I will soon start building a small house for myself. Over the past 30 years I have moved around about 15 times, lived in houses and apartments in 6 countries/12 cities. The common thread everywhere was that at homes things break down and repairing them is terrible. From getting the right person, to hoping they arrive, to hoping they fix it correctly, all the while having to deal with dust, noise, etc and such.
I am finally done with my traveling and will be designing and building a house. I dont care much for the house to be ultra modern or for it to fit in a specific design style. I just want it to be comfortable and that everything, or at least most of the things that break down be easy to fix.
I will eventually make a basic design using online tools and then give them to an architect for them to redo it professionally.
Until now what I have realized is that it will have to be or at least look very industrial.
Here are a few things I thought about (this might be obvious, but I am not an architect).
exposed water and gas pipes. Everything stuck to ceilings.
exposed electric conduit. Also stuck to ceilings and brought down the usable height on walls. Receptacles on steel boxes. My only issue here is that the boxes will not allow some furniture to be positioned against the walls. Any suggestions?
minimum number of drawers possible. Preferably just shelves. I figures that the fewer moving parts, the less they break.
completely open and accesible area for all water devices (booster pressure pump, tankless heater, filter, etc.
house design to minimize pipe layout, kitchen, bathroom, laundry all near each other.
all wide doors for moving furniture around
second story (if I do 2 stories) side opening to lift furniture into that floor
colored concrete with sealant floors. all of them, including bathroom.
mostly exposed brick walls
indirect lighting where possible (this is unrelated to repair, i just hate visible light sources).
simple restaurant style stove and range
so this is what I have until now.
My request is....let me know if anything I wrote doesn't make sense, what would be better, and what other ideas you can come up with. The goal is simple low repair and when repair is needed for it to be simple to achieve, no breaking walls, no removing doors, etc.
I dont know if these things would be expensive or cheap in the USA but I live in south america where pricing for the bricks (including construction) is lower than using drywall....so with that as an example, please ignore price for now. I would have to research and find out if local pricing for any suggestion.
thank you!
tduds
Sep 8, 17 7:18 pm
.
citizen
Sep 8, 17 7:28 pm
Yay, Pompidou!
NoRepairs
Sep 8, 17 7:30 pm
that looks great to me.
won and done williams
Sep 8, 17 8:14 pm
I bet the Pompidou repair bills are not small. Pick your climate:
NoRepairs
Sep 8, 17 8:17 pm
I have looked at adobe construction, common in this country. Unfortunately they rarely have water and electricity, which I do want.
won and done williams
Sep 9, 17 8:47 am
I'm just saying that most of your brief has very little to do with limiting repairs. For instance exposing conduit and ductwork will have next to no benefit limiting repairs. The system failure rarely happens in the duct or in the wiring, but rather at the source or the outlet. If your goal is really to limit repairs, you have to move closer to traditional building. The smaller the space, the fewer the repairs. The fewer mechanical, electrical, and plumbing components, the fewer the repairs. The fewer the finishes, the fewer the repairs.
NoRepairs
Sep 9, 17 12:01 pm
That absolutely makes sense, that's the type of information I am looking for. Let me add something to what I called "repairs". Changes and additions. In south America most construction is solid brick. Water pipes and electric conduits are buried in walls. My mother has lived in her current house for about 20 years. In these 20 years, newer technology has arrived or things have changed. They wanted to add electric grounding to the receptacles, but the conduit was too small. There was no way to pass coax cable, so now the cable snakes around the house stapled to walls. Several electric outlets have visible plastic conduit coming out from them with about 30cm runs in order to put an additional receptacle. All these things because it was impossible for pass new wire through the pipes (the old wire is made of 1 single solid strand of copper, very rigid, not like newer flexible cable). Another example, the upstairs neighbor had a leak, suddenly there was water coming out from the conduit that leads to my mom's house lamps. No idea where there is a hole, but there is, hard to pin point without some destroying of the solid plaster ceilings. Anyway, this is the type of info I was looking for "The smaller the space, the fewer the repairs. The fewer mechanical, electrical, and plumbing components, the fewer the repairs. The fewer the finishes, the fewer the repairs." I was just hoping for more specifics. Thank you very much.
Non Sequitur
Sep 8, 17 8:31 pm
Homedepot sells prefab plastic sheds. Start there, buy two if you need a spare bedroom.
Anything else is $300/hr.
NoRepairs
Sep 8, 17 8:33 pm
There are no home depots in Bolivia and $300 is a month salary, so that won't work. Thanks for the idea though.
those look like actually common materials in use here. But that is low-cost design, what I am trying to figure out is how to design it for easy repair. My guess is easy to repair will also be low cost, but cost isn't my main objective. thanks.
