This plan is a reasonable one, which is well laid out and well zoned for a reasonably mature family ( parents on ground floor and older kids on upper floor). It is somewhat large (over 3,000 SF), so that should be considered for budgeting.

It has a reasonable "farm house" aesthetic, which should fit your area. It can certainly be stick built on a slab on grade foundation, and concrete slabs can easily be scored and finished to be an attractive (albeit hard) interior finish floor if that is communicated to the builder from the outset. Everything depends on your budget.

Some other issues to consider:

--Orientation: Optimal orientation of the major public spaces of a house (the major windows and indoor-outdoor spaces) is to the south. Since by the time the summer sun gets to the south, it's mid-day and the sun is at its highest point and can easily be screened from the interiors with trellis and roof overhand designs. The same trellis and roof designs can be designed in such a way as to allow the sun to enter the interiors in the cold winter for passive heating. East can be a challenging orientation due to low early morning sun which cannot be screened. West is virtually an impossible orientation due to the low later (and hot) afternoon sun for which no screening is possible to design to be effective without blocking the view to/from windows;

--Other Structures: Do you have the budget for other out-buildings, i.e., separate garage, structures for farm equipment, animals, fencing, utilities, access road improvement, etc., in addition to the budget for the house;

--Comparative costs: You probably already know basement construction is the most expensive type of foundation and slab on grade is least expensive. With a 3,000+ SF house, do you truly need a basement? Crawl space foundations make little sense any more, IMO, so your reasonable choices are basement vs. slab.

Hope this helps. Good luck with your project.

I've always thought the Tucker Bayou was a cute house and plan, but I can't figure out the back bedroom upstairs. The floor plan shows some odd lines inside, and since the bedrooms are already small due to the gables, that back one seems even smaller. But cute!

bpathome, built-in bunks.

I see you state you cannot afford a basement, but you are in SE KANSAS for gosh sakes!! Tornado alley!! Do you have a tornado shelter budgeted? One of those concrete hidey-holes under the garage? My brother in law has one. He's in Oklahoma.

Virgil-
Thanks for the response! I appreciate your explanation of sun orientation. Placing the home like I'm imagining might not be ideal for everyone. But, after thinking about where we all are during certain times of the day, I think it should work for us.

There is a farm budget, separate from the house building budget. At this time, I believe the animals are living a more comfortable life than I am. ;) We are planning for a detached garage.

I'm with you, crawl spaces make little sense. If you're going to pour 4 feet of concrete then you might as well pour 4 more and create a basement.

bp-
Ha! It took me a bit to figure out that little bedroom. I really had to dig but finally figured out that the original idea home had two sets of built in bunks in that room.

Reconsider the walk out basement design and look into ICF ( Insulated Concrete Forms ) construction for the basement. The insulation comes with the forms and you just have to pour the concrete, and it is a simple process. Once your basement is in place, you can easily build the second story above and have adequate square footage for your family.

littlebug-
lol! Yes, there will be some sort of shelter. We've been throwing around ideas but I have promised my children that there will be something easily accessible. Though, now that I think about it, we very rarely need to go to the basement...

Lampert--

I've heard of these but know very little. I'm off to research...

ICF would be almost perfect for your area. I helped build about 6 ICF homes for Habitat for Humanity here in Kansas City, Kansas. You can build on a slab and include a concrete 'safe' room, which withstands 250mph winds. Plus it can be used for security storage.

CIF safe room

I think the plan is adorable and putting on some level land on a slab sounds fabulous. And you can do so much with concrete these days - stain, polish, seal, funky terrazzo-esque finishes- and most virtually indestructible - and would stand up to farm life.

HOWEVER - consider proper siting - having a rear patio in the west would be UNBEARABLE in the evenings.

Ditto to jannicone, and the major problems with west facing houses. As for tornadoes, it quite easy to design a slab on grade, stud framed house with an interior "tornado closet" with 8-inch poured walls and roof slab somewhere in the house's interior. I designed one for my own house in Stillwater, OK years ago and it made a wonderfully cool space to store things and to spend an evening when needed.

