Consider it for landscaping as well. Shade trees can block the heat in the summer and drop their leaves to allow solar gain in the winter.

Obviously your site will determine how effective that is. In North-Central PA our house has 2 stories of windows with southern exposure, and concrete floors, on clear days those considerations make a very noticable difference in the winter and the summer.

My uncle's cabin in Colorado burned down in one of the wild fires several years ago so when he built a new cabin in its place he had a fire/safe room built in the basement. It's probably only good for a few hours in a fire but it might save some valuables. It's amazing how hot a log cabin fire is. You could hardly tell there was a Jeep and snowmobiles in the garage.

He also put in an elaborate heating system that makes hot water in off peak times and stores for on peak heating through floor radiant heating.

Preliminary renderings. The lot has more pines than shown but it gives a general idea. Thoughts?

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1382569558.jpg


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1382569572.jpg

looks great, love the balacony on the 2nd pic.

only minor adjustments I would make are in the top pic, the flat roof above the top windows looks out of keeping and I would have a curved beam feature at the end of all the apex roofs

also needs a classic Porsche on the drive to have a scale to compare the size to

Wow, they really built that quick!


KT

Beautiful but a lot of wood exterior to maintain… Hope you don't have wood peckers around…they damn near ate my log cabin when I wasn't around…Cherry Heads and Flickers, which are much bigger and more destructive...

Beautiful place. I agree on the wood maintenance but it's also a perfect fit for that setting.

Sure you don't want to adopt me?

I expect he would but you'd be tasked with wood maintenance :D…and killlin' wood peckers for dinner...

Not too many woodpeckers. Not sure why... But there are pigeons. And they nest under the eaves and crap everywhere. Have to put bird spikes on all the timber surfaces and screen all the gaps in the eaves that they might nest. Even then they find new places. Takes a few years to bird proof the place.

Absolutely! There's wood to be split and snow to shovel!

Looks beautiful. I'd maybe want to have the stone veneers a bit rougher looking, more rustic. Rough granite stairs would be cool too. I just kinda like the idea of building the house out of what's laying around.

I agree 100% I'll be sending those exact thoughts to the builder.

My grandparents used to have a cabin in Wrightwood, CA. It was built in the 1890s on a 6' stone foundation built into a hill. The slope of the stone flared at the bottom with the biggest rocks, progressively smaller til it reached the floor. Something like that would really look nice with your place.

Check out the Ahwahnee Hotel. That's kinda what im thinking for the footings below the balcony.

That is going to be beautiful.

The front is too busy for me. Especially the different levels / size / depths of gables. This is a mountain house and not Castle Neuschwanstein! ;)

I also think the garage is not big enough. Make sure it has tall ceilings, to allow for a lift. When you are older, you'll appreciate working standing up instead of your back.

I am impressed how realistic the renderings have gotten. Building the house now only seems like checking a box! ;)

Have fun. Great project.

G

Hey, as long as I've got a place to sleep near Tahoe and am free to snowboard several days a week in the winter, I'd be totally OK with it! ;)

A great classic Craftsman Style plan.... very nice! :cool:

Badass and looks just right considering the landscape.

Lots of nice windows... Still, I would add a transom window over the rear facing second story door leading out to the second story balcony (Pic 2). It will make that room feel less boxy from inside. Let me know if you don't understand.

Need help? I can cook too! ;)