Non Sequitur
Sep 8, 17 8:58 pm
DIamonds are pretty solid. Try that if money is no issue.
NoRepairs
Sep 8, 17 9:10 pm
was my explanation for what I need help with so poorly written? I've mentioned it in a previous comment, English is not my main language, but seriously, was it not clear? I am just asking for some tips. How is this so offensive? what in asking for tips is so offensive that you can only provide "witty" comebacks? I can't afford $300/hr. I don't make much more than that per month. I will pay an architect here between 250-750 for the complete project, but I need to give them guidelines...what I want. My request is not common so they likely will miss some things. All I am asking is for a few tips from people with experience in this. Thank you.
Non Sequitur
Sep 8, 17 9:27 pm
why do you feel like you need to tell your "architect" how to do their job?
NoRepairs
Sep 8, 17 9:40 pm
because my sister hired a very well paid architect, supposedly one of the good ones in the city, and the architect designed a perfectly flat roof in a city with lots of rain. Water gets stuck and now there are leaks everywhere. We only work with architects, we don't have inside designers and the architect is also the construction "engineer". Things are done differently here. If you have ever traveled to a third world country you might see that things aren't well thought out or built. Thats why I feel that giving some some ideas can start a conversation and we can go from there with the architect. Just asking and hoping it will happen is not enough.
joseffischer
Sep 12, 17 3:24 pm
I'm really liking the essence of the homedepot idea. @NoRepairs, just build something so cheap that if you have to replace it entirely, it's no big deal. That way there are no repairs necessary. In the US, with homedepots, $300 would be that level of cheapness.
Notanarchitect8474
Sep 8, 17 9:17 pm
I'm a kind of architecture student. Let me cook something up. Give me 8 hours.
NoRepairs
Sep 8, 17 9:21 pm
maybe I should have posted this in the academia forum :)
NoRepairs
Sep 8, 17 9:21 pm
thank you
NoRepairs
Sep 8, 17 9:23 pm
and just to clear things up, since it seems the previous posters didn't understand my request. I am not looking for a design. Just tips on construction techniques that will minimize complex repairs. even a link to a website would with tips would be helpful, I couldnt find any sites
likely cause I am not familiar with contruction keywords.
Non Sequitur
Sep 8, 17 9:26 pm
your request was well understood. Witty comments are for those who want free advice from professionals. Certainly you have a job for which you are paid, no?
NoRepairs
Sep 8, 17 9:36 pm
Non Sequitur - yes I do, I charge for my work, I have a job. I don't charge when I respond online to help people trying to design something themselves or when they are trying to learn. Its just a few minutes after all. I do understand your confusion though, I am from a different field, in Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering we have the concept of "open source" software and schematics, I am used to giving a part of my work away because they then improve and give back. I don't blame you for not being used to these concepts I think they only exist in these fields I mentioned. Maybe I am wrong, maybe you call it something else instead of open source. Anyway, thank you.
randomised
Sep 9, 17 6:26 am
In that case, if you're into open source and stuff, check out WikiHouse, open source, DIY, digital etc. Or you could go the low-tech self sufficient Earth Ship kind of way, google for Michael Richards and EarthShips, using local and recycled materials, simple sustainable techniques and there is an entire community of volunteers who travel the world building EarthShips in exchange for food and shelter.
randomised
Sep 9, 17 7:00 am
Michael Richards is Cosmo Kramer in Seinfeld, I meant Michael Reynolds haha
NoRepairs
Sep 9, 17 12:03 pm
I've never heard of wikihouse. I will look into it. The self sufficient, sustainable, etc is not really what I am after, but I will non-the-less look. They might have ideas I can borrow. Thank you!
randomised
Sep 11, 17 1:30 am
The self sufficient thing is great if you don't want utility bills.
joseffischer
Sep 12, 17 3:26 pm
I can't imagine he's really thinking self-sufficient when describing the "pain" of repairing prevoius houses starting with "you have to hire someone to fix it"
Miles Jaffe
Sep 8, 17 11:17 pm
Low maintenance:
archi_dude
Sep 9, 17 1:06 am
I'd say something with low repairs would require something built with no architect involved. Most architects only care about aesthetics not function. The flat leaky roof is a perfect example from your family member's commissioned architect. I'm sure people will dispute me but sadly it's true. Your best bet is using an experienced constructor/builder ect. (not sure what you'd call them in Bolivia) Try and get as many of your ideas into a written format or drawn format as possible and consult with multiple contractors. Architects will only attempt to hijack your project into their own personal art monument of their genius.