Regarding the question of tornadoes ... I don't understand why one would build a house that could blow away In the wind .... Why not make the entire home wind proof... Look up ICF construction ....this is one option ...

I think ICF on a walk-out basement would be ideal (that's what we built), but it will run up the cost. It does make for a strong, quiet, and efficient house. Otherwise, plan for a storm shelter. In Kansas, I would HAVE to have an underground shelter- I'm paranoid about wind.

You need to understand that a slab-on-grade is not a substitute for a perimeter foundation in Kansas. Some kind of structural perimeter foundation wall on footings to a depth of 36" to 42" below grade (check the applicable code for minimum depth) is required at the exterior perimeter of the house and garage. A slab only avoids a crawl space which might be desirable for other reasons. A part of the crawl space could be deeper for a tornado cellar. Would you be susceptible to flooding?

I would consider hydro air HVAC in order to provide comfortable and efficient air conditioning and fresh air ventilation (assuming the house is built for low air infiltration).

I like the house you posted but I would find a way to not have freestanding columns in open circulation areas. Incorporate them into cabinets or use a bigger beam.

There is also the issue of a first floor high enough for the porches that are such a major part of the house design. A slab would need to rest on additional structural fill and the foundation wall would be taller.

A slab would require your hot water boiler to be in a room in the house or in an attic.

A walk out basement has advantages and might be unavoidable but it usually prevents direct access from living spaces to the rear yard which is often an important issue for young families.

The primary benefit of an architect at this stage is not necessarily plans but site planning and more accurate weighing of configuration alternatives. I suspect the cost of a basement is currently higher on your list of priorities than it should be and might be hindering the design process.

Building an interior concrete "storm closet" also entails structural footings and continuous reinforcing for the poured reinforced concrete walls and ceiling for the space. It's a lot cheaper than a basement (or a crawl space) and a lot more convenient than a hole in the garage floor or outdoor shelter (where I spent many nights as a young boy in Oklahoma!). Flooding and high water tables are not common in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, but can happen and it's important to pay attention to creeks, drainage areas and 100-year flood plain lines.

Thanks for the response! I appreciate your explanation of sun orientation. Placing the home like I'm imagining might not be ideal for everyone. But, after thinking about where we all are during certain times of the day, I think it should work for us.

This is not a question of where you are during the day, but a question of passive solar heating and cooling. The idea is you get the most passive solar cooling and heating by orienting the house so the majority of the windows are facing south. This helps to warm the house in winter when the sun is lower in the sky and cool the house in summer when the sun is higher in the sky.

The absolute worst direction to have a rear patio is facing west. Why? Because the afternoon sun coming from the west is the hottest sun of the day, and it's lower in the sky, which will make the patio an oven in summer, even with overhangs.

Additionally, by getting the passive solar heating right, you'll also save on heating and cooling bills.

best orientation for houses is north south here in La.

afternoon sun is killer.

we also build safe rooms for hurricanes.

no basements here, water table too high.

do you have a builder?

I've had lots of clients who worked with builder

on blueprints, architect is not always best choice

for some. depends upon your circumstances

best of luck

Thank you, all! This is exactly what I have needed....you've given me much to think about.

Yes, we have a builder lined up. Local Amish man who is as excited to build this home as we are to have him do it. I look forward to working with him.

Handymac...So, slab foundation with an ICF "storm shelter?" So, maybe a pantry, master closet or small room? That is something to think about. Or, possibly doing it like Virgil mentioned.

janicone...I think the plan is super adorable too! I love the idea of concrete floors, particularly while my kiddos are young and in and out from the barn. Cleaning would be super easy!!

cpartist...I'll be honest, I've never given much thought to the whole passive heating/cooling issues since heating our home has never and will never be a concern (free natural gas.) The rear of our current, shoe box of a home faces west. Window units have easily cool the tiny space. But, with my new, larger home this is something I'm going to have to educate myself on. So, having the front of a home facing the North isn't a no-no??

mush--I always said that I would not live in a home w/o a basement so this is kind of crazy that I am even considering not digging one. Did you do ICF on your entire home? Or just the upper floor?

