We can agree on 1 thing.

[gandrimp]

My wife and I, that is.

We are in the very beginning of thinking about, talking about building a house. Nothing fancy, but something we wont hate in a few years. Between 1000 and 1500 square ft.

With the winter we have had this year, we agree wood heat will be in the house ,,,, ok that's about all we agree on. Well I guess we want a roof and walls and no dirt floors,,, so maybe there's hope for us.

We have a Jotul Castine and love the stove, but if it was to be the only source of heat, Im not sure it could have kept the house comfortable this year.

Here's where you guys come in. What is the best floor plan for wood heat, and where could I find said floor plans. I have an idea in my head, and she has an idea in hers but neither of us can get the other to understand. Side note, my dear lovely wife wants the windows to face east, all of them.

 

[GENECOP]

How about one of these in the middle of the living room, perfect size, enjoy watching the fire, and tie in Radiant Heat

 

[Motor7]

I built a 1080 sq ft with a 200 sq ft loft....great room cathedral design. I recommend a full basement which only ads about $20K to the cost of your house...I love my basement. That being said, put your stove in your main floor living room unless you want to heat from the basement which will require a much bigger stove and spend some time studying/modifying air currents

 

[Highbeam]

Look at log cabin floor plans. Partial second floor with each room on that second floor entering onto a hallway/loft space. The idea is to have a two story great room that all other spaces adjoin. Build it with a square footprint.

 

[CenterTree]

We have a Jotul Castine and love the stove, but if it was to be the only source of heat, Im not sure it could have kept the house comfortable this year.

.

Are you considering building a new house with only ONE source of heat? And that one source to be wood?

 

[firefighterjake]

After being in our house for a number of years and seeing my Uncle's house and others I can safely say if and when we build our retirement home ... which will be set up to heat with wood ... there are a few things we would do ... and not do.

The house would me moderate in size ... smaller than our current 1800 square ft house.

The house would be very well insulated to keep whatever heat we generate inside.

The house would be a more open concept with the stove as centrally located as possible.

The house would not have a cathedral ceiling or especially high ceilings ... personally I love the look of cathedral ceilings but the loss of potential floor space and more challenging job of heating this space ... albeit it can be done ... makes a traditional ceiling a better choice.

The house would be situated more for the southern exposure vs placement in relation to the road to maximize passive solar gain.

The house would have Windows of course ... but I would be judicious with the number, size and location.

The house would also have a basement ... it's the one thing I wish our current house had ... if nothing else ... just to move the oil boiler, water heater, etc down.

 

[gzecc]

3 br ranch with a basement. Wood stove centrally located between living space and bedrooms. Central chimney or pipe. Front rear doors with a vestibule. South ease facing rea of the house with many large windows for solar heating. R40 attic insulation. 2x6 exterior wall framing for maximum wall insulation.

 

[NectarNook]

The layout for our house is attached. We are around 900 sq ft on the main floor, with a 22'x14' open loft above the bedrooms. The ceiling in our great room is 18' at the apex, 8' on the sides. We have a ceiling fan going on low in the great room to stir the hot air back down.

We heat with a Progress Hybrid by Woodstock. At first, we looked at their smaller version, the Fireview. But after talking with Woodstock, they suggested sizing the stove a bit bigger than what we thought we might need. I'm so glad we did that! Since this stove is our only heat source, it would really stink to have bought a smaller stove. We've been below zero outside for 50+ days this winter, and not once has any corner of the house been chilly.

Love this stove. Love the layout of our house.

Good luck! Hope you come back and share pictures!

 

[smokedragon]

The house would be very well insulated to keep whatever heat we generate inside.
The house would be a more open concept with the stove as centrally located as possible.
The house would not have a cathedral ceiling or especially high ceilings ... personally I love the look of cathedral ceilings but the loss of potential floor space and more challenging job of heating this space ... albeit it can be done ... makes a traditional ceiling a better choice.
The house would have Windows of course ... but I would be judicious with the number, size and location.

+1 to all of this.

