BUILDING A COUNTRY COTTAGE HOUSE

What does it take to build a Country Cottage house?  As with the building of anything, the application of using quality materials in conjunction with skilled craftsmanship is what makes the end product a success.  Country Cottages uses this proven formula for the development of all its affordable housing.  With great care and meticulous planning, the consumer’s needs are taken into consideration and incorporated into the overall design to assure a functional and practical floor plan.  The purpose here is to give an overview explanation of building a home and a general understanding of some of the details as a guideline.      

After the blue prints are drawn and permitting is authorized, building actually begins at the beginning stages of surveying the lot.  Critical is establishing the parameters of the land and staking the corners of the house to mark for proper slab elevation, as the entire building structure depends on the accuracy of the foundation.  If things are incorrect in the beginning, everything thereafter compounds itself on the way up and wasted time is spent in making the necessary changes.  Septic systems are set at zero elevation on high and dry lots and require no mounding, leaving the 250 sq. ft. field invisible and below grade.

County setbacks and pertinent building criteria are strictly adhered to from the permitting process all the way through building.  Trees and foliage outside the footprint of the house are marked and saved as the clearing of the lot begins.  After root raking the foundation area of the house, the proper amount of compatible fill is brought in and compacted to establish slab elevation, taking into consideration the existing road crest height and septic tank elevation.

Form boards are erected and the rough plumbing is set in place for preparation of the monolithic pour. Reinforcement steel rods (rebar) is applied to the footers and a layer of plastic (vapor barrier) protects the concrete from the soil.   After proper inspections and termite treatments are in place, the slab is poured and completed along with the setting of the j-bolts into the foundation for cable tie down and securing the bottom plate of all the exterior walls.  Country Cottage slab elevations are set at a minimum of 12” above the crest of the road, using a monolithic pour (slab and foundation combined into one) method with fiber additive in the cement mix for increased strength and superior p.s.i. rating.

Next the framing package (consisting of green plate and white pine studs) is delivered and the house shell is stick-framed on site in about two weeks.  Trusses are set on layout and a cable tie-down process is installed for 4000 pounds of uplift per truss, far exceeding the 435 pound uplift of a conventional metal strap.  The roof is then covered in plywood and dried-in with a woven underlayment of roofing membrane, followed by an application of dimensional architectural shingles.

Vinyl-clad dual glaze windows are installed over Tyvek house wrap and tinted synthetic stucco (waterproof polymers) along with vinyl clapboard siding used as an exterior wall application in giving a no maintenance shell.  The HVAC is installed inside, which consists of a main duct board trunk and independent flex runs going to each room.  An American Standard 3 ton (13 seer) condenser/heat pump unit with matching air handler runs the heating and cooling of the house very efficiently.  After the plumbing and electrical are roughed in the interior is insulated with R-12 fiberglass batting in the walls and R-38 blown  in the attic, which is accessed through garage pull down stairs where there is ample storage space above.  The houses also come pre-wired for cable, telephone and alarm. 

Garage doors are heavy gauge steel and wind loads at 130 mph.  Exterior truss packages, roof, stucco and vinyl colors, exterior lighting fixtures, doors and shutters are all independently coordinated with each other so as not to take on the appearance of similarity or cookie-cutter by design.  Interior trim packages of door styles, windows, cabinets and countertops are also selected with variety, again each item coordinated to complement the other with tones of neutrality.  Ceiling finishes are spatter/knockdown to complement the wall finish of orange peel texture.  Electrical and plumbing trim packages are installed prior to the underground hookup.  Mirrors, shelving, door hardware and floor coverings all enhance the finished project. Landscaping the outside is the final stage in the building process using a combination of existing vegetation and selected shrubs and plants.   A four inch well is installed at the front of the lot approximately 60 feet in depth with a stainless 1 hp submergible pump, giving excellent water quality in purity and clarity.   

Under normal building conditions and weather permitting, a Country Cottages’ turn/key house takes approximately five months for completion, from the initial signing of a presale contract until the certificate of occupancy is received.   There are no finer houses with identical quality and a list of the same qualifications that are being built in the seven surrounding counties for the same value and price than Country Cottages of North Florida is building.