The Brengelman Noble Home

This is for you Uncle Don

2009-08-24T09:18:00.000-07:00

Finally, some shots of the exterior. Its hard to get good pictures because of the trees and the tall weeds I have to wade through to get out near the road, but since I am currently on steroids for a severe case of poison ivy, I figured it would be a good time to make the hike.

All pictures, no words

2009-07-30T09:45:00.000-07:00

A LOT OF PROGRESS

2009-07-11T14:27:00.000-07:00

It's raining today, so I finally have a minute to upload some pictures of our progress. We've been working on a million projects over the past few months, including the stucco (more accurately STO EIFS synthetic stucco), cedar shake siding, the deck, and the fireplace. Oh, and we actually moved into the place!

The STO EIFS system has multiple steps. You start by sanding down the ICFs with rough sandpaper, and then put on a basecoat and embed mesh into it. I recruited my brother for this project. The photo below is the "big" wall complete with basecoat.

We used a fine grain top coat in a color called Moon dust. The color does not show up in these photos at all. I did all of the top coat myself because it turns out the guys thought that this was a "girl's job" because it took a light touch to get an even finish.

When Izak went to the lumber yard to pick up our siding I NEVER expected him to show up with cedar shakes! They are gorgeous, but quite a tedious process putting them up. Turns out that this is another great "girl's job" because they are light weight and a one person job. So, other than the corner of the garage, I've put up all of the shingles. The smell of cedar actually makes me nauseous now, but I've still got hours of shingling to go.

We are going to let the shingles naturally gray a bit before treating them (if at all). They look great but they are a little pink for our taste.

Turkey the cat really loves the front deck. He had a rough car ride getting to the new house, but he has come to quickly love the country home.

Our view from the front deck is beautiful.

After contemplating what to finish the fireplace in, we went with stucco. The simplicity of it seems to be the best option for the space. Now we just need to get the floating mantles put on to the brackets.

It just stopped raining...so back to those shingles!

2009-04-15T09:19:00.000-07:00

Izak built an interesting entry way into the house to keep us from needed a hand rail. It was also designed to eliminate the confusion as the where our front door is (seems it wasn't intuitive). Izak dug all of the rocks out of the hillside behind the house.

We've managed to get trim on some of the windows. This one is in the entry so having trim on it has made a big impact on the feel of the house. It'll look even better when I get around to putting the finish on.

The mirrors in the downstairs full bath are from a Re-Use center here in Cincinnati called Building Value. The mirrors were originally in a school.

We have actually gotten around to hanging a few wall cabinets in the kitchen too. It still looks a little boring, but once we get the remainder of the countertops done and backsplash on I think it will come around.

Last but not least, I can't help but put in a picture of Nola and Otte.

Izak's first Staircase

2009-03-24T04:48:00.000-07:00

2009-02-06T10:33:00.000-08:00

Random pictures of progress:

Finally got the doors on my cabinet.

I made this cabinet too and Izak made the countertop.

We used zinc for the over the front door. It should patina pretty quickly to a dark grey.

One of my dual flush toilets.

Otte loves sitting in chairs.

Our first time lighting the gas fireplace. Otte really enjoys it!

He's really enjoying the property too. Much better than city life for him.

a bathroom and a place to sit

2009-01-21T17:35:00.000-08:00

This is what the soycrete stain, plus two coats of soycrete sealer, looks like before the floor has had a chance to get dusty. I've been really pleased with how great the concrete floors look and how easy the Soycrete was to use. Highly recommended product if you are looking into staining floors.

The masterbath is starting to come together. This is our FANTASTIC walk-in shower. Instead of a glass panel we purchased another reclaimed 3-form resin panel (like Izak used on the handrail). Izak was sealing the bottom of the panel...hence the blue tape. The back wall is covered in beautiful reflective glass tiles.

We finally brought out some chairs (which have terrible upholstery but only cost $15/ea. at an antique store).

