Blog
Now For Something Exotic
For a change of pace, I thought I’d post something unrelated to the land. In addition to looking for land, I’ve been compiling ideas for the house for months (years). After looking online for so long, we’ve finally went out and started looking at stuff in person over the past couple weeks. I also ordered some flooring samples which we received today.
Because of our dogs, we have pretty tough requirements for flooring. We put Pergo laminate floors in our previous house which was fine for that house, but not something we’d want in the new house. Our current house has Red Oak floors which is pretty standard for newer houses around here. Personally, I can’t stand anything oak, but we didn’t have much of a choice. (I will say that I’ll take oak over carpet any day). As expected, the dogs have done a number on the floors in 4 years. We have a 180 lb Mastiff and 100 lb Lab, so anytime they get up or try to stop moving, they scratch the floor. Fortunately, the finish has held up so the scratches are just indentations, not scratches into the bare wood.
Ideally I’d like to have hard floors throughout the whole house. We all have allergies and carpet doesn’t help matters. Despite any disadvantages with hard floors, at least when you clean them, you know they are clean. We will end up with a mix of tile and hardwood. For initial cost reasons, we may put carpet in the upstairs with the intention of replacing it with wood in a few years. Any hardwood needs to be significantly harder than our current Red Oak.
Based on a lot of research, I ordered 7 samples from BR-111. BR-111 is a flooring manufacturer that has an excellent selection of exotic woods. Exotic woods tend to be the hardest which is why they are at the top of my list. I’m not sure that any of these are the exact flooring we will use, but it’s a good starting point. I ordered 7 samples, but only received 6. The missing sample is a Bamboo so the smallest sample in the pictures below is a Bamboo that we picked up at Home Depot instead. I took several pictures of them in different lights to try to show the color and grain.
The first 2 pictures are in full sun on our driveway. From left to right, Angico (Vermelho), Brazilian Walnut (Ipe/Lapacho), Brazilian Teak (Cumaru), Tiete Chestnut (Sucupira), Malbec Walnut (Lapacho), Afzelia, Woven Espresso Bamboo (bottom).
Here they are in our dining room in less light. This also shows them against our Red Oak floors which have a butterscotch or gunstock finish. Left to right, Woven Espresso Bamboo, Angico (Vermelho), Brazilian Walnut (Ipe/Lapacho), Brazilian Teak (Cumaru), Tiete Chestnut (Sucupira), Malbec Walnut (Lapacho), Afzelia.
Here are close-ups and details about each one. First is the Espresso Bamboo. There are 2 types of Bamboo flooring – regular and woven/strand. Woven or strand Bamboo is significantly harder than regular because it is bamboo fibers that are compressed and glued together. The piece below is woven which you can see in the edge shot. We really like the grain of bamboo, but I’m not sure if it’s quite as hard as we need. I love the finish on the sample below, but I’m afraid it would always look dirty because it is so dark and uniform. I’m interested in comparing it to the other sample I haven’t received yet.
This sample is Angico (Vermelho). On the Janka Hardness Test chart, Angico is the hardest wood. Unfortunately, I realized after I got it that this is not the same Angico. This Angico is closer to Brazilian Cherry. That explains why it is redder than I was imagining. This is quite a bit softer than the Angico I was wanting, but it’s still quite a bit harder than Red Oak. This is probably our favorite of the samples though. The grain and color is beautiful and the finish is like silk. I’m not crazy about something this pink/red, but I think it would darken to a more brownish shade. I’d like to see the other Angico to see how it compares.
This is Brazilian Walnut, otherwise known as Ipe or Lapacho. Brazilian Walnut is the second hardest wood on my list and has been my first choice for a while. I love the grain and deep brown color of Walnut. Brazilian Walnut is not actually a true walnut, but has similar characteristics including the green cast you can see on the cut edge (it’s more obvious in person). Brazilian Walnut is often used for decking. Because it is so dense, it is water, pest and fire resistant. You can soak it in water and it will still weigh the same 24 hours later because it won’t absorb any water. It is also very hard to burn. Because it is so hard, it is also harder to install. You have to pre drill the nail holes to prevent from breaking nails or splitting the wood. Installation will take longer and be more costly. I think the dogs (and us) will be hard pressed to destroy this very quickly (if at all), so the advantages will outweigh the disadvantages. The pictures below make it look a bit lighter and gold/red than it really is. The group pictures above show the color more accurately.
The sample below is Brazilian Teak (Cumaru). It is almost as hard as Brazilian Walnut and is also used for decking. It has been next on my list after Brazilian Walnut. Unfortunately, I don’t think this sample is a good example of the wood. Brazilian Teak tends to have a lot of variation and also has a beautiful grain (we have seen this in stores). This sample is pretty red and doesn’t have the nice grain. I would expect to have pieces like this in the box, it’s just not the sample I would have wanted.
