FirstDay FAQs - The House

FAQs About the House

1. How is a FirstDay Built? FirstDays use a completely unique building style. The building process from start to finish is specifically designed to be built by an amateur that has minimal carpentry experience. The structure is made by laminating high quality standard lumber into posts and beams. The frame is then erected in a series of bents which are then tied together by the decking and sheathing. The sheathing becomes the interior finish of the house. The sheathing is then covered with building wrap, foam insulation, strapping and siding. The whole house can be completed by just two people. Because of this unique building system which uses no plywood or sheetrock, the house stays sturdy and still looks great even if it is not perfectly square and true. This is essential because FirstDays are meant for the amateur builder.

2. What Makes a FirstDay Last? A FirstDay will last for 300 years. Why? First, a house is preserved if it is attractive and elegant. Look at a 300-year-old house, it is attractive. The proportions are correct. Second, the details used in construction must last. We don't use plywood or sheetrock, and the structural design is redundant in many places to ensure lasting strength. Third, the house must withstand abuse. Our all-wood interior can take it. Dent it, scratch it, carve your name on it. Like a fine piece of practical Shaker furniture, a FirstDay becomes more elegant with age.

3. Is a FirstDay Energy Efficient? You bet! FirstDays tend to be small, and are very tight and well insulated. The walls and roof of a basic FirstDay can be insulated to anywhere between an R-16 and an R-40. The effective R value is actually higher than stated, because the insulation is continuous and covers the entire outside of the home, with breaks only for windows and doors. We use a closed cell foam and building wrap to keep the house tight. The insulation package we provided is flexible, so we can include more or less foam depending on personal preference or local codes. We can show you how to heat a FirstDay in New England for about $250 a year. You're just not going to do much better then that unless you chop your own wood. Note: Although most FirstDays can be heated cheaply and efficiently with the standard 2" of high-R foam, local codes may require additional insulation up to 4". For details on requirements in your region, or for a quote on extra insulation, please call for more information.

4. How do I Design a FirstDay? Firstly, the house must be one of our three basic designs: The Original house, the Saltbox or the Cape. This sets the width and cross section of the house (16' for the Original & 24' for the Saltbox and Cape). Now realize that a FirstDay is constructed of a series of bents, each 3' 4" on center so the length of the house will be determined by how many bents you have (usually 9-12 bents giving 30'-40'). The opening left between each bent is sized for a window, a door, or a staircase. Now look at some of the floor plans, keeping in mind that there is only a 4' 6" knee wall on the second floor, and that for the Cape and Saltbox you have structural posts breaking up the first floor. We've only begun to show you some different layouts. Put four windows together. Put the living room upstairs. Try to interpret the way you live. And then remember that you can always add on someday. Think of circulation, the sun, the wind. Think about privacy. Remember that children grow up and become teenagers. Getting complicated, isn't it? Maybe it's time to call us and get some help. We draw up custom plans for each FirstDay. We suggest future additions. We have 20 years experience in the field. Try your own ideas, then call us for a few more or send us your sketches and we will comment on them

5. How Flexible is the Design of a FirstDay? Every FirstDay has a "standard" frame designed with custom infill. Each house has a custom floorplan, but most kits contain a very similar collection of materials. Typically, you change the count of windows and doors, type and number of cabinets, and roof color. We will customize the structure for different foundation types or to meet different codes. We can also add additions or porches that will fit with the system. There are extreme limitations for changing the width of the basic designs or raising ceiling heights. For any house that requires changes to the basic frames a design fee might be added to the cost of the kit.

6. What Type of Foundations do FirstDays Have? Almost all of the 'Original' FirstDays are built on a full basement, many with a walkout condition. The Cape and Saltbox designs are often put on slabs although they can also be done with full basements. Whether on a slab or a full basement, we usually recommend setting up a simple radiant heating system in the concrete of the floor. This will help keep the basement dry and the concrete floor warm under your feet. We can guide you through the installation of an effective and inexpensive radiant system. Besides these standard foundations, FirstDays can be modified for almost any foundation type. Call for more details.

7. Can I Put Rooms In the Basement? Most FirstDays have full basements, many with livable space. With even the slightest slope, we usually expose part of the basement wall with full sized windows or even an exterior door. This lets daylight into the basement, and we usually encourage a basic source of radiant heat in the slab. A heated floor not only keeps your feet warm, but also keeps the slab from retaining moisture, so the basement won't be damp and dismal. We'll show you how to install the radiant tubing and hook up an effective yet inexpensive system. In most cases you can fit at least two small bedrooms and a full bath in the basement. With a livable basement, you can expand our smallest houses to over 1,300 square feet without adding much cost. It gives teens privacy, or you can add a playroom or workshop.

8. What About Additions? We expect everyone will eventually add onto their FirstDay. You don't really need to - 95% of all the families in the world live in homes much smaller than FirstDay. If you do want to expand, we have kits for various sizes and types of added space. The most common addition is a 16' x 20' vaulted ceiling open room to one side. We don't recommend doing a house and an addition all at once. It's just too much work. As you run out of steam and the costs go up, the project is in danger of failing. Build a basic house, settle in, then put on the addition a couple of years later. In the meantime, you will be living in a finished house that is comfortable and usable. You can also apply your hard earned equity from the first stage to help finance the addition. Remember a finished 1,000 square foot home is worth a lot more than a unfinished 2,000 square foot home. When you build a FirstDay, we can draw you plans of how a future addition might work.

9. What Type of Wood Is Used In a FirstDay? Because the interior of a FirstDay is all exposed wood, we work hard to ensure that you get superb lumber with quality that will show. The structure is all spruce. The tongue and groove sheathing is an eastern white pine which is "run of the mill" so it looks great. The shiplap vertical siding is also eastern white pine, and has a rough side and a smooth side (you can pick either to be exposed). The decking is a special 2 by 6 tongue and groove hard spruce. This wood is really good quality and also has a V groove to dress up the ceiling. All the wood is kiln dried, and the sill plates are all pressure treated. Remember that we don't use any plywood (except for some in the cabinets) and we don't use any sheetrock in a FirstDay.

10. What are the Doors and Windows like? The windows are double hung with a solid reinforced vinyl balance and sash. Every window has double glazed low E glass and the sash tilts to take out. All windows are pre-finished and ready to install. You can have various grill partitions for the windows or choose none at all. The exterior doors are metal and fiberglass, pre-finished and ready to install with hardware. The interior doors are all wood or molded wood, six-panel doors and also come pre-hung and ready to install with hardware.

11. What Type of Cabinets Are In a FirstDay? All FirstDays come with pre-finished oak cabinets. We like painted cabinets - they look great in a house with all the exposed wood of FirstDay. We think you should paint it. Nobody does. Cabinets come in many different shapes and sizes and the cabinet order is customized to the design of your kitchen. We do not include kitchen counter tops since there are so many different possibilities with widely varying costs.

FAQs - Building
FAQs - Logistics