Help me plan a Breakfast for 20 people
sprtphntc7a
5 years ago
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more plan help - need to reduce cost by about 20%
Comments (9)That is a very nice plan and it certainly is not overly large given the size of your family! I really don't think that redesigning the house to make it $100K cheaper to build will help you. If you cut significant amounts of square footage, that too will give the appraiser reason to come back with an even lower appraisal next time. So, lets say you figure out a way to build a smaller house but something you can live with for $100K less than this house, the appraisal on the new plan could very well come back $80K less then the cost to build that plan! What you need to do, if at all possible, is get the appraisal UP on this plan. It may be that the bank is using a low-ball appraiser so that it won't have to make the mortgage loan at all. Apparently this is a new tactic banks are using. See the link below. They also suggest ways you can at least try to fight a low-ball appraisal. But, you need to see the actual appraisal done on your home before you will have the info to move forward. However, one thing that strikes me is that, because you have chosen to build one huge bedroom and big bath over the garage for your girls instead of several smaller individual bedrooms, the appraiser is probably describing your home as a four-bedroom, four-bath home and then comparing it to other 4-bedroom, 4-bath homes. I think the number of bedrooms and baths does count in determining the value so that may be driving the appraisal down...and that would not even be a case of low-ball appraising. So, for the sake of getting a higher appraisal, you might consider redesigning the girl's area into say three separate bedrooms bedrooms and two small bathrooms (without changing the foundation plan or overall size). You could also redesign the front bathroom into two separate baths. I just think maybe if you design were being compared to six-bedroom, six bath homes, you might get a higher appraisal. Please understand that I'm not saying you have to scrap your plan for one big bedroom for the girls. Once you have the money in hand and are actually building, my experience is that banks don't look all that closely at whether the original plans are followed exactly. After all, change orders happen all the time in construction. Other then that tho, it seems to me like your options are: 1) Go back to your banker with plenty of data to prove that the appraisal is a low-ball. Obviously you need to see the basis of the appriasal before you can argue against it. Did they use prices of comparable NEW homes with similar square footage, the same numbers of bedrooms? And if he won't have a new appraisal done by a different appraiser, file a complaint with the regulatory agency in your state that governs banks. 2) Try again with a different banker and hopefully get a higher appraisal. 3) Find another source of funds to make up the majority of the difference (signature line of credit? private loan from a family member or friend) and scale back in minor ways that won't require a new appraisal. 4) Figure out exactly what has to be finished to get your CO and have the builder do exactly that much. Then finish the rest as you can afford it. How frustrating this must be for you! And how maddening that banks who couldn't give money away fast enough a few years ago (and therefore are largely to blame for our current economic woes) are now stifling the country's economic recovery by seinging the pendulum too far in the oposite direction and refusing to make perfectly good loans to perfectly good credit risks. Here is a link that might be useful: Banks ar low-balling appraisals...See MoreCan people post layouts of 13x20ish kitchens with island & table?
Comments (31)My kitchen is 13'x20', and there are 7 pages of photos linked. The photos go from original to new kitchen. If you'd like any of the KD's plans, let me know. I'll scan them and add them to the photo album. One end has the working end of the kitchen, the other has the dining area. There is an 8' archway into the family room on the dining end (it used to be a 6' sliding door to the outside patio), and a 45" square window over the sink that is now just an opening into the family room - used to be a glass window overlooking a very messy patio! DonnaR/CA Here is a link that might be useful: Donna's kitchen from start to finish...See MoreHelp me decide my breakfast nook table for 8 ft by 9 ft space
Comments (18)Anita, I think the set you like is beautiful. However, consider this, legs like that table has will not allow for extra chairs. If the same table was a pedestal table you could get 2 chairs down each side. I had a Wicker table with a 48" glass top before this table and I had six chairs. I now have a 46" octagon table with 4 big chairs and two smaller chairs with low backs. Don't let those small chairs deceive you, they are full size chairs the seats are as high as the ladder back chairs, just the back is smaller. I can get chairs 6 around this table and have squeezed 8 around it in a pinch. I think 4 x 3 would work well, but like I suggested watch the table legs, they can hinder the amount of chairs you can use. I also had a bench at one time (inside the bay window) we were a family of 5 when our kids were growing up, so we had 3 chairs and a bench. This nook measures 9 foot 1" wide from the counter (with the bananas on it) to the end of the wall. . .The bay window is 8Ft wide. I took this tonight after I measured... from the center of the bay window to the end of the first glass pane on the french door the measurement is 8 ft. Also notice that the chairs are not huge and they fit under the table well. ( they can go in even further than the photo shows) This allows more walking around room when the table is not in use. I am a very visual person and use a lot of visual aids when doing or building furniture. I suggest you take your current table and add a faux top with wood, or cardboard or anything that would mock up the size table you want in the room, add the chairs and see what it looks like. Also consider a 42" round table (pedestal) with a leaf. It would give you a lot more room for everyday use for 4 people and when the grandparents come put in the leaf. We made this table 48" and when it was all done and we put the chairs around it I saw that if it was a tad smaller the chairs would fit under neath better so we cut it down to 46". Every little bit helps in a small area. Hope this helps. joann...See MoreBreakfast bar - yes or no...please help me sleep
Comments (12)OK...here's the thing. For counter-height seating, you need a 15" overhang. Even if you scrimp on overhang people will still take up the same amount of space so trying to shave off a few inches of the overhang doesn't really help. With the smaller overhang, people just don't sit as close to the counter edge OR they sit sideways (not comfortable for any length of time). Then you need approx 5' from the edge of that 15" overhang to the table. Even then it'd be a tight squeeze to get by if people are seated in both places. [BTW...your children may be small now, but they will grow rapidly! So, if you're thinking a smaller than recommended overhang will work b/c they're small...don't. Always plan for teens/adults when planning something as permanent as a peninsula.] Has the design already been finalized? Or can changes still be made? If so, to the exterior as well? I'm asking b/c if you could move the front door down so the "Covered Porch" is flush w/the garage you could gain 4 feet. I would then move everything on that side of the house from the stairs to the front door, down that same amount. That would give you another 4' for the Kitchen + Table area. You would then have just enough space for an overhang. This would have the added advantage of adding more space to the MBR and/or Laundry & WIC. One of things I regret not doing when we built 14 years ago is making our porch flush w/the garage. We could have either had a deeper porch (8' now) or added 4' to the depth of the house...more useful. Another idea is to switch the FR & DR. You might be able to expand the kitchen into the table area and use the DR for all meals since it will be a lot closer to the kitchen. You could then have an island for casual/social seating. The DR would also be a little longer so you could fit a table in there more easily than the current location (that's a pretty small DR). Sample dimensions could be DR: 16'2" x 12'8" & FR: 16'2" x 17' (In the FR, put the FP & windows on the right wall...) ++++++++++++++++ Oh, and I agree with PeytonRoad, the MBA door swing should be against the shower, not the sinks. To avoid it altogether, consider making the door a pocket door, sliding from the sink side of the MBA. This will mean no recessed medicine cabinet in that wall, but I think it's a good compromise. We have a similar MBA...but our tub & shower are switched. The door swings against the tub. We're now thinking about remodeling our MBA and one of the first changes we plan is to get rid of the recessed medicine cabinet and install a pocket door. I think it will make a big difference in the "feel" of our narrow bathroom. What we don't have is the nice corner for a tub...there's a bedroom on the other side of our bathroom wall. Have you thought about putting in another window by the tub...a window on the right wall so you get a "corner window" effect?...See Moresprtphntc7a
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