Adding up a second story and can't decide on first floor layout
Hi Everybody! Hope to get some advise with our first floor layout. Quick summary of the project. We finally decided to add up a second story to our cute little house built in 1945 of 900 sq and reposition the first floor layout to create an open concept flow. Got an architect and drawings, but not convinced with proposed layout. While kind of makes sense to efficiently utilize all available space, I simply don't like it.. Tried to re-do myself and reposition stairs, dining room, closets but nothing really makes 100% sense. If anybody has an idea, will greatly appreciate your input :)
To explain the drawings - existing kitchen, existing bedroom 4 and existing bathroom stay as is. We renovated them prior to moving in, happy with the results and don't want to change these. Dotted line shows our current coat closet, which will be removed for the open concept to include current masters into overall connected area.
Now it gets tricky and confusing. Stairs presented here placed on top of our basement stairs to save space. Old masters repositioned as a dining room and located too far from the kitchen.
I was hoping to reposition entrance to the side and put industrial wood-steel staircase there as well. At this case, dining area perfectly sits next to the kitchen, alongside the wall attached to the garage and the side window. But if do so, won’t have enough space for a living room next to it. Opened up masters will become a waste of space with the stairs and an entrance door. Also these doors from existing bathroom and linen closet facing new living space bother me... Looking forward to any opinions! Please let me know your thoughts!
Comments (7)
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Comments (0)I have a 1300 sf home and want to add a second bathroom to the main floor (it is a single storey ranch with an 8' basement). picture #1 shows the whole house (not exactly to scale). I want to add the bathroom to bedroom #1. picture #2 shows a close up of bedroom #1 with the new bathroom. The measurements on picture #2 are accurate (picture #1's measurements are not, sorry). Other houses in the neighbourhood are a bit smaller, and so the homeowners have decided to put the second bathroom in the basement. My house is bigger than the others in the 'hood because the previous owners put an addition on the back to create a large(r) master bedroom. You can see the addition as the bump out at the top of the page in the picture #1. What I'd like to do is use that bumpout space to put in a second bathroom instead of finishing the basement. That bump out has a crawl space through which to route plumbing. I don't want to finish the basement because I worry about mould problems. One thing to note is that the bathroom I'm proposing eats away at the bedroom space so I was thinking that I could bust out the closet at the bottom of the second picture to add an extra 29.5" and make the bedroom ~13'3" long x 10'8" wide, which is an acceptable size by neighbourhood standards. The new bathroom would also swallow the window so I would need to add a window along the right-hand wall in picture #2. Could you let me know of this layout is ok and if not, could you provide suggestions on how to improve it? Thnaks....See More2nd Story Addition / first story renovation opinions welcome
Comments (17)I'm in Essex Ct, NJ. So likely not a big difference in construction costs, etc. Last year we completed a gut reno of our existing 1400 sq feet and added another 1600sq ft (out and up) + 600 foot basement under the addition. Not including any landscaping/hardscaping but including architect fees, permits + everything else it was around $375k. From what I understand costs have gone up since then so maybe $400k+ now. An important consideration that I didn't see you bring up is what the house would be worth after the addition/renovation. That's an important consideration, and what drove our decision to go ahead with the project. As for "it's cheaper to tear down & rebuild" - well, that's not necessarily true. In our town there are huge fees for doing new builds, and a different set of requirements which also add to costs significantly. Plus no matter what you are constrained in size by zoning laws, setbacks, etc. So the resulting home is no bigger. Sure, it is going to have a better layout, and maybe that offsets the big increase in costs, but likely not....See MoreBuilding Our First Home - Can't Decide on Builder or Floor Plan
Comments (56)Have you looked at other Wedding venues and tried to pick their brains on all the issues you need to be aware of in setting this plan in motion? Have you considered building with a Bed and Breakfast Inn and make your living quarters part of a house and eventual complex. This is what I am talking about developing a Master Plan. Actually, a Business Plan as well. Get educated on local codes, zoning etc. because there might be areas that simply won’t let you do what you want to do. This is another reason to sit down with an architect and s/he can outline potential issues. Then weave in your personal short term objectives. Start with the end in mind. You may be jumping into the pool at the deep end to start to learn how to swim. It can be done, but you can drown too. Any home should have every bedroom with ensuite bathroom. At some point, you might want a separate home and then this house would be readily converted to a B&B for guests of wedding party members etc. it is an exciting venture but get informed. Meet with people who understand and can help you gain knowledge before you go much further. Hoping to help you avoid costly mistakes. This is not a small endeavor....See MoreAdd Second Story to Floor Plan
Comments (14)If your plan was to have more bedrooms and baths in basement, I don’t see why that cannot be done on a second floor.. That is very common use for second floors, but of course I have also never seen a basement here (which are very common where I live) designed for “smelly things” as they usually include a family room or den, bedrooms, and a bath as well and are part of the overall living space. If you don’t need 3700 sq feet (that would be too much for me, too) then you definitely don’t need to build over entire second floor. An asymmetrical design can work aesthetically and functionally but you need to work with your architect to get it to look and feel purposeful and not like an “add on”. I do agree you are likely going to need to “start over” though - it does not mean you need to lose all the elements you like about current plan, just need to start over to properly integrate them....See More
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