The chandelier is a christmas gift that I gave to Izak when we were dating. He lived in a beautiful old home at the time. When he sold the house we took down the chandelier so that we could put it up in our first house together (assuming that it would be another old arts and crafts home. We think that it is a great addition to our MODERN home.

Last sunday morning I watched the sun come up through the sliders while having coffee in these chairs. It was a wonderful way to start a day.

A few details and another rescue dog.

2009-01-12T09:02:00.001-08:00

Seems like the pre-requisite to build a Noble Home is to have a dog...or two. So far I believe it is three for three. We love our first rescue dog so much that we decided to pick her up a brother at the local animal shelter. Since Nola is afraid of her own shadow, we thought that our new dog should be a bit more on the "intimidating" side. Here's Otte (the Mastador - half mastiff half labrador, we think):

I believe George Nelson lights (in the background above) may be a Noble Home standard as well.

Below is my main kitchen faucet and a photo of the countertop that Izak made for our master bathroom, which is currently being tiled.

Here's a bathroom vanity and concrete countertop that I made. Some day I'll find the time to put the doors on.

DECEMBER AGAIN

2008-12-08T11:56:00.000-08:00

It's been over a year since we began construction. We are tired and bruised, but love our house. Now that we are nearing the end we are enjoying watching it turn into a home.

This is the range I couldn't resist: the Fratelli Onofri Evolution Dual Fuel Double Oven. Izak is in the backgroung making the countertop substrate out of MDF. Originally we planned on making concrete kitchen countertops like we did for the bathrooms, but they are SO HEAVY! I found a supplier of zinc sheets on-line (Rotometals) and we made the countertop out of zinc. We are having a carpenter make the end countertop pieces out of walnut so that we don't end up too industrial looking. Here is the zink in place ready for the sinks.

The picture below is Izak's railing. He made this out of items we had lying around. The panels are reclaimed resin panels from 3-Form that I purchased months ago for "something". Once our final staircase is in Izak will be making the handrail out of the same materials.

With all of the fallen trees on the property we thought we had better put in a wood burning stove. Our love of Scandinavian design led us straight to a Morso. Its a beautiful stove and small enough to fit perfectly into our downstairs den. This picture also shows the stained concrete floors, although not very well. I used a product called Soycrete in Espresso Brown throughout the downstairs and it looks really beautiful. Once I get all of the dust off of the floors I will get some better pictures.

BEAUTIFUL ASH FLOORING

2008-11-06T04:45:00.000-08:00

Izak and I struggled for a long, long time choosing a type of hardwood for our upper level. Then we came across a wide plank flooring manufacturer online that sold Ash in long planks. It was perfect, but we couldn't afford it from that dealer. So I struck out to find unfinished Ash wide plank flooring. Most of what I found in a reasonable price range was in 1' to 6' lengths (with a 3' average length). To be able to get the full beauty of the grain I really wanted longer boards. Finally I found a guy that would mill me 2' to 8' lengths and I figured that was as good as it was going to get, so the order went in. Sure enough when they went to make my order they didn't have enough wood, and they wouldn't get anymore in for a few months. I was angry, and started my search over again, calling mills all across the east only to find people able to mill short lengths.

My luck changed when I found Ben Powell at J&B Hardwoods. http://www.jbhardwoods.com/

He said that he would be able to mill me 2' to 12' lengths in a 5" width for the same price I was being quoted for the short lengths at other mills. In went the order, and here are the results (which are actually more beautiful in real life):

(During Installation)

Our average lenght boards were at least 6'.

After Finishing (with Osmo Poly X low VOC Danish Hardwax):

The House at Night

2008-09-26T04:41:00.000-07:00

Izak and I worked out at the house late last night and it gave us an opportunity to see the house lit up for the 1st time. We were stunned. Izak gave me a hard time about the complex lighting plan that I came up with for the house until he saw it at night. It's all starting to pay off.

