When to build?

[Kat Kanning]

However, I DO think you will want a full cellar in NH.....you may regret it if you don't have one.

Why?

[Russell Kanning]

lol .... building for tax purposes?

[CNHT]

However, I DO think you will want a full cellar in NH.....you may regret it if you don't have one.

Why?

Easier for heating and plumbing. Better storage....and the ability to finish off the cellar into a living space that is taxed less.

[KBCraig]

I love natural stone, but that one looks like fake rocks glued on the outside.

The rocks are real, but the rest is correct.

Okay, here's why it looks so wrong: they're river rocks, meaning they're round. I salute the lady's hard work and resourcefulness, but she wound up with an aggregate wall, meaning it's a random assortment of rocks stuck into a concrete wall.

In stone construction, when everything is properly laid out, mortar is purely optional. It's used for sealing gaps, but adds no structural strength. Every stone should rest on at least two stones below it, and all vertical joints are offset. Stone walls built with no mortar have stood for centuries (and the pyramids have stood for millenia without mortar). Take the mortar out of this river rock veneer, and you'll have a pile of rocks on the ground.

I admit I'm pretty picky about such things. I have a co-worker who is a wonderful country singer, but he's been blessed/cursed with perfect pitch. He can't stand to listen to popular music, because singers going slightly off-key makes him cringe. I'm that way about bad architecture: it's like fingernails on a chalkboard to me.

Charles McRaven has written a couple of great books on stonework. Anyone can do it, given a few hand tooks, a good supply of stone, and a lot of grunt and sweat.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/external-search/102-4655795-0014528?field-keywords=Charles+McRaven&mode=blended&tag=mozilla-20&sourceid=Mozilla-search

Kevin

[Nhpatriot]

Pretty foolish to build a 4 foot frost wall and not go the extra 6 feet to make it a basement. Resale value will be much lower also.
Everone expects a basement up here.

[Lex]

Alright, I'm convinced!