Thanks for the reply. I was planning to double-up the joists anyway. Actually, since what is there now are ceiling joists for the 1st floor, they are only 2x6. I was planning to sister a 2x8 along side each of these. Would that be adequate, or are you suggesting I would need double 2x8 joists? I don't really have the option to carry this load down to the foundation. Sicne there is alread a center beam, I'd have more posts in my basement than I know what to do with.

Oh Robin, I just read your original post and your recent post. First I am sending a hug. You might need to send one right back to me as we just bought a fixer-upper ourselves out in Scotts Valley. As I read your original post I kept thinking, yep, that's us. Yep, that too. (Except your listing photos are gorgeous and ours, well, they are not.) I do think you make a great point that people need to think about how they will use a house. We will likely lose one bedroom with moving some walls around (not load bearing, thank goodness) and I have people telling me how horrible that is for resale but this is our forever home and we need to do what is right for us. I don't have much to offer in the way of ideas but will send a barrel of emotional support up the peninsula to you. Good luck!

Hi, @Anglophilia Thanks for your reply. It's not about the money. We're a military family stationed in CO and are on a travel ban for at least the next four weeks. Before closing, we visited the house several times. It's such a long story...knowing we were moving to the Fort Hood area, we started searching online and found the home. Our daughter viewed it for us. We went to TX, did a home inspection, and were aware of all issues before purchasing. The previous owners allowed farm animals to live in the property...goats, chickens, poo, and pee everywhere! The stench was unbearable, lots of damage and everything from the floor up to 4' needed gutting/replacing, plus a redesign of kitchen and baths. The house is a diamond in the rough, sits on 5 acres, close to our daughter and two grandkids, and priced well below market value. It is a dream home for us and really suits our lifestyle. We hope to decide on the floorplan while homebound in CO so that once we get to TX, we can move ahead with construction. @millworkman - spiral stairs can be a pain for sure! Yet not a dealbreaker for us. Whoever had this custom house built seemed thoughtful of that specific stair. Downstairs, there is a living room, an open space for dining and kitchenette, laundry, office, and a jack and jill bath with two separate toilets and sinks. For us empty nesters, it's a great floorplan. Our grandkids will have the lower level to themselves when they visit. There will be a washer and dryer added to the master bath, so no lugging laundry up and down those stairs! @Patricia Colwell Consulting, we have a construction loan in place, ready to go, and have allocated more than enough to cover the entire reno. My husband and I have years of experience working on houses with an understanding of expenses, so budgeted accordingly. We drove to TX for closing - right before the virus hit full force and impacted the U.S. We brought our tools with plans to stay a few weeks to demo, meet with contractors and an architect, yet got word of our post lockdown and had to get back to CO quickly, leaving many loose ends. Wanting to move things along and to help family, we've hired our son in law to demo what's definitely not staying and to meet with contractors. He's a muscular guy, is loving the work. Plus is surprising us with his quickness! I'm a home stager by trade @ANNARTHUR HOMES | Home Staging + Design, and we've reworked rooms before, yet adding a bath to this situation is a challenge, and we felt it'd be money well spent to hire an architect. He talked with us while visiting the property...went over our wishes and design ideas in great detail. We received the rough floorplan, and we're working on tweaking particulars with him. Meanwhile, my hope is another professional will see the floorplan and share ideas on how to best to work in a guest bath and redesign the kitchen layout. Thank you all. Very grateful for advice

Hi, David, Given that your stated preference for choosing a stock plan, I suggest you have three basic options with regard to selecting the land: 1. ) Pick the land and then find a plan to suit. 2.) Pick the plan and then find land to suit. 3.) A hybrid of 1.) and 2.) Include a study period as a contingency in any land purchase offer. The study period enables you to consult with various professionals to assess the feasibility of your project. If, for whatever reason it's not feasible, you get to walk away and don't get stuck with a piece of dirt. Keep in mind your total investment includes land cost, survey/architectural design/engineering cost, site development cost, home construction cost, landscaping, and any decorating such as window treatments. If you have Realtors involved, be aware they'll expect (okay, the right word is "demand") a referral fee for recommending builders and it's likely to be one of those hush-hush, under-the-table costs. Get real-world cost information for each category and test your budget against reality so you don't end up owning land that you can't build on because you overspent on that category and don't have enough money to build the home you want on it. Real-world design cost information comes from architects and designers who do that work for a living. Real-world site work comes from site work contractors who do that for a living. Real-world construction cost information comes from builders who do that work for a living. Get your cost information from the wrong sources and you can end up with an unpleasant "surprise."