Rebuild - Where to Start?

[feb]

Although several years away, time goes by fast so I figured I'd at least find the starting line on this project:

I have a 3-season cottage up on short piers, 1200 sq/ft. Its an original early 1900's cottage and has served us very well. We thoroughly enjoy the age and style of it.

But as we approach retirement we're thinking, reluctantly, that we need to rebuild it in order to make it a real 4-season retirement home. We want to keep it in the same footprint but add a 2nd story. It is a grandfathered, non-conforming structure. We would plan on adding a basement/crawl space and eliminate the piers.

Having never done this before I don't know where to start. Do I call an architect to get some ideas on what we could possibly do? Do I just call a contractor and start from there?

From the project size we are talking its not going to be a massive project. But I have some design features that I want in the house as well as I want ideas from someone experienced with dealing with my lot, waterfront restrictions, septic possibilities, etc.

I guess I'm looking for scenarios. I'd like to know what I can do and what I can't do.

I'm OK paying for this advice but I don't want to hire an architect for $20k nor do I want to waste a contractor's time since I'm years away from this.

Just want to get the ball rolling. For those that have gone through this, where did you start?

[fatlazyless]

www.tradesmenbuilders.com in Laconia does this stuff.

Where are you located?

[SAB1]

Before you get to spending money I would talk to some builders. I'm not a builder by any means but I would think you would need to get something under the house. I wouldn't think to many guys would want to add another story if it is on piers.

[chocophile]

We are in a similar situation, and my advice is to talk to your town's code enforcement officer first (if you haven't already). Bring a plot plan of your property and a simple sketch of what you're thinking of doing. Be up-front about any challenges you are wondering about, e.g., septic, well, set-backs, wetlands, dock, driveway.

We started working with a surveyor last year, thinking they would address those things. But as the surveying work progressed, it became obvious to me that I had to get involved and talk with the town because the surveyor wasn't clear on the specific town's requirements. (They do vary from town-to-town, in addition to the state regs.)

You might also have a friendly chat with your neighbors if your non-conformance violates sideline set-backs. It might not be strictly required, but in the interest of keeping peace with your neighbors, it might be helpful.

It can be a complex undertaking, especially when you have non-conforming property, and you're trying to preserve that.

The key is to understand exactly what steps need to be taken in what order. There isn't always a simple answer, but the code enforcement office should give you good guidance.

[winnipiseogee]

I'm in the process of upgrading and renovating an old built on piers camp right now. Definitely avoid the architect. I would interview 2 or 3 builders right now. Talk to them about what you want and get their input. You will probably find one that you really like and that one guy won't mind investing the time now if he knows a good job will be coming of it (even if its a couple of years away).

I've built a fair number of homes and though I knew exactly what I wanted. Its amazing how much value a good builder can bring in terms of guiding you to good decisions.

[DickR]

Let me make a strong pitch for making the new house superinsulated, meaning highly insulated, very air tight, good windows, and insulated foundation walls and under basement slab. This is a golden opportunity to have a very comfortable house that is notably less costly to heat in winter and air condition in summer. If designed in, the extra effort is not all that much, the increase in cost is typically perhaps just 5%, and the savings in heating cost will pay for the better construction in relatively few years. Remember, building just "to code" gives you the worst house you can legally build.

Finding a builder who can specify and build a house like this and is willing to do what it takes to get you there likely will be difficult. If you do a lot of reading ahead of time on sites like greenbuildingadvisor.com (search on "pretty good house") and buildingscience.com, you can specify your own design, so that you then just have to find a builder willing to work with you to get you what you want. If a builder tells you not to tell him how to build a house, because he's been doing that for 30 years, find another builder. You don't want a house up here built the way it was done 30 years ago. I wish you luck. OK, off the soap box.

[RUGMAN]

WOW,Sounds like what i am going thru now.
We have a cottage like yours in laconia,got a builder name from a friend .

