Award winning floor plan vs stock plans ?
Love stone homes
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
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Second level living floor plan vs. Main level floor plan? Anyone
Comments (13)My current house is "reversed" as well. It's 3-stories/five levels to maximize the ocean views. First level is the foyer/garage, half-flight up is the master facing the ocean, half up from that are two guest rooms facing the street, half up is a story-and-half great room facing the ocean (over the master bedroom footprint). Half-flight up from that is the kitchen, dining room and library, all with ocean and street views. Every morning, looking at the sunrise and dolphins in the waves I know it's worth it to carry groceries all the way up!...See MoreTwo Cost questions: Building Plans, & 1 Level vs. 2 Level Homes:
Comments (17)Thanks for the compliment on the hardwood. It's actually bamboo. It's the Java Fossilized bamboo from Calibamboo. I think I'm there first residential install on the east coast. This stuff is absolutely gorgeous and I love it so much so far. We've been in the house a few weeks, just haven't had a chance to update the pics. I can tell you, whatever you decide to go with will be the right thing for your family. Facing the disability with my husband, and having it be very real and in our face forced us to look at some very real issues. We have a 12yo daughter. It spurred us to decided to go 100% handicapped accessible. My husband couldn't stand the thought of a future time when my daughter might need him in some part of the house, and he couldn't get there to help her. The idea of her sick with fever throwing up in the only non-wc accessible bathroom as he sat in the chair outside trying to comfort her...or having a nightmare as he tried to make corners to get to her bedroom. We knew that at age 12 there wouldn't be too many more of those times, but grandchildren will come one day.... He couldn't live with those thoughts... so we made the whole house accessible. Today a paraplegic could move into our house with access to all but the basement, and we are 100% ready to pop in the elevator as the shaft is prebuilt. However, if he did not have MS...and we only had our minor mobility issues and those of guests to think of...our decision might have been totally different. My inlaws built 100 feet from us on the same 17acres. They both have serious mobility issues. They lowered the switches, raised the toilets, raised the outlets and made the master wc accessible. The other bedrooms and second bath however are not accessible at all. At their age, and with their only surviving child and grandchild living next door...the money just wasn't justified. My grandparents, both just shy of 90 on the other hand are living quite happily in their 2 story home. Nana is blind, Grampa has COPD and a heart condition and needs oxygen frequently. They both can still walk, if a bit unsteadily and refuse any changes. On bad days Grampa sleeps on the sofa downstairs instead of heading up. I just wanted to give you a bit of generational prospective from my family....thought it might help. Laney Here is a link that might be useful: Calibamboo for flooring...See MoreHiring a stock plan Architect (i.e. WIllaim Poole, John Tee, etc.
Comments (15)I'm interested in how things turned out for you and your house. Are you done building? Back in 2002, I started looking for plans for our present home. Thousands of views later, nothing met our wants list. I mean nothing. So, I, too, liked the looks of Tee's and Poole's designs the best. Where they fail, imho, is their room sizes and not enough closets; which seem to be typical mistakes from most designers. It took a year and a half for my dh and I to settle on a plan; two months to draw it up; 14 mos. to build. The finishing techniques can always be added to a home after a home is constructed, if it must happen that way. What's important is that you get good bones: great framing, radiant barrier & foam insulation, good windows, ample room sizes, wider halls and doorways, smooth ceilings, and great flow in a kitchen with a terrific size island... and lots of lower drawers in kitchens instead of cabinets. What can't fit in a drawer, use a pantry or upper cabinet. I bought a few home designer CAD 3D programs and went at it. I built exactly what I imagined our home to be and more. I am self taught and very good using the programs. My bro suggested a local draftsman who could never get the roof like we wanted. He wasn't as good as I was! Truly. My design is smarter than what we have seen anywhere. Features in my home are usually found in $1M+ dollar properties. I know: I am a REALTOR®. I'm going to find out how much smarter this design is real soon because I am going to sell this home. So, we shall see what happens. We recently bought a waterfront lot in a small gated community