Split Entry Mudroom addition?
Hello, all! I am a long time lurker around here and this is my first post!
My husband and I bought our first home a few years ago. It is a typical late 70s split entry bi level home. We are happy with the size of the home and most of the interior living space, however, the front entry is atrocious and lacks any sort of storage space for coats/shoes etc.
I am wondering what we would be getting into if we were to put a mud room addition on the front? I know absolutely nothing about additions except from what I have gleaned on here; namely that expensive foundation work may be required since the entry is at ground level.
Basically I want to add a room right in front of the current entry. What sort of thing would I be getting into here? I am thinking a small room would be fine but I have read that it may be more worthwhile to add more space since it would be expensive - we dont really need all that much more space though....
I have worked on the garden to help hide the hideousness and we are planning on painting and replacing the shutters and exterior lights as well. I am more interested in finding out about what physical procedures would be involved in a project like this.
Any ideas?
Comments (12)
lavender_lass
10 years agoRelated Discussions
theoretical vestibule / mudroom addition - a couple of questions
Comments (3)Sure, that foundation wall can be removed to create a single room entryway. All it will take is money to buy the steel and the skilled labor to install it. Depending on the structural engineer's report and the depth of your pockets, you might even manage a flush beam there so that you wouldn't have any intrusion into the ceiling space below. Your driveway cannot provide the footing needed for the addition though. It will have to be removed and a footing will need to be dug to below your frost depth. How deep that might be will depend on your location. The installed beam will also probably need new foundation points dug under the ends to support those point loads. This will not come at insignificant costs so be sure that you add enough space to make it worthwhile! Small additions cost more per square foot than do large ones where you add on more space. An 6x8 entry might cost you 35K, where if you added on additional living space not involving plumbing, you could have another 20x20 room for just 20K more. I've seen split levels that added family rooms at the entry level and that was a great useful addition to the home. So really think through any additions and how to get the best use of your dollars before you start getting reports from structural engineers as to how to handle the holes in the foundation....See MoreFrustration with split entry
Comments (47)Hi live wire oak, Thanks ever so much for your continued support. I am lucky to have found this forum and people like you. Beleive me, we will not be making any changes without seeing the effect in 3D in walk through style like you mentioned. Like you said, I want to see what the view (outside and inside) will be to the bedroom gables if we redo the garage roof/and or bump the bedroom gables forward. If we do go this route, we will be sure to investigate tying in a roof plane for a potential foyer bump out/and or porch. I am investigating as many options as possible before spending another dime on construction. The architect that we worked with is experienced in both residential and commercial, he is a fully qualified architect and he has an amazing wealth of construction knowledge. He owns his architect firm and works in his profession full time. He was recommended to us by a structural engineer. Our architect used AutoCad for the design -- I don't think that is viewable in 3D. I imagine we could have paid for someone to have taken the AutoCad file and transferred it to something like Sketch-up. We should have pursued that. I simply did not realize until now how different a 2D elevation picture would be from the 3D real life creation. Tough lesson to learn for us! Carol...See MoreMudroom/Kitchen addition plans reattempted
Comments (0)After some very helpful feedback here regarding my initial plans, I've been somewhat back to the drawing board and was hoping for some input before I meet with my contractor next week and start approaching the changes will be difficult and costly stage of the project. In quick recap, we are putting a 2 story addition on our 110 year old home. We've lived here 4 1/2 years and don't plan to move. We have 3 kids (5,4,2) and no plans for more. The two major problems with our home are a lack of master bedroom storage and an outdated kitchen that is also our family's main entrance into the home. This leads to a ton of clutter. Fortunately, the kitchen is right under the master and a "simple" rectangular addition has the potential to solve both problems. We initially hired a design/build and several thousand dollars later we had very little to show, just basically a floor plan which wasn't all that great and a construction bid that was nearly 100k more than the initial stated budget. We fired them and hired another contractor, they have a designer/project manager as well. I'm confident they can do a good construction job, less confident they will give me the features/layout we want unless I know exactly what I want. Initially we had the mudroom as a separate room attached to the kitchen keeping the current exterior wall mostly intact, but after the feedback the kitchen was just a little too cramped for an island with seating and too much mudroom space was wasted. Turns out that removing the wall ain't cheap, but isn't cost prohibitive given the scope of the project. So now the concept I have is a mudroom which flows with the kitchen and is a separate space but not a separate room. Anyway we really want 1) Storage and layout to avoid clutter (place for coats, shoes, backpacks, pull out trash/recycle, etc) 2) Relocating our effective main entry from the middle of the kitchen 3) A pantry 4) Double sink 5) 2 dishwashers 6) Get laundry out of the basement Notes on appliances, finishes *Ceiling height is at least 8.5', possibly 9' (currently we have a drop in the ceiling of kitchen compared to rest of house which can probably be eliminated) *Thermador package appliances including 48" range + 30"/30" columns, appliances all integrated and paneled to match cabinets. 