2008-09-24T04:53:00.000-07:00

Well, just as we had one garage built, we had another one destroyed. Winds from hurricane Ike came through Cincinnati and knocked down a large portion of a 100-year old maple tree in the yard of the house we are living in. Sure enough it landed right on our garage. It also took out our privacy fence and the windshield of our neighbor's car. The winds blew the shingles off of our roof too. I was out working at the new house with my father and I've got to say, the Noble Home is a TANK! I didn't even realize how bad the winds were! What a house!

Things are really starting to come together. We moved around a lot of soil so that we could actually get into the garage (which took a ladder to get into before). Paint (Sherwin-Williams Harmony NO VOC paint) has gone up on some of the walls, and we have exterior lighting.

AND DRYWALL TOO!!!!!!

2008-09-09T16:13:00.000-07:00

We had a rough few months. The house was broken into a few times and it really made us struggle mentally with the project. Having a $1000 insurance deductible didn't help either. It has been a bit more difficult than I could have imagined dealing with every little detail of this project. OK, a lot more difficult. The constant phone calls, contractors (not you Joe), purchasing every nut, bolt, and wire needed to put the inside together, trying to figure out how to build a house having never done it before, and figuring out how to pay for everything before the bank will shell out any money took its toll on us. We were told to expect a feeling of dispair at some point during the project. We sure did. But things are looking up (and we had a security system installed).

Nola is my back up security system. The only problem is that she is afraid of everything!

The Garage...FINALLY!!!!!!

2008-09-09T16:02:00.000-07:00

Well, the garage was supposed to be constructed before the house kit even arrived, but I guess better later than never. We had a real battle getting the beams and joists fabricated that will support our green roof.

WE HAVE LIGHT!

2008-07-15T12:53:00.000-07:00

We finally have electricity! It is such a nice feeling to be able to flip a switch and have light, and plug in a chord without starting up a generator first!

Finding the right lighting for the upstairs was very difficult. We wanted lights that would fit into the collar ties, but be able to produce enough light to light such a vast space. This meant that they had to be less than 3" in diameter and less than 5" tall. Oh yah, I wanted them to be low voltage too.

What I ended up doing was ordering lights from a company called IMTRA. They are a marine supply company, and happened to carry some VERY nice little lights for yaghts. Better yet, they were having a clearance sale on a brand called Cantaulupi, and italian company. We chose a few different shapes and sizes to define different spaces, but they are all similar. They blend into the collar ties very well. (the light bulb in the top of the photo is just hanging there temporarily for additional work light).

Small square lights outline the perimeter of the upstairs seating area.

These round frosted lights are located around the kitchen.

We put lights that swivel along the sliders that will shine light directly on the wooden beams between the doors. We also have these same lights shining on the fireplace.

Moving Along

2008-06-20T10:04:00.000-07:00

Its been a while since I have added any updates because most of what is going on out at the house are not things that photograph well, or are all that exciting to talk about. Anyhow, we've got some plumbing (and septic system), electrical, and HVAC in now. And this is what the house looks like now that the leaves are back on the trees!

The three green "tubs" are filled with peat from Ireland. Using this peat allows us to use smaller mounds for our leach beds. Without these we would have a big hill in our front yard.

Nola really loves playing in the mud out at the property! I'm going to put in an outdoor doggy shower.

introducing NOLA

2008-05-18T08:23:00.000-07:00

Izak and I have been planning on getting a dog AFTER the house is complete, but then came Nola. She's a six month old Great Pyranees weighing in at 53 pounds that was abandoned along the side of the road. Izak does landscaping for a family that fosters dogs that have been down on their luck. He was at the house on Tuesday and met Nola. She stole his heart, so we went out and picked her up on Wednesday. We think she will fit right in on five acres.

I took her out the the new house yesterday. This is what happens when you take an all white dog to a construction site.

After a good hosing off she was a good as new, but exhausted from all of the work she did at the house.