JDS--ok, I think you just hit the nail on the head...with every single point! The porch design of the house--altering that was a huge concern for me! But, wouldn't putting it on a slab make is shorter, not taller? I assumed we would dig down the 36", pour the footers, fill with gravel and then pour the slab. Am I wrong? Is that not how it is done? Also, where to put HVAC/water boiler/ etc. I hate the idea of it taking up any of the space that is already designated to something else. And really don't want to add more sq ft to the plan. No, there is not any chance of flooding in this particular area. Though, the flooding in '07 (I believe that was the year) was one for the books and one we'll probably never see again in our lifetime. Thank goodness!


The primary benefit of an architect at this stage is not necessarily plans but site planning and more accurate weighing of configuration alternatives. I suspect the cost of a basement is currently higher on your list of priorities than it should be and might be hindering the design process.

See? You nailed it. I think I just needed someone to say it. Sigh...I believe I'm back to the drawing board. Anyone know of a good architect in my area?

I wish I was in your area... I'd love to work with you....The best of luck ... The right architect will show up ...

Interesting thread as M Walter contacted me privately in mid June about finding an architect (she liked my charrette format) and I recommended looking for architects in either Kansas City or Topeka. I guess that went nowhere. There's got to be somebody of talent out there somewhere in the heartland!

There was another similar owner dilemma in Rapid City SD and that owner contacted me and a local architect got lined up there, never had done a design charrette but read all about the charrette format and it worked very well. For M Walter's reference that thread is here: http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3598813/we-fit-an-architect-into-our-budget-and-it-was-so-worth-it?n=17

Good luck with your build. Hopefully you'll be "out of the gates" soon! Exciting time for sure!

Your builder can tell you if a slab would save money if he knows what other features you want but you should not assume what the answer will be. I suspect a crawl space may be the cheapest if you want hardwood floors and air conditioning. You haven't actually told us enough about your wishes to be able to compare foundations.

A crawl space requires additional excavation and a wood framed floor but a slab requires a higher foundation wall, compacted structural fill, a reinforced slab, under slab plumbing lines and a sleeper system if you want wood flooring in lieu of a hard surface.

We don't know if you want AC so we don't know if the location of ducts and a fan unit are important. But I can't imagine SE Kansas is much cooler than St Louis.

IMO you need to start with as much of your program as you can assemble in writing without making any assumptions about solutions and then enlist help from others. You may find that many of the options you are considering will be eliminated. A slab may be one of them.

M Walter- We did ICF both basement and main floor. The energy efficiency is startling, at least for one that has never lived in a well-insulated house. Our cooling load in hot, humid SC is 9000 BTU, or 3/4 of a ton. We used mini-splits because they don't make central systems that are small enough! One feature of ICF is that it is naturally very air tight. Regardless of what construction method you choose, air sealing is crucial, and has been found to be as important as insulation. It is 'code' in many parts of the country to do blower door tests to determine if the house is tight enough.

The basement stays reasonably comfortable year-round despite not having HVAC down there. The coldest it gets is 60, and the hottest is about 76. With the walk-out, there are two large windows and a door. We could easily use the basement for additional living space. I was very thorough with the waterproofing and water management, so it stays good and dry.

One more point- when orienting the house, try not to have it exactly aligned north, south, east, and west. We rotated our house about 30 degrees, despite the best view being dead north. The north side of a house tends to be dark and uninviting, and grow algae and mildew on the outside. Ice and snow tend to hang around a long time. With our rotation, we get a bit of morning sun on the back of the house; enough to keep it nice. I spent a year living in our barn, watching the sun angle throughout the seasons. We have plenty of trees all around, so the morning and evening sun are filtered in the summer. Large overhangs keep the summer sun out. The attached garage is on the west side, so it shields the house from afternoon sun.