If not, my other option would be to heat from the basement as I currently do (but I have a split foyer home, so I have a rather large staircase for the heat to draft up). If I had a traditional basement, I would not want to try and heat from it.

 

[DanCorcoran]

If you ever plan on selling the house, or getting old enough that you won't be able to schlep wood daily, I suggest you make provision for a secondary heat source (ducts, in-floor piping, whatever), even if you don't install the mechanicals. That will make adding them an easy and inexpensive option.

 

[Highbeam]

Always add a second heat source capable of primary heating. Usually you don't have a choice as the lender will require it but there are so many other reasons.

 

[rideau]

Heat pump back up?

Full basement with good insulation under the floor; basement below grade or at least 75 % below grade: this will maintain a winter temp of 50 or so without heat, and will air condition your home somewhat in summer

Most windows to the east and south. Stove maybe to the N/W, as you'll get some solar gain on the other sides. Plumbing in the SE corner, all supply water on interior walls.

Central interior location for stove; if two stories, not too high ceilings ( 8.5 - 9 foot max). Wide stairs. Ability to have as completely circular air flow as possible on the main floor. If possible, provide air flow beneath the stairs into rooms on either side. If a room must on first floor must have no circular air flow, make it a southern or SE facing room so it will at least get solar gain.

2 x 6 walls.

ADD: Post after this mentioned airlocks. VERY IMPORTANT. Will make all the difference in the world in a cold winter. And wide hallways (4 feet is good)and stairs (air flow and moving furniture) are great. Try to design to minimalize hallway space, as it is just wasted space.

 

[Needshave]

We are in the middle of building a home. We went with a post and beam with SIP panels. The wood stove is in the basement to keep the bark mess away from the living space. The house is on the small side for our family of five at 1200 square feet. We could not agree on a floor plan with a central chimney so it is outside behind the house. I'm still living in a 100 year old rental house while waiting for move in day. This oil tank is brutal on my wallet this winter.

 

[smokedragon]

Always add a second heat source capable of primary heating. Usually you don't have a choice as the lender will require it but there are so many other reasons.

When we bought our house, the only heat was a boiler that was in serious disrepair, so bad it wasn't worth fixing. Had the insert installed and used it as the ONLY heat the first winter, but our next plan was to come up with a second heat source (ended up turning the central A/C into heat pump).

 

[gandrimp]

Thanks for all the input and pics, nice houses guys.

Wood will be primary heat and will be on the main level being lived in. We did think maybe dual fuel heat pump unit, for backup and used for cooling in the summer.

 

[flueguru]

Thanks for all the input and pics, nice houses guys.

Wood will be primary heat and will be on the main level being lived in. We did think maybe dual fuel heat pump unit, for backup and used for cooling in the summer.

situate the flue inside the house and exit at the highest point of roof,now is the best time to add these features.the planning stage!

 

[Kosmik]

situate the flue inside the house and exit at the highest point of roof,now is the best time to add these features.the planning stage!

+1. Make sweeping life easier.

 

[Bobbin]

My late FIL was an architect, all about good, basic plans that would allow future upgrades/additions with minimal fuss. We have a 2500 sq.ft. home, on a slab (ledge, no cellar without blasting, cost prohibitive). 2 full storeys, 2x6 framing, with a truss roof (not steep), 14+" of loose attic insulation, 24" soffits, no dormers, dog houses, nothing fancy. Ceilings are 8'4". The trussed roof means that none of the interior walls are weight bearing... this is huge when/if you want to change the floor plan. Oil fired boiler, forced hot water baseboard heat on 5 zones, all interior walls and the second storey floor are fully insulated. The house is 22 yrs. old and for its size it's not a beast to heat. (when we built oil was about .60/gallon and sheathing plywood was $8/sheet!), we will replace the original Weil McLean boiler in the spring and the old thermostats will be replaced with programmable units.

