Anyone know how to add pictures??

An easy way to post a photo on the forum:
Go to TinyPic.com and BROWSE til you find your photo on your computer. Then resize if necessary (see below) and then click on DOWNLOAD, then click once on the top address line to copy it, then paste it into the "message" box on the forum.

When you Preview the message on the forum you will be able to see if the photo size is acceptable (too large makes all posts as wide as your photo and that can force others to scroll to read subsequent messages).

photo size:
The image size limit at TinyPic is 1600 pixels (either width or height). Images that are too large are resized by TinyPic to the largest acceptable size. Use the Resize drop-down list on the Upload page to resize an image before uploading it.

Acceptable images are: jpg, png, gif, base 64 encoded image, or bmp.

I think the photos on TinyPic are deleted if they are not opened for 90 days.

There is a "test forum" on the GardenWeb under "instructions" at the bottom of this page if you want to actually post the photo and see how it looks.

Thanks!

For what it's worth, I'll tell you what I would tell a client.

The addition of multiple Victorian-like asymmetrical front-facing gables to a classic hip-roofed brick Georgian Style house has become popular in this century but neither of these historic styles allowed roof elements to overlap to this extent for a very good reason: interruption of drainage paths and complex flashing often works poorly in a warm climate and often doesn't work at all in cold climates during freeze-thaw weather cycles.

If you have your heart set on this design and are in a warm climate, I recommend that you hire a very experienced roofer and insist on full-coverage Grace Ice & Water Shield underlayment (over Grace WB Primer at roof-wall intersections) and copper (not aluminum) step and valley flashing. If you are in a cold climate, I recommend installing heating cable at the valleys, eaves, gutters and downspouts.

If I were asked to modify the design, I would try to reduce the number of gables, simplify the roof intersections and, because of the brick, reinforce the Georgian nature of the house.

This advice is not meant to be critical of you or your house; it's only meant to be my professional opinion regarding the design of your house so I hope you or others who might disagree will do so in a respectful manner.

How nicely you worded that, Renovator8. I hope the OP will remeber that less can be more and simplify, simplify, simplify.

I'd like to see the floorplans too, as these Betz houses usually need a lot of tweaking. They often have 'cute' elements, but tight living spaces.

Thanks for your input. We have found tweaked floorplans to this home and are definetly changing some of it.

I know you didn't ask for feedback on your plans, but I couldn't resist piping in. I see you've redesigned the kitchen and I like the new layout. However, there's no easy way to get from the right side of the house (garage/laundry/guest bath/guest BR) to the family room. You're either forced to walk through the DR and foyer, or through the working area of the kitchen and the breakfast room. I would want a shorter path from the family room to the only guest bath on that floor (as in the original plan). Just my $0.02.

This room is not going to be a guest room, but that is true for the bathroom. Still working on ideas. We like the layout of the kitchen---it's hard to get the right way to do things. The room is going to be an office. Our Tv will be in the bonus room b/c we only watch movies. So my family room will be for spending time w/ family and friends. We are going to have a full basement for other rooms.
I don't mind the feedback. That is why I started this so early. We are not breaking ground for a few more months. We are up to any suggestions.
Thank you

I think chisue is right that this plan has some "tight" living spaces. It is hard to see any dimensions on the small pics you posted so I went to the Frank Betz website and looked at their Sullivan floorplan. Although it is obvious that your posted plan has been modified somewhat, I'm assuming that where there don't appear to be changes, your room dimensions are still the same as those shown on the Frank Betz website. If not, just ignore the rest of this posting.

But based on the Sullivan plan shown on the Frank Betz site, I'd be concerned about the following:

1) Garage is only 20'3" deep x 22'3 wide. Unless you AWAYS drive compact cars, your vehicles may not fit in the garage ...and, even if you can close the garage door, you won't have room enough to walk around the front or back bumper without opening the garage door. My garage is 24' deep and my brother's full-sized pickup just barely fit into it.

2)If you're going to actually use it as a dining room, the 12 x 12 space needs to be either a couple of feet longer or a couple of feet wider.

3) Master bedroom closets appear to be a scant 6 ft wide and 5 ft deep. You'll be able to hang clothing along two adjacent walls (in an L-shape) but they're too small for hanging clothing on three walls (in a U-shape).

4) Unless you want to people walking right thru the middle of conversations in the great room, you need to plan for clear aisleways along the side closest to the kitchen and the side next to the staircase. The Betz website shows the great room as being 15 x 19. Cutting 2.5 feet off of two sides for aisleways reduces the space available for arranging sofas and chairs to more like 12.5 x 16.5. Will your furniture actually fit?

What about this home plan??? Any opinions??? We are not dead set on The Sullivan---but wanting to Build a dream home. We like open floor plans. I like cathedral ceilings. So we are trying to compromise w/ each others likes and dislikes. This will be a home we hope to live in forever. We are building on 100 acres.

