Ideas please -- Upstairs is too hot in Cape Cod style home
jlnjz
10 years ago
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Comments (8)
tigerdunes
10 years agotigerdunes
10 years agoRelated Discussions
Vented skylight - for cooilng Cape Cod 2nd story?
Comments (3)If you have other windows up there, you might try an experiment. Open a window and see if that helps drop the temperature. If it makes little difference then a skylight may not help either. Are there a/c ducts upstairs? If so, you would want the skylight closed while it is running or warm humid air will enter and make the a/c's job much harder. Stand in front of the home and picture in your head, a skylight there- would that bother you if you were buying the home? I doubt many would really think of it as an eyesore. But that's my opinion and my wife say's I have bad taste sometimes. :)...See MoreIs anyone else building a cape cod style home?
Comments (30)I try to avoid terms like "true" or "pure" and prefer "historic" instead. Often the name people use to describe houses comes from real estate listings. Realtors use a shorthand or lowest-common-denominator to simplify the issue and encourage as many responses as possible. The styles are generally Colonial, Victorian, Craftsman, Ranch, Cape, Contemporary, etc. My 1891 house was featured in the 1892 Architects and Builders Supplement to Scientific American magazine as an example of the new "Colonial Revival" style but it was advertised for sale in 1983 as a "Victorian". One of the most common house styles in America is rarely identified in realtor listings. There's nothing wrong with the realtor approach for their marketing purposes but when discussing the design of your own home with interested homeowners and design professionals, it greatly improves the discussion if you are more specific. A quick study of historic Capes might help you. A house style that evolved over hundreds of years can be an incredible resource whether you intend to make it historic or not. When I visit the Cape I take hundreds of photos. The houses are spectacular. For instance, the front facade is often taller so the cornice is higher than the second floor like this modern Cape in VT. The transom light above the door is one of the most characteristic features of a Cape. But these old houses were framed wth a version of post and beams with continuous wall framing so raising the cornice in a modern version can be more expensive. Here are some interesting Cape photos: historic Bow roof in Chatham...See MoreDesign assistance for waterfront Cape Cod home
Comments (5)I wasn't able to find your sketch within a couple of minutes. It's better if you post the relevant pictures directly in the thread. One thing I've always found annoying because it ALWAYS looks and feels like a mistake, is that whenever connecting two destinations, a person must travel up or down BEYOND the destination elevation, and then return to the correct elevation. In other words, going from the upper deck to the basement level and then back up to the pool level does not seem efficient or classy. In order to "flow" from the upper deck to the pool, I believe you would have to make the connection directly from the left end of the deck, and it would thus have to be separate from the expanded deck affair that you are contemplating. To make it separate would not be a bad thing in my opinion. Can't tell from pictures, It might could connect at the outside of the deck and pool, or possibly hug along the house walls. A patio looks better to me than a 2nd story deck on stilts (or some half-derivation of that.) As you have a raised mound of earth off of the back of the house, it seems like you could develop a patio that is supported by a sturdy retaining wall, placing its elevation about two steps below the upper deck level. It would not seem so much difference that "flow" is interrupted, and it would give you the opportunity to include the features you're after. It could also be extended to include a second, even lower, level that puts a little more separation from the firepit area. A new, better and more direct path to the water could come from it. I have no idea what visual effect this will have from the basement area, between the mound an house. We can't see if there's a cave back there, or what. The sketch is rough, vague & general....See MoreHelp up the curb appeal of this Cape Cod Style Red Brick!
Comments (4)Upgrade the swing. I too would start from scratch on the landscaping. Rocks are NOT mulch! I took 2 years to dig them out of a bed to make it useful. Add some daylilies when you redo it. You could upgrade the lantern lights. Make them 1/3 of the door's height. Your black urns are a bit too formal/classic for a Cape Cod cottage. The two white dormers are the first things I saw. Painting the door and sidelights white might pull the eye to the entry. If not, consider blending the dormers into the roof color....See Morejlnjz
10 years agotigerdunes
10 years agoenergy_rater_la
10 years agotigerdunes
10 years agotigerdunes
10 years ago
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