Tour of Our Home

INSIDE THE HOUSE

The pictures on this page are meant to be somewhat of a virtual tour. If you are interested in some of the design details please keep reading:

SOME STATISTICS AND LAYOUT DESCRIPTION

The overall footprint of the house is 37 x 82 feet. The total size is 6,731 square feet. The basement and main level are rectangular in shape and cover the 37 x 82 feet. Above the main level is the upper or loft area. Each level contains the following:

Basement

· Train Room – 2,000 square feet

· Furnace Room – housing furnaces, hot water heater and water holding tank

· Small Closet - under steps

· Half Bathroom

· Workshop

· Garage

Main Level

· Kitchen

· Pantry

· Small Closet - under steps

· Dining Area

· Great Room

· Laundry Room

· Office

· Guest Bathroom (full)

· House Linen Closet

· Master Bedroom

· Master Walk In Closet

· Master Bathroom

Upper Lever

· Small Guest Bedroom

· Large Guest Bedroom

· Guest Bathroom (Full)

· Loft open loft area including library area, setting area with extra sleeping accommodations

DESIGN CONCEPTS:

One of our biggest concerns was how we would manage as we got older. The house is big and it is a bit isolated – especially when compared to city living. Coming from a split level house we knew that ambulation could be a concern in later years, so we did the following:

Main Level Living

We constructed the house so that, if needed to, we could live completely on one level. So the kitchen, master bedroom, living room, office and even the laundry room are all on the main level. The office is actually constructed as a bedroom with a full bath across the hall. Therefore, should we need a healthcare worker nearby, we could accommodate one.

Access

Another concern was how do we get to the main level, if we find it difficult walking. We have the following solutions:

· The house is built into a hill so we can walk out of the basement or go out the back from the main level and walk down only three steps.

· We could also build a ramp along the back side of the house to allow for no steps.

· All the stairwells are four feet wide and we have a chair lift from the basement to the main level.

Getting around in the house

We built all the halls four feet wide and all but one door is 3 feet wide. Therefore, we could accommodate a wheelchair or gurneys.

Dealing with the altitude

After a while one gets acclimated to the altitude (9350 feet), however gas appliances must be modified. We use LP gas for cooking (cook top), heating water and one form of house heating. All of these appliances needed to be modified with gas jets that would optimize the use of LP gas and each is designed for high altitude.

Air conditioning

We have no air conditioning. We are high, dry and cool. There is rarely a day over 85 and nights are always cool. Each bedroom does have a fan for circulation and windows are positioned (on each of 2 separate walls) so as to provide good cross ventilation in the summer.

Heating

Heating was a special concern. On the one hand we wanted heat when and where we needed it. On the other, we did not want to spend a fortune to keep the house warm. We came up with multiple forms of heat the would satisfy our needs depending on the time of year, type of day (sunny or cloudy), time of day and special requirements.

· Windows – passive solar heat

The house faces south by southwest and has large windows across the front. Each window is double pane and has coatings of UV (Ultra violet) ray protection on the inside of each pane. The windows do not have Argon gas in them. After 3 years all the gas seeps out at this altitude. In the dead of winter and daytime with the outside temperatures in the 20’s or lower the house can get stifling and we have to lower our blinds to cool off the house. That is as long as the sun is shining, which is true for over 300 days a year. Often, the house gets so warm, that the wood burning stove does not have to be used in the evening.

· Double cellular blinds

Every window on the main and upper level have double cellular blinds. They afford better insulation than most other types of window coverings. At night or on cloudy days, we lower the blinds to keep in the warmth.

· Wood Burning stove

There is a large wood burning stove in the great room that heats the entire main and upper floors of the house except for the master bedroom. The stove has a 24 foot exposed chimney pipe that also contributes to heating the area. It can get quite cozy on a cold winter night.

· Fans

There are two fans in the loft (upper level) above the great room that are used to push the heat down when we use the wood burning stove.

· Gas stove

We have a LP gas burning stove in the master bedroom with a remote thermostat and control that sets the temperature at the location of the bed. The rest of the house is set low and the bedroom remains comfy.

· Heat lamps

Each bathroom has a heat lamp adjacent to the bathtub and showers.

· Furnaces

We use LP gas forced air heat for conventional heating. One 80,000 BTU unit takes care of the basement and two units (for a total of 160,000 BTU) run in tandem for the main and upper levels. There are times on a winter morning, when the day is projected to be sunny, that we run our conventional heat for an hour or so to take out the chill.

· Space heater

We even have a couple of ceramic space heaters. The most common use is in the office in the morning when I am up before Sheila.

MAINTAINING THE HOUSE:

Recognizing the reality that we are not getting younger with time, we wanted to have a house that required as little maintenance as possible. That is why we decided on vinyl siding and a metal roof. The metal roof also allows the snow to slide off easily. None the less, the property still requires some attention.

Basement access

We wanted to be able to get to things easily should there be a utility problem in the house. Therefore, we ran most of the piping for water, LP gas, heating ducts, electrical, TV coaxial and phone under the main floor so we could access them from the basement. All we need to do is remove a drop ceiling panel or two to get to what we need.

Snow

When it snows, we just cannot go out and shovel a small side walk or call the kid next door. So we have the ATV (All-Terrain Vehicle) with a snow plow, which makes life much easier. If we did not clear the snow we could be in trouble. In 2003, we got 3 - 4 feet in about 2 days. Then we were stranded. We had to call in a backhoe for that. Fortunately, that kind of snow is the exception and not the rule.

Cutting Wood

Mother nature has been kind to us and we have many years of fuel on our property. We burn about 2 – 3 cords per year. A cord of wood is a stack of wood 4’ x 4’ x 8’ in volume or 128 cubic feet. Currently, we have about 30 cords of wood scattered and stacked around the property (most to be split). During the warmer months we cut dead trees (mostly done now) and cut and split wood into sizes that will fit into the wood burning stove. The most used tools we have are our chain saw and maul (8 lb. ax). Between cutting, splitting and hauling we get quite bit if exercise in the warmer months. Our plan is to have all the wood we will ever need cut, split and stacked over the next several years. We use the ATV and a small trailer to do the long hauls to our house. Hopefully, we will be able to cope as we get older.

DECORATING AND FURNISHING

This has become an ongoing process. Initially, we used our old furniture. We also purchased a number of unfinished pieces (stools, desk chair, shelving and bench) and stained and finished these ourselves. Over the past few years we replaced much of the older living room and dining room furniture and continue to add art work. One of the nice things about having so much wall space, is there is always room for a piece of art that appeals to you. Our older furniture has been put to use in the loft, bedrooms and deck.