reveriereptile:

This shouldn't be something that is told to someone to do. There should be a drawing of the wall/cabinet in section that the framer will follow. I'm surprised the architect hasn't drawn this already.

This post was edited by Trebruchet on Sat, Mar 8, 14 at 18:28

The architect only did simple drawings with a sheet that told basic framing information more about the stud spacing. He is my husband's friend. When my husband had his cousin who is a contractor build the main structure of the house he had never seen plans with so little of information. We don't know if it was due to him finding out his brain cancer returned and his wife left with their daughter and filed for divorce right after we hired him. I kept having to repeat information to him but cause he was a friend he didn't charge much. We didn't bother him much due to everything that went on. The plans were stamped by someone else though. We we were ready for the plans he realized he hadn't even sent them to be stamped cause he was so messed up on everything.
The window in the plans is a different size and height. It is a small window that is up higher than the sink.
I attached a picture of what we have to go by so you can understand why I had to ask. The only other pictures of the window is just a outside side view with now measurements.

There's more involved than the actual opening here. It involves knowing what your finished floor material in the kitchen will be, cabinet brand, counter material and thickness, as well as the top alignment height of the other windows in the facade. And the window itself. Are you planning on using a custom sized window that will align with the top alignment height of the other windows, or are you planning a stock widow? This is a tricky detail that involves far more than just the framer. It all needs to be coordinated, in advance, by someone who can factor in all of those details if you are going to get it right. As in, you have to know your counter material now. And really be willing to spring for that custom window.

This post was edited by hollysprings on Sat, Mar 8, 14 at 19:37

We plan on using a stock window and our cabinets will be made by the Amish however we want them. They can adjust the height of the cabinets for us.

I don't mind if the window is set a little higher than the cabinet where the sill rests on it. I just don't want it like most average windows that I see that sit about 6-12" up from the counter. I want as much light in and view as possible.

Here is another photo for reference. The windows sit just a tiny bit above. I just don't want them to be to low.

"They can adjust the height of the cabinets for us."

No, not substantially. Unless the Amish are going to build custom appliances for you too.

Why not enlist the architect who signed off on the plans. This type of construction detailing is not something to guess at or a homeowner level of decision making.

What I meant by the Amish custom making the height was they can adjust them to the 36" depending on the floor and counter materials we go with. Like if the counter thickness won't give it a height of 36" but 35 1/2" instead they could make the cabinet the extra 1/2" high.

The architect that stamped the plans is in another area of the state and hard to get a hold of. There aren't to many around here and the ones that are usually are busy. They won't want to mess with drawing up the framing of a window.

I'll talk with the Amish about it. He does Amish and non-Amish houses for a living. I'll find out what he knows. He may know right off how to do it. He has worked with plans from our architect before.

This post was edited by reveriereptile on Sun, Mar 9, 14 at 12:35

If the window is to align with the others in your facade and not look off, you really MUST use a line that will do a custom height. Or, you must adjust the alignment height of the other windows to work withh the kitchen window that you've chosen. Higgledypiggeldy alignments just don't work visually, and that means every window that shows on the facade or from the interior. You've got to have design consistency. This should have been all worked out in advance by the architect as a section detail that indicated finished floor height and the actual dimensions of the windows to be used. Doing it on the fly is not conducive to a succcessful outcome.

While everyone is right and it's ideal to have it all worked out, I just wanted to add that we have done things both ways with successful outcomes. We've had all sorts of complications (like yours with your architect) and have had to figure things out on the fly. Sometimes, necessity is the mother of invention. And sometimes not ;) ... But I know how stressful it can be and I also know it always helps me in these situations to view the problem as a creative challenge rather than a mistake. It makes the process more fun. That way the outcome, even if not perfect, can be something you are actually proud of because it required some ingenuity.

My husband is one problem. He didn't know what type of flooring to use. He either wanted to use tile or vinyl. He didn't know what type of heating to use at the time. He did decide to go with in-floor heating. He wouldn't go with me to look at stuff to help decide on what to do. He made changes to our house plans after they were done. He is pretty much the type of guy that waits till the last minute to do something which didn't help our architect either. He was trying to pay as much out of pocket as possible cause he still has a big college loan and I'm a stay at home mom. Pretty much some things we didn't know depending on how much money we had.
He has finally decided to get a loan to finish the house up due to problems with living with his parents. Mainly his mom keeps trying to smoke near our son when she brought the problem upon herself for not signing the land over sooner so we could of been moved out. She thought the economy was going to crash.
We were going to buy a house and all of them on the market were expensive for something that needed completely gutted. My husband also wanted to have a piece of land his dad and grandfather both owned.
Sorry for the rambling. After looking more into the windows I decided I would do a 48" tall window with the top of it the same height as the rest on the side of the house. That would give me room below the window for the cabinets with counters and any type of flooring. The window will be slightly above the counter but not by much and will give us room if we did go with vinyl and decided to put tile in later to raise the cabinets.
Our top cabinets I will be putting to the ceiling with shelves below so I can remove or raise the shelves to keep the 18" of space in between.