Our "apartment" is on the second storey. The staircase is generous (should have been wider, I think it's 42") and living upstairs allows great views of the property, and avoids the necessity of pumping waste to the raised septic system (cleaning/dealing with a failed waste ejector is a gross job). 2 flue interior chimney (mason stressed this!) with easy clean outs is pretty much centered on the gable end of the house. First floor zones are dedicated to guest quarters and the good man's "club house" Great set up for us (no kids) and easily converted back to a standard 3 or 4 bedroom home with 3 baths.

I don't think much of cathedral ceilings... wasted space that pulls heat away from where it's most needed, IMO (even though they look great). When we were ready to build FIL asked what we wanted. We said, "the most useful house for the least amount of money". And he delivered the goods. Keep it simple and make sure whatever you build is capable of growing with you or the next owner!

 

[jotul8e2]

About seven years ago I started to build a house with many of the same goals - other than being somewhat larger - not too far from where you are.

An insulated basement is a big plus. If you are on a hillside the cost of a full basement may not be that much greater than a foundation. This gives you by far the cheapest extra square footage for storage, utilities, even living area if you desire.

To keep the heat losses/gains through exterior walls at a minimum, you - ummm - keep the area of the exterior walls at a minimum. The more nearly square a house is the less the area of the exterior walls for a given number of square feet. Extreme example: 625 sq. ft. of floor area, 25X25 floor plan - 100 lineal ft. of walls; or 15X41 floor plan - 112 lineal ft. of walls. Incorporate the garage along one wall to effectively increase the r value of that wall.

Windows need not be as large as is currently fashionable, nor do you need as many as people seem to think. I kept my windows to what I thought was a minimum, but my largest regret is that I did not size them even smaller.

Story-and-a-half designs are efficient in footprint, construction expenses, and in energy use.

Vaulted ceilings are a luxury not compatible with minimizing energy use.

Open floor plans are great for allowing point source heat (wood stove) to spread, but you will likely want doors for bedrooms, bathrooms, probably a utility area. Use 3'0" doors to more easily allow heat to circulate. This has the side benefit of making the house more handicapped accessible - you never know. If it is just a passageway, not a door (say between living and kitchen areas) make the opening 4'.

During construction, insulation is cheap. Design the roof with good ventilation, then insulate the heck out of everything else. I used six inch walls, then standard sheeting, then house wrap, then 1" of foam, then siding (Hardi plank, brick). My attic has r-60 or more.

Use air lock entries. I did not. Wish I had.

Save some money for window treatments. Cellular shades are wonderful.

At this point, the payback for other energy saving expenses starts to have severely diminished rates of return. For example, a ground source heat pump in my location over the 16 seer unit I purchased would take about 30 years to pay for itself if I used it exclusively for heating and cooling.

How well does this work? Currently, it is nearly 5:00 pm. It has been 34 deg. all day. I have built exactly one fire in the stove, and it is 69 deg. in the house. Maybe time for a second load.

 

[Bobbin]

Excellent points above! We did not think about "handicap accessibility" issues (universal design, I think?) when we built. It was barely on the radar screen in 1990, but make sure you consider it if you think you'll ever want to sell your home. We joke that our home should have been built as a "de-fab" home; put together with screws and easily taken down... since homes sold in our neighborhood are basically torn down (to one wall) and resurrected as neo-Victorian "cottage" whore jobs.

 

[DanCorcoran]

Even though wood stoves are rated for square-foot heating capacity, they actually must heat cubic feet. Don't size your stove by square footage, if you have a cathedral ceiling!

 

[gandrimp]

More excellent advice.

With my mother living with us for about 3 months, due to slipping on the ice, handicap accessible is also a requirement. Thanks for the reminder.

Air-lock is something I was calling a mudroom, I wasn't thinking of energy saving, Bonus!

We are wanting (compromise) a shed dormer , would that be considered story and a half ?

 

[stoveguy2esw]

situate the flue inside the house and exit at the highest point of roof,now is the best time to add these features.the planning stage!

if building from new this should be a serious discussion "guru" raises a great point. a flue located at the highest point not only is easier to access and sweep/inspect, but a lesser amount of it is exposed on all 4 sides even with an exterior chimney , this should help with heat retention and better draft. a premium with modern woodstoves