NoRepairs
Sep 9, 17 12:09 pm
:) unfortunately the contructor is the archtect. They do have construction engineers here but they deal with large projects, buildings, bridges, that sort of thing, not family homes. I don't know if the concept of contractor exists here. I will have to find out (i had to google what it was). But yes, my goal is to have a list of guidelines to meet. Thats what I am trying to get suggestions for. Thank you.
Donna Sink
Sep 9, 17 2:39 pm
"Most architects only care about aesthetics not function." Really, archi-dude? This is your experience? What school did you go to, what firms have you worked for? WTF, man. That's such bullshit. God I'm fucking exhausted enough fighting this attitude from outside the profession, let alone within.
archi_dude
Sep 9, 17 9:54 pm
Donna, almost every project I've worked on has the designers run the show and create weird extremely expensive designs that completely burn the budget. The contractors then come back with a huge bid and then looks like the hero bringing it back down to earth while we look like expensive dreamers that just create unbuildable dreams. Why does this happen? Where have you worked that you haven't experienced this? It seems this is prevalent from the smallest firm all the way to the AIA.
archi_dude
Sep 9, 17 9:58 pm
And I do apologize for making a blanket statement like that above it was a long week trying to detail an insane design that's going to get value engineered for sure
randomised
Sep 9, 17 4:20 am
Sounds like the brief for my own future home, when I can afford the plot and materials etc.
NoRepairs
Sep 9, 17 12:27 pm
move to south america, things are cheaper here :)
archinine
Sep 9, 17 10:37 am
"I am not looking for a design. Just tips on construction"
So you're wanting free advice on a custom job. Pay an architect to help you, a different one than this flat roof maker. Find an architect whose work you appreciate and pay them. Not all architects are 'designers' especially outside of the USA where this site is based. Some actually know about construction - even some of us here in the US.
For the record you sound like the absolute worst client an architect could ever have, 'telling them what to do'. Your architect knows what they're doing or you've hired the wrong one.
NoRepairs
Sep 9, 17 12:21 pm
its possible that this "For the record you sound like the absolute worst client an architect could ever have, 'telling them what to do'. " is true, I have never had anything built. I don't know much about the process. I dont'know much about the culture. I am familiar with the outcome though. I have lived in many houses and apartments, and most had flaws that seemed to be just lack of planning (maybe cost, I can't be sure). I am grabbing the ideas I saw that worked best and trying to combine them. thanks.
joseffischer
Sep 12, 17 3:30 pm
That's an interesting experience. In my experience most buildings have flaws and most flaws are attributed to bad installation/means and methods. In the 3rd world where the architect is also the contractor, I guess it's still that guys fault... but still, it's not a planning/design issue.
Schoon
Sep 9, 17 11:44 am
it sounds like you have enough of what you want in mind to approach an architect now. Don't attempt to design your own custom house and then have an architect "redo it professionally."
If somebody approached you with a piece of software that they wrote with no formal computer science education, only through googling and asking questions on forums, and asked you to "clean it up professionally," you would likely find that it is so full of errors that it would have cost that person less time and money if they had just approached a programmer in the first place. Don't make that mistake.
I know you're concerned about cost, but if you want a custom home it is going to cost you quite a bit, there is no way around that. If you can't afford to pay an architect for their services (not to mention engineers and contractors), then you can't afford a custom home, period.
NoRepairs
Sep 9, 17 12:26 pm
you might be right that I have enough. I don't know for sure, which is why I was asking. Maybe I will contact an architect soon. About the other things....the "clean up professionally" is quite common in software, people with no money or coding skills develop a prototype and then get funding and the whole thing is redone. About the custom home cost.....over 90% of homes are custom homes, cookie cutter homes didnt exist here until the last decade. Its not a cost thing, its just how things have always been done. Different culture I suppose. Thank you.
Chuck71
Sep 9, 17 11:57 pm
From your previous posts, it sounds like your biggest problem is services?
I think your question is based around, what you brief needs to be for your designer. I would say, think what you want done, think what features you want and write a down a list, e.g.:
multi-core cabling for power, with surface mounted junction boxes
surface mounting of plumbing, with tees every so often;
direct access to any component that requires maintenance;
and start the discussion.
Getting the concept is the key thing, and professional designers are trained in taking that concept and developing it.
If they do it well enough, you would be the only one knowing how adaptable your house it.
