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I will try to answer the building questions. Your cost estimates are low. I think your data is based on houses built several years ago. It is tough to give an estimate based on square foot. It is kind of like asking, how much does a car cost per pound. The prices for a TYPICAL building this year have been closer to $200/ sq. ft. Forget the steel idea. Builders do not like working with it and it costs more. If your budget is big enough and you're really set on steel, you may eventually find someone that would do it for you. Your from Texas and a lot of buildings there will be slab on grade. They don't do much of that here. They are tough to insulate properly. You find a lot of clay soil here. If your looking at property in a mountainous or hilly area, you may run into some rock. MOST of it will be shattered or loose and can be excavated with normal equipment. If your shopping for a builder, be careful. The market is so busy right now that anyone with a pickup truck and a dog in the back thinks they are a builder.
Don't think of it as a chore! It's an adventure! It took us two years to narrow down the search from NE Wyoming, NW Montana, and all of NID to a quadrant covering the loop of 95 north of Sandpoint to Bonners, then east on 2 to Troy, south on 56 to Noxon, and west on 200 to Sandpoint. Then 1 winter and spring narrowing down the search to 30 properties, and 5 days (after 5 years of summer visits) to look at all 30 properties! It is one of the most exciting projects we've ever embarked on! I even missed the search after we'd found and bought our dream property. So, not a chore at all...
I was being sarcastic. I'd love to see as many places as I can. I sent you my list, you'll see we will have some driving to do with those areas we'd be looking at when we get ready to visit them. It'd be a nice long vacation.
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Originally Posted by javatom
I will try to answer the building questions. Your cost estimates are low. I think your data is based on houses built several years ago. It is tough to give an estimate based on square foot. It is kind of like asking, how much does a car cost per pound. The prices for a TYPICAL building this year have been closer to $200/ sq. ft. Forget the steel idea. Builders do not like working with it and it costs more. If your budget is big enough and you're really set on steel, you may eventually find someone that would do it for you. Your from Texas and a lot of buildings there will be slab on grade. They don't do much of that here. They are tough to insulate properly. You find a lot of clay soil here. If your looking at property in a mountainous or hilly area, you may run into some rock. MOST of it will be shattered or loose and can be excavated with normal equipment. If your shopping for a builder, be careful. The market is so busy right now that anyone with a pickup truck and a dog in the back thinks they are a builder.
$200 per square foot eh? That's a bit more than what I had calculated but understandable, the NID area is apparently prime country with lots of influx from other states from what I gather. I suppose I could be open to buying an existing building (assuming steel) and just having it renovated the way we want. Thankfully with property taxes very low compared to here in Texas, our nearly perfect credit scores, zero debt and some serious equity $$ from this house we'd sell our budget is quite high so I'm not too worried about it to be honest. We can double the value or more than what we have now and be paying less per month. Our salaries are quite high combined so it'll all work out.
Can you be more specific on why builders don't want to work with steel? We're pretty set on using it, I just don't like stick houses.
Thanks for the info, especially about the builder stuff. We would use a well known and established builder with a proven track record hence my inquiry on if anyone knows of some we could look in to. The internet is rife with so much information to try and sort through. That's why I like it here where I can talk to actual locals with actual knowledge. So far it has been invaluable and awesome.
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Originally Posted by redwood66
OP I don't think a catchment system will work in NI as we don't get enough rainfall. I think some people do it for irrigation for their gardens though, during the months everything is not frozen that is.
After I retired I worked for a minute part time at a local company that delivered water (like Culligan) and also installed water tx systems. They had quite a few large delivery (thousands of gallons at a time) customers north of CDA because of bad wells or no water at all. Most of the tests done showed severe iron quantities.
A 1-2 hour commute in NI in the winter is something I would never want to do. It's mostly about animal strikes more than anything else for me because if you are doing that commute daily your chances of hitting something goes up exponentially the farther you drive.
Enjoy your search!
Hmmm. What's the going rate for water delivery?
As for the commute, that is only a possibility if we decide to change our remote jobs or lose our job(s). I'm pretty sure we are both safe at least for the foreseeable future. Our company (wife and I work at the same place) has too many new employees quit (2 quit today!) and those of us who are veterans are invaluable to keep the company running. Both of us have been at this company for well over 5 years.
