I don't see the plan?

I'm attempting to upload the floor plan photo but it has been a frustrating process...not sure if there is something going on with the site today.

Here's the plan:

This post was edited by baseballmom94 on Sat, Feb 7, 15 at 14:39

What's a maintenance-free community?

How many square feet is the new floorplan? I'm probably not the best to answer this. We raised our two kids in a 2400 square foot house and that seemed huge. I can't imagine 4000. We're now empty-nesters in an 1800 sq home and that still seems big with a 900 sq foot finished basement/garage area for DH to putter in. We would probably be fine in something around 1400 sq ft. as long as it had some puttering space.

Maybe I'm not the right person to answer your question as I see no cons to going smaller, especially if without children at home who need space to run and play.

And I just can't imagine why you'd still need 4 bedrooms. We currently have 2.5 bedrooms. I guess that's a way to describe the 3rd bedroom which is a normal sized bedroom with closet but it has a movable wall which opens it up to the entry and living room so we keep a hide-a-bed sofa in it and can open the wall when entertaining for spillover space for people to move around and visit. The movable wall is thick enough to give good sound protection if someone is actually using it for sleeping. This provides plenty of space for when both kids and their SO's are home visiting to stay in. I suppose the 4th room would be handy for when there are grandkids but I don't see see that happening soon and I'm not about to pay to heat an extra room that really isn't needed.

Your proposed floorplan looks lovely and I'm sure the home you build from it will be as well but it just looks like too much home for aging in place, if that's what you intend for this home. I'd want something smaller and easier to care for.

Well, I'm thinking I probably shouldn't have responded since I'm being a bit overly critical due to maybe having a different desire than you have but it's written so I'll post it anyway knowing YMMV.

Oh, if you like the area and that last wooded lot, I kinda agree with your husband that it makes sense to grab it while you can.

Can your plan accommodate your kids coming back to live with you after they're finished college? Take a look at some numbers regarding how commonplace this is becoming. I don't believe any of the parents or children facing this situation actually planned for this lifestyle, rather necessity forced it upon them.

Your floor plan is similar to ours, and we are planning for aging in home. When we retired and we were both home all the time, we discovered each of us needs our own corner. We started with what we need on one floor: two bedrooms, two offices (where we spend a lot of time), a great room, dining area off the kitchen, open floor plan. Ditched the unused formal living room and dining room. Ours ended up at 3000 sq ft. We could have gone smaller, but chose not to so we could have wider hallways, turn radius, etc, that ADA guidelines suggest. We did put the laundry next to the master closet with doors that open both to the closet and the house hallway so I don't have to drag laundry around. Ask about soundproofing between the GR and MBR. My kitchen is large enough that I'm eliminating most upper cabinets--again ADA. We added seating on the ends of the island so seating is in a "u". I find all my friend gather around the island and seating at right angles facilitates conversation. Bedroom 2 might be a little noisy near the garage. Is it possible to put a high window in the closet to let in a little light? Don't know if you need a closet in the office, but it then makes the room a bedroom for resale. Good luck.

I don't think I'd like being able to see in to the master from the front door...
What is the nooky area to the right of the Great room (between powder room and closet?) It seems like wasted space, unless it has a planned purpose.

Why have stairs from garage to mudroom if you have a hallway where you can actually have a ramp? Make sure also, that hallway/ramp is wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair if you are building in a 55+ community.

Orientation and climate of this home? I worry that GR may be darker than you think it should be.

What is a reverse story and a half with a full daylight basement?

I too would be concerned that the great room will be dark. Admittedly, I like a lot of light.

I like the area between the powder room and closet. I have a similar area that is shallower and works well for my desk and computer. But, I agree with kirkhall, if there is no plan for that space it might just be wasted space or a tough place to decorate.

(1) As far as I know a full daylight basement and a walk-out basement are the same thing. So since you are doing a reverse story and a half, do you have the layout of the bedrooms that are going to be downstairs? I actually love the reverse story and a half type homes for college age kids, but bedroom placement can be tough in a basement.

(2) I am not a big fan of maintenance free communities. Usually, they are a bad financial prospect. Simply put, it is usually much cheaper to hire your own people to maintain the exterior of your home than it is to pay the premiums plus HOAs in these communities. If you are building the house because you like that community (that heading to retirement, doing stuff with your neighbors because you find that you have too much extra time and nothing to do vibe), or that just can't live without the lot then great. But check with a financial advisor before you jump into a maintenance free community because you don't feel like mowing your yard.

Another empty nester here. Love your plan! We did 2 up/2 down. Each has its own bathroom. The house was built with the intent our adult children would come home with their families; and we were spot on. We have 1959 on the main floor and 1200 in the lower level that is a walk out.

