It has been a busy summer so far.  For a while it seemed that work was slowing down as I finished some projects, but then the phone started ringing again.  

My clients for the Richland County Farmhouse Addition project, which I wrote about in my post on March 17 of last year, were kind enough to send me some photos of their addition under construction.  As exciting as it is to design new projects, it's even more fulfilling to see them come to fruition.  Below are a couple of photos of the progress.  The project is being general contracted by Aaron Hubbs of Hubbs Construction Inc., who is located in Wonewoc, Wisconsin.  

Permits are needed for almost any kind of residential construction that involves a new structure (home or outbuilding), addition or significant alterations.  The number of permits needed and the time that it takes to get them (as well as the cost) can be quite significant and should be factored into the project.

A simple remodeling project may require only a building permit from the municipality, which may take a week or less to obtain.  A new home on an urban or suburban lot typically also requires a zoning permit from the municipality, which may add a couple of weeks or more.  However, certain factors can require more extensive permitting.  Waterfront properties or properties in flood plains, rural properties, properties in special scenic areas, or sites which require a lot of land disturbance may all require additional permits.   

The project discussed in my last blog post - "Town of Wyoming Family Home" - is requiring an unusually large number of approvals before construction can begin.  Part of the reason is that the homeowners are subdividing and rezoning their rural parcels, which are too small to comply with the current requirements for the zoning category that they are in.  Other factors:  the property is in a municipality which wants to maintain its rural character and is therefore careful about allowing homeowners to change zoning if it will potentially take farmland out of production.  The municipality also aims to reduce the visibility of new construction. Furthermore, the property is within the scenic Lower Wisconsin Riverway.  And finally, the amount of land that is being disturbed in order to build the home and the long driveway requires approval from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.  

Here are the permits and approvals required for this project:

• Approval from the town for land division, rezoning, driveway access, internal driveway design and building siting.  The driveway was required to be designed by an engineer because of the steepness of the site.
• Approval from the county highway department for the location of the private driveway/public road intersection, making certain that it is not too close to neighboring driveways or to major intersecting roads.
• A permit from the Lower Wisconsin Riverway Board:  because the property is within the Lower Wisconsin Riverway, the LWRB had to determine whether the home will be visible from the Wisconsin River (it won't be).
• A sanitary permit from the county:  any home which will have a septic system requires a sanitary permit from the county.  Because this home will have an at-grade system, it also requires approval from the state.
• Approval from the county for the land re-division and re-zoning.
• A zoning permit from the county
• A Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources construction stormwater permit:  this is because of the amount of ground that will be displaced during construction of the road and home
• Finally, a building permit from the town.

If the property had been adjoining a lake or river or if it had been in a floodplain, it would have needed additional approvals as part of the county zoning process.

Some of these permits cannot be obtained until previous ones have been granted.  For example, the county could not grant the re-zoning approval until the town had approved it.  The zoning permit cannot be obtained until a sanitary permit has been granted.  The town will not approve the building permit until the county zoning permit is in place.  

By working to obtain as many permits at the same time as possible, we should have them all in approximately 4 months from the start of the process.  Without the land re-division and re-zoning, it would have taken approximately 2 to 2-1/2 months, assuming that everything went smoothly. Providing inadequate information or not meeting the permit requirements can delay the process if the applicant needs to provide additional information or if parts of the project need to be re-designed. This is particularly true for those permits which are granted by a board which only meets once a month, as the board's decision will be delayed until the following month.  Processing times for permits may increase during particularly busy construction periods, such as in the spring.

If the time for permits is not factored into the process, it could result in an unexpected delay to the project.  Unfortunately, this can mean that construction anticipated to start in the fall may have to be delayed until the following spring, since our climate makes it difficult to start projects in December through March.

This project is currently in the final design stage.  Located in the rolling hills near Taliesin, it exhibits some of the characteristics of Frank Lloyd Wright's work:  low slung roofs, horizontal bands of windows, nature-inspired colors, and a combination of low and soaring ceilings to shape the space within.  

