House building/designing/renovating Oppos: some questions

"Cash Rewards" (cashrewards) 06/16/2020 at 19:20 • Filed to: None

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We’ve kicked around the idea of knocking down our current home and building a new one. In the process of looking into it somewhat casually, I find out FEMA is redoing the flood plains. Some reaching out to town officials and I find out new flood plain will be significantly reduced on our property (theoretically, it is FEMA). That would make building a new home orders of magnitude easier, and takes it from “it would be nice” to “let’s be ready to go the day the new classification is in place”.

So, what’s your best advice? What is worth springing for, what is a waste of money? What would make you not work with someone, what would? What products do you love and would out in your house?

Thanks Oppo.

CB > Cash Rewards 06/16/2020 at 19:35

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I don’t have much advice, other than there’s no such thing as too big a garage.

SiennaMan > Cash Rewards 06/16/2020 at 19:38

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At least a 3 car garage,  preferably with a shop at the back..

Chariotoflove > Cash Rewards 06/16/2020 at 19:46

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I have one thing to contribute, buyer beware as to whether or not it’s worth anything. H aving dealt a bit with flood plane issues and FEMA maps near our creek as part of my HOA, I say get a copy of the new and official map before you do anything. Don’t count your chickens.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Cash Rewards 06/16/2020 at 19:46

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Is it so bad a re-model is out of the question? Somethings are much easier with a remodel like permits, design review and such. Tearing down and starting from scratch is very costly I don’t even know what it costs these days like $150-200/SF.

Cash Rewards > Chariotoflove 06/16/2020 at 19:49

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Oh, hell yeah to this. The reduction can be found on FEMAs website, but it doesn't really exist until it's official. 

Cash Rewards > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 06/16/2020 at 19:54

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Part of our house currently sits in the floodplain so right now a remodel would be hell, and a knockdown rebuild outside of the floodplain far easier, as we got 17 feet on one side of our house before hitting the setback.

Once you take the floodplain out, you still have a house built in 1960 with two additions of dubious quality and issues that would cost far more to fix than is sensible . It would be twice as much for a knock down, yes, but we’d end up with a better product. And in my neighborhood, I’m in for $x, a knockdown rebuild will cost me $x again, but the final product will be worth $3x. It makes a kind of economic sense to do it. We're in the spot where, like an old car, the next expensive repair gets it dropped off at the junkyard. 

OPPOsaurus WRX > Cash Rewards 06/16/2020 at 20:01

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Hot water radiant heating in the floor. I had it on my old house and it was awesome.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Cash Rewards 06/16/2020 at 20:13

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Having dealt with flood recovery for the last 10 years or so, I would say that if you’re going to build in the same place, elevate the finished floor at least a couple of feet above the estimated 500 year flood elevation. Harris County (where Houston is located) now requires last flood elevation plus two feet.

Plan for the long term. Development both upstream and downstream from you can change the flood elevation.  We are outside the 500 year flood plain right now, but we are planning to move ASAP because our semi-rural area is quickly developing and we anticipate being in the 500 year flood depth within the next 5 to 10 years.

Anything in the flood depth should be designed to let the water flow through and dry out quickly. Keep in mind that flood waters are usually filthy, so building a structure that can be sprayed with cleaners and hosed o ut will make post-flood cleanup easier. It’s much easier and less expensive to build it high now than it is to elevate a house later.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Cash Rewards 06/16/2020 at 20:25

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Well that settles it. 2000 sf garage on the first floor and a 2000 st living space  On the second floor.

glemon > Cash Rewards 06/16/2020 at 20:54

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Definitely a big garage. Run 220 out to it with a separate sub panel, much cheaper when you are building than later. Even if you are not a shop guy it will come in useful for you or a future owner’s electric car future.

Think about light and space, do you you want some (a lot) of sun shining through Southern exposure windows in the winter. Do you want a place to hang out outside sheltered from the wind, sun or street?

Lastly, I love our new house, but one thing I don’t love, in the new house the kitchen is one of the smallest rooms, in the old house it was the biggest room in the house. Guess which we liked better? Room to stay out of other’s way, room to store food, room to eat food, room for guests, who always seem to hang out in the kitchen.

Dedicated storage space.

Cash Rewards > OPPOsaurus WRX 06/16/2020 at 20:59

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That looks and sounds amazing, but the potential for costly repairs seems high?

Cash Rewards > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 06/16/2020 at 21:00

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That’s a horrible idea.

Set it up side by side so you can have lifts in the garage

Cash Rewards > TheRealBicycleBuck 06/16/2020 at 21:10

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We flooded last year, and that’s part of this. Our living space is on the lower level: living room, dinning room, play room, office (wife works from home) and kitchen (daughter has celiac, so no eating out much). It was hell. We want a proper proper basement built like you suggest, and get our living space upwards.

