We received the county's CAO Letter last Saturday, showing the critical area on the land. In fact, the land turns out to have only a small seasonal stream in the Northern most corner. It is a Class N stream - which I think is the lowest rating - and has a 65' buffer on either side of the center line that cannot be excavated or developed. That's fine with me because it's in an area of the property that is far from where we'd build the home.
I want to say that the King County Dept of Development and Environmental Services really surprised me. It only took three weeks to do the review and get the letter to me. I was told they were running about six weeks. Plus, it was effortless on my part - sent in app and fee and before I knew it they were finished. You can see the CAO Letter by clicking here.
Now that I have the CAO Letter I can get the septic design underway. I hired Huard Septic Design for this - sent them a $750 deposit and a completed application form. They say they are taking about three weeks to do a design. They will prepare and submit the septic design to the county - which is taking about four months to review a permit request - wow!
We met with the architect last Saturday - Eric Brooks. For three hours we discussed the house we want to build and some of the important items - view, pool, barn. He is going to work up a proposal that describes the services he can provide and their costs. We should be getting that from him sometime this coming week. The stock plans we found are about what we want, but will take some major work. Things like coming up with a kitchen that we like, and a pool room that accommodates the pool and spa. Eric likes the idea of us sharing an AutoCAD project file - I've already sent him what I have and he verified he can open it and see all the images (floor plans, maps, etc) that I've inserted.
I spent many hours last weekend working up the Site Layout which shows placement of house and barn, plus the driveway and parking area. It also shows the excavation area - it should be about 2 acres. Of course, all of this is subject to change as the realities of the septic design and costs to do things like run water, etc, come in. But, you have to start somewhere. I show the current iteration of the site below. One of many to come, I'm sure.
I've also started thinking about the pool room, and the layout of the pool and spa. I show the current layout below. We're going to use fiberglass pool and spa rather than concrete. I think fiberglass components are easier to work with, and probably have lower maintenance. The company whose products I like most, so far, is San Juan Pools. For pool I've select the Catalina model, and for spa the Isle model. I like the curved designs better than rectangular designs, plus I think they'll work with the room size we have. I don't want to be changing the pool room size, it can get expensive. I haven't spoken with the local San Juan Pools vendor around here yet, so I'm not sure I have allowed enough spacing between pool and walls. There could be building codes, etc, that I'm unaware of that will dictate what we can do.
One thing important in a pool room design is ventilation. The pool and spa release a lot of water vapor into the air. I found what appears to be a good vendor for dehumidifiers - Dehumidifier Corporation of America (DCA). I filled out their online quote request and within 24 hours I had a full quote for a system - dehumidifier, heater, remote condenser, controls, etc - that should work well for us. The price is around $9500. Their website is full of information to help you select the unit best for your needs.
Current plan is to use a propane fired heat pump for the house (this may change as we get further into it). The air handler for the unit would be in the garage, and its condenser would be outside against the garage. The dehumidifier's air handler would also go in garage, and its condenser outside next to the heat pump condenser.
This coming week, I hope, I can meet with a pool designer and get some information that helps us understand how to design the pool room for proper pool placement and ventilation ducting - supply and return.
Here's the Site Layout:
I want to say that the King County Dept of Development and Environmental Services really surprised me. It only took three weeks to do the review and get the letter to me. I was told they were running about six weeks. Plus, it was effortless on my part - sent in app and fee and before I knew it they were finished. You can see the CAO Letter by clicking here.
Now that I have the CAO Letter I can get the septic design underway. I hired Huard Septic Design for this - sent them a $750 deposit and a completed application form. They say they are taking about three weeks to do a design. They will prepare and submit the septic design to the county - which is taking about four months to review a permit request - wow!
We met with the architect last Saturday - Eric Brooks. For three hours we discussed the house we want to build and some of the important items - view, pool, barn. He is going to work up a proposal that describes the services he can provide and their costs. We should be getting that from him sometime this coming week. The stock plans we found are about what we want, but will take some major work. Things like coming up with a kitchen that we like, and a pool room that accommodates the pool and spa. Eric likes the idea of us sharing an AutoCAD project file - I've already sent him what I have and he verified he can open it and see all the images (floor plans, maps, etc) that I've inserted.
I spent many hours last weekend working up the Site Layout which shows placement of house and barn, plus the driveway and parking area. It also shows the excavation area - it should be about 2 acres. Of course, all of this is subject to change as the realities of the septic design and costs to do things like run water, etc, come in. But, you have to start somewhere. I show the current iteration of the site below. One of many to come, I'm sure.
I've also started thinking about the pool room, and the layout of the pool and spa. I show the current layout below. We're going to use fiberglass pool and spa rather than concrete. I think fiberglass components are easier to work with, and probably have lower maintenance. The company whose products I like most, so far, is San Juan Pools. For pool I've select the Catalina model, and for spa the Isle model. I like the curved designs better than rectangular designs, plus I think they'll work with the room size we have. I don't want to be changing the pool room size, it can get expensive. I haven't spoken with the local San Juan Pools vendor around here yet, so I'm not sure I have allowed enough spacing between pool and walls. There could be building codes, etc, that I'm unaware of that will dictate what we can do.
One thing important in a pool room design is ventilation. The pool and spa release a lot of water vapor into the air. I found what appears to be a good vendor for dehumidifiers - Dehumidifier Corporation of America (DCA). I filled out their online quote request and within 24 hours I had a full quote for a system - dehumidifier, heater, remote condenser, controls, etc - that should work well for us. The price is around $9500. Their website is full of information to help you select the unit best for your needs.
Current plan is to use a propane fired heat pump for the house (this may change as we get further into it). The air handler for the unit would be in the garage, and its condenser would be outside against the garage. The dehumidifier's air handler would also go in garage, and its condenser outside next to the heat pump condenser.
This coming week, I hope, I can meet with a pool designer and get some information that helps us understand how to design the pool room for proper pool placement and ventilation ducting - supply and return.
Here's the Site Layout:
Here's the Main Floor Showing Pool Room Layout:
No comments:
Post a Comment