The Little Things

2008-04-21T16:13:00.000-07:00

Time has gotten away from us. Izak is in full swing again with his landscape design business and Joe has been away working on another project. We had agreed up front with Joe that if he had other work come up that was important to his business (kitchen and bath renos) that we would let him go. It happened, and we can't wait to get him back. In the mean time we've had the HVAC, plumbing, and septic contractors come in, so we aren't doing nothing, but not many exciting changes in the interior of the house. Our biggest hang up is getting an electrician to get on board with the project. They come out and look at the house and we never hear from them again. The walls scare them away. Tomorrow I am meeting with an electrician that works with log cabins and timberframe homes. Seems like its a similar concept, so I hope he isn't afraid of the challenge. I've been spending my weekends working on the beams and collar ties. They sat out in the mud and rain all winter, so they are dirty. It was impossible for the guys to keep them clean when they were putting them up so I've been up on a ladder cleaning them...for hours. Since they are rough cut it has been a struggle getting them clean enough that I feel comfortable putting on the sealer, so I have resorted to sanding them all. I'm not sanding them until they are smooth, but sanding them until they look clean (with 50 grit paper). It's not the most enjoyable part of the project for me, but I only get one chance to get them perfect...and it has to be done before the walls are finished. I'm going to start going out in the evenings after work now that it stays light out pretty late.

Anyhow, we've painted and the house is completely locked up now. We boarded up the glass ends of the house for security, but we have the glass panes now that will fill that space (and all of the clerestory glass). Hopefully, once we get through the rough-in inspection and Joe comes back, we'll be back making progress and I'll have more exciting pictures to add. Here's the house from all angles. The garage roof is currently being fabricated so it should be coming soon. Then we can put the siding on the bottom of the house.

Just A Few Pictures

2008-03-28T15:35:00.000-07:00

Too tired to add any comments today, but wanted to get a few photos added.

Sliding Doors and Siding

2008-03-17T15:58:00.000-07:00

These sliding doors are beautiful. They are so simplistic and compliment the interior beautifully. The beams in front of each door make them almost disappear...so all you see is the view. Noah absolutely captured what it means to design a space that brings the outside in. We can't wait to see what it will feel like when the leaves are back on the trees.

We chose to use a cement-board product for our siding that comes in 4' x 9' sheets (James Hardie Hardipanels). From an insurance standpoint, it qualifies at the same level as a brick exterior and feel it is a nice contrast to the angled wooden beams. We like the modern look of the panels and will be painting them a deep umber. Battens will be applied over the seems to add some interest. We will be finishing the lower level with stucco and cedar channel siding. At least that it was our plan is as of today. It may change, but we would like to incorporate different contrasting, yet complimentary materials on the lower level features.

THE ROOF

2008-03-10T14:38:00.000-07:00

It seemed like we were never going to be able to get the corrugated metal onto the Therma-Steel roofing because of the weather, but finally the temperature allowed the snow and ice to melt and the gusting winds subsided for a day. And it really was just for one day. Luckily that was all it took to get it all fastened down. What a relief.

This is the standard roofing that Noah includes in his kit. We considered using a bronze colored corrugated steel, but after looking into things we felt that the "silver" color was the best. I must say that everytime I think that I want to side-step Noah's ideas I end up agreeing with his decisions in the end. I have been truly impressed with the decisions that he has made in The Noble Home.

Anyway, this color will provide reflection of the sun's rays rather than absorbing them in the summer, and qualifies for an Energy Star rebate. I'm also hypothesizing that we may be able to generate more energy from our solar PV panels as a result of the reflection. That is, if our grant comes through. Apparently our Governor, who all of us "Green Minded Individuals" were convinced was going to really get a green initiative going in Ohio, decided to pull the plug on all of the residential renewable energy project grants this week (and gave an extention to power companies to find alternative means for energy production). We have our fingers crossed that the State will come through for us, but if they don't, all of our solar arrays will have to be put on hold until either the price comes down or we hit the lottery. It really is a shame and a major disappointment to many many people.

Rooms with a View

2008-02-29T14:15:00.001-08:00

Each room of the house has a unique view of the property. The view of the hillside distracts from the fact that the windows in the bedrooms downstairs are at ground level. Each window is 3' x 5' so they let a lot of light into the downstairs, even with the deck above. The windows are Energy Star rated with Low-E glazing and filled with argon gas. The argon and Low-E coating reduce heat transfer through the glass and shield against UV damage to interior finishes and fabrics.