He came out and we met and told him what we wanted to do.
He said he could do.
next we got his architect to draw up some simply plans, we are 60 feet from water, so we first needed to get survey, go to town apply and get PBN from shoreline enforcement, all set, took a while
Can't change footprint, house built 1900, no problem.
My builder gets ready to pull partial demo permit, Question asked by Laconia , do you know if you have asbestos , don't know, ok got to hire some one to do survey, came out, took 37 samples, at $35.00 each, plus 300 fee.
$1500 later, last week, found 9 areas. now they ( the asbestos co, who happens to be the same guy who did the survey) wants$9200.00 remove.
we started this project last fall and are almost there to start,
I have gerat confidence in the guy we hired, but start early. Get all your ducks in a row before you start,
I will keep you posted.

[ITD]

I would think septic is the first hurdle. If the lot is not big enough you might be SOL. I'd start at the building department with an idea of what you want to do, specifically number of bedrooms.

[Dad sold the C * C]

We are also in a similar situation, small uninsulated, can't support a second floor and about 40 ft from the water. We had to replace the septic when we bought the Cabin 2 years ago, we used Ames Associates for the septic design and were very happy with them. They can help with surveying and permitting.

It's never too early to start planning, as others have said a survey is a good place to start, I personally will bring in an architect, but I have one that I trust. Also if you want to do any improvements near the water its can help to bundle them up into one permit application with the house.

[feb]

Thanks for the responses so far!!

Current septic is 2 bedroom, 1 bath ( I forget what they use for septic size - # of bedrooms or # of bathrooms). House is only 15' from water at its closest. 1/2 acre lot.

Given the location of the septic, I will probably need to relocate as the construction traffic would go right over it and probably rattle it, crush it, ruin it, etc. Maybe it won't. Another possibility is I encroach it if I need to push the foot print away from the lake a bit to be more "conforming". So either way, I think I will need to touch the septic.

So lets say I want to bump up to 3 bedroom, 1.5 baths.

Should I survey and get a septic design first? If I find out that I can't have more bedrooms/bathrooms than what I have now then that would change the future house design anyways so why talk to a builder until I know what I can build.

is that the logical order?

[ITD]

I would start with the septic system, which is sized according to the number of bedrooms. A call to a designer will probably give you an idea as to whether you will have issues. If your septic isn't up to code then I doubt you'll be allowed to winterize until it is updated and if it is to code but can't handle additional flow, then you won't be allowed to add a bedroom.

The rules are here, but a designer should be able to give you an idea as to whether you are good or not.

When I was looking to buy 15 years ago, there were many properties that were very nice but had septic issues due to small lot size or other problems. The rules probably didn't exist when they were built but need to be followed now.

[Dad sold the C * C]

Here is a Link that I have found very helpful:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/shore...Ny%2fvn3hrM%3d

It helps define your project as related to the shore Land protection Act.

This is the NH Subsurface page:
http://des.nh.gov/organization/divis.../ssb/index.htm

but what is also helpful are the two links on this page, it takes a bit to figure out how the searches work but you can look up properties near you and see who did the work or see how many jobs a designer or installer have done.

http://www2.des.state.nh.us/SSBOneStop/

Also I sent you a PM.

[tummyman]

The info on the septic may be an issue. When I added on a few years ago, I did have to get a septic design for the number of bedrooms I wanted to add. But the building inspector did not force me to change the septic...he issued an occupancy permit based on the fact that I had a design approved by the state for the bedrooms we were adding. We did in fact replace the septic about a year after we finished with the addition, as it had a 4 year expiration and we did not want to go through the hassle with the codes that constantly change. Having a new system was great peace of mind as well.
Concerning your plans, our neighbor just finished a fabulous renovation and they were very close to the lake. They had Witchner and Witchier (in Gilford 603-630-4561 and speak with Dennis) come down....did the plans, did the build, got the permits, etc. etc. It was interesting in that the cut the existing house into 4 pieces, moved some off the old foundation, then built a new foundation and moved the house back.....and only then did they make changes. It was a terrific process. I would recommend you at least speak with them before spending any money on anything.

[DRH]

We had to install a new septic system about 10 years ago and we hired David Ames at Ames Associates in Meredith to design it. He did an outstanding job both designing the system and obtaining all necessary permits, and the price was reasonable. I would definitely hire him again.

Here's a link to his website: http://amesassociates.com/