Thinking of home renovation- how to proceed? (Sandpoint, Bonners Ferry: new house, roofing)

[Kchula-Rrit]

In the "North Idaho Home Architecture" thread someone spoke of using a gable to prevent avalanches on one's porch. The person, hired by the previous owner, who put up the awning on our deck didn't do that and we get avalanches, despite the snow-brakes up there. Or, the snow piles up on the snow brakes and then cuts loose.

Anyway, last winter we had a half-ton chunk of ice fall from the second-floor roof onto the awning and cracked three joists and broke one. We've had it shored-up ever since.

We've been thinking of having some other, possibly major, work done on the house. Get rid of skylights, have the sloping ceilings raised so we don't have to crouch in some places, etc. We would like to have a gable put up where the sidewalk enters the deck, to stop the aforementioned avalanches.

Having never done this kind of thing before, how would we proceed. I assume that a builder works from a blueprint but I've never drawn one, and would not really trust a house that I designed.

Hope the question isn't too broad, but any answers would be appreciated. We're in Boundary County, if that matters.

K-R.

[banjomike]

A gable can work to deflect and route the snow away from your porch. I had one built over a back door on a former home when the house was being re-roofed.

I don't believe in trying to stop the snow from sliding on a roof. It's better to allow it to slide off easily and direct the slides. Any good roofing company will give you good advice on what's needed.

It always helps a lot if a house has cold eaves. They cut down on ice dams forming along the edges of the roofing and icicile problems. But I've noticed a lot of new houses around there that haven't taken that problem into account when the house was built, and it would be a major expense to change the eaves on them. Venting the attic will also cut down on the icing, and vents are pretty cheap.

[Clark Fork Fantast]

Originally Posted by Kchula-Rrit

In the "North Idaho Home Architecture" thread someone spoke of using a gable to prevent avalanches on one's porch. The person, hired by the previous owner, who put up the awning on our deck didn't do that and we get avalanches, despite the snow-brakes up there. Or, the snow piles up on the snow brakes and then cuts loose.

Anyway, last winter we had a half-ton chunk of ice fall from the second-floor roof onto the awning and cracked three joists and broke one. We've had it shored-up ever since.

We've been thinking of having some other, possibly major, work done on the house. Get rid of skylights, have the sloping ceilings raised so we don't have to crouch in some places, etc. We would like to have a gable put up where the sidewalk enters the deck, to stop the aforementioned avalanches.

Having never done this kind of thing before, how would we proceed. I assume that a builder works from a blueprint but I've never drawn one, and would not really trust a house that I designed.

Hope the question isn't too broad, but any answers would be appreciated. We're in Boundary County, if that matters.

K-R.

In my experience you don't provide the blueprint. What you provide is a sketch of what you had in mind, and then the professional builder should know how to take it from there. The builder will then provide a draft, these days frequently using a computer program where the image can be turned in all directions (3D modeling), and you will have to approve that. If you know how to draw on grid/graph paper, using exact measurements, that will be of help, but the builder shouldn't presume that you can do designs.

If you want to follow the advice in previous posts, let an architect with local experience do the drawing and let him/her suggest a local builder. I see online that there is at least one designer in Bonners Ferry, Don Jordan Design & Drafting, but Sandpoint has at least 10 architect firms. You may want to ask neighbors who have remodeled, or are building/have built a new home, if they can recommend a designer/builder. Good luck!

[javatom]

Hire the designer first, not the builder. It can be done the other way but then you are tied to that particular builder.

[countryboy73]

What javatom said. In most cases a builder can do anything he has a blueprint for, but it is a rare builder who can take your needs and ideas and turn them into a working reality. You want competent people designing and building what you are talking about. It costs some, but not as much as doing it twice or having it fall down...