Its been 10 days since my last update. Things have been busy, although mostly for our architect.
We have two big activities coming up. Activity one is getting approval for the design from the Concord Natural Resource Commission (NRC). They have to approve the plans, because the house will be within 100′ of wetlands (although we are more than 200′ from the river, which helps). The NRC wants to know all the exterior details, so we need the complete design, plans for putting in a new septic system, locations of things like the external heating/cooling systems, back up power generator, and which trees need to be removed, as well as our plans for remediation (replacement plantings).
We have not engaged a mechanical engineer yet so the heating/cooling details are not fully worked out, but we have a preliminary plan for what will be placed outside the house and are hoping that it is mostly accurate. Meanwhile, next week we meet with a landscape architect with whom we have engaged, to do a site visit. She will be proposing the replacement trees and plantings that will be part of the plan presented to the NRC. A representative from our site engineering firm will be doing the presentation (he has experience with the NRC) and he expects it will take two different monthly meetings to get approval (hopefully the December and January meetings). We have discarded our plans to seek a special zoning exemption for a taller roof, so we will not need any unusual zoning approvals.
I have attached a copy of the sewage disposal plan to give you some sense of what the engineering firm has been doing. I do not expect you to read the details. But the thicker black rectangles in the plot plan will be the new leeching field and septic tank. The existing one is behind the garage and is too close to the wetlands; and, although it is grandfathered in, relocating it will make the NRC happy.
Activity two is preparing a packet to present to builders for pricing. The architect has selected four builders to initially engage, all of whom she has experience with and who have expressed an interest in the project and can start in the spring. The architect gives the builders a complete package with as many details as possible, and the builders come back with estimated costs and schedule. Then we pick one.
We are still working to select specialists to design the mechanical system (heat pumps, duct work), electrical system and plumbing. We are putting extra care into the design of the electrical system to reduced internal EMF and magnetic fields as much as possible.
Speaking of which, our EMF consultant has said that boxy rooms with square walls make for a lot of reflection of electrical fields but also acoustic waves (i.e. the room will be noisy). We can not really do much for the main living room, but we are toying with the idea of slanted walls and ceilings in both the master bedroom and the gaming room.
You can see the proposed two slanted walls in this diagram. What you can not see is are the proposed cathedral ceilings. Because the space ends up being so unusual, it helps to see a 3D model of the space, so I have attached two images of the expected gaming room space. The door on the left side of the first image leads out to the porch. There are shelves (for games, of course) along both the North and West walls; and a Murphy bed taking up part of the wall (behind our lovely model in blue).
As part of the planning for the septic system, we were forced to raise the floor of the main level by about a foot, which puts further pressure on the second floor. I have posted some more details at the bottom of this page, including a 3D model of the family room space to give you an idea of the impact of lowering the roof into that space.
Finally, I have updated the pictures and floor plans that I previously added to the main Sudbury River House page. You can go there for the latest design diagrams.
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