Intro

I am planning on gathering materials to eventually construct a house around 3000-3500 square footish (may reduce this a little) in North Missouri.  It will be on slopped property with a walk out basement.  The style will be Collonial meets Famhouse meets English Cottage (with a little Asian influence thrown in for landscaping).  I would like to have an all rock facade but my betterhalf doesn't like the idea so the foundation area will have a rock facade and the primary portion will be brick. 

Background

I have particpated in building stick and pole barn structures but not in the much way masonry other than pooring some flatwork.  My grandpa was a brick mason so my father and uncle know something of the trade.  My uncle was also a house builder for many years during the 1980s boom.  I'm not depending on them for labor but more for "advice."  My father's house features la post and beam foundation, locally sawmilled board and bat siding, passive solar gain, and Solar Electric w/ Propane Genset (tens years ago the electric company wanted $30,000 + clearing the right away to install along abandoned lines and my father told em to go to hell).  Therefore, I'm some what familiar with unconventional building techniques.  

Situation

I'm in the Army and currently stationed in Korea.  When I return to the states (after a deployment with a Military Transition Team) I will probably be stationed at Fort Riley, KS, Fort Leavenworth, KS, or Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.  Each of these areas have a tremendous amount of field stones.  Everytime I go visit my parents, I plan on packing back with me however many stones that a F150 hand safely haul (may upgrade trucks with an older diesel Ford or Dodge 1 ton or better) .  These rocks will be for either 4", 6", or 8" veneer.  I would also like enough stone to veneer multiple concrete block walls along the fontage/gates and along a driveway.  

House Design

The house will probably be a "Saltbox" style with shed addition on the rear.  It will probably feature a small "Cape" wing on one or both sides (one side living room and the other the master bedroom; these will feature 1 story timberframed catherdral ceilings.  It will probably not have an attached garage (after living in Seoul I don't want to every smell exhaust again).  The shed addition will face south and be a sun room for passive solar (and I like plants).  The very large deck off of this will be masonry/concrete of somesort for the support (I like arches) and the deck will either be concrete (scored and stained) or durable composite or IPE boards.  I will probably have retaining walls for the walk out area and also extend the "deck" onto the retained earth with patios (pavers, scored/stained concrete, etc).    

The front the house of will have a wide "farmhouse" style porch.    

The roof area and second floor will be timber framed with SIP roof above it. 

Heating will be either with Masonry Stove or radiant heating from an outside wood gasification unit.

Casement windows to catch the breeze and an attic fan installed somewhere to assist with cooling.  Other HVAC will consist of the One Room through the wall AC units that are poperlar in Asia.    

No architech/engineer/etc will be involved.  There are no codes, inspections, permits, etc where I will be building.  Have said that, I plan on greatly overbuilding and going much further than code. 

I hate (with a passion) cultured/fake stones and to a lesser extent thin stone veneer.  I want this house standing for 500 years or more unless torn down (and If torn down, I want the guy operatimg the Excavator with the jackhammer attachment cussing me for the amount of rebar he has to rip through). 

Materials for this will be gathered (i.e the stones) or constructed (i.e. the timberframe portions) over the course of several years.  The shell will all go up at once and then finishing the inside may half to wait several more years (i.e. rough cut lumber needs time to dry for flooring, paneling, etc). 

I will build an insulated pole barn workshop to work out of (and put woodworking equipment in the future) prior to starting. 

This brings me to the question of this post--my wall constuction.  I will list several course of action (from my most favored to least) and let you guys pick them apart.

COA #1.

Double Masonry Walls.  8" poured wall for the basement to just below grade   I don't trust CMU blocks below grade for retaing purposes-seen to many bowed out CMU basements.  On top of the the poured cement would be 8" Stone for 2-10 feet (front to back) above grade to the top of the basement level (daylight basement with windows).  On top of this would be 8" worth of brick and CMUs for stories 1 and 2.  This would be a flemish or english bond with 8" worth of brick (I know standard vs modular brick).  Connected to this with European style wall ties would be a second inside wall consising of 6" CMUs with a gap of 3-4 inches between each wall.  The CMUs would be field with concrete and rebar as appropriate.  The gap between the walls would be filled with spray foam (would need the foam guy to come out several times during construction).  The walls may also feature buttresses to support the timber frame flooring.  Pockets for beams would also be a consideration but I think that would give put somwhat of a side load on the walls (Splaying effect) rather than having the load bear downwards as it would if  a perimeter timber girt were to be set on butresses and timber floor joists tied into the girt.  The floor joists would also be jointed in the center with a summer beam and posts in the center of the house would support the summer.   