Last flood plus two feet is interesting. We had our 100 year flood last July, and had two feet of water against the exterior. We have a steam behind our house, and we're at a corner, so the stream passes under the road. I don't know if the culvert wasn't sufficient, or if something from upstream clogged it. Water receded very fast, which makes me think clog, but who knows. Our town is very water conscious, so that will help. For new construction, you can't have gutters hit the ground as runnoff, it has to go underground into some sort of gravel trap. So hopefully that will help as the neighborhood turns over. 

Cash Rewards > glemon 06/16/2020 at 21:13

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The last two things you mentioned are a large part of the driving force for this. My daughter has celiac, so we cook and eat at home 350 days out of the year. And that food is expensive, so we stock up when we can. Kitchen and pantry got to be up to the task. And storage is lacking in the current structure.

I have a leaf, so 220 for sure.

Hadn't thought about orientation and southern facing windows. Thanks!

AestheticsInMotion > Cash Rewards 06/16/2020 at 21:21

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Electric is also good! (although much less cool) 

Cash Rewards > AestheticsInMotion 06/16/2020 at 21:26

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I got sweet, sweet gas for cooking, but could probably go with whatever for heating....

TheRealBicycleBuck > Cash Rewards 06/16/2020 at 21:38

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We lived in a house that flooded because a sofa that was dumped in a ditch got caught in the main culvert that drained our neighborhood. It happens.

When you’re thinking about flooding, know that climate change is driving rainfall events. What used to be defined as a 100 year event in the Houston area is about to be redefined as a 25 year event and the total rainfall amount for a 100 year event is going to go up. That, in turn will redefine what are 100 year and 500 year flood depths and as you would expect, the floodplain will be redefined as well.

If your house flooded once, you can expect it will flood again and you can also expect that it will happen sooner than you think. It won’t be long before flood insurance rates will be going up and FEMA’s recovery assistance will be going down. There are already places in Louisiana that are becoming too expensive to live in because of increased flood insurance costs. Houston and Harris County are essentially condemning houses in the flood plain by refusing to issue new building permits. There’s a buyout program to encourage people to cut their losses and move somewhere that doesn’t flood. FEMA is also encouraging both individuals and public entities to mitigate against future losses by either relocating or by flood proofing. If mitigation measures aren’t taken, FEMA is telling everyone that they will not assist with future losses at the locations in question. Over a billion dollars was dedicated to Harris County just for mitigation. This was on top of the billions spent to cover losses.

When we relocate, it will be far, far away from a flood plain. 

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > Cash Rewards 06/16/2020 at 22:01

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i would verify with your local zoning board (city and county) as my understanding the fema map is moving to be more of a baseline with greater responsibilty placed on local zoning identify flood prone areas. 

OPPOsaurus WRX > Cash Rewards 06/16/2020 at 22:18

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its like a giant adult puzzle. The track runs back and forth and then the hose runs down a pre-cut line. As long as you dont nail your flooring through the hose there shouldn’ t be any problems.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > Cash Rewards 06/16/2020 at 22:45

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My advice is to design the house to be run as cheaply as you possibly can given your climate. Passive heating and cooling using the correct solar orientation and seasonal access to sunlight because sunlight is free energy . Use the appropriate combination of insulation and thermal mass to minimise temperature fluctuations and therefore the energy inputs required to manage them.

The Australian government provides an awesome resource for this sort of thing at https://www.yourhome.gov.au/

Oh and definitely a big garage or shed

Stef Schrader > Cash Rewards 06/18/2020 at 07:17

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Oooooof. I’ve hated the teardowns and rebuilds near me SO much as they’ve been disruptive as hell to the point where I darn near hate my neighbors for it , but if you’ve got a house in a flood pl ain, I get it.

Cash Rewards > Stef Schrader 06/18/2020 at 07:41

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The whole neighborhood is like this. Goes back to the late 50's early 60's. No houses have garages, usually a concrete driveway big enough for a single car. There are some that have had some good money invested that someone else would live in them. Most will be knocked down whenever it is that the current owner moves. So for us, we love the neighborhood, why wait? Do the dirty work ourselves and at least get to live in it. Why should the developers get all the fun?

(Not my house, but representative of my neighborhood)

Roundbadge > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 06/19/2020 at 10:55

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Someone in my neighborhood did just that when they tore down and rebuilt. First floor is 80% garage, second floor is all living space with a sizeable outdoor deck, all covered by the roof over the entire footprint. It’s an absolute unit and I love the idea.