Also looking at this home.
http://www.greystonecountryhomes.com/plans_pdf/willmington-classic.pdf

I like everything about the exterior and the interior. It's architecturally honest and elegant.

There might be a copyright issue if you live near Cincinnati.

If you put the URL in the link box below, others can click on it instead of having to cut and paste it into a new browser window.

Here is a link that might be useful: link to house design

Thanks for your input! We really like the Willmington. We live 3 hrs from Cincinnati, but out of their building zone. Just haven't found where this plan is from. They have Frank Betz designs---so I'm not sure if this is their design or from somewhere else.

They appear to be selling pre-purchased homes and lots not the plans.

Greystone Country Homes East
Model 221 Hughes Blvd Mt Orab OH 45154

800-863-9419 East Side

Sales: Dan Willig
Cell Phone 513-379-5787
West Sales 800.998.0227

You may want to start a new thread once you have settled more firmly on a plan. Tell us about your family: who will live in the house? Any desires beyond 'forever' and cathedral ceilings? (I like the one in our library and hate the one in a guest BR.) Tell us about the land: Any 'best' views? Where is North?

If I had plenty of land and wanted a 'forever' house, it would be all on one level -- or have stacked closets that could be made into an elevator. I wouldn't spend much tme with Betz or Gardner or other plan mills oriented towards 'catchy' looks for builders to throw up on small development lots.

I had to smile at your photo of the demo. We bought a 1950's ranch in 2000 and did a teardown/new build. Exciting adventure, and more work than I ever imagined! Sadly, I only discovered this site after we'd built.

I agree. A new message board needs to be done. I am so glad we got others opinions prior to building. I had my doubts as far as the size. I like the 1 1/2 story homes w/ the master on the 1st floor.

We are in our early 30's. We have 2 boys and possibly going to try for 1 maybe 2 more kids. The North would be to the left elevation. East would be to the back overlooking a hayfield. The front as a highway between our pastures. The highway is not extremely busy, but does have some traffic.

Thank you everyone for your input.

I agree. A new message board needs to be done. I am so glad we got others opinions prior to building. I had my doubts as far as the size. I like the 1 1/2 story homes w/ the master on the 1st floor.

We are in our early 30's. We have 2 boys and possibly going to try for 1 maybe 2 more kids. The North would be to the left elevation. East would be to the back overlooking a hayfield. The front as a highway between our pastures. The highway is not extremely busy, but does have some traffic.

Thank you everyone for your input.

I found a free download of CAD. I will be playing around w/ ideas and then posting a new message board

Where is the property? In town? In the country? If intown, what do the surrounding houses look like? In the case of in town, in fill, (which it looks like it might be as I see a high rise in the background), it is important I think to look at surrounding houses and see what they look like. Most of these Betz/Gardner type houses are tract type homes and don't fit well into a long established neighborhood. That doesn't mean you need to match the homes there, so no need to build a 50s ranch for example! If there are lots of bungalows, I would build something with that aesthetic. If there are lots of ranches, I would probably stick with a more traditional looking house in a specific genre, like a cape cod. There are also beautiful french renovations of ranch houses that fit in well in neighborhoods peppered with ranch houses. I am attaching a link to one.

Here is a link that might be useful:

athens -- OP says this is on 100 acres -- a farm -- 3 hours from Cincinnati, so...Ohio, Indianna?

kramerkel -- Please slow down and get your plans just right. I don't see you excavating very soon. It's cheap to play around with the plans and VERY expensive to change once you've started building!

OH - missed that! I looked again at the picture and what looked like a 10 story apartment building in the background is just a piece of the house that was torn off and sticking up I think!

And if I were building on a farm, I would build a farmhouse :) I was tempted to build one in the middle of the city and would have if the architectural review board would have let me! I would definitely look at other sources for houses though rather than tract type houses which to me would look funny on a farm. Southern Living is good, so is William Poole.

The newest pic of the house! Well, what is left of it. So glad it is gone. Thanks for all your input.

I agree about building "Neighborhood" houses on farms of more than a few acres. We are currently building a new "Farm" on 70 acres. Farmhouse and outbuildings. You are planning a large family on a large acreage and will definatly need a big garage and big mudroom you have boys after all.
Go sloww with this plan stage and get more into the country mindset. With a hundred acres its not all about the house.
Good luck to you.

I like the 2nd Betz plan you posted better, but I agree with others on here...you're building on 100 acres. I think you need to look beyond the neighborhood style plans that are often limited by small lots. I would try sitting down and making a wish list of things that are important to both of you--room sizes, open floorplan, island in kitchen, separate dining room, walk in vs. reach in closets, any views to take advantage of, style of house, etc. Then you'll be better able to filter through the myriad of plans out there to get something close or be able to go to a design professional and have a plan custom drawn. With 100 acres, I'm pretty sure you're not planning to move again anytime soon, so whatever you build, you need to be sure you love it.

We like this home.
http://www.athomewithdon.com/home-plan-details.aspx?pid=407
you can see all the pics at this website. What do you think?