Concrete Thinking

It's now time to crank into gear.  We got loan approval (YAY!!!) and hopefully we can see dirt moving around within a month.  Once that happens, I will know it's real.  Right now - it's been a lot of "models" and SketchUp pictures, and samples of materials and meetings, and and and....

We had a few goals for this house:

1. All one level.  This is important because we wanted to "age in place" (holy crap - I am not moving again!) and we also have handicapped and/or blind dogs.  They have been a very good "guide" on how beings struggle as they age - and we also wanted to make their lives as comfortable as possible.  Thus - no stairs.  And no stairs in and out of the house.
2. Low Maintenance.  Our current house is cedar.  Lovely to look at, a pain to maintain.  When I work outside or on the house, I want to see CHANGE!  I am not interested in a "fussy" house.
3. Energy Efficiency.  Current house has a geothermal heat pump, Low e-squared double pane windows, either blown cellulose or recycled blue jean material.  Our electric bills are low.  I'd like to keep them that way.  And really, it's hedging your bet against future energy cost increases.  We live in a country with really low energy costs.  I am not sure it can stay that way forever.
4. Architecturally appealing / Modernist.  Luckily, Raleigh has a wonderful Modernist community of architects and builders (probably due to the excellent NC State School of Design nearby).  personally, I am a fan of midcentury modern design - long / low, horizontal lines, clean aesthetic, etc.

One of the first decisions was wall construction.  We decided on a concrete sandwich panel - 3" of exterior concrete, 4" of insulation and 3" of interior concrete.  We visited with a local company - International Precast - and saw their model home.  We were seriously impressed with the quality of the finish and the overall flexibility of the material.  We also noted that their model home "hid" the concrete and that was not something we wanted to do - we wanted to CELEBRATE it!

Some random initial thoughts / requirements for the house were:

• No sheetrock.  Hubby hates it.  The finish never looks all that good.  it's hard to keep "clean" and overall - it's not that awesome of a material.  We were not sure we'd eliminate it fully - but it was  / is a goal.
• Truth in materials / design.  NO FAUX!  if it's concrete - let it look like concrete.  If it's steel - celebrate it's "steely goodness".

Obviously - concrete sandwich panels fit the bill.

Here's a picture from sketch up of the house.  And we'll be posting more on the materials as we continue.