The combined kitchen / dining area / living room is large - 45' x 23' .  My clients value time spent with family and wanted a living and dining space that could accommodate up to 20 people.  A light deck that runs around the perimeter of the great room provides space for uplighting and downlighting.  The ceiling vaults from a height of 8' at the exterior wall to 12' at the interior wall.  A built-in window seat provides additional seating and a place to view the outdoors, while a wood-burning fireplace provides a cozy spot for colder days.

Not far from the great room is a den for when my clients desire a smaller social space.  The den could easily function as a fourth bedroom if desired.

A wrap-around deck connects the screen porch to the primary bedroom, providing ample space for outdoor living.

One of the books that I'm currently reading is "Pretty Good House:  A Guide to Creating Better Homes".    The title for the book came from one of the monthly get-togethers of a building science discussion group in Portland, Maine.  Frustrated by the complexity and questionable impact of the requirements of many home-rating systems that have been developed to make homes healthier and more environmentally friendly (for example, Passive House and LEED), they sought to create guidelines and a framework for determining which high-performance measures are practical and which aren't worth the additional expense.  The book describes it in this way:  "a Pretty Good House is a house that's as small as possible; it is simple, durable and well designed; it uses wood and other plant-derived products as construction materials (preferably local); it should be insulated and air-sealed well enough that heating and cooling systems can be minimal; and, above all, it is affordable, healthy, responsible and resilient." 

"Pretty Good House" explains the basics of building science in a way that is approachable for those without a background in construction, design or building science, and includes case studies showing how the principles were applied (with lots of beautiful home photos!) to both new homes and renovations.  I think that the authors have done a great job of explaining the basics of a good house, including plenty of photos, illustrations and bullet points so that it's enjoyable to read.  

This home was designed for recent retirees who relocated from Tennessee to be closer to their children in the Madison area.  The site is a former farmstead in the Town of Primrose.  The original home and barn had been torn down when my clients bought the property, but some stone retaining walls and a silo remain as evidence of the site's former life.   

The new home is designed with vaulted ceilings in most of the rooms; large window  and door groupings  on the south and west overlook views of the fields and neighboring wetland.  The sitting area, dining area and kitchen are combined in one large space with an asymmetrical vaulted ceiling.  The sitting area is at the south end of the home, with the best views.  The dining area is adjacent to a screen porch which can also be accessed from the primary bedroom.  

The design includes a continuous "light deck" that runs at a height of 8' above the floor on the north and east sides of the room.  A wood trim band on the outside face of the light deck hadn't yet been installed when I took these photos.  It will provide contrast to give the light deck a visual punch.

The general contractor for this home was Meier Construction of Barneveld, Wisconsin.

The bedrooms and bathrooms are also on the main level and have vaulted ceilings as well.  For privacy, they are separated from the public spaces by the basement stair and the entry foyer, which serves as a link between the public and private wings of the house.  The primary bedroom has its own hallway for extra privacy.

One of my recently completed projects is this new home for horse owners in the Town of Dodgeville.  They have a gorgeous 10-acre property with views of woods and farmland.  Building was restricted to the uphill portion of the property due to the presence of a wetland area along the south edge of the property.

My clients' original plan was to build a two-story home with main living spaces on the first floor and bedrooms on the second floor.  However, I demonstrated how they could use the walkout basement for living space, eliminating the cost of a second floor.  

My clients own horses, and they wanted to be able to keep an eye on their horses from within the house.  An abundance of tall windows were used along the south side of the house so that all of the major spaces, including the great room, all three bedrooms, the screen porch and decks and the family room on the lower level, could have views of the distant wooded hills and the horses.

