Assuming you're uninterested in working with an architect (something that I'd encourage you to research if you're even the least bit curious), my favorite tip in hunting for house plans is to look for one that is 1-1.5 rooms deep, no more than 2. That number includes garages and covered porches/patios.

Having a "skinny" house allows for better placement of windows for natural light and ventilation. It also gives you a well-proportioned/less expensive roof, and gives you more add-on options in the future, should you or your great-grandchildren need to remodel or increase the size of the house.

That doesn't necessarily mean a rectangle -- although plenty of nice rectangles exist, lol -- but the house could also take the shape of a letter like L, T, U, C, H, or I (I hate that the forum uses a sans serif font).

This sounds like such a great opportunity. Take your time and be careful. <3

How much land are we talking about because this house is meant for a narrow city lot and not for acreage.

Additionally depending on the roof, and shape of the house, a 2500 square foot house can wind up costing more to build than a 2900 square foot house. For example, angles both interior and exterior increase costs. Dormers increase costs. The more exterior bump outs you have increase the costs.

Why the basement hate? Have you ever lived on a slab and had to do repairs or wanted to update some electrical or plumbing? Having a slab will involve jack-hammering the concrete to get at some of the utilities. In your area, if you ever needed to sell, not having a basement will be a big negative.

Talk to a few local architects to see if they can convince you to design a home in a proper manner that will meet your needs, budget, and site. Your "minor" changes may not be as minor as you think. Bri is right, it is a suburbia house.

Any house where you can sit in the half bath with the door open and see someone in the living room is bad design.

I have to agree with the others. This is not a well designed house. You can do so much better. On land why would you build a house with the garage stuck on the front like an appendage?

Why would you build a house where you have to walk clear across the house and down the stairs just to do laundry?

Why would you build a house where the person in bedroom 2 will be able to hear every thing going on in the master bedroom? (Mommy, why is Daddy making funny noises?)

Why would you build a house where the master closet takes up prime real estate on a corner?

I want to echo chispa's comment above about the downsides of a slab. I recently renovated a rental on a slab and I wasn't able to put appliances in the kitchen where I wanted them because of the prohibitive cost of moving water lines. The floor is also cold throughout the winter, and the only shelter during a tornado warning is above-ground. If I were building, I would want a clean, dry, well-insulated basement with 9' ceilings and egress windows.

I'm looking at your route from the car to the house, with groceries, backpacks, luggage, etc. You're walking through the storage area, with bikes, trikes, Little Tykes, plus (because you don't have a basement) seasonal decorations and seasonal clothing/sports gear and more luggage and camping gear, AND out-of-season patio gear. There's no room to walk. And it's far. And when you come in, see that first bit of counterspace next to the kitchen sink? It will always be cluttered with thermal coffee mugs and water bottles. The main route into the house takes you all right through the working part of the kitchen.

and seriously, you'd build in MN without a basement? Storm cellar? Something?

monon, I just went through the same, but for my own kitchen. Our house is 1/3 slab and 2/3 crawl space. I needed a couple more 220 lines run to the new appliances. Of course, the electrical panel was on the other side of the part with slab. 30 hours in labor to get the lines to the kitchen. I'm in LA, and in my town, most new houses and major remodels include a full basement.

You will spend more in fees to shrink this house than you would save in construction costs. And, all the problems with the plan get worse as it gets smaller. I'm curious if the people who created this have a version without the game room.

If I were building for my family on a tight budget on acreage and wanted to do slab on grade with a main level master, I would look seriously at a very simple single level plan. It doesn't make a lot of sense to put 100 s.f. of stairs to access the 400 s.f. the two kid's bedrooms will require.

Why do some here advocate a garage that is separate from the house?

these folks live where it’s cold 3-4 months of the year, and snow like you wouldn’t believe.

im building in the south and want an attached garage so I don’t get wet going to my car. Even a breezeway, not for me?

Who said that?

Why do some here advocate a garage that is separate from the house?

these folks live where it’s cold 3-4 months of the year, and snow like you wouldn’t believe.

im building in the south and want an attached garage so I don’t get wet going to my car. Even a breezeway, not for me?