Please pay no attention to the rusty drum. (No, we didn't build on an old landfill.) The guys use it to burn scrap wood and to warm up their fingers.

The window on the left will be in the full bath downstairs. The two windows on the right are in one of the bedrooms.

Our House of Straw

2008-02-21T16:42:00.001-08:00

When Noah told us that our house kit included compressed straw interior walls (Durra Straw Panels), I didn't really realize that he meant my walls were going to be made of compressed straw (see photo below). Sounds silly, but I just figured they would be made of finely ground straw pressed together like drywall. I was confused when I walked into the house and saw straw laying all around. I was trying to figure out why the guys would have spread straw around the top floor. Then I saw a panel that had been cut for a doorway. Ohhhh...compressed straw!

These wall partitions are really quite interesting. The straw that is used, paddy straw, is considered an agricultural waste that would have been burnt and destroyed after the harvest. The straw panels are fire resistant, strong, durable, and are wonderfully sound proof and insulating. They also save space and time because they eliminate the need for framing and drywall. On the negative side, they are extremely heavy and are diffucult to saw through. The guys had to wax the saw blade with a construction crayon to cut them. Although they were somewhat difficult to maneuver and cut, we are happy that we went with such a unique and green product.

Right now the walls look like cardboard. They will be finished with drywall mud and standard drywall finishing techniques, so in the end, one won't know that they are straw (that is, until I tell them).

I like this photo of Izak (who is 6'5" tall) because it gives a perspective on how large the angled rafters are and how far they extend outward. The pine columns will stay in place with three sets of 8' sliding doors just to the outside of them.

Thermasteel Roofing (and my radiant heat mascot)

2008-02-15T14:12:00.000-08:00

Above the pine decking we have a layer of Thermasteel panels. These are thicker than the ones used for the walls. Like the walls, the panels were numbered and went into place according to a diagram.

A layer of felt paper was then placed over the Thermasteel, and next a corrugated metal roof will be attached. All of the panels were put on in one day...because of the help of my father of course! (Sorry Dad, you know I have to keep teasing you.)

I couldn't resist including the picture below. We had a dog (Jackie) dropped off at the property for us to babysit for a week. It wasn't all that cold out, but the concrete floor was too cold for her to sit on. She would squat down and the second her back end hit the concrete she would jump right back up. I made her a little seat out of a folded tarp and trashcan lid. She is now my Radiant Heat Mascot. And in case Jackie's owner sees this...I took her home shortly after the picture was taken to warm her up.

Pine Decking

2008-02-13T12:53:00.000-08:00

My Dad came down from Cleveland to give us a hand for a few days. Within a day the guys were able to get up almost all of the pine decking. My Dad is, of course, taking all the credit. He said he ran the saw as fast as he could to keep the guys moving. I believe him, but I definately think he was the one most tired at the end of the day.

Most of our lighting and wiring will be placed between the collar ties, shining both upward and downward. Once everything is in place we will be putting wood between the ties to make them look like solid beams.

The spaces between the collar ties and the roof will be filled with panes of clerestory glass, so we will have small windows running all the way around the top floor. This will not only add some wonderful natural light to all of the space, but will help us keep down our electrical usage.

Collar Ties and Rafters

2008-02-13T12:37:00.001-08:00

Every four feet we have a set of pine collar ties that, in essence, are holding the house together. Sandwiched between the collar ties are the roof rafters.

The pine rafters extend outward a few feet and are cut to add an architectural touch. Because Noah and his crew pre-cut the ties and beams, we were able to put all of this up in a couple of days (in the rain).

This is an upward view from the first floor entry.

Things were going so well that the guys started putting on the pine decking as the sun was going down.

The 2nd Floor is Up!

2008-02-02T15:20:00.001-08:00

Boy, what a difference a day makes! The Thermasteel is complete, the collar ties are on, and they've even started on the rafters. I couldn't wait to get out there today.