The living area, dining area and kitchen are laid out in a triangle to create a long diagonal view.  The living area and kitchen share a vaulted ceiling.  The dining area is defined by windows on three sides and a lower ceiling.  A wraparound deck on the south and west and a screen porch on the east take advantage of the views in three directions.

The general contractor for this home was Gehin Builders of Belleville.  

I hope to come back next summer when the grass is grown in and it's sunny so that I can get some better exterior photos.

​I had the pleasure of traveling to Portland, Oregon last week, where my husband attended a business seminar.  One of my favorite sights was the Portland Japanese Garden in Washington Park.  The subtle colors throughout the garden - shades of greens, browns, grays and pale yellow - produce a feeling of calm, and the quiet colors allow one to focus on the small details that add richness to the park.

One thing that particularly intrigued me was the great variety of shapes, sizes and textures of ground cover and paving - chiseled stone, stone fragments, exposed-aggregate concrete, smooth rocks, sharp gravel, moss, rectangular pavers, foliage, natural rocks - and the many different ways that they were combined throughout the park.  

​I don't know what to call the squiggly things in the picture above, but I like them!

Below are additional pictures of the park that don't involve paving.
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Most of the views within the Japanese Garden are medium-distance views, highly curated and visually confined by hills or foliage, which helps to create a sense of serenity and introspection.  However, the Mount Hood Overlook in front of the Pavilion Gallery has a stunning long-distance view of the mountains beyond Portland.
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There seem to be many "rustic" cabins in our beautiful rural areas of Wisconsin.  Often used as hunting cabins or summer homes, these may be unheated and occasionally even without running water.  I often talk to potential clients who have owned such a home for many years and then decided to fulfill their dreams of moving full-time to the country by making it a year-round home.  Or perhaps they would like to be able to visit comfortably in the winter.

These cabins are often built on the cheap, with minimal or no insulation, inexpensive single pane windows, small and basic kitchens and bathrooms and compact footprints.  Sometimes they are true log cabins built of solid logs.  

I think it's human nature to want to improve where we live.  Perhaps our income has grown since we first purchased the cabin, we want more space to entertain extended family, or we're now able to work remotely.  Over time our simple rustic cabin has become too basic and too small.

However, it's important to know the code issues that come into play when upgrading from an unheated (or wood stove-heated) home to one that uses propane, natural gas or electricity for heat.  The Wisconsin Uniform Dwelling Code states that all one- and two-family dwellings that use any amount of non-renewable energy for heat generation must comply with Chapter 322, the Energy Conservation code.  Dwellings using renewable energy such as wood or solar-generated power are exempt from the requirements (although I'd argue that it's still a good idea to insulate floors, walls and ceilings for greater comfort).

Some types of dwellings, such as those built with stud walls, having basements or insulated crawlspaces below the house and generous attic space above the ceiling, are relatively easy to insulate.  Solid log homes, homes with a slab on grade floors or with vaulted ceilings having no attic space above, are more difficult.  If you're considering purchasing a rustic cabin, it's worthwhile thinking about whether you may want to make this a full-time home in the future and about how easy it might be to bring the cabin up to code if you do. 

This home, currently on the boards, is designed for a flat site in the Town of Arena in Iowa County Wisconsin.  My clients came to me with the idea of building an A-frame house on their rural site.  However, we quickly came to the conclusion that the tight space constraints of an A-frame would not meet their requirements.  A-frames, with their steeply pitched roofs which double as the walls of the house, are big on ceiling height but small on floor area.  

​Instead we opted for a design with a 1-1/2 story great room, with the remainder of the house being 2 stories in order to create adequate space for four bedrooms, 2-1/2 baths, a large walk-in pantry, loft, mud room and laundry.

The front and sides of the home utilize standard sized windows, saving the drama for the great room window wall which overlooks the forested south end of the property.  Exterior materials include black metal vertical siding, black standing seam roofs and black windows, with stained wood entry door, overhead doors and screen porch framing providing warm accents.

