Who knows anything about A-Frame houses

[wa-loaf]

Never had personal experience but they have been around for years.. They do have some advantages over woodstoves but since they burn wood have alot of the same problems as wood plus a couple of unique ones.

The do take a long time to heat up to temperature I think I heard that it takes a day or even longer. By the same token if the place gets overheated you can't really turn them down. Wood smoke is a big polluter. In Jackson, Wy, 10 years ago they banned them in all new construction.

I see your point. They do need to be designed properly for the house they are going in and don't work great unless you have an open floor plan. They are much more efficient burners of wood, you would only need 1-2 cords for an average house and they don't need to be stocked in the middle of the night. And don't really produce that much smoke or leave much for ashes.

The real offenders are those crappy external wood fired furnaces!

 

[ckofer]

You could build your cellar out of insulated concrete forms and reduce your energy losses. I would consider a propane heater (a nice one in Rinnai, example)

You may be able to place a solar heater on one side too. These are fairly simple. Electricity from solar can be pricey.

 

[mattchuck2]

Just out of Curiosity ARider . . . how are you paying for this? You're just out of college . . do you have any student loans? Do you have a job? Do you know how much you'll be making when you do get a job? I admire your gung ho attitude . . . You must be getting some help, right?

 

[AdironRider]

Financing is a problem, but I do have some significant savings built up and Ive done pretty well in the stock market for my age. My mother works for a financial planner and since Ive been 16 Ive put all I could during my summer jobs into his hands (I'm 22). Hes done pretty well, but certainly not enough to finance the whole project. I could probably buy a nice acre of land somewhere right now, but thatd leave me with nothing to build with other than the equity Id have just owning the property for a loan. Im good with my hands and would like to build as much of it as possible, but theres still excavation, plumbing, and electrical stuff that I dont know jack about...

That being said, this is a pretty long term plan. Im taking a year off to travel, ski bum, and experience life and after that Im looking at graduate school at Clarkson University. So who knows, plans can always change. Either way, Im a geek in the sense that I like to research stuff way in advance and have a good plan (hence the having a financial advisor, even if it is my mom's boss, at 16). Just wanted to start looking into where and how Id like to be living, seeing as that and a career are my next (and only 3 weeks away!!!!!!) challenge in life.

 

[wa-loaf]

Sounds like you are halfway there. If you know where you want to set up, buy the land now. You can always use it for camping or build a small cabin. And a few years down the road when the land has appreciated a bit and you are on better financial footing you can build your dream home

 

[drjeff]

While I am not currently a home owner, I am entering the market as a perspective Home Buyer this Summer. My perspective is that even if you think you are getting your dream house that you will live in for the rest of your life, I do not think it is a good idea to over look possible resale value. Anything can happen. Even if you love the place, life events may force you to move. While not a primary issue, resale value probably should not be dismissed outright. Would not be very good to take a loss in a market that rarely goes down except in very short periods of correction.

In the same boat as you are regarding wanting a small place. No need for a huge house for a couple, but that could change so also good to look long term. Large houses mean more space to heat and more rooms to fill with junk... more money. We are just looking for small ranch style houses but we are open to anything if it fits. If you are set on an A Frame, that is certainly cool. I would definitely take SRO up on his advice and explore a few as soon as possible as your first step.

Good thought process here! As for the not too big now/big enough for a couple thoughts, my wife and I bought our current house 6 years ago, pre-kids, and we had probably an extra 500 to 600 sq. feet of space that we essentially never used (formal dining room and a 4th bedroom that mainly got used for family members just in the immediate couple of days around x-mas each year). Add in 2 kids and throw in a 2nd dog to boot, and not only do we now use what used to be extra space all the time, but we added an extra 1100 sq. ft. last year on top of it all.

You really just fathom how much extra space/stuff adding a kid or 2 into the housing mix takes up, its mind boggling sometimes, then try and overnight travel with the kid(s) and you'll start to see some justification for the big SUV too Truely amazing how something as small as a little kid often requires so much "stuff" on a daily basis!

 

[Greg]

You really just fathom how much extra space/stuff adding a kid or 2 into the housing mix takes up, its mind boggling sometimes, then try and overnight travel with the kid(s) and you'll start to see some justification for the big SUV too Truely amazing how something as small as a little kid often requires so much "stuff" on a daily basis!

I'm living it!