here in NE Florida; and are going to build another 'retirement' home ... not quite as big as this one. I am going to draw up plans myself. We love the layout in this home, but it's two story. Going to *try* to keep it on one level... I really like the idea of having a couple of rooms 'upstairs'. DH said we'll have to put in an elevator if I did a second storey. We need to think of re-sell, too. ;) Last time, I found a local drafts-woman in Virginia, where we were living before we built in Florida. The draftswoman was terrific. She found out local Florida specs and incorporated to met building guidelines. Once in Florida, we hired an engineer to do 'the engineering' calcs, electrical, etc. There was very little tweaking or changes in our plans... and this is a complicated home with a cut-up roof. DH and I acted as GC because we had the money to build this home ourselves. There's over 6,000sf under roof and we built 4 blocks high, so it took a bit to build. We also did a lot of the grunt work while building. I don't know if we saved a whole lot of money, but we go it done. This time.... I *want* to hire someone to build... in theory. Yet, since I'm a control freak... we might end up doing it ourselves again. We'll just have to 'see' if we'll have the money to build -Vs- getting a CP loan. My brother's a builder and lives next door. He built a Donald Gardner plan about the same time we were building. Our homes compliment each others. A few years ago, someone built across the street from us because they like our homes; and built a similar style. We don't live in a neighborhood per se... but we've started something. Later on, three other similar styled homes have gone in on our road and all complimenting what we built: a quality home on about 1 1/2 acres. It looks terrific. Theirs look terrific. I just hate to sell this house... but we think we want waterfront property and lifestyle. (We got tired of hauling our boat to a ramp.) Another person built a 'Florida' style home and it just doesn't have the character that ours have... or the other new similar homes. I think people around here are wanting traditional, yet updated styles. I hate stucco and it's just everywhere in 'NE Florida' neighborhoods. Ours is a standout. Looking for a good draftsman in NE Florida if you know of someone. I will be extremely specific in my specs. Again, would love to see your house....See MoreStock House Plan with Modifications - Good Idea?
Comments (12)If you think about it, remodeling your average tract house is literally "modifying a stock plan," so by that standard, it is entirely possible, and millions of people have done it, including me. At present, I am in the process of building from the same plan that I happen to be living in, with a few changes such as a master on the main. So that's do-able as well. One thing, however. Universal design is a big topic, with a lot of decisions and tradeoffs along the way. For example, are you talking about using a wheelchair, eyesight issues, strength issues, or general cognitive decline? Are you making any provision for live-in help? Will you be able to afford a housekeeper, handyman, and landscape service? IMO, cognitive decline is one of the most difficult issues to plan for, because it's not just an engineering/architectural issue. There are many stages of decline, from intermittent forfetfulness, to full blown Alzheimer's, and one may not be fully aware of the decline as it is happening. In other words, we may be less and less able than we think we are, and the rate of deterioration can accelerate, without our noticing. I see this in older relatives-- they don't realize that they shouldn't be driving a car anymore, or listening to the nice young quack pill merchant, or getting on the tall ladder to wash second story windows! The most dangerous thing is the older person living alone, with no one to check up. There's also the danger of losing money management skills, failing to pay bills, getting caught in scams, losing inhibitions about spending, or various forms of hoarding behavior. This is why so many people end up in some form of assisted living. So it's not just a design issue, it's multi-faceted: social, financial, legal, etc. I would strongly advise you to research the topic before you plunge in, so you can figure out what you want, based on most likely health scenarios, and your budget-- leaving a very generous sum of money for the last few years of life....See MoreLove stone homes
7 years agoLove stone homes
7 years agoLove stone homes
7 years agoLove stone homes
7 years agoLove stone homes
7 years agoLove stone homes
7 years agoLove stone homes
7 years agoLove stone homes
7 years agoLove stone homes
7 years agoLove stone homes
7 years agoLove stone homes
7 years agoLove stone homes
7 years agoLove stone homes
7 years agoLove stone homes
7 years ago
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