No one is saying a separate garage, but the garage doesn't need to be the first and most prominent thing you see as you drive up.

And there's nothing wrong with a breezeway. It can work as a mudroom and be heated.

I would never want a separate garage unless it was for "extra" vehicles that were not used on a day to day basis. Over my years on GW, I've only seen one person who advocates for this - she is concerned about toxicity getting into the house. I'm not.

But there is no reason for the garage to be a focal point of the house! It should not be given "star" placement. That's for the unfortunate who are building on a tiny subdivision lot with no room elsewhere for the garage (a travesty, in my opinion).

As cpartist said, garages can be accessed through breezeways etc if it is necessary. There are many, many options, especially with acreage.

I will say what others have about having a basement. I would not live in a house without one under threat of death! I want one for storage and for ease of getting to HVAC/plumbing/electrical. Slabs limit one horribly. And of course, invaluable in any area with storms (I live in Tornado Alley!). When my children were little, we had a finished basement playroom. I would not have survived the toys without it as I was not about to turn the entire 1st floor of my house into a daycare center. Out of sight, out of mind, in the basement!

I actually prefer my laundry down there as well. Oh, if I could have a room that was about 13x15 on the 2nd floor for laundry, that would be my first choice, but that only happens in mansions and that's not what I live in. I like my ironing board up all the time, my rotary iron set up, tubs, and plenty of room to sort/soak/fold laundry. A small laundry room or a closet with a W/D would be a nightmare for me. I do wish I had a dumb water to haul it up and down to the 2nd floor. If I were building a house, I would absolutely put one in!

I hope you look at engaging an architect. He/she can help design an amazing plan that may be cheaper to build, and larger too. This looks like a standard builder grade home for a narrow suburban lot...nothing special. It’s the kind of home you buy in a planned subdivision crowded with similar homes...look at all the homes your can see around it in the pic...not on a large lot that you own. Not trying to be mean, but you can do much better than this. :)

Bri said separate garage with breezeway. I’ve read separate garage on another post, can’t find it now.

a breezeway is that. It’s not an enclosed room.

a breezeway is that. It’s not an enclosed room.

Technically you are correct but we mean it to be any room that connects two parts of a house, whether enclosed or not.

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But now you have added cost to the house and these folks have a budget. Seems like a shared wall house-garage would be less costly.

i agree that having a huge garage door on the front of a home is not attractive

but side entrance looks better.

The cost for a breezeway like that would be minimal since we're not talking adding plumbing fixtures.

What's the point of the dormer over the garage other than a place for ice and snow to accumulate and test how good the flashing job is?

"...Do I try to minimize this plan?..."

Well...I think what some of the experienced folks are trying to tell you is that it's a lot smarter, better and likely cheaper to try to design a "right sized" house from the get-go, than trying to take an existing plan factor plan and shrink it.

Your choice.

Good luck!

The cost for a breezeway like that would be minimal since we're not talking adding plumbing fixtures.

It's not nothing, either, though. It isn't JUST about the space. As I had pointed out to me by the first architect we worked with - you must also factor in all the siding that has to now be placed onto the walls of the garage and house that would otherwise have touched, PLUS the breezeway. Foundation - and you just introduced more "corners" into the plan. Flooring, Finish, etc. Windows and doors in that breezeway. It actually adds up to a considerable sum and might be one of those "compromises" we were talking about. They're cute - but might not be worth the $$.

Have you explored a renovation/addition on the current home? It may prove to be easier, cheaper and get you more of what you want? I suggest finding an architect. Have the conversation and ask the questions. Let them educate you as to the possibilities.

I would also consider talking with a general contractor, too. Get more information before you decide your direction. It's more cost effective in the long run to get it right than trying to make something fit that doesn't belong.

You aren't wrong. But, you won't know for certain unless you ask the questions. I would explore it. Find out for certain.

There are other avenues that you may want to consider. A modular design, for instance.

As you have been advised, simple shapes with simple roof lines and an attention to light. What you are going to find in the on-line plans are a lot of sloppy design. People think architects are only for the rich. That's not true. You want a simple, straight-forward practical design that works for your family, today and in the future.