It's such a strange feeling being in "the house", seeing the actual views that we will have from our windows and doors for the 1st time. I was standing out on the deck joists and I saw Izak walk out of what will be our bedroom sliding door. All of a sudden it really hit me. This is our house. He had to keep grabbing my attention while we were working today because I just kept looking out the windows. Today I can't be more thrilled, and more proud of what Noah has created and my husband and friends are building for me (and for Izak and our 3 cats too of course).

THE FIRST POST, followed by the walls

2008-02-01T09:09:00.000-08:00

There it is. Our first post. Don't the guys look so proud? (especially Jon on the right) All of the lumber we are using is locally grown Eastern White Pine from New Hampshire. The dimensions of the house are all based upon the lengths of wood that come out of the lumber mill. So if you have been wondering why the house is only ~20' wide on the interior, its because the longest piece of White Pine available was 22 feet. As we go along the construction process you will see how Noah designs his kits based on the dimensions of the products that he uses. Going through the design process was like putting together a puzzle.

The Thermasteel panels are really great. They are so strong that they are rated for hurricane prone areas. Not to mention their amazing insulating qualities (R-33), speed of installation (about 2 days for the whole house), and no left-over material (NO WASTE!). Even if we did have any left over, they are 100% recyclable.

Starting to Take Shape

2008-01-24T14:23:00.000-08:00

Even though it has been painfully cold, the guys have been working til sundown everyday. As you can see in the photos, the house is really taking shape. Well, at least the bottom half anyway.

Izak and I spent last weekend loading the Thermasteel panels onto the truck, driving them up the hill, and then carrying them on to the subfloor. It was the first time that I was really happy about the cold weather. (The ground was finally frozen enough to drive the truck around the property.) Hopefully this weekend we will be standing up the walls. Izak is at the property right now bolting down the tracks. Its only 18 degrees out.

Noah designed a gorgeous deck that wraps around the west and south side of the house. I love the way it radiates from the house and becomes an architectural feature of the home. Izak and Joe decided it would be more logical to build the deck now instead of at the end so that they can use it as a platform to work on. As you can see, construction of the top floor is pretty high off the ground. We will just be covering the deck joists with plywood during construction and will add the decking later. Good thing because I still haven't made up my mind what type of wood I want to use.

The deck at this end is resting on a retaining wall and will step off to ground level. Our bedroom is at this end and will have a sliding door that opens out to this same area.

We can't wait to enjoy the sunsets over the hills.

Slab and Framing

2008-01-17T09:59:00.000-08:00

Apparently it takes a lot of people to finish concrete. The photo above is our garage/workshop. Izak runs his own landscape design and installation company, so we need a lot of extra space. I currently park on a city street, so I can't wait until I can park in a garage!

Our design includes a green roof on the garage. It is such a large space that we not only wanted to reduce runoff, but wanted something esthetically pleasing. We are having steel beams and joists fabricated that will provide the structural support we need for the soil and anticipated snow loads. This will also give us the ability to add onto the house in the future if we desire.

We will be able to walk directly onto the roof from the hillside behind the garage. I'm envisioning my vegetable and herb garden up there because its probably the only spot on the property that I MIGHT be able to keep the deer away from.

Where I am standing is in the lowered living room on the bottom floor. We were able to add two steps leading down to this area because of the way the house extends out of the hillside. I came up with this step-down idea just before they were coming in to pour the slab, so I really had to fight for it. It involved adding an additional retaining wall and using more concrete than originally spec'ed, but in the end it was definately worth it. This room will have two large windows facing west and a small wood burning stove. Having it slightly sunken really gives it a cozy feel and sets it apart from the rest of the bottom floor.

This is the view of the main entry. We will be back-filling several feet, but there will be a few steps leading up to the front door. Adding the cantilevered floor joists above really gives a glimpse of the modern design that is incorporated into the plans. It's hard to tell in the photo, but our front door is actually 8' tall.

Here Comes the House!!!!

