less than I had budgeted. I'll need all that cash too, because I only budgeted NZD $6,000 for the landscaping and design work but it now appears what we want will be closer to NZ $18,000.
How many escape pods are there? "NONE, SIR!" You counted them? "TWICE, SIR!"
*Plotting to take over the world since 1965
*Plotting to take over the world since 1965
Finally caught up with all this. Congratulations of fighting the good fight, Mobius.
I am sympathetic to the wish to avoid conventional gutters and downspouts. But I agree with the observation of the potential appearance deficit with eave-mounted rain chains.
I don't see indication of gutters (or any water-handling provision, actually) on your roof framing detail sheet, but: how about leading the water from a perimeter gutter (?) back toward the house, to a rain chain hanging at least half-way to the house structure from the edge of the roof. This would counter or eliminate the "tie-down" appearance of the chain, and permit the integration of the rain-catcher with some near-house landscape feature(s) -- before draining the water safely away, as planned. . .
Can't wait to see the elevations -- and the photos !
SDR
I am sympathetic to the wish to avoid conventional gutters and downspouts. But I agree with the observation of the potential appearance deficit with eave-mounted rain chains.
I don't see indication of gutters (or any water-handling provision, actually) on your roof framing detail sheet, but: how about leading the water from a perimeter gutter (?) back toward the house, to a rain chain hanging at least half-way to the house structure from the edge of the roof. This would counter or eliminate the "tie-down" appearance of the chain, and permit the integration of the rain-catcher with some near-house landscape feature(s) -- before draining the water safely away, as planned. . .
Can't wait to see the elevations -- and the photos !
SDR
Elevations (my amateur ones) are available at: http://www.4sure.co.nz/nzonia/
You might also be interested in the "sight lines" images I created for our landscape architect. They show exactly what can be seen from a variety of vantage points within and without. They're here:
http://www.4sure.co.nz/nzonia/landscape/
The elevation shows the "light cone" of an underwater spotlight submerged inside the concrete basin. The idea is that when raining, the spotlight will cast dappled light against the house, and also in a small section of the interior ceiling, next to the box window.
The builders have made a commitment to get us into the house before Christmas. No I can rest easy, knowing that Emma won't be chasing me around the dining room with a 10" carving knife on Christmas day.
Please rest assured, that once the project begins, I'll be keeping a fairly detailed blog (with a lot of pictures) about the building process.
You might also be interested in the "sight lines" images I created for our landscape architect. They show exactly what can be seen from a variety of vantage points within and without. They're here:
http://www.4sure.co.nz/nzonia/landscape/
The elevation shows the "light cone" of an underwater spotlight submerged inside the concrete basin. The idea is that when raining, the spotlight will cast dappled light against the house, and also in a small section of the interior ceiling, next to the box window.
The builders have made a commitment to get us into the house before Christmas. No I can rest easy, knowing that Emma won't be chasing me around the dining room with a 10" carving knife on Christmas day.
Please rest assured, that once the project begins, I'll be keeping a fairly detailed blog (with a lot of pictures) about the building process.
How many escape pods are there? "NONE, SIR!" You counted them? "TWICE, SIR!"
*Plotting to take over the world since 1965
*Plotting to take over the world since 1965
Well, development of the engineering and working drawings continue - albeit unbelievably slowly. It seems that the actual building portion of a project constitutes the quick and easy part!
Yesterday I received the first drawings confirming the details at the end of the lounge, where a gas fire is installed (with a power-flue, which exits from the back of the wall, about 2.5 metres up) and an audio-visual cupboard is located, which allows for servicing of the flue and fire.
I've uploaded it for your interest:
http://4sure.co.nz/nzonia/Davies%20McRa ... 20Wall.pdf
Yesterday I received the first drawings confirming the details at the end of the lounge, where a gas fire is installed (with a power-flue, which exits from the back of the wall, about 2.5 metres up) and an audio-visual cupboard is located, which allows for servicing of the flue and fire.
I've uploaded it for your interest:
http://4sure.co.nz/nzonia/Davies%20McRa ... 20Wall.pdf
How many escape pods are there? "NONE, SIR!" You counted them? "TWICE, SIR!"
*Plotting to take over the world since 1965
*Plotting to take over the world since 1965