A caution though. There is a cliche about people wanting designs to be infinitely flexible. They give their defined brief for Xm2 ofspace, a list of features, a request to keep the cost down. The designer does their thing, and the building gets built. After its finished, the client then says, they now want the building extended to double the original, and they asked for flexibility, so where is it and why wasn't it designed in the first place?
The reality is, it isn't possible to be infinitely flexible. You can only run so much power through a switchboard before it gets replaced or extended, an A/C system will only cool so much space, a pipe of a certain diameter can only get so much water through at a defined length before the pressure drop is too much and only a trickle comes out.
You can over design everything for maximum flexibility, but it will cost you to install capacity you don't need, which is why it generally doesn't happen.
curtkram
Sep 10, 17 11:31 am
break down the design of your house into as many pieces as possible, then google them. i'll start for an example.
you need a roof. asphalt shingles are common where i am. if i google
'asphalt shingle lifespan,' it says 15-18 years. standing seam can be
50, and you can get a warranty from the manufacturer standing behind
that.
every time you punch a hole in the house, such as windows or dryer vent, etc., you will have a caulk joint that may need to be maintained around every 5 years. wood is more likely to rot than vinyl. roof penetrations need regular maintenance as well, as your neighbor found out. it's harder to prevent leaks in a standing seam roof. no maintenance means no holes in the house, but that's inconvenient if you want a door to get inside.
i agree with previous posts that conduit outside the wall cavity is probably unnecessary. rather, think about the fixtures. if you think you can get a lightbulb that won't burn out, you should probably just give up now. you can choose LED rather than fluorescent though, which means less maintenance. i would recommend wall construction where you can easily remove the wall to access the guts if necessary and repair it when done, such as typical drywall construction. otherwise, you might consider some sort of removable interior construction. i think lustron houses may have had that?
a kitchen faucet tends to last about 15 years. if you get plastic instead of ceramic valves, that will be reduced considerably.
a water heater lasts about 8 to 12 years. a tankless water heater could be more than 20.
if you have an air conditioner, that might be 15 to 20 years. perhaps a ground source heat pump could give you an advantage over central air. if no air conditioning, you might look at baseboard heating.
getting shelves instead of drawers means the stuff you store is more likely to collect dust, which means an additional ongoing maintenance item. the drawers or conduit or grounded power outlet, etc., you buy from a reputable contractor today is probably going to be of considerably better quality than 50 years ago due to improvements in the design and fabrication of those pieces. that's not to say things won't change again in 50 years, but stapling conduit to the ceiling probably isn't the best solution to future proof your house.
mantaray
Sep 10, 17 5:23 pm
I think you're thinking about this a little bit backwards. Basically the best way to make sure you will have minimal repairs to your home is to hire the BEST possible contractor you can and supervise EVERYTHING they do. If you're worried about construction quality in your area it would help to educate yourself thoroughly about home construction -- which luckily is very easy to do. First, I would order a bunch of basic home construction books from your local bookseller -- I'd recommend a bunch but they're geared to wood framing b/c that's what we primarily do here, so you might need to look for yourself, for CMU construction. I would also read as much as you can from these two websites:
Green Building Advisor (buy the subscription to access the locked content)
Building Science Institute (by Joseph Lsitburek)
The International Masonry Institute has a whole series of information on best practices for masonry (including CMU) construction, and I'd also read up on as much of this as I possibly can.
There isn't a magic way to design that will prevent your home from having maintenance issues. I have been closely involved in years of residential construction, including renovations, and even including repairs to homes I have previously been involved with, and I can tell you explicitly that the repairs that end up getting required are not due to the design side for the most part but 99% of them are due to poor construction quality. You can pick any construction method and if it's poorly built, it will fall apart. There isn't one particular construction method that's going to be more fool-proof than another, IN GENERAL (excluding weird shit).
That said -- in addition to doing everything above (and educating yourself to be your own advocate), your architect CAN help you with future-proofing your home. We do this all the time -- we think through possible future trends in construction, as well as possible future uses for the home itself (aka, will you be living there for 50 years and possibly, in the future, will you maybe have accessibility issues as an old person? is it possible that an older person may move in with you in the future and need care in the home? maybe you will have a bunch of children in the future? etc.), and we work with our clients to design their home accordingly. But this is really on a one-on-one basis: it's not something you can universally proscribe. Therefore I concur with others above that really, you need to very carefully interview all your potential architects and work with the best one that fits your needs. Some architects, unfortunately, don't really know how to build -- as you found out with your sister's house. Many, however, do -- many LOVE to build, and know this kind of thing backwards and forwards. But approach the relationship like a partnership, and not like "I'm telling my architect what to draw up" (which is kind of bullshit, trust me) and your working relationship with your architect will yield the best results.