In addition to the interior conditioned space, there is a screen porch for enjoying the summer months bug-free, and a patio which wraps around two sides of the great room.

In recent years, I've had many clients who have steep rural sites that they would like to build on.  In a previous blog post called Driveways for Steep Sites, I wrote about the challenges of putting a functional driveway on a steep side.  This post will talk more about the house itself, specifically houses built on the side of a steep hill.

What is meant by a steep site?  Although the definition can vary, I'm referring to a site with a grade of 20% or more.  

​The following recommendations are based on what is most natural and therefore most affordable to build, not on what CAN be built.  Most things are possible to build with enough money. 

GARAGE LOCATION
First of all, let's consider the garage.  If the site is uphill from the public road, then it makes sense to put the garage on the lowest level of the house (what would be considered a walkout basement) because it will be easier to get a driveway to that level.  This will reduce the length of the driveway and the amount of grade that it has to climb.  This can work well if you plan to have the main living spaces (e.g. the family room, kitchen, dining room, etc.) in the walkout basement level of the house.  In homes where the living spaces are on the level above the garage, owners may want to plan for a future elevator in case they have difficulty walking up stairs as they age.

If the site is downhill from the public road, then it makes sense to put the garage on the uphill side of the house, again in order to reduce the length of the driveway and the grade change.  I find this to be a more desirable situation, since most people prefer to put the main living spaces completely aboveground, and there will likely be better views from this level as well.

LEVELS AND ORIENTATION
It naturally makes sense to have a walkout basement if one is building on a steep hill, since the downhill side of the house will be exposed. This can be especially beneficial if the hill faces south, as both levels will get southern exposure and heat from the sun in the winter.

When building on the side of a hill, it makes sense to keep the home rather narrow in the steep direction and orient the long faces parallel to the contours of the slope.  This minimizes the change in grade around the perimeter of the house and therefore the need for retaining walls.  Retaining walls can be a beautiful way to integrate a home into its site, but homeowners should be aware that they will be an added expense that won't be included in the cost to build the house itself.

Another option is to have multiple levels which step down the hill to follow the grade, but that strategy will increase the amount of foundation and roof area, therefore increasing the cost of the house.  Multiple levels can also be difficult to design without the roofs of the lower levels blocking the views from the upper levels, unless flat roofs (maybe with rooftop terraces incorporated into them!) are used.  

The least natural option is to build a house which runs perpendicular to the hill's contours and will require either that the home be pushed back into the hill or that retaining walls be used to hold the ground up around the foundation walls.

OUTDOOR SPACES
Patios or other outdoor spaces that sit directly on the ground work best when they are next to the house (with a retaining wall to hold up the ground) or behind it on the uphill side of the home.  Decks can, of course, be used to create outdoor spaces on the downhill side of the house but will shade the areas below them and may look awkwardly proportioned if they sit too far above the grade.

GRADING, STRUCTURE AND RETAINING WALLS
It's important that the ground on all sides of a house is sloped away from the house so that rainwater isn't directed into the house.  On the uphill side of the home, that often requires retaining walls to hold the dirt back away from the house.  Steeper hills will require more and/or higher retaining walls than less steep hills.

Structurally, the foundation of a home built on a steep hill may require additional reinforcing and concrete to resist the weight of the ground pushing against the uphill side of the house or may require special foundations.  The higher and longer the wall which is underground, the greater the force upon the wall, wanting to tilt it over.

EXCAVATION AND CONSTRUCTION COSTS
Finally, construction itself may be more expensive on a steep site.  It is more difficult to move equipment around a steep site, to bring materials up or down the hill and to construct the home when there is no flat area to work on.  The general contractor may even have to rent special equipment.


Steep sites can certainly be used to build a new home, but the owner of such a property should be aware of the special challenges and additional costs that will likely come with developing that site.  Tailoring the design of the home to work WITH the grade rather than against it will help to reduce those costs to some extent.