Building dual-use garage / in-law from scratch
Jay Y
5 years ago
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (17)
sheloveslayouts
5 years agorainyseason
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Starting from scratch -new house design
Comments (9)It looks like you are about 9 ft above the water so you will probably have a good view of it. Before designing a house on a site like this one it is essential that you spend a day there from sun up to sundown and to write down all of your impressions. Then give your notes to an architect along with a program of the spaces you think you want and any special relationships between them. Give him/her photos of the things you find interesting and note what in particular you like or dislike and why. Contradictory information is allowed, an architect has seen it all before. But resist the temptation to give the architect a plan. The most valuable design approach is that of collaboration and you can't collaborate with yourself or by giving a designer a plan. Ask any prospective architect how he/she feels about collaboration and if they don't find it useful find another one. I don't mean to offend you, but a site like this deserves more than a run-of-the mill predesigned plan from the internet. You will never regret the investment you make in a good architect....See MoreMother-in-law cottage...to build or not to build?
Comments (11)Honey11, You don't know my Dad. ;) The architect plans were about 900sf. Dad changed them up a bit and it was at 1500sf...then 1800sf..then 2800sf. Then the lot across the dam from us went on the market. They spent a month trying to decide, then our builder told him how much the 2800sf would run and he said he might as well build his own house (meaning, if it was built on my lot he would be paying a lot of money to build a house on my property). Can't very well put a 2800sf house (would be about the smallest thing in our community) on almost 9 acres for resale purposes. So they started from scratch. They are both in great shape. Their parents lived long, healthy lives. What kills me is it's only about 25 minutes from their in town house which is a larger. lol Mom would move out here full time but Dad isn't ready. They usually spend three or four nights out here about every ten days. Mom just spent two months while Dad was out of the country. Chisue is right; in some instances it would be better for the person to go to a retirement home. My maternal grandmother wasn't crazy about the idea until she moved into a wonderful place. Loved being around people (most of the time). She had a one room "apartment," so she had privacy. Meals, church services, and planned activities were nice....See MoreWater heating for detached guest suite/garage new build
Comments (4)You wouldn't use a potable water tanked heater for underfloor heating anyway. You'd use a boiler. Or a completely separate rigged water heater. The water in a radiant heat system is a closed loop. For the hot water needs of the dwelling, a tankless would be perfect if it's sized right. The incoming water temperature in winter tells you how much rise you need from a unit. And how many items that you want to operate at once will tell you how many GPM that you need. I've had a tankless for 18 years now, and we are a "serial use" household. No two showers at once. One after the other. Then we can do the laundry or wash the dishes after we get out of the shower. So, our need for high GPM just isn't there. We still need a lot of BTU's though to combat the 40 degree winter water. You've got to do the math for the size you need, but your situation is the perfect one for a tankless....See MoreIdeas for kitchen/dining/mudroom design from scratch!
Comments (10)A few small thoughts. . . 1) I'd be inclined to just have one back door, and to move it towards the middle of your back wall. That gets it out of the table area, and it also saves you the wall space and cost of another exterior door. 2) Do you really want a 4 seat table so close to your dining room? Why not just have one dining table as your eating area . . . with perhaps a couple/few perching seats at a peninsula or island in the kitchen? 3) The route from front door to kitchen/main family zone . . . passes through an awful lot of doors and through three living/office spaces. I know halls seem like a waste of square footage, but I'd be inclined to explore putting a central hall down the space to make the space less maze-like. Especially living with children, living spaces are often littered with toys, stuff (think Christmas morning presents, lol), etc, and so, for me, crossing any living space is often an obstacle course. I'd like to have a clearer hall space for traveling among rooms. Figuring out how to accomplish this is beyond my pay grade, lol, but I'd definitely want to explore the issue with the architect. 4) Just a warning . .. I am just finishing up a massive addition/remodel project. Probably on the scale of what you are doing. (Well, worse, actually, as we also added a wing for my mom.) Anyway, it has cost about 2.5x what we expected and taken 4x as long. It *definitely* would have been more economical to have sold this house and either custom built (with a fixed price contract!!) or bought something that fit our needs (hard to find, but would have been cheapest if we could have found something that worked). Good thing we plan to live here a very long time and get lots of good out of the house. . . So, anyway, be aware that in a huge remodel/addition project, it can be a lot more expensive than simply selling and starting a new. And, it surely would have been much less disruptive to our lives. To think, I hesitated with the hassles of selling and moving. If only I'd known then how many hassles this route entailed. :) It's really, really rough living through this much construction. I *strongly* recommend moving out for the duration....See Moresuezbell
5 years agotatts
5 years agolatifolia
5 years agojust_janni
5 years agoMark Bischak, Architect
5 years agoJudy Mishkin
5 years agohomechef59
5 years agonycefarm
5 years agochispa
5 years agojust_janni
5 years agosuezbell
5 years agoJudy Mishkin
5 years agoerinsean
5 years agohomechef59
5 years ago
Related Stories
SMALL SPACESFrom Falling-Down Garage to Tidy Guest Quarters
An unneeded structure makes way for a compact, economical cottage as part of a backyard overhaul in California
Full StoryGARAGES10 Smart Ideas From Beautifully Organized Garages
These spaces do more than store a car
Full StoryGARAGES8 Trends From the Most Popular Garages on Houzz
Houzzers are revved up about snazzy options for garage doors, flooring, workstations and even wall decor
Full StoryHOUZZ TOURSHouzz Tour: From Garage to Play Pavilion in Seattle
An active Washington state family encourages creative and athletic play by transforming a garage into a multipurpose gym-style pavilion
Full StoryCONTRACTOR TIPSBuilding Permits: What to Know About Green Building and Energy Codes
In Part 4 of our series examining the residential permit process, we review typical green building and energy code requirements
Full StoryPETSProtecting Your Pet From Your Yard and Your Yard From Your Pet
Check out these tricks from vets and landscape designers for keeping your pets and plantings safe in the backyard
Full StoryTRANSITIONAL HOMESMy Houzz: Australian Family Builds Its ‘20-Year House’
Designing from scratch enables a Melbourne couple to create a home their kids can grow up in
Full StoryGARAGES6 Great Garage Conversions Dreamed Up by Houzzers
Pull inspiration from these creative garage makeovers, whether you've got work or happy hour in mind
Full StoryGARAGESHouzz Call: Show Us Your Garage Conversion
Have you switched from auto mode into workshop, office, gym or studio mode? We'd love to see the result
Full StoryGARAGE CONVERSIONS9 Garage Conversions Fit New Uses Into Old Spaces
These creatively redesigned spaces offer room to work from home, work out or hang out
Full Story
User