Enjoy -- it's fun to learn about this stuff. Go and learn everything you can!
mantaray
Sep 10, 17 5:30 pm
Ok just caught up with some of the previous responses and I agree with Chuck, Curtkam and Fictional Christopher. I think we're all telling you different aspects of the same thing. Hopefully this helps and you can spend some time educating yourself, and then pick a great architect partner and you'll have a well-built home.
One more thing to remember: generally, unfortunately, in the building industry you really do get what you pay for. And that goes for the services as well as the lifespan of the individual parts and pieces (as curtkram noted). In my firm (we do pricey residential) we do get clients coming to us and asking for a home for 100 year lifespan, and that means a certain set of construction practices and product selections that unfortunately do cost more than conventional construction (which in our area generally lasts 20-50 years). Therefore, be prepared that you may need to balance your budget for this project differently than your peers do. That also goes for the professionals working on it: the best GCs REALLY DO COST MUCH MORE than Average Joe Contractor. You might need to do a tiny house, but spend 3x as much on it as your neighbor, in order to ensure top notch construction quality.
You should make sure to tell your architect, from day 1, that you want a 100 year home -- and that s/he should advise you accordingly.
JLC-1
Sep 11, 17 10:35 am
It's going to be expensive to build, but if it's built right, you will save that money overtime.
JLC-1
Sep 12, 17 2:59 pm
bricks
Quentin
Sep 12, 17 3:10 pm
LOL at the comments, always love these kind of threads. OPs always get so frustrated lulz.
Hi, I need some help.
I will soon start building a small house for myself. Over the past 30 years I have moved around about 15 times, lived in houses and apartments in 6 countries/12 cities. The common thread everywhere was that at homes things break down and repairing them is terrible. From getting the right person, to hoping they arrive, to hoping they fix it correctly, all the while having to deal with dust, noise, etc and such.
I am finally done with my traveling and will be designing and building a house. I dont care much for the house to be ultra modern or for it to fit in a specific design style. I just want it to be comfortable and that everything, or at least most of the things that break down be easy to fix.
I will eventually make a basic design using online tools and then give them to an architect for them to redo it professionally.
Until now what I have realized is that it will have to be or at least look very industrial.
Here are a few things I thought about (this might be obvious, but I am not an architect).
so this is what I have until now.
My request is....let me know if anything I wrote doesn't make sense, what would be better, and what other ideas you can come up with. The goal is simple low repair and when repair is needed for it to be simple to achieve, no breaking walls, no removing doors, etc.
I dont know if these things would be expensive or cheap in the USA but I live in south america where pricing for the bricks (including construction) is lower than using drywall....so with that as an example, please ignore price for now. I would have to research and find out if local pricing for any suggestion.
thank you!
.
Yay, Pompidou!
that looks great to me.
I bet the Pompidou repair bills are not small. Pick your climate:
I have looked at adobe construction, common in this country. Unfortunately they rarely have water and electricity, which I do want.
I'm just saying that most of your brief has very little to do with limiting repairs. For instance exposing conduit and ductwork will have next to no benefit limiting repairs. The system failure rarely happens in the duct or in the wiring, but rather at the source or the outlet. If your goal is really to limit repairs, you have to move closer to traditional building. The smaller the space, the fewer the repairs. The fewer mechanical, electrical, and plumbing components, the fewer the repairs. The fewer the finishes, the fewer the repairs.
That absolutely makes sense, that's the type of information I am looking for. Let me add something to what I called "repairs". Changes and additions. In south America most construction is solid brick. Water pipes and electric conduits are buried in walls. My mother has lived in her current house for about 20 years. In these 20 years, newer technology has arrived or things have changed. They wanted to add electric grounding to the receptacles, but the conduit was too small. There was no way to pass coax cable, so now the cable snakes around the house stapled to walls. Several electric outlets have visible plastic conduit coming out from them with about 30cm runs in order to put an additional receptacle. All these things because it was impossible for pass new wire through the pipes (the old wire is made of 1 single solid strand of copper, very rigid, not like newer flexible cable). Another example, the upstairs neighbor had a leak, suddenly there was water coming out from the conduit that leads to my mom's house lamps. No idea where there is a hole, but there is, hard to pin point without some destroying of the solid plaster ceilings. Anyway, this is the type of info I was looking for "The smaller the space, the fewer the repairs. The fewer mechanical, electrical, and plumbing components, the fewer the repairs. The fewer the finishes, the fewer the repairs." I was just hoping for more specifics. Thank you very much.