As far as natural light goes, there are days I wish for more clouds. The back of the house (GR, DR, Kit) faces south and it gets sunny! Our MBR is off the foyer and opens directly to the great room. If I am concerned about ppl looking at my bed, the door gets closed. Our house is for aging in place and we chose to forego nooks and short hallways.

Best of luck!

Your age difference isn't that big of a deal. I always preferred older neighbors. They are quieter and have alot of knowledge to share. Usually more friendly too.

Multiple thoughts:

- I agree with the question, Why such a large house? We also live in a 2400 sf house, which is considerably bigger than we actually needed -- even when our children were all still at home. Consider whether you want to continue to put so much money into a house for your retirement years. In addition to the actual building, consider the taxes and maintenance of the house.

- If you're sure this is the neighborhood for you, I see nothing wrong with buying the lot . . . and waiting a while to build.

- I agree that you probably can accomplish the maintenance-free thing by hiring out the work. However, you would have to seek out someone to do the work. I'd say look into the costs both ways before you make a move.

Concerning the plan itself:

- I don't think this is necessarily a non-traditional house. It's an open plan, but nothing about it is really off-the-wall.

- I like the great room /kitchen /dining areas.

- I don't like the mudroom layout. With so many doors, it has little real storage space /doesn't seem to offer much function. And several twists and turns are required to enter the house through this area; if you have mobility issues in the future, this area will not be comfortable.

- I'd do away with the powder room and open the guest room bathroom into the hall. This would save big money.

- Note that you're paying for an expensive switchback staircase . . . and hiding it in the back hallway, where it can't be seen. If you do keep this (and you may judge it a worthwhile choice), definitely harnass the large square footage underneath that staircase . . . either for the pantry OR for the guest room closet. But don't let all that storage be boxed in.

- Can you do anything other than the garage-sticking-out-in-front?

I'm no expert, but my first thought is that the great room is going to be very dark with no windows except to a screen porch.

If you are worried about moving too soon, could you buy the lot you want and just hold on to it for a while until you're ready to build? I'm at the opposite end of the spectrum with young kids, but seems like it may be big changes to have an empty nest and move right away…and like a PP said, kids may come back even if you don't think so! My 30 year old brother and his wife moved back in with my parents after a decade in Europe and ended up staying a year!

Thank you all so much for the detailed input! This is exactly what we need for a reality check! I will check back for in later when I have more time with my responses to the issues raised. My quick initial responses: The part about the great room being dark is a concern. The house will face the south and back to the north or northeast depending on how the architect angles the house on the lot.

Thanks and if anyone has additional input, I appreciate it and will write more later.

Here are my responses to some of the issues that were raised in reference to our floor plan. I really appreciate everyone taking the time to critique the floor plan.

- Size of house. It is 2500 on main level and 1200 in basement so about 3700 total. I know this sounds large but it seems about the right for us since our current home has a 2 story foyer and 2 story great room and the new home would have 10ft ceilings on the main level..so it feels a bit cozier if that makes sense:)

- Why do we need 4 bedrooms? Each of our kids has a bedroom and then if we have relatives or friends visit, we need a guest bedroom. My parents built a similar house with 3 bedrooms and ended up adding a 4th bedroom for when all the family visited? There's a slight chance that my son could live with us full time if he attends med school locally.

- Maintenance free community issue: this community will be maintenance free in regards to lawn care and snow removal. One concern we do have is that the streets will be private streets so our local suburban city will not be responsible for snow plowing or street maintenance - it will be the responsibility of the HOA.

- Taxes/maintenance on a large house: this is something we are definitely considering.

- Someone mentioned whether we could buy the lot and hold it until we are ready to build. I don't think the builder/developer would allow this. I think they want to complete the community in a timely manner without having lots sitting empty and there are other people in line to take our lot if we don't go into contract on the project.

Floor Plan Issues:

- Great room potentially being too dark. This is a concern I do have with house backing to the Northeast. We're not sure where else we would locate the covered deck. We need to discuss with the architect. Good idea to remember to do extra insulation between the great room and master bedroom.

- Nook to the right of the great room between the powder room and the closet. The home we toured had a built in wet bar/cabinetry here. We would eliminate nook area and possibly bring the wall closer towards the great room.

- Mudroom layout not being efficient or having enough storage. I hadn't considered this so thank you for pointing that out for us to possibly make changes.

Laundry room: someone mentioned that they have one connected to the master closet. I saw this in a few homes and think its a brilliant idea. We need to see if there's a way to incorporate this.

- Switchback Staircase: it actually doesn't cost more to do this type of staircase with this builder. Great idea to make sure the space underneath can be utilized as storage.

Any additional input is much appreciated! Thank you all!

