Critique my proposed reno/addition
smalloldhouse_gw
4 years ago
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Critique major home reno/addition - summerfield can you he
Comments (11)Sorry to get everyone focused on your bath. But, it is something valid to consider (Lyfia makes it more clear than me--your office IS a bedroom, which you are choosing to use as an office). Also, we just did almost a very similar addition 2 years ago. It will be very handy to have access to the half bath from where you primarily spend your time downstairs. For your kids, this will be in the informal areas of your house (ie, the family room). It is a long walk/run to the bathroom from the family room. (I know you said that the LR will be the playroom for now, but I am thinking that functionally, it will end up the other way around... If you are like me, we spend a lot of time in the kitchen--preparing snacks, meals, etc. And, to keep an eye on your kids, your layout doesn't allow that for the playroom space/LR. It does though, for the FR.--so in this case, another useful tidbit might be if you/your spouse is a SAHparent or if really the kids occupy the space only a few hours a day). Also, while I am discussing my experience with our addition. Are you sure you can do this addition? Are you on septic or sewer? What we learned in our addition is that septic systems were historically built out the back of the house behind the kitchen sink/bathroom. Since your former house plan has the kitchen and baths in essentially the same location as ours, you may want to make sure you are able to build without covering your septic tank (or moving it). Or, if your house was converted to sewer from septic like ours, you may find that you will still need to decommission your septic tank (an added expense to plan for in budget that will pop up when they start digging if you didn't already know about it.) I will think on your kitchen concerns, but in the mean time, can you tell us what is under your stairs, and why there is the cutout in the kitchen wall between the kitchen and stair/hallway?...See MoreProposal from contractor for kitchen reno-need feedback on pricin
Comments (16)Yes-I think we are being asked to pay a lot of middleman cost. In addition to the cabinet builder/craftsmen who bid a few years ago, we have a very good tile installer replacing a poorly built shower floor in our master bath. I know he could do the backsplash too. We did pay to have a design done by the renovation contractor we are talking with. When meeting with his KD, I have found that I know about as much as she does, and more in many instances, about appliances and materials, largely due to reading this site for over half a decade. And she would send us off to the store of their choice to shop for sinks and such. If I am doing all that work, what am I paying them for? My weakness is with the measurements -and now that we have a CAD drawing of that, plus a ton of other information collected over the years, I'm not sure why we would pay someone all that money. I've really done most of the work already in my shopping and studying. We also have another designer who worked with us on our previous project, and I know she can step in for a reasonable cost and work with us on materials and tweaking design if need be....See MoreRanch Addition - Proposed Layout
Comments (91)A few things: the fireplace where it is now is obviously not ideally located - so if you want to keep it and want a gas burning one, then I'd move it into the living room and integrate it into some built-ins along the outside wall. (no TV over it though - makes the TV too high. TV if needed there, can be off to one side). It doesn't, as mnmamax3 notes, need to be connected to the existing chimney - just needs a vent to the outside with adequate clearance. There are some quite lovely gas fireplaces these days, and they certainly do avoid the mess of a wood burning one (though I LOVE our airtight wood burning fireplace). The other thing - I actually preferred the layout of the master bedroom that you had before. The walk-in closet takes up a lot of space and while you do get another "free" wall in the bedroom, it doesn't actually give you more or more efficient storage and makes your bedroom a lot smaller. And - I'd add more windows - definitely one in the second bathroom, and possibly another set of windows in each of the bedrooms. One other question: access to the back yard. I'm assuming that you don't barbeque and also don't anticipate or want an easy transition to your private outdoor space in the back yard? Which is fine, if this is your lifestyle and you plan on staying in this house for a very long time and aren't thinking about resale, but I do know that many people have knocked out walls and gone to great lengths to renovate houses built in the 40s and 50s that didn't provide the now expected easy access/transition to outdoor living spaces. I recognize that this would require a major rethink of the kitchen/access to basement, but I think it needs consideration if it hasn't already been thought about. I can pretty much guarantee that the transition you have currently to the outdoors won't be viewed as easy or convenient once food/drink is involved - carrying stuff around the corner and down steps and out a door may seem trivial on paper, but in reality...it's a big disincentive to go outside to eat! I say that having owned a variety of houses with varying ease of access. If this was my house, I'd probably blow out the back wall of the kitchen for sliders to a deck, and reconfigure the space. I also still think the huge amount of main floor storage is a really bad use of "prime" real estate. Should be living space... rockybird was onto something with the reconfiguration he/she showed (moving hall over, LR gets bigger)....See Morecritique of proposed addition / floor plan wanted
Comments (5)That is not an "addition"! It is a major remodel. How old is the house? It will probably be more cost effective to tear down and start over with a totally new house. You are adding a whole second floor where none exists at the moment. Can the current foundation even support that change? Are you getting the land and house at close to land value? If you aren't, after you do this major remodeling, you will most likely have more money into the house than the neighborhood values will support....See Moresmalloldhouse_gw
4 years agosmalloldhouse_gw
4 years agobeckysharp Reinstate SW Unconditionally
4 years agosmalloldhouse_gw thanked beckysharp Reinstate SW Unconditionallysmalloldhouse_gw
4 years agosmalloldhouse_gw
4 years agobeckysharp Reinstate SW Unconditionally
4 years agosmalloldhouse_gw thanked beckysharp Reinstate SW Unconditionallysmalloldhouse_gw
4 years agoroarah
4 years agoKristin S
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beckysharp Reinstate SW Unconditionally