2. Any ideas what the going cost per square foot is for the aforementioned builder(s) or on average up there for complete service including finishing? I've been finding data all over the internets from $90-180 per square foot with the average between $120-150. We aren't doing any of the finishing ourselves if that helps.
I would probably think $150-$180/sf is the average now. Of course, sky is the limit.
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Originally Posted by Mister Torgue
3. How's the water up there on average? Hard water? Need to be filtered? Taste? Water tables closer to the surface? (the water down here SUCKS and is deep to get to almost everywhere)
Expect a wide range of answers. Depends on where. I like well water. Well depths can very tremendously even on adjacent properties. Sandpoint city water is a little hard.
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Originally Posted by Mister Torgue
5. We both target shoot and practice with the self/home defense fireams often--plus we strongly support the 2nd amendment. How do folks up there feel about us putting a shooting/target range on our own property? (keeping in mind we are really going out in to the rural areas away from cities and probably neighbors and will have 20+ acres)
Need to be in the County. Shooting on own properties are common. That said, there are responsible shooters and there are those who are anything but. If you do not have the topography, do the right thing and limit your weapons/ammo or get different piece of land. You can also move some earth.
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Originally Posted by Mister Torgue
6. What is the best cell carrier? I've found people say Verizon up there but I want to hear from you all who actually LIVE there.
We have Verizon. Works pretty well in Sandpoint. That said, there are lots of coverage gaps.
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Originally Posted by Mister Torgue
9. Lastly, we have mostly clay down here and it is a nightmare for foundations. What areas should we avoid that may have soil that isn't foundation friendly?
We have clay. If you are committed to your property, you learn to work with it. One look at a topo map should tell you lots. The valleys and drainage to lakes and rivers will always have a lot of clay.
I would probably think $150-$180/sf is the average now. Of course, sky is the limit.
Expect a wide range of answers. Depends on where. I like well water. Well depths can very tremendously even on adjacent properties. Sandpoint city water is a little hard.
Need to be in the County. Shooting on own properties are common. That said, there are responsible shooters and there are those who are anything but. If you do not have the topography, do the right thing and limit your weapons/ammo or get different piece of land. You can also move some earth.
We have Verizon. Works pretty well in Sandpoint. That said, there are lots of coverage gaps.
We have clay. If you are committed to your property, you learn to work with it. One look at a topo map should tell you lots. The valleys and drainage to lakes and rivers will always have a lot of clay.
good luck! S.
Thank you for those responses Sandpointan. Much appreciated. I have to apparently spend more rep points to other people than a few of you since the forum won't me.
I'll agree with the person who said that one concern for long rural commutes is hitting deer and such. BTDT..... I used to get pretty antsy on the 1hr 20 min each way commute each way I did for 3 years that was partially in deep forests.... the evening trip back if I worked late was often around dusk, when the animals start to get active. It seemed like it was really just a matter of time 'til something was gonna happen. (And I like driving!)
And ditto on the steel for up in that climate....it can be a bit on the moist side in NID, and keeping the moisture out from between the exterior and interior walls would be key. If you get any in there, it IS going to condense. And unlike TX, you typically don't have the sustained hot temps in NID to eventually drive the moisture out. So steel in a house may long term moisture issue.
If you do go that way, consider a spray on closed cell foam insulation as the first insulation layer to essentially seal the inside of the metal exterior walls and avoid this. But I am willing to bet many/most contractors/builders are not familiar with this, so it is a risk of poor application due to inexperience or added costs. Sometimes you are better off going with what folks know.
My wife and I looked at some models from Lexar and there are a few she really likes and a couple I do (one in particular we both do) so we may end up just going that route of building a stick house. I'll still use steel when constructing the shop/barn, but that'll be later on. Oh, and on the subject of Lexar, they have a brilliant solution for us that would suit the parents very well. See below link.
I'd like to find other mid-level to premium builders in Idaho to compare to Lexar. I noticed that Lexar doesn't appear on any of the "top 15" or "top" Idaho builders lists. Makes me wonder if those lists / sites with the lists are not impartial. Tin foil hat conspiracy mode activated, but in all seriousness I do find it strange as they have a great warranty and very nice looking plans and website. So far I'm not impressed with a lot of these other builders' websites.
