Rants of A Coyote

Over the las few yeasrs I have been working hard to learn my skills, and to work on this house. Let's start off with how things have updated:

House I Sold in 2015:

• Price Sold For: 309,900
• Heated Square Ft: 1800
• Rooms 3, Baths 2
• Property Size: 6500 sq ft
• HVAC: Central (Gas) Heating and (Electric) Cooling
• Water Heater: Gas Heated Tank - 60 Gal
• Cooking: Gas Range, Electric Oven
• Electric Co: PGE, Nat Gas Co: NW Natural
• Insulation: R19
• Garage: Double Car Wide

When I first Moved here in October 2015 to this house that will built in 1955 it sported the following:

• Bought For: 229,999
• Heated Sqare Ft: 1550
• 4 Bed, 2 Bath
• Property Size: 11,250 Sq Ft (.26 Acre)
• HVAC: Central, Gas Heating, Electric Cooling (Located in Attic for Heating)
• Water Heater: Gas Tankless
• Cooking: Gas Range/Oven
• Utilities: EWEB and NWNatural
• Insualtion: R8 in Old half of house, R19 in Addition.
• Garage: None, Narrow Sheds in Back.

The Original Plan: Move down to Eugene, OR and go through the Energy Management Associates Program and get my Foot in the door to eventually move back north to Portland/Yamhill area by 2028. As of today the changes to the house are:

• Ramped Entrance to the front (9k)
• Family room and addition all brought up to level of the rest of the house (21k)
• "Utility Room" updated as full Ulility room with Exit and ramp out side of house. (Part of previous project)
• "Family Room" Updated to full bedroom with closet, and south facing window updated with opening window. (Part of Previous Project)
• Kitchen modernized and made more wheelchair accessible with a 5' wide path all the way through. (20k)
• Central air taken out after issues with Carbon Monoxide and replaced with 2 Zoned Ductless Mini Split Units (Savings of roughly 200-250/mo; especially during winter months) (16k)
• Old shed hodgepodge demolished and replaced with two matching facing 12x16 sheds for accessibility, with a nice cement path circling the back yard connecting everything together along with a nice planting area. One shed is powered, the other shed is powered by two 100-watt solar panels and battery system for lighting. -- Overpowered. (22k)

Total estimated upgrade cost: 88k

Total estimated cost of house now: 317,000

House estimated list price: 405,000

Total gain: 88k

--- And now ---

In July I will have been with the same company for 5 years after graduating my Energy Management Associates. I am an Electrical Designer for a local Engineering Company, and over the last couple years with COVID, our strength in working Remotely has grown exponentially! Meaning that I am now closing on a blank slate of land back up north where I started to be closer to family. Instead of having to using my Education and "Getting my foot in the door" to be able to get in with a company in an area that is saturated for the field that I am in, I can just focus on building a house new, and continue to work remotely, with the occasional travel 2 hrs south for certain learning events, etc.

What does this mean? Well, in 2 weeks from today, I close on a plot of land back in the same town that I left back in 2015. I am working on designing a house right now, and as it stands I am looking at the following features:

• Estimated Price of Property and House after Built: 800,000
• Heated Square Ft: 2850
• Rooms 3, Office, Laundry, Pantry, Baths 2.5
• Property Size: 11,450 Sq Ft (.27 Acre) Flag Lot with 8250 buildable area
• HVAC: Central Electric Heating and Cooling via Energy Efficient Heat Pump.
• Water Heater: Twin Electric Tankless
• Cooking: Induction cooktop, dual electric built in ovens.
• Electric Co: PGE, Nat Gas Co: NW Natural
• Insulation: R19
• Garage: Extra-wide, Extra-Deep 3-Car Garage

The property is extra flat, making even more availability for a zer0-threshold house for Wheelchair accessibility. Where the house I am in now has 7.75' ceilings, the bedrooms will have 10' ceilings, and the living area will likely have 11-12 ft ceilings. The house is being designed from the ground up to be able to support up to 21kW solar system, with 10kWh battery backup option. Because of the size of the property, yard space is minimal, but there are some nice trees along the edge of the property, including a beautiful Redwood, and Cedar. In addition to being wheelchair accessible, there will be a cement path around the edge of the property allowing for 340 ft "track" to get extra exercise in on nice days right at home. Most of the largest windows are north facing, towards the Chehelem Mountains, so to bring in extra light into the main area of the house, I will be utilizing solar tubes.

Speaking of lighting, all rooms of the house will utilize White-Attunable lighting, so day/task specific settings can be taken advantage of.

Another benefit of this house is I will be designing it so that it will use rafters instead of web trussing. The Attic has the potential of a 1600 sq ft bonus room, that someone someday will be able to convert into rooms, etc... especially by placing dormers on the north facing roof line. At that point the Pantry can be converted to Staircase, and the Laundry room will even have an extra 220v stubout in the event a machine-room-less elevetator needs to be installed. - Thus turning the entire house into a 4400 sq ft beast.

Hoping to get some pictures of possible design up soon. Getting excited about the desgin phase!