I'm confused. You own the lot with the lake house too? It's not a house yet? But instead you're building a ranch house at the front of the property?

Yes. It is totally confusing :) We own the entire 3 acre lot. In order to get rid of some of the land (because the taxes and land costs in the area are enormous) we are building a house on the front of the land to live in for 5 years or so and then we sell that house ( and the acre it sits on) and move into the dream lake house in the back. So this is stage one of the project. The land was a one of a kind opportunity so we went for it! The cost to build the type of house we would want to build on the water would be an uncomfortable stretch for us. The ranch house in the front of the lot was our compromise and a way to stabilize our finances (that way the family can enjoy the property for many years and my husband doesn't have a heart attack when he sees the bills). It sounds crazy, but really is just a way to move up the property ladder where we build each house we move into (because I am very picky and don't like stock Florida homes).

The architect drew in a pretend house on Lot B for scale or something.

I think it sounds like a good plan. And will help you get your dream home in a few years.

But I would not spend that much money on concrete for a house I planned to sell in five years. Especially if I thought it would cost plenty but not necessarily get me a return on my money.

some things don't pay off....a pool, expensive interior doors and hardware, and probably a bigger driveway.

Does anyone this asphalt bordered by pavers would be a horrible compromise for cost? That way we get the driveway space but not the painful cost of concrete. We entertain ALOT... Like every weekend we host activities, and with the ski lake accessible, I imagine the number of guests will only increase.

Visually do you think the driveway disrupts the front yard?

Will the driveway also be your access to the lake house in the future?

In response to your question about the circular drive:

--It looks to be the reasonable minimum for a circular drive. I'd check the radius to be sure large trucks (moving vans, fire trucks and the like) can successfully negotiate the inside radius.

--Given your "we entertain a lot" comments, why is there only one guest parking space which is planned?

--I don't know the design of your house (the site plan looks very interesting), but asphalt can be fine if treated with some paving and site planning creativity. Do you have a landscape architect? Or an architect for your house? Get them involved so that the drive isn't simply black asphalt everywhere. There's lots of opportunities for pavers, stamped concrete, edging materials, etc.

Good luck on your project!

bpathome: the driveway as planned will be dedicated to the Lot A house. I was initially excited about benjesbride's idea of building a second driveway/ parking pad on the Lot B property. However, my DH worries that when we finally went to build the lake house we would end up tearing up the "parking pad" for the driveway created by the architect and waste lots of money.

Virgil Carter Fine Art: thank you very much for your comments. The site plan was actually done by the architect (or her minion I suspect) as was the driveway and detached garage. I vetoed the parking pad for guests due to serious concerns of a concrete front yard.

I will definitely make sure I put lots of thoughts into the actual appearance of the drive and keep it in line with the style of the house.

The house is from a house plan that I liked (a rancher/ dog trot) that I have a structural engineer changing for Florida code and such. We are trying to keep costs down on this house (which is relative I suppose for everyone) but not cheap out and lose function of the property. I am really trying to be practical, and if the lake front house doesn't work out for us I want to be able to live in the house I am building now and be happy. My husband and I graduated from professional school in 2007 and have fresh memories of the Recession so we try to move forward with big financial plans gradually. If worse comes to worse we can always sell a highly desirable lakefront property and live our lives happily in a custom rancher :)

i personally like the look of properly done asphalt--but i am obviously the only person i know who likes it our neighborhood has 500 or so houses, asphalt is allowed and i know of only one asphalt driveway.... try to get a quotes on these products before you make your mind up concrete is expensive

I'm going to play a bit of devil's advocate. First I think you and your husband are being very wise and I think your plan is a very good one. :)

However, I'm wondering about how the two lots are laid out. If you go to build your dream house, you'll basically be building what my Mom used to call a flagpole property. What that means is the front of your house will be looking into the backyard of the house in front of you and the only way into the dream house is a long driveway along the side of the other house.

Where I've grown up, a flagpole house would be a doofus, meaning hard to sell.

I'm wondering if there's another way to lay out the house now so the backyard is not the front of what will be your dream house.

Interesting, flag lots are not a drawback in our area, in fact some people prefer the privacy.

I do not find the circle driveway too big. I do think it should be planned carefully with a landscape person as Virgil Carter mentioned. Would be nice if you could design around a mature tree. When it's not filled with cars it would make a great safe place for the kids to play.

I understand the detached garage is staying, so is there any way that you can make it more meaningful? For example, larger, incorporating space to park the kids' bikes, etc., turn it to provide more of a buffer from the road or to give more privacy to/from the neighbors? Right now to me the single detached looks like it was just plunked down there as an afterthought, sorry.

Can't your architect just design a house on the lake that you can build in phases? My house is not a "dream house" but I LOVE my view. I'd build a little house that takes full advantage of your view, right near that lake in a heart beat.

We have a fairly long concrete driveway and large concrete parking pad. With large areas of concrete, you will need to manage water runoff. I've got plantings to handle it now, but if we were doing it over today I would look into pervious concrete. Asphalt would be my last choice (visually unappealing and hot).

I applaud you and your husband for being practical with your plans and finances.

I am so excited about all the comments! It really helps to hear other views, and feel better about any decisions I eventually make.

The county requires that any parcels in that area be a minimum of one acre with separate well and septic. The property must be a minimum of 150ft in length with 50ft setbacks (front and back) and 15 ft each side. Based on those requirements the lot can only be split front to back.

The cost of land is this area is becoming pretty high and most of the houses in the area have a "flag pole" lot and smaller house in the front. The taxes on the land is painful (especially if it just sits there looking pretty) and that is one reason why we had to build the Lot A house.... keeping that extra acre for growing grass would be something only the really rich can afford.

The DH absolutely HATES the idea of building in phases.... living in a construction zone is his idea of hell (I have renovated the kitchen and master bath in the house we own now and he was miserable). I liked the idea of building gradually on the LOT B... but the health of my marriage made that idea impossible.

I sent the site plans to our real estate agent (she is very sharp and has worked with my family for 10 years now) and she liked the driveway size and detached garage. We will have to put in pavers to keep up with the finish level expected for the area... so I guess that is settled. The houses sit around the $800,000 and up range so I probably need to keep up with the curb appeal.

Oaktown- I really appreciate your thoughts on the detached garage. I will definitely put some money and thoughts to integrate it into the property. I wish we didn't need the 3rd garage, but it is something the real estate agent is adamant about for resale in the area. We will likely keep lake supplies (kayaks, canoes, paddle boards), kids stuff, and party storage there (or the imaginary Tesla X my husband talks about). I am going to try and give it a "garden shed" appeal. The entire property is fenced, will be gated, and a mature privacy hedge is already in place.

I am now actively searching for a landscape architect/ engineer so I can cement these ideas. They should also be able to guide me on water runoff issues ( in Florida we take rain and water very seriously).

They should also be able to guide me on water runoff issues ( in Florida we take rain and water very seriously).

I know they do in my area of SW FL and I'm sure they do in your area too. :) And trees are very important too!

Take the largest full size Ford truck for a test drive. Take it to a large parking lot and do several 'donuts'. Measure the skid mark diameter, add eight feet for the front bumper overhang, and that should give you the outside diameter.

I'm not at my desk, but if I remember my Architectural Graphic Standards, approx 45-foot radius is the turning circle for a small fire truck. A large moving van is greater.

I have to say the Ford truck idea sounds pretty intense. I am not sure I have the personal driving skills to perform donuts and create skid marks. I once went on a "super car" race way for my B-I-Law's birthday and didn't top 90 mph on the race track because I was so nervous :(

I like the 45ft radius of the circle.... boring math is more my nerd style!