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Originally Posted by nm9stheham
Hey MT,
I'll agree with the person who said that one concern for long rural commutes is hitting deer and such. BTDT..... I used to get pretty antsy on the 1hr 20 min each way commute each way I did for 3 years that was partially in deep forests.... the evening trip back if I worked late was often around dusk, when the animals start to get active. It seemed like it was really just a matter of time 'til something was gonna happen. (And I like driving!)
That is one of the beautiful things about working remote, no commute. Only in an emergency, say if we both lose our jobs at once kind of thing would we need to commute.
I'd hate to hit wildlife but I understand that is a reality when living in the wilderness.
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And ditto on the steel for up in that climate....it can be a bit on the moist side in NID, and keeping the moisture out from between the exterior and interior walls would be key. If you get any in there, it IS going to condense. And unlike TX, you typically don't have the sustained hot temps in NID to eventually drive the moisture out. So steel in a house may long term moisture issue.
The moisture thing is something I hadn't considered, that is a great point. I suppose steel would be better in the desert ares--that we aren't interested in. Haha.
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If you do go that way, consider a spray on closed cell foam insulation as the first insulation layer to essentially seal the inside of the metal exterior walls and avoid this. But I am willing to bet many/most contractors/builders are not familiar with this, so it is a risk of poor application due to inexperience or added costs. Sometimes you are better off going with what folks know.
Having a buddy as a contractor I get to hear horror stories about this sort of thing often. If it wasn't such an important thing it would almost be comical.
My in laws live in Plummer and their well water is clear and delicious. We lived in Hayden Lake and our well water was yellow/orange. Literally. It stained everything and forget about white laundry. It was a shared well, and the others didn't want to mess with it. I loved the house; it's the favorite we've ever had, but I sure didn't like a poured glass of water looking like urine. So clearly the water quality varies from location to location.
We had Hughes Net in that location as well. It was OK for kid's homework projects and general information surfing, but if my spouse had had to do any serious work from home it would have been a problem.
Also you mentioned (I believe) that you have a young daughter. Are you planning to home school?
My in laws live in Plummer and their well water is clear and delicious. We lived in Hayden Lake and our well water was yellow/orange. Literally. It stained everything and forget about white laundry. It was a shared well, and the others didn't want to mess with it. I loved the house; it's the favorite we've ever had, but I sure didn't like a poured glass of water looking like urine. So clearly the water quality varies from location to location.
Sounds like a lot of iron in that water if it came out that color yes?
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Also you mentioned (I believe) that you have a young daughter. Are you planning to home school?
Most definitely plan to home school. Wife a has a teaching degree.
Sounds like a lot of iron in that water if it came out that color yes?
Most definitely plan to home school. Wife a has a teaching degree.
Moscow's city water has always had a lot of iron in it.
The water was safe to drink; it just tasted of iron. After a while, it's something a person gets used to, mostly. The taste is always stronger when a tap hasn't been used very much, but in places where a lot of water is used all the time, it wasn't as strong.
Mister Torque, seriously look into ICF construction. There are builders in the area that do ICF residential builds. I did my sub-grade basement with ICF and now wish I had used ICF for all of the exterior walls. Strong, insulated, fire-proof and the cost is not as much as you might think.
Going back to your earlier question of shooting on your property; I saved this information below when searching for property in Kootenai County. Although I bought property in Bonner County and it is NOT a "Gun Club" or "Rifle Range", I used this criteria to ensure I was complying with nearby laws. I am sure there will be arguments that none of this applies, but a little extra safety never hurts. Most importantly, always know where your rounds are going and never let them leave your property.:
9-24-2: GUN CLUBS, RIFLE RANGES, ARCHERY RANGES:
A. Zones permitted:
1. Agricultural, agricultural suburban, rural:
a. Minimum area: Ten (10) acres.
b. Target areas shall be six hundred feet (600') from any existing dwelling and three hundred feet (300') from any property line.
c. All facilities shall be designed and located with full consideration to the safety factors involved with such a use.
d. Off street parking for all patrons will be provided.
e. A site plan shall be submitted with the application. (Ord. 393, 12-14-2006)
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I'd love to see as many places as I can. I sent you my list, you'll see we will have some driving to do with those areas we'd be looking at when we get ready to visit them. 
It'd be a nice long vacation. 