Homedepot sells prefab plastic sheds. Start there, buy two if you need a spare bedroom.
Anything else is $300/hr.
There are no home depots in Bolivia and $300 is a month salary, so that won't work. Thanks for the idea though.
Sticks and a tarp then... damn. But, I'm feeling generous so have a look at this: http://www.archdaily.com/10775/quinta-monroy-elemental
those look like actually common materials in use here. But that is low-cost design, what I am trying to figure out is how to design it for easy repair. My guess is easy to repair will also be low cost, but cost isn't my main objective. thanks.
DIamonds are pretty solid. Try that if money is no issue.
was my explanation for what I need help with so poorly written? I've mentioned it in a previous comment, English is not my main language, but seriously, was it not clear? I am just asking for some tips. How is this so offensive? what in asking for tips is so offensive that you can only provide "witty" comebacks? I can't afford $300/hr. I don't make much more than that per month. I will pay an architect here between 250-750 for the complete project, but I need to give them guidelines...what I want. My request is not common so they likely will miss some things. All I am asking is for a few tips from people with experience in this. Thank you.
why do you feel like you need to tell your "architect" how to do their job?
because my sister hired a very well paid architect, supposedly one of the good ones in the city, and the architect designed a perfectly flat roof in a city with lots of rain. Water gets stuck and now there are leaks everywhere. We only work with architects, we don't have inside designers and the architect is also the construction "engineer". Things are done differently here. If you have ever traveled to a third world country you might see that things aren't well thought out or built. Thats why I feel that giving some some ideas can start a conversation and we can go from there with the architect. Just asking and hoping it will happen is not enough.
I'm really liking the essence of the homedepot idea. @NoRepairs, just build something so cheap that if you have to replace it entirely, it's no big deal. That way there are no repairs necessary. In the US, with homedepots, $300 would be that level of cheapness.
I'm a kind of architecture student. Let me cook something up. Give me 8 hours.
maybe I should have posted this in the academia forum :)
thank you
and just to clear things up, since it seems the previous posters didn't understand my request. I am not looking for a design. Just tips on construction techniques that will minimize complex repairs. even a link to a website would with tips would be helpful, I couldnt find any sites likely cause I am not familiar with contruction keywords.
your request was well understood. Witty comments are for those who want free advice from professionals. Certainly you have a job for which you are paid, no?
Non Sequitur - yes I do, I charge for my work, I have a job. I don't charge when I respond online to help people trying to design something themselves or when they are trying to learn. Its just a few minutes after all. I do understand your confusion though, I am from a different field, in Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering we have the concept of "open source" software and schematics, I am used to giving a part of my work away because they then improve and give back. I don't blame you for not being used to these concepts I think they only exist in these fields I mentioned. Maybe I am wrong, maybe you call it something else instead of open source. Anyway, thank you.
In that case, if you're into open source and stuff, check out WikiHouse, open source, DIY, digital etc. Or you could go the low-tech self sufficient Earth Ship kind of way, google for Michael Richards and EarthShips, using local and recycled materials, simple sustainable techniques and there is an entire community of volunteers who travel the world building EarthShips in exchange for food and shelter.
Michael Richards is Cosmo Kramer in Seinfeld, I meant Michael Reynolds haha
I've never heard of wikihouse. I will look into it. The self sufficient, sustainable, etc is not really what I am after, but I will non-the-less look. They might have ideas I can borrow. Thank you!
The self sufficient thing is great if you don't want utility bills.
I can't imagine he's really thinking self-sufficient when describing the "pain" of repairing prevoius houses starting with "you have to hire someone to fix it"
Low maintenance:
I'd say something with low repairs would require something built with no architect involved. Most architects only care about aesthetics not function. The flat leaky roof is a perfect example from your family member's commissioned architect. I'm sure people will dispute me but sadly it's true. Your best bet is using an experienced constructor/builder ect. (not sure what you'd call them in Bolivia) Try and get as many of your ideas into a written format or drawn format as possible and consult with multiple contractors. Architects will only attempt to hijack your project into their own personal art monument of their genius.
:) unfortunately the contructor is the archtect. They do have construction engineers here but they deal with large projects, buildings, bridges, that sort of thing, not family homes. I don't know if the concept of contractor exists here. I will have to find out (i had to google what it was). But yes, my goal is to have a list of guidelines to meet. Thats what I am trying to get suggestions for. Thank you.