So for the long post, but you are in a good position right now to get it 'right', and reap the rewards for many years.

This may surprise you, but I'm voting for you to hire a local architect.

(local is defined as where ever you can find one you feel comfortable with)

I really enjoyed reading "mushcreek's" latest comment that validates the energy efficiency of ICF construction and the year round comfort in the walk out basement, despite not having HVAC down there. That, combined with the safety of ICF in a high wind zone makes it a valuable option.......even if it is a little more expensive up front. In the long run it is going to make up for it, especially if yours is the only house standing after a tornado.

ARG...so glad you caught this thread! :D This post is not quite how I imagined I would make my GW premiere. For those of you who haven't already done so, read up on his charretes. I LOVE this approach to designing a home and really wish I could find someone local that could give me that kind of interaction. It's brilliant!

Mushcreek...your home sounds amazing! And, I love how much effort you have put into designing it to fit your lifestyle and your needs. I agree...I need to take the time and do that for us. I'm just a busy mama desperate to get this build behind me so that I can go back to living my life. I never knew this process would be so...consuming!!

Mark Bischak...nope, not surprise at all! I agree with you! I'm going to reach out to a few architects on Monday.

Lampert... I have watch several videos on ICF construction since you first posted about it. Very cool! I don't believe that it is something that is often done around here so I'm curious as to who I will need to get in touch with to find out more info.

So, having the front of a home facing the North isn't a no-no??

No, it's not. N/S orientation works best for heating/cooling. I'm building in SW Florida and as much as I could I minimized windows on the west walls (with the exception of my master bathroom, since I figured I like a warm bathroom) and made sure to have lots of windows facing north and south.

However in a colder climate I'd also minimize windows on the north side of the house for the opposite reason of a west facing window and that is for the cold.

And as an aside, I understand natural gas is a freebie for you now, but the earth doesn't have an unlimited supply of fossil fuels. Additionally it still is a pollutant so whatever we can do to make our homes more energy efficient, can only help future generations.

And yes, it's a very cute house.

ICF construction is very similar to concrete block construction which most contractors are familiar with.

I have to disagree; ICF only has a passing resemblance to block construction. The bracing of the walls, preparation of the openings, and actual filling of the forms is a crucial operation, and is easy to screw up disasterously. I hired a very experienced ICF contractor to advise me and do the actual pouring of the concrete. It has to be filled slowly and carefully, with attention paid to consolidating the concrete with vibrators. I don't recommend training inexperienced contractors while they build your house!

I agree with JDS. While a discussion on the pros and cons of ICF vs. conventional, crawl space vs. slab, basements vs. safe room certainly have considerable merit, I think it's detracting from the "Stalled....Building Process" querry, to use the OP's own title words.

So in an effort focused on getting it unstalled, I did a "Pro" search of architects in Topeka and Kansas City (both the Kansas and Missouri towns) and it looks like there's abundant design talent in all those cities. I'm sure, that while they can develop the "Big idea" design concept for you, or "Parti" in architects speak, along the way they can offer solid advise on all the aforementioned wall/foundation/mechanical/fuel/insulation questions as pieces of the "big idea" that make up the whole.

To get moving you need to get an acceptable concept down first. Decide on what model of car you want and then focus on the color.

I recommend you select a site location (or consider 2 locations) give the house design you posted to your builder, assume a full basement and a hydro air system and ask for a preliminary estimate. If the cost is too high ask the builder for a list of suggestions with cost reduction estimates. If there are lingering issues bring all of that information back to us or consider hiring an architect.

I have to agree with JDS and ARG. First figure out your budget, then if you like this plan enough to want to build it bring it to the builder and then go from there. Hopefully, budget and price to build are equal. If not, then you need to rethink the what and how.

