looks like they have the 2 columns centered to the entryway instead of the 7,2 from the middle column.

does that style home normally have that gap between the last column and the wall? that would annoy me

Actually it's the 11'4" measurement that should have gone to the center of the post. I should have made that clearer.

The furthest left post had to come out from the wall to achieve the above stated goals, and personally, I like it better than being right at the wall, although I see how someone might disagree.

Since there are only three...no, it wouldn't bother me. I'd probably put a pot of flowers on the inside of the two columns by the steps. That would attract your eye, give you some color and disguise any small difference in the spacing.

However, you might want to give any other plans a close look, just in case there are any other mistakes. FWIW, I think your builder should have caught this...not you :)

Only you will ever know... And anyone you have told. I agree with Kirkhall and LL. No one will walk up and be looking for symmetry. They will be taking in the house in its entirety. The eye normally doesn't notice such small differences unless looking for them.
On the other hand one might really notice the square where the post has been moved.. while standing on the porch.

Jen

Thanks everyone. That makes me feel better. I'm glad to hear from you so quickly because now is the time to move them, so I don't have to spent today thinking about this. It just irks me because I was literally in the hospital room calculating distances between posts while my wife convalesced--obviously it was important to me! And then when the plans didn't quite match what I sent, I figured that's just how it came out on the real plans. Oh well!

It's funny, I've always rolled my eyes a bit at people who make posts like this and I think "okay, I can't even see what the problem is." But now I get it! LOL

It may not be that bad of a job to move them (although I don't understand why you would move the outside corner far right one) I think the center one is the problem.

I would ask your builder if they would.

I also agree with the above poster that most people would never notice this.

Excuse my limited paint skills...and I am a bit plant-happy (LOL) but do you notice it, now?
{{gwi:1501154}}From Kitchen plans

OT, but I LOVE THE STONE, CamG! What is it? :)

LL, LOVE it. I'll send to my wife.

Loribug, thanks! The stone is Dutch Quality Sagewood Weatherledge. You can see other pictures on Dutch Quality's website. It was very affordable.

If I were building that house for myself I'd move the centre pillar--if the mason did me a favour!

If it were for a customer and my mistake, I'd try and convince them no one would notice.

If it were the customer's mistake--they signed off on the plans--they would have to pay for the mason's teardown and rebuild. Is the "benefit" worth the expenditure?

Hmmmmm . . . . I think it would bother me forevermore. I'm just OCD that way. But I'm the one who won't use her 6-iron when playing golf cause the 6-iron doesn't match the rest of her clubs! How pathetic is that??!!

I think YOU have to make the decision if you can live with it.

The mistake is more complicated than you suggest.

If the outer columns were placed as drawn it would not be possible to locate the middle column so the windows and the door were centered between two columns and the columns were spaced equally apart. To do that would require moving the windows.

The closest you could get to your goal is to move the center column to the left 5". Then each door/window would only be off center by 1 1/2".

The person who drew the plans is the person responsible and I take it that was you. You should always offset dimension lines and use center leader lines when dimensioning to the center of objects especially when using CAD since the computer will do anything you tell it to no matter how foolish.

The old trick is to locate the front walk so that it is not centered on the porch and that is the case so there is no obvious place where anyone can stand and tell for sure there was a mistake. Adding something that distracts your eye like an American flag on the center post is another time-honored trick.

This post was edited by Renovator8 on Fri, Sep 27, 13 at 19:09

Renovator8,
Actually, the drafter for my builder did those plans, but I signed off on them, so I share responsibility. Again, had a newborn baby and didn't look as closely as I should have. And to clarify, both the center and right pillar are off, although correcting them would involve moving the right pillar in 8" by my estimate, which perhaps would look off anyway.

Good to know that only a 5" move would be work, which makes it seem all the more unreasonable to do. And I appreciate the suggestion of an American flag or the like on the center post, surely some kind of distraction would be better than moving the post (and by now, they may have added the columns above the masonry bases, making a move all the more expensive). Thanks.

This post was edited by CamG on Fri, Sep 27, 13 at 21:01

Review and acceptance of a design by a homeowner does not relieve the designer of responsibility for errors in the drawings any more than a final walkthrough relieves the contractor for errors in the work. Both are good opportunities for finding errors but an owner can only be expected to accept or sign-off on the general design intent, not correct the errors of the contractor.

The error is obviously due to sloppy CAD drafting that your contractor or his subs should have discovered and corrected before the work was done. Your contractor should now correct the work or offer you some form of compensation.

