Homebuilder/Designer Questions

[Clark Fork Fantast]

Some super-basic stuff, just in case you haven't gotten this far: Before you can take out a building permit, the site has to be perc'ed by the county. That's Panhandle Health. The phone numbers are in the sticky thread. You don't have to actually install the septic at that point, you just need to have a designated drain field. Then you submit basic drawings to the Bonner County office, and if you have architectural drawings, they'll love it, but they will actually accept your own pencil sketches indicating the perc site and the well (or a likely location for a future well), layout of the floor plan, and front and side elevations.

Conventional wisdom says to get the well and the septic plus power taken care of before breaking ground, and that is indeed a good idea, but we decided to put those things off until later. So now we're off the grid and hauling water!

[Ghostrider16]

Originally Posted by Clark Fork Fantast

We went the other route: We drew up the initial plans ourselves and gave them to our builder-designer after having stayed on our land in a travel trailer for three summers, deciding on the general area where to build the house, and discussing details. So we knew what we wanted, and he computerized our drawings and made them work as a designer blueprint. Except he talked us out of a log home, so we went with a timber frame hybrid instead, and we're very glad we went with that suggestion. We're lucky that our builder is essentially a craftsman with the same values as we have when it comes to quality. Our place is custom, but only 1100 sq ft altogether--it is a cabin, after all. 1 1/2 story (ground floor and loft), cheaper than building out. We hadn't planned on a great room with as high a ceiling as we ended up with, but that was our builder's local expertise: the pitch has to be so steep that the snow will slide off. The more dormers, the more traps for the snow, and the more costly it will be. Going with a balcony dormer was an expensive decision, but we're very happy with it! The view is awesome from up there. We added another dormer on the other side of the house, so we get a cross breeze in the loft.

Crawlspaces are more common than basements in NID, and they are usually 4 ft below ground and 2 ft above. I can just stand up down there, but a taller person can't. One thing we should have done from the start is have a floor in the crawlspace; as it is now, it is dirt. But that can be amended. Otherwise, very few second thoughts.

Good luck--you're in for an exciting and sometimes frustrating time!

Thanks for this and your other post CFF! I appreciate all the thoughts/tips.


We already have a manufactured home on the property so we have a well, power, septic already in place, though we will likely have to add a septic depending on the placement of the new house. If so, I wonder if the fact of the existing septic will forego the need for another perc test since the new one wouldn't be that far from the existing one. I'll have to check with Panhandle Health for that.

If you were happy with them, and it seems you were, who was your contractor?

We did a pretty major remodel here about 10 years ago. Fortunately, that one went pretty smoothly. Hopefully we will be as fortunate with this build!

Again, great thoughts! Thanks for taking the time, and if any others come to mind, please let me know!!

[Ghostrider16]

Originally Posted by nm9stheham

OK Very good. If the soil and land is straightforward then all that is needed is to be able to know the soils adequately. Knowing the soils and any underlying layers for the foundation design needs to be checked into at some point in the process; your new home may be in an area already familiar to the local firms engaged where they are confident of and know what needs to be done. I'd also look into any wetlands classifications on a Wetlands Mapper site maintained by US Fish & Wildlife service. And the seismic category in Bonner County looks to be low enough to not require anything special, but I would still ask about that at some point in the process.

Someone you pay ought to take care of setbacks from property lines, but I'd make sure to know myself where the lines lay. We had one local builder who thought he knew and literally had to 'shave' about 8' off the end of a spec house after construction!

Looks like in unincorporated Bonner County, you don't need any thing like a licensed architect or engineer to sign off on plans for a single family residential permit. Here is a useful document from the county to become familiar as a check on the process; it has a list of other things to be aware of on a later page. You might visit the permitting office to make sure you have the latest copy.

https://evogov.s3.amazonaws.com/medi...dia/127452.pdf


Sounds exciting!

Thanks for this and the attachment.

Exciting is one adjective for it! Right now, it's mostly anxiety that I'm able to get enough info so I end up with a good contractor and crew who know what they're doing, do quality work, and don't shortcut in places I wouldn't know about for a few years. It's amazing the amount of conflicting info you get at this stage of the game. I admittedly don't know much about construction so I wouldn't know if something was being done wrong if I was watching it happen. I almost feel like I need a totally independent, objective construction consultant to oversee things to ensure things are being done properly!

I can't imagine getting the news that I have to shave off 8' of a structure after it was done! I'm sure it will be documented, but fortunately we are placing everything well away from the property boundaries to have to worry about that.

Thanks again for all the feedback!

[nm9stheham]

Originally Posted by Ghostrider16

Exciting is one adjective for it! Right now, it's mostly anxiety that I'm able to get enough info so I end up with a good contractor and crew who know what they're doing, do quality work, and don't shortcut in places I wouldn't know about for a few years. It's amazing the amount of conflicting info you get at this stage of the game. I admittedly don't know much about construction so I wouldn't know if something was being done wrong if I was watching it happen. I almost feel like I need a totally independent, objective construction consultant to oversee things to ensure things are being done properly!

Well, that kind of supervision/consultation is something architectural firms do offer as a service; part of what they get paid for in supervising a project start to end is to look after their customer's interests. Architects don't know everything about construction details but at least they get experience and have fair idea on what should be done. And if the architect sets up of the house design, then they will have some sense of 'ownership' in the outcome. Since you will be local, it may be a good tag team approach for you.



Having a good,conscientious builder would actually get rid of the need to have the architect supervise things.... But I just don't know the local builders there to be of any help with that.

[Ghostrider16]

Originally Posted by nm9stheham

Well, that kind of supervision/consultation is something architectural firms do offer as a service; part of what they get paid for in supervising a project start to end is to look after their customer's interests. Architects don't know everything about construction details but at least they get experience and have fair idea on what should be done. And if the architect sets up of the house design, then they will have some sense of 'ownership' in the outcome. Since you will be local, it may be a good tag team approach for you.



Having a good,conscientious builder would actually get rid of the need to have the architect supervise things.... But I just don't know the local builders there to be of any help with that.

No worries. Thanks again for the info you have provided!