I'm concerned that if the preliminary ballparks are "too high" that the OP is really not a good candidate for a custom build. Those ballpark estimates are generally much lower than the eventual actual costs to build.

Given the state of the construction upswing, and the labor shortage, prices are skyrocketing everywhere. What is "too high" during the initial development phase may be "completely unreachable" by the time the design phase is actually completed.

Prices have escalated 20% here just in the last 24 months. Builders are really hurting trying to find enough skilled labor to even keep to an extended timeline. Remodelers are 9 months out if they are good. Even hacks have a waiting list!

M Walter--not sure how far into SE Kansas you are, but I can recommend some good architects here in the Springfield, MO area. (PSU grad here!)

If no contractor is involved you should find one.

The OP initially wrote expressing concern about plans, siting and foundation types. In threads like this, it's usually good practice to try to respond directly to the questions being asked, while also attempting to see the bigger picture. Often, however, it's easy to overlook the question(s) being asked and immediately jump to the bigger picture. In this thread, I think there's useful information in both contexts, which I hope are useful to the poster. Finding a builder and getting an estimate is always a good idea, but it's important to keep in mind that time is money, and few builders will take very much time on estimating if they don't think it's a serious project for which they have an opportunity to contract and build. So keep in mind that early estimates are really just SWAG figures and worth what one pays for them!

We are in the framing stage of our new home, and we originally thought that we wanted to build on a slab. Our builder talked us out of it because if there were any changes or repairs that need to be made, we would have to break the slab. He convinced us that a proper crawl space is the best option for longevity of the home, and the ability to make changes in the future. Just throwing my "two cents" in for what it's worth! Good luck! This process is so exciting!

According to the Looney, Ricks, Kiss website, the Tucker Bayou plan got an Aurora award for homes in the $1,000,001 - $1,500,000 price range. So there's that.

And you don't know whether that's a real retail price, or a price less donated materials (from advertisers), never mind land, legal, permits and site development. In my neck of the woods, this plan, at the finish level shown, would easily be a couple of million.

This plan is going to be relatively expensive whether it's on a basement, crawl space, or slab. The framing itself is not simple, and all the little features that make it cute cost serious bucks. Also the large, numerous windows. And lots of porches. And custom millwork, custom cabinets, lots of upscale appliances and plumbing, hardwood and tile, etc.

You're in the classic conundrum of a budget that won't budge, so you have a choice between a smaller house with more detail, or a larger house that's plain.

IIWY I'd revisit the sloped part of the lot. See if you can put the kids' bedrooms, lauundry, "family" room, etc. down there on a walk out. Then put the rest of the rooms upstairs. Try to make it a one story with some high ceilings, and a simple shape, e.g., a rectangle. Build simple decks or gravel terraces instead of wraparound porches. Stuff like that.

The point is, to save money, the whole house should have a much smaller footprint, an overall simpler concept, and that gives you a shot at making your budget. Unless you've really got a couple million to spend, in which case you might as well give Looney, Ricks, Kiss a call.

I can't imagine what would be cheaper to frame than a gabled house with cross gables and a semi-attached garage unless it's an Army barracks.

Get a preliminary price instead of speculating about the cost of features and systems.

I designed several buildings for IBM in the 80's and I had to be careful about suggesting a change because I might be asked to prepare a written estimate. For them the biggest expense was time and they didn't waste a minute of it.

I have drawn this floorplan for my practice learning of CAD. Plan was out since 2007. The plan has 2100 sq ft first floor foot print not so bad. While porches add a cost, in addition to slightly larger foundation: 1M - 1.5M is not entirely due to construction cost...

The roof can be done with trusses and truss over truss base. I would not necessary panic if you want this floorplan.

Having lived in Topeka KS from age 8 til 19, I would not own a house in KS without a true basement. Getting a family of your size in an interior bathroom or one of those hidy-holes, would be like the old college game of "how many fraternity boys will fit in a VW Beetle".

I agree Anglophilio. houses around here without basements are hard to sell...