1 dishwasher will be the "free" thermador, the other considering dishdrawer vs a normal DW. *Miele plumbed coffee *Undecided on speed oven, I like the Bosch or advantium 240V but they are 30" which creates some issues stacking with the 24" coffee. Miele makes a 24" SO but I hate the knob controls. I think the touch screen one is okay, but very expensive and probably more annoying than one with normal buttons. The touchscreen would be an issue whenever my relatives are over for sure. The current drawing uses a 30" *I'd like the pantry entrance to be look like its part of the wall of cabinets, saw that look online and love it. *36" kohler cast iron farmhouse sink as main sink, the laundry sink will be a deep undermount *planning for light grey cabinets with marble-ish quartz (or maybe quartizite) with a white arabesque + white grout tile backsplash. i think that will look good with the exposed brick behind the range. *contractor typically uses a local custom cabinet person who is apparently a true custom shop, but I haven't met with them yet and I'm not locked into using them *existing window in kitchen is being replaced, could theoretically be made larger but not smaller. In addition to general feedback wondering if I should include upper cabinets on the wall that has the pots/pans drawers. I think I have enough storage without it and I've always liked the to the ceiling backsplashes and don't really have a place for that otherwise except for a small border around the window. If no cabinets there, would do a few open shelves for the more decorative and less used glassware, etc mounted on the backsplash. Also I have the island centered on the range (rather than centered in the room) which only gives 42" of clearance to that near wall but there isn't that much stuff there so I thought that was okay and thought the extra aisle space was better on the fridge side. The basic layout of the whole floor is attached, the dining room is currently a play room and we usually eat in the living room, but its likely going to a "casual" formal dining room after the addition....See Morehelp designing a garage/bedroom side addition for split entry home
Comments (13)Would you husband be opposed to a tandem garage? With a good architect and builder and of course $$$ you could build on and have a side facing garage. The garage would still fit 4 cars, but just tandem through the new garage into the old garage. They can fill in the current garage door and make it look like it is part of the house and not just a filled in garage door. Remove the old driveway and re-landscape. And your house would not look like all garage....See MoreMustardtiger
10 years agolavender_lass
10 years agoannzgw
10 years agoCheck out the link below for more ideas and visuals. I would like to see something that works with the roof line and adds some architecture.
Kinda like this:
[Beach Style Exterior[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/beach-style-exterior-home-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_736~s_2110) by La Grange Park Architects & Designers Fergon Architects, LLC
or this:
[Transitional Exterior[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/transitional-exterior-home-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_736~s_2112) by Point Pleasant Beach Architects & Designers Richard Bubnowski Design LLC
Here is a link that might be useful: [Houzz[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/vestibule-phbr0lbl-bl~l_38862)
Kernel009
10 years agoThat Bob Vila video is awesome - thanks for posting it lavender_lass - I'm so glad I stumbled onto this thread! It's just what my wife and I have been looking for...
We had planned to replace our door and make a new larger porch (approx. 9x10) this year but the foyer behind that door is just plain useless... it's about 4x7 and filled with jackets and shoes and just plain messy! We've been remodeling top to bottom since 2007 and the foyer is the one thing we are constantly complaining about.
The only thing I'm concerned about if we go with a mudroom approach is that our door is not level with the ground like in the video - so if anyone has any other pics or videos to share that are remodels to houses similar to the pic I am posting, please share! That pic in a previous reply with an expanded foyer is an interesting option as well... we just need to figure out what looks best.
Mustardtiger, when you make the changes (perhaps you did already?) I'd live to see pics.
Thanks!
ontariomom
10 years agoMustardtiger
10 years agoannkh_nd
10 years agoOur split is a little different - the garage is out in front. This picture isn't great, because the birch tree is in the way, but the foyer extends out in front of the house. It's 8'x8', with a door into the garage, and a coat closet. Ideally I'd like to see it a couple of feet bigger in at least one direction, but it's not a big enough issue to actually remodel to get it. I do have room for a small bench in the foyer.
cebaan
6 years agomegpeck
3 years agoI also want to add an addition to my entry. Id like to extend the front wall out about 5 feet to allow more room when you walk in the house. Wondering how this is going to look. I think I would add a peak to make it flow with the style of the house. Feedback?
Anita
3 years ago
rockybird