A home I recently completed

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MesquiteMan

MesquiteMan

Retired Head Moderator
Joined
Oct 18, 2005
Messages
5,678
Location
San Marcos, TX, USA.
The name of the forum is "Other Things We Make" so I guess no one will mind if I show off the latest home I completed! As most know, I am a custom home builder. I build high quality, extremely green, super energy efficient homes. This home was completed a few months ago and is a real show place that I am pretty proud of. I designed the home and did most of the trim work myself.

Front view
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Rear view
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Rear entry
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Entry niche trimmed out in pecky pecan that I harvested from the site, milled, and processed into T&G
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Another view of the niche
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Front door
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Living Room
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Master Bath
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Door into the study
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Another pecky pecan niche that I made
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All of the cabinetry was custom built from lumber that I harvested and milled from the site. It is pecan with a pecan stain and catalyzed lacquer

Kitchen
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This is a custom tile mosaic installed for the backsplash. The Owner's own a company called Swift River Pecans and the property is located on the river. They are HUGE river people. This is a depiction of the river with a Pecan tree. Not my style but the Owners LOVE it.

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Thanks for letting me show off a little!
 
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Curtis

Wow, beautiful. How big a house is it? Love the exterior stone work and cabinets are out of this world. The would be 2M+ house here and year or two ago.
 
It is 6,000 sf +/- under roof and 4,000 sf +/- living. I built it cost plus and it came in around $676,000 without the land. Things are a lot cheaper here in Central Texas than CA!
 
You should be proud Curtis, that is absolutely gorgeous. I am "Impressed". Looks like something you'd see on HGTV or something. You got one over on Norm, Tom and the fellas. Wow!!
 
VERY IMPRESSIVE CURTIS

I like the pecan wood you used in the house. What was some of the widest boards you were able to use? Did you have the wood kiln dried?

Keith "mrburls"
 
Curtis, that is the second nicest rear entry I've ever seen, I am not allowed to photograph the nicest, but both are in a class of their own.
Really, incredible master work. Now I know why your pens are so impeccable.
 
That's an amazing house you did. And here all this time I thought all you could make was pens and pen blanks. Nice job.
 
Curtis, Having build houses myself. i am very familiar with how much work, and extra work, you put in on that. Very nice and definitely a "Show Place". as for price. even here in reno condos start at around $230,000. I almost fell on the floor to think someone could buy that house for that price. You need to come visit Lake Tahoe for about a year long vacation. Build somebody something for around 5 mil while your at it. Your work would fit right in.
 
Like everyone else, I'm awed by the obvious quality of the work. It's a truly beautiful home. Thanks so much for letting us see it.
Doug
 
You buy a pen and get the house!! Truely a piece of art. We would expect no less from you Curtis. What, no "worthless wood"?
Vern
 
Curtis, that is an awesome house! I really like the idea of using on site lumber. So many houses are made by scraping the land clear, burning all wood, and so on. It is fantastic to see a house made the way you did this one.
 
Beautiful work Curtis,

I also like the back splash, it's a real eye catcher.
 
Very impressive Curtis!!

The wife and I are searching for land now and are looking for super energy efficient ideas.

We have settled on the haybale construction method (panels sandwiching haybales), and would love to hear any ideas you have to complement energy efficiency. She really wants a green tin roof, we're researching that part next.
 
Verne said:
You buy a pen and get the house!! Truely a piece of art. We would expect no less from you Curtis. What, no "worthless wood"?
Vern
Click to expand...

Actually, now that you mention it....the most expensive pens I have "sold"!. I made 2 Spalted Pecan cigars from wood from their land and gave them to the Owners to sign the contract with. Maybe I can claim that I "sold" 2 pens for $675k!
 
The Master Bath looks like it could double as a deer stand, with the field in the back....or maybe there will be a jacuzzi off the deck for the same purpose???
 
Just a little more info on the house to answer some questions...

