Third round of house plan ideas- help please!
ash6181
12 years ago
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bevangel_i_h8_h0uzz
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agoathensmomof3
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Round two... please review floor plan!
Comments (7)I can't really figure out a way to make the other bathroom (on the right side of the house) any better. I did switch it around to eliminate the problem with the linen closet door opening into the bedroom doors. The width between the tub and the counter is 5' and the distance between the wall with the door and the back wall is 6'7". Do you think that is enough space? We had a bathroom in our last house that was set up this exact same way and I think the distance between the tub and vanity was actually a bit smaller than 5' and it seemed fine. The door is 2'6". Should I take it down to 2'4"?...See Morehouse plan - constructive criticism wanted! please help! pic heav
Comments (11)I like your plan a lot! But I'm not so sure about putting it on a lot oriented like yours...especially not one up in the northwest. If your kitchen sink faced south or west, I'd say the design was pretty much perfect but... Like you I love lots of natural light and while your plan does a nice job with allowing natural light from two directions into most of the main rooms, I too would be VERY concerned with whether the covered porch will block the light into the Great Room...especially since you're building in Oregon. If I'm understanding you correctly, the "kitchen sink" corner of the house faces due north or very nearly due north. That means the elevation that is labeled the West Elevation really faces northwest, not due west. And the elevation that is labeled "North elevation" really faces northeast. And so on. Remember that in North America, the sun always rises somewhat south of due east and sets somewhat south of due west. And as you know, the further north you are, the further south the sun appears to be. And in the wintertime, the sun moves even further toward the south. Depending on exactly where you are in Oregon, the sun will be something like 21 to 24 degrees to the south at the summer solstice and about 67 to 69 degrees to the south at the winter solstice. Thus, what you refer to as the "hot western sun" is really the "hot westsouthwestern sun" LOL. The summer sun won't strike the northwestern or northestern facing windows of your house except, perhaps, at a very oblique angle in the early morning and in the late afternoon. And in the winter time, those sides of the house will be in shadow all day. Here's what I recommend you do. Get a big cardboard box to represent the kitchen, great room, and dining room of your house. Cut holes in the sides to represent the windows. Then, cut a small hole in the top that you can look thru and see the interior walls of the box. Try to make the window holes approximately proportionate in size to the box as the size of your windows to the actual house - but you don't have to get them perfect. Take a second piece of folded cardboard (say from a cereal box) and tape it in place to represent the covered porch roof. (It would be good if this piece could be made easy to remove and reattach.) Pick a day that is supposed to be nice and sunny and take the box out to your property before the sun comes up. Orient the box so that the edges face the direction your main walls will actually face. I.e., the corner where the kitchen sink will be should point north. Spend the day and watch how the sunlight strikes the window holes and lights up the interior walls in the early morning, at noon, and again in the late afternoon. (When looking into the box, be careful not to stand so that you block the sunlight.) Actually, unless you currently live a couple of hundred miles or more from your new property, you can actually do this experient at your current house so long as you use a compass to orient the box correctly. The minor changes in latitude and longitude won't have an appreciable affect on the angle of the light entering thru your "window holes." But, it is more fun to do at your new property and, if you have large trees that will shade your house, you will want to take them into consideration. Besides, IMHO everyone should spend several full days at their new property before they start building! But, back to my point. The sun reaches its northermost path in June (Summer Solstice) so right now (in late May), you will be seeing almost the maximum amount of direct light that will enter your house though windows in the northwest and northeast faces. In the winter, the sun will move further south so even less light will enter windows facing northwest, north, or northeast. I suspect you'll quickly be convinced that you should either leave the roof off the porch entirely or that you need to put skylights into the porch roof so that more light can bounce around on the porch and help light up the Great Room. I also think that the deck on the "west elevation" will make portions of the walkout basement seem really dark and dismal. You're not going to get ANY direct light into the basement bedroom window because of the rec room bump out and the floor of the covered porch. You also won't get much natural light in the media room. Unless you use very light colored paving stones under the deck so as to bounce around as much light as possible and leave fairly large gaps between deck boards, the area under the deck (especially where the bedroom window is) is likely to feel like a rather dismal cave. If it were me, I'd think about swapping the media room and bedroom/bath and adding a window or two on the northeast face ("north elevation"). Media rooms are typically kept fairly dark anyway and a bedroom window in the "north elevation would at least get oblique morning light in the summer time. Just my two cents....See MorePlease Help With Pantry Plan /X Post -> Home Dec, Long
Comments (37)I think I'd do 18" (or maybe 16") shelves on the lower part of the straight wall (R) with more shallow shelves above them - maybe 10". on the L side maybe counter depth for a good # of feet - with maybe drawers underneath? counter for mw, counter oven etc. that could end part way to the 'point' with shelves that are triangle shaped into the wall to be open shelves for a few larger pots or whatever. or at that end of the counter depth shelves cabs have a taller (end) cabinet like we often see as a 'broom' closet for a pantry ladder closet. The ladder would be right there when needed - but hidden. you could have the top part of it (above ladder height) as skinny horizontal shelves to slide your larger trays into. like the cookie sheet slots except horizontal. the first few ft of the wall to the R could have some hooks for dog leashes, coats / sweaters (or dust mops? if needed - or a grabber bar). but that would keep the entry area open so it doesn't feel cave like. from the end of the counter depth shelves/cabs on the R to the point area could be for the dog food bin and dishes. you could hang pictures of the dogs over their dish / food area so they can look at themselves while eating. without shelves running into the point area on the R side, it'd allow for open / standing space in front of shelves on the L side. you could keep a small ladder in there for reaching higher shelves - possibly hang on the wall toward the point area or lean on the wall (if not in a 'ladder closet'). Also, try to think of anything weird or weird in shape that you will want to store in there....See MorePLEASE HELP!! Need floor plan ideas!
Comments (11)So many variables to consider: What is the size and condition of the existing foundations; will they support a second level, or make a second story impractible? The OP doesn't want to touch the existing roof--is she open to the most economical options? A new stair likely means an addition to the first floor or loss of existing floor area to accommodate a new stair. How old is the existing house? What about framing and pest conditions? Signs of needed or ignored maintenance, water damage, rot, deteriation, infestation, etc.? Then there's all the systems: For example, supply and waste plumbing runs; soils lines; septic systems, etc. Where are they and where do they go? Then there's electrical capacity--will the existing service be adequate for expansion? How about heating and cooling--not likely that existing HVAC has the capacity for the new area regardless of where it's located and it's current condition. How large is the lot; what are the setbacks; what's the buildable envelope for new construction? How is the house oriented and what are the options for new, added first or second floor construction? Are there any soils, drainage or special site restrictions? How will construction be planned and scheduled? Will the occupants attempt to live in the house during construction? Will construction be by a GC or owner? What type of construction contract makes most sense? Is financing an issue? Are city/county approvals required? Are they problematic? No architect will be surprised by this partial list--it's what they consider and deal with on every project. Consumers, on the other hand, may need to do a lot of due diligence before getting locked into one approach or another. Cooler, professional heads may help! Good luck on your journey--exciting times ahead!...See Morechisue
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