This is a new wood I just came across while looking for samples to order. It’s called Tiete Chestnut (Sucupira). It is golden brown with a very interesting grain (check out the cut end below). It is also very hard, similar to the Brazilian Teak. I’d still like to see a larger sample with several boards, but I think I’d rather have something with a “smoother” grain like the Walnut or Angico.
This sample is also a type of Brazilian Walnut called Melbec Walnut (Lapacho). It has the same characteristics as the other Brazilian Walnut, but a slightly different color and grain. This sample is hand scraped which gives it the texture you can see in the top picture. The finish on this one is very rough. I’m not sure if it’s just this piece or if it’s a result of the hand scraping on such a hard wood. I think I prefer the other Brazilian Walnut over this one, but the hand scraped finish is something we may consider since it would help mask any damage we might do to it.
The last sample is Afzelia. I’m not sure why I ordered this one as it is almost half as hard as the others and not much harder than Red Oak. That alone rules it out. It has a pretty grain otherwise and the color isn’t bad for something lighter.
We will have a lot of other decisions before we have to decide on flooring, but it’s nice to see these in person and I’ll have them for reference in the future. Meanwhile, I’m working on a link where you’ll be able to see the pictures I’ve saved for inspiration and items we are considering for the house. I’ll hopefully have that up in the next week or so.
*As always, click on any picture above to view it larger.*
The Story
We started looking for land about 3 years ago. While our current house is fine, we found it in 3 days after having never been to this area before. After living here a while and getting to know the area, we started developing a wish list for our ideal property and house. We’ve had bad experiences with Homeowner’s Associations at this house and our previous one, so we really wanted to get out of a neighborhood. David really wanted some acreage for a pond and room to play. I wanted more land so we’re not looking directly at houses in all directions. Schools weren’t a priority when we moved here because B was just over a year old and we moved so quickly. We started researching schools which narrowed down the areas we wanted to move to. While we are close to David’s work now, I wanted to be a little closer to the city where we do most of our shopping.
Finding land proved to be harder than one would think. Larger tracts in the desirable areas are overpriced because most people still think a developer will buy it for a fortune and turn it into a subdivision. Large acreage in our price range was usually out in the middle of nowhere and/or in bad school districts. Distance from David’s work was also a factor. He was fine with a longer drive, but we don’t want him in the car for over an hour each way. Based on the type of house we’d like to build, we were also concerned with what was or could be around the land. We didn’t want our house to look out of place and we didn’t want to worry that a subdivision, trailer park, or something commercial might go in next door. That alone ruled out a lot of properties. We were also hoping to find something that wasn’t just open field and maybe had a view of some sort. There were times I thought we’d never find something. We quickly realized we were going to have to compromise size for price and location.
Last fall, 4 acres came on the market that caught our interest. It is 417′ square at the top of a ridge between 2 small mountains. It was very overgrown, but there was a great view down the street in front of it which we thought we’d be able to see from the land once it was cleared. It is in one of our desired school districts and is only 10 minutes from where we do most of our shopping. David’s drive will be about twice as long as it is now, but he’s made that long of a drive in the past. There are large properties all around it, but it’s right on the edge of town. There are a lot of subdivisions nearby and if the market picks back up, this land could eventually be one of the few acreage properties in the area. From a property value standpoint, we thought it was a good choice. There are 4 houses around it, but none are close to the property line and they all have enough land that we shouldn’t have to worry about anything being built closer. Our main concern was whether it was worth the price per acre.
In February, we went out and walked it while everything was still dormant and we could get around easier. There are a lot of big boulders laying around which made us concerned about how rocky it might be underneath.
It was still hard to get an idea of the entire property, but we were able to get a glimpse of the potential view to the NE. You can faintly see the mountains in the distance. Once we get it cleared out and the house is built up, we think we will have a great view.
The fantastic view east from the street which we think we’ll be able to see from the house . . .
Then, in early June, the seller dropped the price 20% after clearing about half of it. The asking price was now less than what our top offer likely would have been. We went back out to get another look and walk it again now that some of it had been cleared. Although only the front half had been cleared, we were able to get a better idea of the topography.
Looking SW from near the middle . . . (In all pictures, I try to make a point of holding the camera level so that you can see the slope.)
Looking south . . .
Looking West . . .
Looking NE . . .
We then worked with our agent to write up an offer. One of our contingencies was that it had to be suitable to build on. Before we closed, David met with our first choice in builders and he didn’t foresee any major problems. Everything went smoothly and we closed on it last Friday. Meanwhile, our house has been on the market since March and we will not start construction until this house sells. Once our house sells, we will move into a rental until the new house is done. In the meantime, we are hoping to get the land cleared so we can walk around easier and get a better idea of where to put the house. We may also start working on the house design so that once this house sells, we will be able to start on the construction.
Since all of our family and friends are out of state, I’ve started this blog to keep them updated on the progress. I’m also using it as a journal for myself to document the process.
We have land!
After about 3 years of searching, we closed on 4 acres of land here in Alabama yesterday.
Now, anyone want to buy a house?