I built from an on-line plan and did very well with it. But, I was brutal in eliminating any roofline that was complex and minimal corners. You would need to be equally harsh.

If I missed it, I apologize.

Get with a construction lender and determine the loan limits you are willing to work with, determine all the fixed costs of your projects including septic redo, permits, design, grading, etc.

Do not use $XXX per foot anecdotal stories to make your estimates..... this is a common mistake that results in "residential lot for sale" signs. This phenomena is common now more than ever with the use of online data sources, mostly improperly sourced. Use real current data from real local builders for homes in similar size, style and level of complexity/finish. Building costs change a little quicker than inflation, and lumber has moved significantly in the past 6 months. Other materials also have moved in waves as well as certain labor skills. A home that was completed in early 2017 (a year ago) will have two years of price changes from a home started now and completed in early 2019. Cost increases plateau but rarely retreat.

Steel prices have also gone up, up, up.

I can't imagine a slab up there. You have to go down 4' for the frost line for code. You're already half way for a basement. It makes 'no' sense to not have a basement. It's not economical to 'not' have a basement up there. You're going to have a 3rd child, another bedroom could be in the basement. $180/sf 'just' for the house???? That's insane!!!!!! Labor there must be thru the roof!!!! Sounds like it's 'unionized' ??

Well, slabs are not that uncommon, even in freeze areas. Sometimes there are reasons for not being ABLE to put either a basement or at least a crawlspace under a house. But I would agree that not doing it for "economic" reasons is probably poor reasoning. It's not going to cost you THAT much more to go down. And the slab will complicate your life ever after. It will alter what sort of flooring you can choose. It will make it more difficult for you to remodel or add on because utilities are IN the slab.

But $180/sq ft (as little as that number REALLY means) would not surprise me in the slightest. While it's not as expensive to build in the Great White North as it is on the coasts, it still costs money.

You should probably consider either drawing up a plan that you can add on to later (where the site plan is designed such that no other buildings are in the way of an addition), or forgo building for now until you really can afford it. Things like foundation are elements you can't go back and change later. That makes them NOT an area in which to try to "save" money. It's a false economy.

"___", not '___'................................

True...but often it can be ...$$$... or ...!!!.... or even ...***...

You just never know...

Instead of a full basement or slab, why not consider a crawl space? When we started building our lake cottage, we were deciding between a slab or a crawl space. No one has a basement in the area. We went with the crawlspace for 2 major reasons, 1) it's cheaper, concrete is expensive, and 2) We needed a space for the hot water tank and furnace. We didn't want to use up valuable space in our main living area and there are furnace and hot water tank options made specifically for crawl spaces. It was really the best option for us and now we have pretty decent storage down there as well without having to do a full basement. Just an idea.

It's very easy (and probably a lot cheaper) to deal with tornado threats using a house with a slab on grade and a 8-inch reinforced concrete "closet", large enough for the family to sleep through the night.

And it makes a great place to store wine and other stuff which wants to be in a cool space.

Mr. Virgil, are there any in-house tornado safe options for a pier and beam foundation?

Can part of the foundation be pier and beam, and then a slab for the tornado rooms and maybe other non-plumbing rooms?

Or should I just install a prefab in-ground shelter, and throw Grandma down the hole, whenever twisters come through? (My mom would laugh, I promise!)

"...Mr. Virgil, are there any in-house tornado safe options for a pier and beam foundation?

Can part of the foundation be pier and beam, and then a slab for the tornado rooms and maybe other non-plumbing rooms?

Or should I just install a prefab in-ground shelter, and throw Grandma down the hole, whenever twisters come through? (My mom would laugh, I promise!)..."

As a junior and senior high schooler I grew up sitting on the steps of our neighbor's in-ground shelter, watching the clouds and funnels skip overhead. Never thought too much about it.

To your question: I'm not sure what sort of a pier and beam foundation you are talking about, but if there's a reinforced concrete slab as part of any sort of foundation, it's very simple to design a reinforced concrete "storm closet" to sit on and tie into the concrete slab. Any architect or engineer will know what to do.

And you'll make Grandma happy...!