Cons--very labor instensive (my own).  Lots of Materials.  Possible vunerable to earthquake (BIG New Madrid Fault in South Missouri that is well overdue) do to being purely masonry.  Also there may be a little thermal bridging around wall ties. Possible butresses would take up floor area and would be weird to finish out properly.  

Pros--Looks good on outside, should resist anything but an F5, conrete mass on inside to soak up heat.  Well insulated.

COA#2

Standard 8" ICB with a brick ledge with the layer of 4" stone venner over basement area followed by brick venner for stories 1 and 2.

Cons--I don't want to see a fracture in the brick due to being only 1 course thick in 20 years.   I believe masonry should be able to stand on its own.  Also, I would have to emilinate my perimeter girts for my timber frame floor joist and install beam pockets or completely eliminate the timber floor joist (but keep the two timber framed "Cape" roofs). 

Pros--Less material than COA #1.  More conventional.  Easier to get assistance in building it if I run into a snag.  Probably better at resisting earthquakes due to less cold joints and somewhat pre-engineered for rebar specifications.   Good energy efficiency.     

Keep in mind this house will be built on a cash basis from savings and no banks/loans will be involved.

What do you thinK?
   

Wow, big plans! Overall I like it. I just have a few comments,

Building it one step at a time is fine, but once the first non-masonry part of the structure got assembled, I like to have the roof on the structure as soon as reasonable. A few weeks won't matter, but as weeks become months, the sun and weather can really do a number on wood and especially foam. However, a big tarp can do in a pinch.

I have seen CMU's bow as well, but my dad does a system with below grade cmu's that works very well. Let me stress that this is a system, it works better if it is all done together, and there are houses 25 years or older done this way without any cracks or a drop of moisture inside.

First, he uses a monolithic slab with high and low bars of rebar throughout, leaving bars up out of the slab every few feet. Next, he builds a cmu wall right on the very edge of the monoslab, using the U shaped blocks for the top course. He busts the bottoms out of the U shaped blocks every few feet(where the rabar is sticking up out of the slab into the block cavities. Now he puts additional rebar into the cavities with the other bars, and puts rebar into the U shaped blocks, a high and low bar. Next he pours his bond beam, vibrating the concrete down into the selected cavities with the rebar. The finished product is a solid wall/ foundation system that is completely rebar-ed together. If the house shifts, the whole house has to shift, so you don't have the problems of the foundation settling under one part of a cmu wall and the whole wall getting a big stairstep crack. You get the strength and bowing resistance of a solid concrete wall without the weight, or the need for forms. Lastly, you cover the outside of the wall with two coats of thoroughseal, all the way from the top of the cmu's to the bottom of the monoslab. Use the first coat like paint, but the second coat like plaster. Lastly, backfill with gravel. You can do the last layer with pea gravel for looks, or make a patio over the whole thing.

To make a brick/stone ledger, use 12s for the basement, and switch to 8's for the first story. This gives you a nice ledge.

Also, once you have your first wall up, you can use foam boards in between the walls instead of spray foam, that should save you quite a bit of money. Also, I would use standard stud walls on the inside of the cmu blocks, just for the conveniences of wiring, plumbing, and drywalling. If you want thermal mass, a nice SOLID concrete fireplace with a stone/brick veneer in the middle of your house always works nicely.

These are just suggestions, but I hope you consider them.

Aardvarcus,

I like your suggestions.  The thing that I like about the spray foam is that it would (in my mind) effectively glue both haves the wall together creating a composite wall with true mansonry elements.  However, I'm thinking I could use foam board couple with a disposable system (tiger foam) to "glue" the boards into place.  Also, I could leave wiring and plumming chases by leaving a 5" gap between the walls and using a sandwich of 1" foam board, 3" foam board, and 1 foam board.  The 3" portion would be left out of areas needing pumbling and/or electrical cases.  I could also leave out a block or two for access every so many feet and hide it behind raised paneled wainscote; I could make a few a panels swing out on hinges (be a good place to hide valuables as well).  I would defenitely need conduit and a good research of the codes to make it safe.

One piece at a time means it may take me several years to aquire the material (i.e stones, working the timber elements, etc).  When I put it up, the house will be well dryed in and nearly completed on the outside.  It may take me several more years to finish the inside.  I will not have a loan when finished.  I plan on retiring from the military and doing the hobby farm (I hate that term--I will be seeking some profit) thing on about 200 acres primarily focusing on beef production and vegetable production for farmers market.  With a paid off house/land I should be able to make it OK on retirement pay with a little additional income from the farming activities.  If I had a note on the land/house/outbuildings I would be struggling and not live the lifestyle that I am looking forward to.

With that said, I want a house that will last generations in case my future children want to keep the property in the family.    

Thanks for you detailed description of the foundation work.  This may be the way I will go.

SilverbackMP