Addition or move?
Kate Harvey
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auntthelma
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Basement laundry room move
Comments (0)I'm looking at possibly moving my washer/dryer to the other side of the basement, but I have a few questions. In addition to moving the laundry, I'd also like to add a lavatory (bar sink) just upstream of the laundry. I have above ground access to a 4inch waste line that runs along the basement floor. However, in order to tie my new line into the current line at this point, I'd have to run the new line (likely 3 inch) just above the old 4 inch line, then drop down to tie into the old waste line. Is this possible? I'd like to know before I waste my time with a permit application and discussion with an inspector. How would they connect? I'm envisioning a 3inch horizontal from the CW and lavatory traps, connecting to a sanitary tee with a cleanout, dropping down to a long sweep 4x3 wye to mate with the 4inch waste line. This is a bit of a complicated path for the waste to follow. Is it legit? If not, how could it be done so it follows code (I live in PA)? This is an old house (1915) and the basement will never be finished. I'm just trying to move the current set-up to a more favorable location. Also, for venting, I have access to a 4inch vertical in the basement that serves as the waste stack for a second floor bathroom set (WC, Lav, Bath/Shower). I'm assuming that I cannot tie into this for venting. I can run a vent line to the attic to tie into this same stack if necessary. I could also use AAVs for the basement lav and washer. For the basement lav, the distance between the trap and potential tie-in is ~30 feet. This line would serve no other fixtures other than the basement lav and CW....See MoreGarage addition? Or just move
Comments (6)My renovations are seemingly endless, and I am very, very tired to living with construction dust, furniture moved and re-moved to get it out of the way of the current project, trying to juggle the money. If I were only living in a house for two more years, I surely wouldn't want to spend that small amount of time even further involved in construction. Unless you can really get a much better price for that effort, I'd just tidy up and wait it out. It sounds like you've already done a great amount of work....See MoreWhere would you put the kitchen in this layout-open to FR or not?
Comments (9)I am going to make some kinds of generic comments based on one of my favorite remodeling columns as well as a well-known architect. The remodel-column guru always hit home to me with her proposed solutions because they were based not on adding so much square footage, but on identifying why certain rooms in the house weren't used much, and why folks gravitated to one area, and then flipping or re-orienting the spaces and traffic flow to use all of the home to best advantage. Whereas so many typical remodel solutions seemed to involve converting a garage or adding yet another room when the original home had significant sq footage already. Of course the innovative re-purposing solutions still might have involved some additions, bump outs, wall removal and so forth, but quite often involved taking into account the best views or adding great windows, French doors when needed to access the deck or yard, flipping the kitchen so it was oriented to great views rather than a less-used dining space, and so forth. So an example of a common "mistake" is that someone might add a large sunny family room or sunroom to the back of a home that already has kitchen, DR, FR, LR, etc ( at high expense)in order to have light and air, but not connect it well to existing spaces, and then the whole family crowds into the sunroom and drags meals out there ("we spend all our time here"), but still does not like being in the existing kitchen and DR and FR, which still must be heated, cooled, and cleaned, instead of getting the right design help to remodel the existing spaces to work together and have the light and views and connections needed to "feel good". That would just be an example, and is not to say that one can't add a terrific sunroom that was the best thing they ever did! You're already thinking along some of those lines. Continue with evaluating the light and views and what your family expects to do together and apart; as noted, screened porch provides access to fresh air, but the effect on light entry is to be looking out into shade and dimness ( unless you add skylights to the porch, which is also an option to consider in remodeling,for just that reason). You would know more about how you might use the kitchen-FR connection (this was a useful combination for my family in order to allow kids to be on computer, do homework and feel connected to the kitchen). As another form of inspiration, you might also like to read The Not So Big House. It also speaks to the features of home design that contribute to the "feel" of the spaces so that we create spaces that are really used and enjoyed every day as opposed to lots of "rooms" that are not. I think many architects and designers are more comfortable with "additions" rather than the idea of re-arranging existing space within the home....See MoreOpinions on this layout, please
Comments (48)I started working on this when you posted but it took me awhile to finish. Not sure if it is a workable option for you but that's for you to decide, not me. =) I moved the kitchen to the addition with the DR between it and the LR. IMO, that's a better flow. Better for entertaining and avoids the corridor kitchen set-up. I also moved the lockers and closet out of the DR to its own separate space so that mud, snow and salt from shoes and boots aren't getting tracked into the house. (I grew up in the Midwest.) I added a between the stud unit for phone and other items in the DR. It would be similar to this: You could do a combo of open and closed cabs for display and storage purposes. I widened the entry between LR and DR to give you a little more clearance around the end of the table and to allow more light to flow from one end to the other. The windows added to the DR can be done at a later point. Mulled windows - look like separate windows but are actually one big window - gain you a bit of elbow room over the whole width of the unit because you don't have the framing between the windows. We did that in our DR (and bumped it out 7" from the house) for that very reason. We gained a foot of elbow room by bumping it out but even the additional 5" of elbow room would have been helpful. Those few additional inches will make the 39" aisle at the top seem roomier than 39". Kitchen is a U of sorts with peninsula seating for 3, a large walk-in pantry, a cubby for the fridge and a wall of windows. You have decent stretches of counter to work on between sink and range and on the other side of the range, too. I voided the corners (no corner Susans, no BCC units, just support for counter) in order to gain wider drawers on each side of the corners for pots, pans, dishware, etc. Glassware storage is a bit of a hike away from the DW in the uppers to the left of the range. You could also give up one window and do an upper by the DW. The dishtowel cubby is like this: or this: Or you could do like we did and make it a narrow pull-out for storing coffee items (our coffee maker is above the DW). Coffee: good. =) The mudroom is separated from the kitchen by a pocket door. On bitterly cold days, you can keep the door closed for a little extra buffer between outside and in. Storage lockers are lined up on one side with a closet (deeper than you drew so you can hang coats on hangers) on the other. The downside is that it's a walk-through mudroom. I tried a few other variations but they all required more square footage. The addition is slightly larger than your planned addition but you gain better function, IMO. If you can swing the cost, I hope you consider it. I also tried a few variations on your proposed plan, trying to fit in Stan Z's idea of putting a pantry behind the fridge but I couldn't figure out how to make that work, not without shortchanging either the pantry or the aisle. Maybe I misunderstood his suggestion. Good luck to you, whatever you decide!...See Morela_la Girl
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