2008-01-12T07:54:00.000-08:00

On December 18th our house kit was delivered on a flat bed semi. When I showed the photo of the truck load of material to a friend of mine and told her that it was the house kit, she said she expected it to be in some sort of big box or something. Truthfully, I kind of did too!

Tyler, from Noble Home, came down to Cincinnati the week the kit was delivered to go over some of the construction techniques with us and answer any of our questions. The house kit comes with a construction manual. When I explain to people that we are building a kit house that was delivered to us on a truck I tend to get a lot of puzzled looks...but with the construction manual I just say "Don't worry, it comes with directions".

The exterior walls of our house will be constructed of Therma-Steel panels. These panels actually slide together on a track. Noah custom ordered them so that they already have our window openings cut out. They are numbered and we have a plan that we follow. It reminds me of paint-by-numbers. The thicker panels in the photo are for the roof.

After going back and forth many, many times, we decided to install radiant heat in the concrete slab on the first floor. At that time we were torn between a geothermal heat pump system for heating and cooling and/or a solar hot water system and high efficiency A/C. We decided that since we wanted to use finished concrete for the majority of the 1st floor, we would install the radiant for comfort and decide what we wanted to use to heat it later. You only get one chance to install the lines into the slab, so we figured we better do it...and Izak knew I wouldn't enjoy walking around on cold concrete. Very good decision. (The grant that Ohio is currently offering for the solar has won out, and we will be installing the radiant lines for the 2nd floor as well.)

Getting Caught Up

2008-01-11T09:01:00.000-08:00

Site clearing and excavating for our home actually began back in October of 2007. The day we began building the forms for the footings, November 10, 2007, my mother passed away after a long fight with a brain injury. Luckily Izak took lots of pictures for me in my absence from the job site, knowing that I wanted to share our construction experience. Since I would like to get caught up to present day construction activities, I'm going to skip over a lot of the initial design detail and background. I'm sure I'll end up touching on all of our design features throughout the construction process anyway. A sketch of our home and the floor plan can be viewed on the Noble Home website. We decided to construct a two story home built into the hillside of our property. The way Noah designed the space was to have our main entry on the bottom floor rather than having a staircase leading to the main living area.

We had to use a pump truck for the concrete because of the hillside behind the house. I made a special trip out to the site after work to see this in action. Where I am standing is the level our main floor will be at when finished.

We chose TF vertical ICFs for our foundation.We knew that we wanted to use ICFs for their insulating qualities and ability to strengthen the concrete because of the reduced cure time. We specifically chose the TF system because the long panels reduced the chances for blow-outs during the concrete placement into the forms. I'm happy to say that we did not have any trouble what so ever adding the concrete. Well, except for the concrete truck that almost backed into the creek.

How it all began...

2008-01-09T09:35:00.000-08:00

It was about two years ago that my husband (Izak) and I became interested in the "kit house" concept. We had never imagined building a new home, as we find that most of what is affordable to build these days is not something we would ever want to live in. But once we made a list of what is important to us in a living space (a few acres for privacy, modern design, green), we quickly realized that it was not going to be easy to find something that already exists. So I hit the internet looking for some way for us to build a new house that we could play a major roll in the construction of, for a price we could afford. I won't go into the details of the various prefabs and kits that we researched, and seriously considered. I will say that every time we thought we were getting somewhere with them we would hit a stumbling block, such as the need for all custom windows totalling over $30,000, or extensive fees for modifying room dimensions, etc. When we were just about to give up (and pay the money for the custom windows) I decided to make one last search for another option, hoping that my endless months of research may have missed something. Luckily, I found a small posting for a new company called Noble Home. I printed off a few drawings from their website and took them home to show Izak. That was it. I called Noah Grundberg (owner of Noble Home) the next day, got a quick run down of his Noble Home concept, and we had him draw us up a contract that week. (We've since laughed about the fact that we didn't ask how many of these homes he had designed or built, how easily it could be built, or really any technical questions. We saw his concept sketches and knew it was the right house for us.)