"Most architects only care about aesthetics not function." Really, archi-dude? This is your experience? What school did you go to, what firms have you worked for? WTF, man. That's such bullshit. God I'm fucking exhausted enough fighting this attitude from outside the profession, let alone within.
Donna, almost every project I've worked on has the designers run the show and create weird extremely expensive designs that completely burn the budget. The contractors then come back with a huge bid and then looks like the hero bringing it back down to earth while we look like expensive dreamers that just create unbuildable dreams. Why does this happen? Where have you worked that you haven't experienced this? It seems this is prevalent from the smallest firm all the way to the AIA.
And I do apologize for making a blanket statement like that above it was a long week trying to detail an insane design that's going to get value engineered for sure
Sounds like the brief for my own future home, when I can afford the plot and materials etc.
move to south america, things are cheaper here :)
"I am not looking for a design. Just tips on construction"
So you're wanting free advice on a custom job. Pay an architect to help you, a different one than this flat roof maker. Find an architect whose work you appreciate and pay them. Not all architects are 'designers' especially outside of the USA where this site is based. Some actually know about construction - even some of us here in the US.
For the record you sound like the absolute worst client an architect could ever have, 'telling them what to do'. Your architect knows what they're doing or you've hired the wrong one.
its possible that this "For the record you sound like the absolute worst client an architect could ever have, 'telling them what to do'. " is true, I have never had anything built. I don't know much about the process. I dont'know much about the culture. I am familiar with the outcome though. I have lived in many houses and apartments, and most had flaws that seemed to be just lack of planning (maybe cost, I can't be sure). I am grabbing the ideas I saw that worked best and trying to combine them. thanks.
That's an interesting experience. In my experience most buildings have flaws and most flaws are attributed to bad installation/means and methods. In the 3rd world where the architect is also the contractor, I guess it's still that guys fault... but still, it's not a planning/design issue.
it sounds like you have enough of what you want in mind to approach an architect now. Don't attempt to design your own custom house and then have an architect "redo it professionally."
If somebody approached you with a piece of software that they wrote with no formal computer science education, only through googling and asking questions on forums, and asked you to "clean it up professionally," you would likely find that it is so full of errors that it would have cost that person less time and money if they had just approached a programmer in the first place. Don't make that mistake.
I know you're concerned about cost, but if you want a custom home it is going to cost you quite a bit, there is no way around that. If you can't afford to pay an architect for their services (not to mention engineers and contractors), then you can't afford a custom home, period.
you might be right that I have enough. I don't know for sure, which is why I was asking. Maybe I will contact an architect soon. About the other things....the "clean up professionally" is quite common in software, people with no money or coding skills develop a prototype and then get funding and the whole thing is redone. About the custom home cost.....over 90% of homes are custom homes, cookie cutter homes didnt exist here until the last decade. Its not a cost thing, its just how things have always been done. Different culture I suppose. Thank you.
From your previous posts, it sounds like your biggest problem is services?
I think your question is based around, what you brief needs to be for your designer. I would say, think what you want done, think what features you want and write a down a list, e.g.:
and start the discussion.
Getting the concept is the key thing, and professional designers are trained in taking that concept and developing it.
If they do it well enough, you would be the only one knowing how adaptable your house it.
A caution though. There is a cliche about people wanting designs to be infinitely flexible. They give their defined brief for Xm2 ofspace, a list of features, a request to keep the cost down. The designer does their thing, and the building gets built. After its finished, the client then says, they now want the building extended to double the original, and they asked for flexibility, so where is it and why wasn't it designed in the first place?
The reality is, it isn't possible to be infinitely flexible. You can only run so much power through a switchboard before it gets replaced or extended, an A/C system will only cool so much space, a pipe of a certain diameter can only get so much water through at a defined length before the pressure drop is too much and only a trickle comes out.
You can over design everything for maximum flexibility, but it will cost you to install capacity you don't need, which is why it generally doesn't happen.
break down the design of your house into as many pieces as possible, then google them. i'll start for an example.
you need a roof. asphalt shingles are common where i am. if i google 'asphalt shingle lifespan,' it says 15-18 years. standing seam can be 50, and you can get a warranty from the manufacturer standing behind that.
every time you punch a hole in the house, such as windows or dryer vent, etc., you will have a caulk joint that may need to be maintained around every 5 years. wood is more likely to rot than vinyl. roof penetrations need regular maintenance as well, as your neighbor found out. it's harder to prevent leaks in a standing seam roof. no maintenance means no holes in the house, but that's inconvenient if you want a door to get inside.
