Kaʻū district - Oceanview and Ranchos (doing our research)

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Traveler, welcome to Ka'u! That was your first lesson in using Hawaiian names.

Glad to see that you've done a lot of research and congratulations on your purchase. We built our house in Discovery Harbour in 2004 and have lived in the area since 2010. I'd be happy to help with any questions you have about the Na'alehu area and what it's like to live in our rural piece of paradise.

As you've probably heard, there is a lot of crime in OV. Once you start building, you should plan to also live on-site to keep your building materials from disappearing. You mentioned the cost of materials at the ACE in Ocean View; that's why most of us go to Kona or Hilo for our supplies.

[traveler105]

Originally Posted by terracore

We have an HPM home on slab. The plumbing runs through the attic, except for the sewer. We never really liked the house, we more or less settled on it because of all the homes we looked at, it was the only one for sale at the time that met our acreage, bedroom, bathroom, single-level, and price requirements. It is what it is, we had our dream home in Alaska and now we have our practical home.

My biggest complaint is the lack of closet space, tiny bedrooms, and misuse of space with an oversized living room. We mitigated these by converting the carport into an enclosed lanai with outdoor kitchenette / dining (great for baking without heating up the house), having a shipping container for farm storage / livestock feed, and adding cabinets to address the lack of closets. If you choose one of these kit homes, consider getting the plans modified rather than trying to address shortcomings later.

- Do you know if the main sewer PVC pipe must be inside the slab for one story house?

- Do people in HI build houses with high roof pitch values? So that it is easier to add a porch to the house?

Unrelated but I noticed a lot of folks from Alaska live in HI. I hope Alaska Airlines brings back direct flight*from BI to Anchorage.

Originally Posted by Dreaming of Hawaii

Traveler, welcome to Ka'u! That was your first lesson in using Hawaiian names.

Glad to see that you've done a lot of research and congratulations on your purchase. We built our house in Discovery Harbour in 2004 and have lived in the area since 2010. I'd be happy to help with any questions you have about the Na'alehu area and what it's like to live in our rural piece of paradise.

As you've probably heard, there is a lot of crime in OV. Once you start building, you should plan to also live on-site to keep your building materials from disappearing. You mentioned the cost of materials at the ACE in Ocean View; that's why most of us go to Kona or Hilo for our supplies.

Thanks! Good point, we plan to rent nearby. Do inspectors turn a blind eye on owner builders who live on property while building?

[traveler105]

Originally Posted by Grassyknoll

Congratulations on your purchase!

Thanks! Is there a dominant wind pattern in OV? For example, Hilo gets trade winds from the North-East. Is there, perhaps, weakened wind from the North-East in OV?

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Originally Posted by traveler105

-

Thanks! Good point, we plan to rent nearby. Do inspectors turn a blind eye on owner builders who live on property while building?

Inspectors seem to turn a blind eye to everything. Including people living in school buses and lava tubes. Supposedly they are cracking down, but I've yet to see it. Just be friendly with them and establish a rapport.

[Grassyknoll]

Originally Posted by traveler105

- Do you know if the main sewer PVC pipe must be inside the slab for one story house?

- Do people in HI build houses with high roof pitch values? So that it is easier to add a porch to the house?

Unrelated but I noticed a lot of folks from Alaska live in HI. I hope Alaska Airlines brings back direct flight*from BI to Anchorage.



Thanks! Good point, we plan to rent nearby. Do inspectors turn a blind eye on owner builders who live on property while building?

Many folks here camp while building their houses (and many are building an unpermitted house to boot). As long as you don't irritate a neighbor and aren't doing things like dumping waste into a hole, you are really unlikely to have any issues.

[terracore]

"- Do you know if the main sewer PVC pipe must be inside the slab for one story house?

- Do people in HI build houses with high roof pitch values? So that it is easier to add a porch to the house?"

Can't help on the first question, maybe Hotcatz can help out.

Hip roofs are common here because they use use less material. They also gather more water and sunlight which is useful if on catchment or solar, and are probably more hurricane resistant. I haven't heard the word porch used here. It's either a Lanai, deck, or patio, the latter two usually only used if they aren't under a roof. AFAIK.

[Arktikos]

Originally Posted by traveler105

- Do you know if the main sewer PVC pipe must be inside the slab for one story house?

- Do people in HI build houses with high roof pitch values? So that it is easier to add a porch to the house?

Unrelated but I noticed a lot of folks from Alaska live in HI. I hope Alaska Airlines brings back direct flight*from BI to Anchorage.



Thanks! Good point, we plan to rent nearby. Do inspectors turn a blind eye on owner builders who live on property while building?

Alaska Airlines has only had seasonal flights from Kona to Anchorage in the past and I would expect that service to continue. Look for the flights to come back on the schedule in November sometime. The only change to their schedule this Spring was to drop the ANC-HNL flight that usually is offered all year 'round. Reason for doing this was/is lack of pilots.

High Pitch roofs-No, I don't see that. There's no advantage, seeing there's no snow to unload off the roof.
Large overhangs, definitely a bonus for the rainier locations.

I don't see how the sewer main could not be inside the slab for a slab on grade home. The cleanout would be outside the slab though, right?

[Grassyknoll]

Originally Posted by Arktikos

High Pitch roofs-No, I don't see that. There's no advantage, seeing there's no snow to unload off the roof.
Large overhangs, definitely a bonus for the rainier locations.

Another consideration with roof pitch. Too much pitch and when it's raining hard you might have water over running your gutters. You want to collect all the rainwater you can.

[traveler105]

Originally Posted by terracore

"- Do you know if the main sewer PVC pipe must be inside the slab for one story house?

- Do people in HI build houses with high roof pitch values? So that it is easier to add a porch to the house?"

Can't help on the first question, maybe Hotcatz can help out.

Hip roofs are common here because they use use less material. They also gather more water and sunlight which is useful if on catchment or solar, and are probably more hurricane resistant. I haven't heard the word porch used here. It's either a Lanai, deck, or patio, the latter two usually only used if they aren't under a roof. AFAIK.

Originally Posted by Arktikos

High Pitch roofs-No, I don't see that. There's no advantage, seeing there's no snow to unload off the roof.
Large overhangs, definitely a bonus for the rainier locations.

Originally Posted by Grassyknoll

Another consideration with roof pitch. Too much pitch and when it's raining hard you might have water over running your gutters. You want to collect all the rainwater you can.

Thanks for info. We found one house kit with a layout we like and it can be converted into a hipped roof.

[traveler105]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

I've been a draftsman getting permits in Hawaii since about '83 and what with the newest code changes (2012 IRC as amended by Hawaii County) and the entirely digital approach, I'm about ready to toss in the towel.

Do you know the current price range per sqft for house kits from HPM and Honsador?

Is it within normal to pay $3500 to someone who will prepare building permit application (all stamps, does not include state/county fees)?

Thanks.