Deep porches and dark interior concerns
tkfinn97
12 years ago
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mydreamhome
12 years agobevangel_i_h8_h0uzz
12 years agoRelated Discussions
Covered Porch off Great Room -- Is it dark?
Comments (17)As I mentioned in my prior post, I live in Wisconsin and the utility bills for vaulted ceilings and lots of windows may not be as high as you think if you have a well insulated house, high efficiency HVAC, use a set back thermostat and have good energy efficient windows. We have a two story great rooom with twelve 2-1/2' x 6' windows in it(two rows of 6 windows with 3'-4' between the rows--the window wrap around a corner and there is a fireplace in the middle of the the windows on one wall--the bottom rows do not go to the floor because we have window seats). Anyway, our total gas and electric bill for our 3,200 sf house plus another 900 sf finished in the basement for 2008 was $2,427.64 (or an average of $202.30/month). Our total gas and electric bill for the first 9 months of 2009 (meters read on the 10th of the month) was $1,744.37 (or an average of $193.81 per month), which I don't think is excessive at all. We have a gas furnace, gas hot water heater, gas oven and cooktop, and one gas fireplace. We have the usual other electric appliances, air conditioning, run a dehumidifier down our basement all summer have a 60" tv down the basement which is used a lot by teenage boys, etc. We don't have a pool or hot tub. I don't know where you are located in Wisconsin, but if it is in an area served by MG&E, you can find out the average annual energy use and cost for any residential address that is served by MG&E at MG&E's web site and you may want to use that to compare energy uses of various houses, although keep in mind that it is hard to compare houses without knowing building materials, amenities and the personal habits of the occupants (i.e., do they use a set back thermostat, how warm they keep the house, etc.), how many gas fireplaces they have (I was surprised to learn that the pilot light on our gas fireplace costs about $20/month--I'm glad our other fire place burns wood), etc....See Morefiberglass with integrated dark color vs painted on dark color?
Comments (16)I did not think Marvin or Anderson had an ebony or dark bronze interior fiberglass option? I also do not think they have had "continual problems" for ~20 years but it appears as if it was enough of a problem to employ at least one chain painting business in the matter of repairing failed window coatings for approximately 8 years. I guess what I am trying to say is that I don't know that I feel comfortable with a coated product where the product has a history of appreciable coating failure, or I would at least feel more comfortable if Marvin owned it and identified to the public exactly what happened and how it was remedied, rather than having us all rely on speculation because I have not seen any official information on the cause of the failures, but it certainly is contradictory to what the product brochures would have us believe!...See MoreKitchen Layout with Concerns about Asymmetry & Breathing Room
Comments (38)kleighj, here's another idea for the "island woes". You could put in silverware/placemat drawers at the left end of the island, directly across from the dishwasher (also reducing cabinet width there from 30" to 24"). Shortening the island by 6"would help reduce the chokepoint between the hearth room and dining room. I think that would be great for unloading the dishwasher. Imagine having the dishwasher open and the silverware drawer open at the same time and being able to move items from the dishwasher to the drawer with just a few steps. Plus it would be easy for kids or visitors to get silverware and placemats out of the drawers and set the table without impeding kitchen workflow. Its still close enough that the cook can access when needed. That would leave the microwave where you want it on the island and leave a full unit of 30" drawers next to the range for pots/pans. The 24" cutlery drawers labeled on your plan would stay and be used for knives and cooking utensils. You could even do two shallow drawers for knives plus utensils above one deep drawer if you don't think you need 4 shallow drawers here. I think having knives and silverware separated helps keep kids safe -- kids always need silverware and placemats but have no reason to be anywhere near the knife drawer. The only downside is that there is now some separation between the silverware and plates/glasses which I'm assuming would go in the uppers. On the right of the range I would switch the 15" drawers to 15" vertical of storage (e.g. cookie sheets). Finally not sure if you saw this before but if at all possible you should try to go with a 36/33 corner unit if your cabinet company offers that asymmetric configuration. You'll really appreciate that over the 33/33. I think you will have a great layout....See MoreWhat would you do in this deep, dark, heavy looking kitchen?
Comments (48)@printesa i LOVE that house! Haha, you shouldn't talk to me about owning too many houses. We have 3. One is our primary, another is a stone cottage we rent out on Airbnb and use as a weekend place (converted from an 1850s one room school. Its absolutely magical and I had to have it.) One is a little Italianate rowhouse in the city where our primary had also been located. Rented long term though we lived in it briefly to do some rehabbing. We have owned many houses over the years and we are both relatively young (30s-40s). We just love old houses and will live in them, fix them up and sell. But I have always been on a hunt for "the One" and this is it. We thought we had to up our budget by a few hundred thousand to find everything we were looking for but got really really lucky as it is a trade with a little savings on monthly costs that will help offset maintenance. They aren't making more of these places and SO many people are gutting them to "open plan" the design or tearing them down for new build developments. I just love the craftsmanship on old homes. I can't imagine living in a new build. Actually, I can, but I would not be able to afford all the things I would want it to have at the level of quality of an old build....See Moretkfinn97
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