i agree with previous posts that conduit outside the wall cavity is probably unnecessary. rather, think about the fixtures. if you think you can get a lightbulb that won't burn out, you should probably just give up now. you can choose LED rather than fluorescent though, which means less maintenance. i would recommend wall construction where you can easily remove the wall to access the guts if necessary and repair it when done, such as typical drywall construction. otherwise, you might consider some sort of removable interior construction. i think lustron houses may have had that?
a kitchen faucet tends to last about 15 years. if you get plastic instead of ceramic valves, that will be reduced considerably.
a water heater lasts about 8 to 12 years. a tankless water heater could be more than 20.
if you have an air conditioner, that might be 15 to 20 years. perhaps a ground source heat pump could give you an advantage over central air. if no air conditioning, you might look at baseboard heating.
getting shelves instead of drawers means the stuff you store is more likely to collect dust, which means an additional ongoing maintenance item. the drawers or conduit or grounded power outlet, etc., you buy from a reputable contractor today is probably going to be of considerably better quality than 50 years ago due to improvements in the design and fabrication of those pieces. that's not to say things won't change again in 50 years, but stapling conduit to the ceiling probably isn't the best solution to future proof your house.
I think you're thinking about this a little bit backwards. Basically the best way to make sure you will have minimal repairs to your home is to hire the BEST possible contractor you can and supervise EVERYTHING they do. If you're worried about construction quality in your area it would help to educate yourself thoroughly about home construction -- which luckily is very easy to do. First, I would order a bunch of basic home construction books from your local bookseller -- I'd recommend a bunch but they're geared to wood framing b/c that's what we primarily do here, so you might need to look for yourself, for CMU construction. I would also read as much as you can from these two websites:
Green Building Advisor (buy the subscription to access the locked content)
Building Science Institute (by Joseph Lsitburek)
The International Masonry Institute has a whole series of information on best practices for masonry (including CMU) construction, and I'd also read up on as much of this as I possibly can.
There isn't a magic way to design that will prevent your home from having maintenance issues. I have been closely involved in years of residential construction, including renovations, and even including repairs to homes I have previously been involved with, and I can tell you explicitly that the repairs that end up getting required are not due to the design side for the most part but 99% of them are due to poor construction quality. You can pick any construction method and if it's poorly built, it will fall apart. There isn't one particular construction method that's going to be more fool-proof than another, IN GENERAL (excluding weird shit).
That said -- in addition to doing everything above (and educating yourself to be your own advocate), your architect CAN help you with future-proofing your home. We do this all the time -- we think through possible future trends in construction, as well as possible future uses for the home itself (aka, will you be living there for 50 years and possibly, in the future, will you maybe have accessibility issues as an old person? is it possible that an older person may move in with you in the future and need care in the home? maybe you will have a bunch of children in the future? etc.), and we work with our clients to design their home accordingly. But this is really on a one-on-one basis: it's not something you can universally proscribe. Therefore I concur with others above that really, you need to very carefully interview all your potential architects and work with the best one that fits your needs. Some architects, unfortunately, don't really know how to build -- as you found out with your sister's house. Many, however, do -- many LOVE to build, and know this kind of thing backwards and forwards. But approach the relationship like a partnership, and not like "I'm telling my architect what to draw up" (which is kind of bullshit, trust me) and your working relationship with your architect will yield the best results.
Enjoy -- it's fun to learn about this stuff. Go and learn everything you can!
Ok just caught up with some of the previous responses and I agree with Chuck, Curtkam and Fictional Christopher. I think we're all telling you different aspects of the same thing. Hopefully this helps and you can spend some time educating yourself, and then pick a great architect partner and you'll have a well-built home.
One more thing to remember: generally, unfortunately, in the building industry you really do get what you pay for. And that goes for the services as well as the lifespan of the individual parts and pieces (as curtkram noted). In my firm (we do pricey residential) we do get clients coming to us and asking for a home for 100 year lifespan, and that means a certain set of construction practices and product selections that unfortunately do cost more than conventional construction (which in our area generally lasts 20-50 years). Therefore, be prepared that you may need to balance your budget for this project differently than your peers do. That also goes for the professionals working on it: the best GCs REALLY DO COST MUCH MORE than Average Joe Contractor. You might need to do a tiny house, but spend 3x as much on it as your neighbor, in order to ensure top notch construction quality.
You should make sure to tell your architect, from day 1, that you want a 100 year home -- and that s/he should advise you accordingly.
It's going to be expensive to build, but if it's built right, you will save that money overtime.
bricks
LOL at the comments, always love these kind of threads. OPs always get so frustrated lulz.