My husband is a couple years younger than you. I couldn't imagine moving to a retirement community in a couple of years. Granted my youngest is in kindergarten. My parents are 58 and 67. Mowing the grass is one of my Dad's pleasures. You are young!!! What do your kids think about this change? When I went to college my Mom started art lessons and learned she is an artist. Have you looked around the neighborhood to see the ages of other people?

It's not a retirement community at all. My husband enjoys taking care of the yard but as a busy emergency physician{{gwi:807}}, he would like to not have to worry about it. Our kids are open to the change because they would have an extra living space in the basement family room.

This post was edited by baseballmom94 on Mon, Feb 9, 15 at 0:07

So what I'm hearing is that you're building for every contingency, you're building for your house's most busy moments -- so that if both kids AND a guest are present at the same time, everyone has a private room. Realistically, how often is all that space going to be needed AT ONE TIME? I suspect most of the time that space is going to be standing empty, yet you're going to have to pay for it and maintain it all the same.

We're also planning for our retirement home, but our thoughts are different: We're planning a bedroom for ourselves plus two more. The first will contain a queen-sized bed and will be for guests OR one of our girls, if she's staying over. The second will be a "bunk room" for the grandchildren whom I hope will appear in future years; it'll also have space for toys and books. If we have BOTH girls over at the same time, some adults can sleep in the kids' bunks, and we can move the kids to the floor. And if push comes to shove, someone can sleep in the (air conditioned /heated) teardrop camper just steps outside. I don't know how your family stacks up, but I've slept at my mom's house only a dozen times or so since I was 18 -- and that includes when she was ill last year, and I went to take care of her. My husband's father is out of town, and we sleep at his house maybe twice a year.

If one of them needed to come home for an extended stay, she could have one of those bedrooms . . . or, we're building a bonus room but don't plan to finish it /furnish it.

Other possibilities that could help you consolidate while still being prepared:
- Install a murphy bed in an office, so the room can do double duty.
- Go with a day bed /trundle underneath in a den. When you pop up the trundle, it's a king-sized bed.
- Build-in a twin-bed sized window seat in a hallway. It'll be a lovely feature most of the time and can be a bed in an pinch.

I can see why the developer wants to go ahead and build all the houses NOW. It's more economical for him, then he can move on to another area. He'll never pay the plumbing crew, for example, for half a day's labor -- when they finish this house, they can go across the street and get straight to work. However, serious question: If you don't build now, what's the penalty? Does he fine you? Force you to sell the property? What's your time limit? I think typically in these situations you have 1-2 years.

I would be concerned about the private roads /HOA is responsible for snow (I assume you're in a snowy climate?) thing. Some HOAs function well, while others . . . don't; and if your neighborhood is new, this group is an unproven entity.

Thoughts on living in an "older community", whether it's officially a retirement community or not: I live in a kind of odd neighborhood. It was the first neighborhood built in this area, so our houses are mostly large ranches on 1-2 acre lots; there's definitely a 70s vibe: Monster-sized rooms, tiny closets, formal living and dining rooms in every house. More than half of the houses have never been re-sold (that is, MANY of the original owners are still in their houses), so LOTS of my neighbors are older and retired. It has made for an odd dynamic for my kids: They don't have lots of playmates within walking distance, Halloween has always been dead here, and with so few riders the school bus only stops ONCE in the dead-center of the neighborhood (which happens to be my house). I foresee that we're heading for a crisis: MANY of my neighbors are reaching the age that they won't be able to live alone much longer. Funeral signs aren't uncommon. More than a few of these large houses are inhabited by widows who live alone. Most of these neighbors can't maintain their large yards anymore, and the same guy comes and does most everyone's lawns on Wednesday-Thursday. I feel fairly sure that within the next decade, this neighborhood is going to clear out FAST . . . and this community of solid-but-currently-unfashionable all-brick ranches is completely surrounded by newer neighborhoods with newer, cheaper houses on 1/4 acre lots, with community pools and playgrounds -- and that style appeals to many people. I fear this is going to become a rental community, which will lower the value of the houses.

Does that have anything to do with you? I don't know. My neighborhood may be an oddity; I do think it's rather odd that such a large percentage of these houses have never "turned over" in terms of ownership. But when you live in a place where the MAJORITY of the residents are senior citizens, it does change the feel of the place. If I had my druthers, I'd live in a more diverse community.

baseballmom, I thought I'd show you what layout we are looking at for our retirement home. This has the laundry off the master closet but still accessed by the rest of the house. I'm not fond of bath/closet combo so our bath is separate. Perhaps this will give you some ideas of how to tweak your floor plan.

I was surprised how similar our plans are. Good luck! Great ideas abound. I'd be happy to answer any specifics on what we did and why. Our plan doesn't work for everyone, but it meets our needs.