In many Owner-Contractor contracts the contractor is required to review the drawings and notify the architect/owner of any discrepancies or errors but that does not make the contractor responsible for the work of the architect (wish it did). When an architect reviews the work of a contractor the failure to discover errors does not relieve the contractor of his responsibility to conform to the contract documents. When a building inspector reviews a contractor's work he does not relieve the contractor from responsibility to meet the requirements of the building code. Don't let the casual and often inappropriate use of the term "approve" intimidate you. You are not in any way at fault in this situation.

I don't know what you mean by the right post being off. It aligns with the side of the building so how can it be off?

Even if the dimension had been correctly drawn to the center of the left pillar, the dimensions would not have placed the posts where you wanted them. There is nothing about the location of any of the 5 elements that is correct. This is not an easy drafting exercise and clearly beyond the skill of the contractor's draftsman.

This post was edited by Renovator8 on Sat, Sep 28, 13 at 10:10

I do agree that it was the designers error.
(unless you specifically somehow told him to do that)

The right column should be in the corner, the middle column should be lined up with the corner above so that those windows are centered.

It is not as important that the door be centered or that the space between columns is the same. In this design the upper projection is the dominant visual element.

Cam- I really believe you're overthinking this. Your window layout is not that traditional. If you had the upper left window further over, a decorative window (maybe half circle?) over the front door...all very formal and balanced...then I'd start looking at the column placement more carefully.

You don't. You have a very nice home, with some Craftsman detail...that I'm sure will bring you many decades of pleasure. Things will go wrong, with any project. If this really bothers you (and someone else will pay to fix it) and you won't have any marks on the concrete...then fix it. If it really bothers you.

Personally, I think it's a charming home and it looks like you centered the door. That's more inviting anyway...who walks up to the window? And I'd want my pots of flowers to be equally spaced, from the top of the steps. (Yes, I would plan my porch that way! LOL)

Renovator8,
As we went back out to the house, the problem is emphasized because you approach from the left. The stone guy is going to come out and take a look. It's really pretty obvious. You said we should only move the center post to the left 5"--can you show your math on that? I'm having a hard time seeing how you got there, but if its not a big deal to move it, I'll probably have them do it and I'm not sure how far. If you don't mind, thanks very much!

LL, the problem is the front door isn't centered on the front posts, and if I put plants where you suggest, the problem will be all the more obvious. We can see what the stone guy says, may be easy to move, or may not have a choice practically. Thanks for the nice words about the house!

The one thing that draws my eye in your photo is not the posts as much as the sidewalk leading up to the door. Does it veer to the left? I cant quit seeing it. The step does not look centered to the front door.
Ok. That's first.
Now, no matter what you do to those stone columns they just will not look symmetrical. The front of your house is not symmetrical with window and door placement. The best you can do is move the center post to the left, to line up with the corner of the 2nd floor bump out.
I know this because of my own problems with my house. Framing mistakes on window placement wreaked havoc and there was no way to remedy perfectly. We have very similar bones as your house. None of the six posts on the porch are equal distances but they "work" with the openings on the front of the house. We chose to add more posts which helps the symmetry.
Move the center post to the left but don't get hung up on exact measurements. Double check that sidewalk and step. It should center to the front door and doesn't look like it does at least in this photo.

Cam- I'm sure it looks different, from different angles. If it's more noticeable as you walk up...then that would make a difference.

If you move the middle column over, do you need to move the other two? I can't tell from this angle. {{gwi:1501155}}From Kitchen plans

I think maybe ppbenn is on to something - your sidewalk and steps DON'T look like they line up with your front door. At least in that last picture. So that's making your columns look worse.

If the goal is to have the left and middle ones centered on the front door AND have the middle and the right one centered on the window, there is only one way to achieve it. Moving the leftmost one to the left by 7". I assume that the columns are 18" wide. Otherwise the plan doesn't make sense. Then if you are standing in front of the door, the door will be centered in between columns. And if you're standing in front of the window, the window will be centered in between columns. But you have wider space on the left, than on the right. Start drawing with that in mind. You'd know what I mean.

If the goal is to evenly space three columns , then the best you could do is moving the center one to the left by 5". What Renovator8 said. I'd personally like this scenario better.

Currently, you're achieving neither. I'd complain about the designer's incompetence and persuade the builder. It may not be noticeable but whether it will bother you depends on you. I know it would bother me for a long time.

This post was edited by ttonk on Sat, Sep 28, 13 at 22:43

The stone guy is coming to look at it tomorrow. Here is a picture which shows how much more it stands out from the front walk.

I think the front steps line up fine with the front door, I looked at that previously but didn't measure, and they looked fine. But I'll look again.

Cam,
Chris's point above is that the columns should not be worried about the door/window placement of floor 1, but of floor 2. And, with LL's second drawing, moving the center column to the left, you see what they mean--that middle column should line up with your gabled roof section (ignoring for a moment, the lower floor).

See how that works for you.