family compound central utility building vs standard design
docmm
6 years ago
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apple_pie_order
6 years agoRelated Discussions
Help - Cooktop vs. Range vs. Downdraft vs. No Vent!
Comments (8)Your analogy seems to fit my vibe about the BlueStar (Top Gear fan?) - powerful enough and OMG fun, but a little rough around the edges, vs. solid, polished and expensive (Mercedes/Viking, maybe?). My Jenn-Air is more like my old beat up VW Rabbit -- which was also prone to spontaneously bursting into flame. It got me from point A to point B . . . eventually. But I hated it. Which now has me thinking of the last just-good-enough compromise, practical car we bought. Which I still hate to drive. It's not a bad car, it's just not *my* car. (Of course now I'm getting too far into the metaphor -- I just traded my beloved VW Passat in for a Mazda CX9, 'cause I needed the AWD and more seats -- it's not as nice of a car, it's not as powerful, but it has most of what the 'ssat did plus the things I needed at a good price, without sacrificing *all* the fun. And it won't cost $$$ every time something breaks, which was increasingly common. What does that say about my stove preferences? It's not that I couldn't afford a Mercedes, I just don't see the point.) I do find the BlueStar *really* attractive -- DH and I dig the cast iron, the open burners (because I spill stuff everywhere when I cook), the low simmer, etc. -- and the thought of having a range with an oven I could actually bake in makes me positively giddy -- even if I do have to build a new island. DH got a nice grill last year that gets wicked hot; we're now prone to all-season use -- in *Seattle* -- because the only other choice is to do without little things like "searing" and "roasting" and "broiling". But maybe I'm just trying to convince myself that the extra money is really worth the ride ;-) (BTW, does that make Lacanche the Rolls? So gorgeous, but wah!)...See MoreCost to build / Stick vs Modular
Comments (31)CSKI13, Without other details, I suspect what they meant by "rambling ranch" was that you had a complicated footprint. That adds significantly to the cost. Tom, that's a very simple ranch floorplan. A style like that will be the cheapest possible build, regardless of whether you go stick-built or modular. While that floorplan may not boast a great deal of "flash", it looks like a solid, comfortable place to live. The plumbing's consolidated, the bedroom hall isn't too long, the rooms are a comfortable size. I think the windows in the utility room and the window over the kitchen sink look a little sad ... I'd make them larger, or perhaps embellish them with some window boxes or something. However -- pointing out the obvious -- these ranches are widely available, and a house bought on the resale market is almost always cheaper than a new, custom-built house. With this in mind, why would you put the money and the effort into building? You're not likely to want to stay in this house for the rest of your life. I'd be okay with a no-view dining room; I'd do a banquette against the back wall -- very practical with kids. I'd add another window (or slider) on the left wall of the living room. You have the space, and additional light from a second side would really open up that room. With another 2-4' of width in the utility room you could have a desk and floor-to-ceiling shelving. You'd sit at the desk with your back to the washing machine -- painted a pretty color and accented with a few nice things, this could be "a real room", not just the laundry. This would provide you with an "away space" for one person. You could even include a peek-a-boo window into the kitchen. Of course, this would enlarge the half bath are too ... allowing you BOTH a large closet opening into the bathroom AND a built-in bookshelf opening towards the living room. Sounds like a win-win-win for the low price of 2-4' width in that garage-connector area. Even for a budget project, that little bit extra will add a great deal of liveability to the house. 10-20% savings, if that's the difference between stick and modular, ABSOLUTELY IS a pile of money. If, of course, you end up with a similar-quality product -- and that, I don't know. One last thought: I'm pretty sure my Bible told me it's ALL God's country!...See MoreFloor plan help for young family new build
Comments (86)While I'm not a fan of WIC in the bathroom, I realize many people like them. That's a personal decision. However like was explained many of the things in this house don't work because they are just not good design. Here's the changes I made to the first floor to give you better flow and to put the things needed where they will work the best. 1. Since you don't use a bath, get rid of it! If you want a bath on the first floor, put it in bedroom 2. 2. Your master closet is actually now larger. However I was able to pull in the wall so it now matches the wall of the dining room. 3. Now you have a straight shot from the master suite to the bathroom to the closet. And then as an added bonus if you don't want to wake your spouse in the morning, you can now leave through the laundry closet! 4. Instead of the powder room by the master suite, I moved your laundry room there. Think of how easy it will now be to do your laundry. 5. I pulled the closet across to meet the study. Even though it makes the house a bit larger, it will actually save money because you won't have the extra bump outs. 6. Your study is the same size but by moving it down, you now have an actual hallway that creates a "spine" for the house, so you're not making a jog through your great room to get to the master suite. 7. By moving the powder room to where the laundry was, it freed up space so you now have a good sized entry from the mudroom door and the garage. No more trying to shove one another out of the way. Plus there's now more room to store all those kids things. 8. The powder room is now near the side where the kids will enter and it's convenient still to guests. 9. I moved around your layout for your kitchen too. It didn't work. Lots of space but not well used. I moved your cleanup sink to under the window with the dishwasher next to it. Lots of storage space in drawers now to the left. I moved your fridge so it's now in the work "triangle". So now you take food out of the fridge, move it to the prep sink on the island to wash, then prep to the left of the prep sink, and then carry it to the cooktop to cook. 10. In the master bath, if you're planning on a glass shower enclosure, I would probably flip the toilet closet and the shower so the toilet isn't against the master bedroom wall....See MoreNew Build - Design Questions
Comments (86)The biggest danger in a tornado is uplift forces, not flying debris. Flying debris is created by uplift forces which uplift building materials and send them...flying! If construction was properly anchored there would be much less flying debris. But that's the problem: much residential construction is not properly designed and anchored for uplift forces. Thus, there's flying debris and collapsing framing during tornados. And the added problem with flying debris is that they come from and undermine the normal structure of a house. Thus the risk of collapse on the basement. Shelter in the basement, when the first floor collapses is not shelter. And I've already suggested that if there is a basement, a concrete room will provide the highest degree of shelter and safety. It's so simple. Suggesting an outdoor storm shelter (or a garage tunnel) is to retrogress to the 1950s when my family and I sat on the steps to the outdoor storm shelter of our neighbor's house and watched the funnels fly overhead at midnight. There are much better ways in 2018, especially for custom homes in tornado alley....See More
acm
6 years ago
klem1
6 years ago
miss lindsey (She/Her)
6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago
summersrhythm_z6a
6 years agodocmm
6 years agorichfield95
6 years ago
PROWeil Friedman Architects
6 years ago- PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
6 years ago User
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agodocmm
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Patricia Colwell Consulting
6 years ago Kate Curler
6 years agomiss lindsey (She/Her)
6 years ago
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