The house is Ultra Green, sustainably built. Some of the green features:
-Oriented on site for maximum solar gain in the winter, minimum in the summer
-Complete foam insulation including a non-vented attic
-15 SEER variable speed, Trane XL 15i heat pumps (top of the line Tranes)
-Programmable thermostats
-Whole house air filtration system
-Use of on site materials--Pecan
-Scored and Stained concrete floors instead of tile
-All Energy Star appliances
-Marvin Integrity casement windows arranged to maximize breeze capture
-Very minimal wood use on the exterior to minimize maintenance. The only wood is the decorative trusses. Everything else is Hardie cement fiber products
-Sherwin Williams Duration lifetime paint on exterior
-0 VOC interior paint
-Expected monthly energy bill: $200 compared to $350-400 for comparable sized, less efficeint homes

It took me 15 months to build the home. Yes, I am slow but I am extremely picky and do it right the first time! Around here, I am one of the most expensive builders, too, per square foot. I don't make any more money than the other guys, I just put more into my work and use better quality materials. As a matter of fact, my margins are lower than most of my "competition" since I am in a small town (50K) and need to stay busy to feed my family. I committed to building green 5 years ago and will not build something unless it is Ultra Green. There are plenty of ordinary builder here that can build regular houses!

Thanks everyone for the really nice comments. I do really appreciate it!!
 
Monty said:
Fantastic. Just one question. What's the function of the string/cord in the living room picture?
Click to expand...

Haha...the home was "complete" in the pics as far as my contract goes but not 100% complete. The owners still had some things to do that was not part of my contract. That cord is the wire for the whole house audio system speakers that had not been installed yet. Notice the mantel is also missing and there is no landscaping. The Owners were responsible for the mantel, installation of the audio system, landscaping, and job site trash clean up.
 
mrburls said:
VERY IMPRESSIVE CURTIS

I like the pecan wood you used in the house. What was some of the widest boards you were able to use? Did you have the wood kiln dried?

Keith "mrburls"
Click to expand...

I did not build the cabinets in the house. They were custom built by my cabinet man so he ripped everything to what he was comfortable with. That said, I think the widest stuff is 6". I know the entry niche is all 5 1/2". Yes, the wood was kiln dried. I got many boards that were 18-20" wide. One log I milled was 30" diameter and right at the limit of my mill!

The property is 200 acres on the San Marcos River and the Owner is a Pecan Farmer as a hobby. All of his trees on this property are native and not planted. He needed to do some thinning so we cut a couple of trees but most came from wind damaged trees.
 
JimB said:
Fantastic job Curtis. I always knew houses were less expensive in Texas but that house looks like it should go for a lot more.
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It really should have but I really wanted to build it! I did it cost plus so I could not lose money but did not really make much either. It has opened some doors for me, though. It helped me get the attention of a nationally acclaimed Sustainable Architect in Austin that has since sent me 3 more homes to build. I have work lined up for 1.5-2 years with him. Without that, I would be in bad shape like most other builders right now so I guess you can say it paid off!! Well, that and the Good Lord is looking over me!
 
675k ???? That makes me sick. I paid more than that for my little 2800sq.ft. ranch house that is energy unefficient. Maybe I will have to have you come up here when the economy picks up again and I can afford to put on the addition I want. Great job on the house, I hope the landscaper can keep up with the standards you set.
 
Absolutely fantastic house. It's not a house but rather a work of art. You should be most proud. I have downloaded the plan you sent and hope to one day have a house built. Maybe 5 years from now. Keep on building, and posting too!!!

Dan
 
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MesquiteMan said:
It really should have but I really wanted to build it! I did it cost plus so I could not lose money but did not really make much either. It has opened some doors for me, though. It helped me get the attention of a nationally acclaimed Sustainable Architect in Austin that has since sent me 3 more homes to build. I have work lined up for 1.5-2 years with him. Without that, I would be in bad shape like most other builders right now so I guess you can say it paid off!! Well, that and the Good Lord is looking over me!
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That's great to hear. For a builder to have 2 years work lined up right now is fantastic. I know most independent builders like yourself are struggling right now. Even the big boys like Toll Brothers are having their problems. I'll bet by the time you build the next 3 houses you will have more work lined up and the building market will start to turn around. The future looks bright for you.:good::smile: BTW LOML loves the house as well... next time we build she may give you a call:biggrin:.
 
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