Thoughts on this plan for lakefront build?
We are considering this house plan and I'd like to solicit opinions from folks here. It'll be build on a sloping lakefront lot, and we really like the potential for views from each room. We are interested in making a few changes, but I'll hold off with specifics right now, in order to get honest feedback on the standard plan/layout. The one change I'll mention is that we'd eliminate the golf car garage and add a side entrance mudroom in it's place. The plan and additional info can be found at https://www.maxhouseplans.com/home-plans/mountain-house-floor-plan/
Comments (135)
SBDRH
3 years agoFor those following, we're making slow and steady progress. Interior trimwork going slowly as our builder finishes up another home.
Loft railings are in
the kitchen island will be 4' x 8'
Kitchen cabinet boxes, waiting for door and drawer fronts
Slide-outs on either side of the range, left side for utensils, right side for spices
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Thoughts on landscaping plan for a new home build
Comments (5)Before you made your design, did you consider your goals for the space? How will you want to use the yard? sunny or shady sitting area? play area for kids, whether a climbing area or sand box or swingset? an outdoor cooking area? a sports area such as croquet, badminton, or basketball? Veggie garden? flowers for cutting or outdoor decoration? paths, walkways, and access to various areas, etc . . . What views you want to block or enhance that aren't on your lot? Whether it's the neighbor's trampoline or gorgeous pine tree or a utility pole, there are often sights that you may want to hide or borrow from the surrounding area to make what you see nicer. Think about the views seen from inside the house and from the car as you come and go. Especially in winter (and at least in the part of OH where I grew up, winter was often dreary!) the views you can see from windows where family members most frequently look out can make life more interesting. Place evergreens and plants with colored twigs or interesting shapes where they can be seen from inside for winter views, and plan some plants for warm weather interest there also. Think about near views from windows for critter visitors, whether bird feeders, plants for hummingbirds, perches for flycatchers, a bird bath, etc. if that is of interest to you. Have you mapped out where shade currently falls in the yard and where you might want it? Do you need outdoor storage of any kind, whether for the trash cans or the lawn mower or for outdoor tools or sports equipment? How does water move off the impermeable surfaces such as the driveway or roof? Have you accounted for that in placing beds, etc. so that you don't impede water flow? Placement of flower beds and other plants should be deep enough front to back to be proportional to the house and in spots that complement the architecture. Is your front walk wide enough for two people to walk abreast or is it the typical narrow walk? Do you like yard work, or would your prefer to spend your time in other ways? So before you start planning, you should have answers to these questions and considerations and probably a lot more that haven't occurred to me offhand. Right now we don't know what the house looks like or if the dark gray areas on the plan are all impermeable paving or perhaps some permeable hard surfaces such as gravel or anything about how you want to use your yard or whether you even like yard work or would prefer to hire a mow, blow, and go service or how water moves off the roof and around the property. So it's really difficult to provide much feedback with such limited information. If you want to do this on your own, I would most likely get some books on landscape design from the public library and look through them for what else you might need to consider. Visit whatever arboretums, botanic gardens, zoos or well designed parks are in your area to see various plants at various times of year to get some idea of what plants do well in your area beyond what you might see in an average nursery. (As a kid, I learned a lot from the Holden Arboretum and the plantings at a couple of zoos and cemeteries.) Perhaps as Denita suggested, get some input from a local designer. When you have more information, if you want more input, add photos of the house and information of how you want to use the yard and it may be easier to give feedback....See MoreFebruary 2020 Building a Home
Comments (109)@cd7733 I can totally relate to decision fatigue. There are so many decisions to make. When I was buying lights I called Lighting New York with a price question. The lady who answered was so nice and ended up giving me a pretty substantial discount. @shead Congratulations! I remember when you posted the pictures of the damage. It must have been devastating, but now you can look forward to getting back on track. @Lou Myers Thanks! One good thing about our former builder was that he hired an excellent trim crew. I was going to wait until all of the floor is down to post a picture, but what the heck... Pardon the trash and dust. I'd estimate we are about 40% complete. Unfortunately even when the inside is complete in less than two weeks, we can't get a certificate of occupancy without the yard being graded and the landscape installed. The ground may not be dry enough for another month or two....See MoreMax Fulbright home plan
Comments (26)@Rn81 If you want seats at your island, you should plan on at least 5' from the counter to the table and that's for a non-traffic walkway (yours will be high traffic, so really you should have more than 5'). We have 4' now and it is one of my biggest pet peeves in my house (dining room light and windows are centered with table so we can't push it over without making things look off). It isn't clear how things are measured in your plan, but assuming the 12' dining starts from the edge of the island, that will leave you 7' for a table and chairs AND outdoor access. It's really not enough, as most tables are 3'-6" and most would recommend at least 5' from the table to the wall if you have doors. If you want to test this out, set up a table and chairs against a wall in your current house and see how it feels to you. It will be a busy place, and if it's cramped it will bug you forever. I think it would be a shame to go through the whole process of building a home to have this space be less than sufficient. If you change the rear doors to windows and use a swing door at the side of the house, you may be able to make it work without a bump out. Just consider the location of your light fixture and windows, as the dining table should leave 5' to the door. Honestly if I were building a home and had the space, the screen porch would be off to the side anyway so I didn't block the light and views from my windows. Not to mention, if money is a concern, saving the screen porch for later can save you a lot of money during your build....See MoreFirst draft of plans back -- would love critiques!
Comments (41)Comments on some of the changes: - Bonus Room stair: I actually preferred the original better. IMO that was one difference that was a tad better than from the typical plans of this "model." Since the bonus room is effectively the only interior place other than the Great Room to hang out, in my experience those are used heavily with kids when there is no basement. Having the stair viewable, directly involved with the circulation pattern, open one side to Mudroom, and placement softening the "backhouse-like" entry to the Master, makes the Bonus Room feel more than an afterthought, which is what tucking it far away does. - Secondary bedroom wing entrance: I actually preferred the original better. IMO that was one difference that was a tad better than from the typical plans of this "model." The sense of the Great Room was more intact as a full entity that included the end wall and cabinetry. - Master Bath: If there is a soaking tub, even moreso when freestanding, then the heirarchy of windows should place the tub next to one rather than transom windows in a shower. The exterior elevations will also benefit. - Laundry: If you are looking for more space, it is eaten up by the Master access. IMO every thread's comments about "the walk" from the Master are so way overblown to insanity. I guess I just don't know how many outfit and bedsheet changes people have a day that they need to run 4 loads daily just to keep 2 masters of the house smelling ok. Anyway, that would help in gaining counter and storage space for a true "multi-purpose" utility room without extending the Garage or Master massing out. - Really should lay out furniture. The patio looks to not support a proportionate seating area around the FP in addition to an outside dining table, with the centered Great Room door circulation. Where I assume a built-in grilling station is going may not be desired to be viewed directly out the Dining window or Master patio door....See More
Cheryl Hannebauer
3 years ago
opaone
3 years agoKeepthefaith MIGirl
3 years agoSBDRH
3 years agoKeepthefaith MIGirl
3 years agoSBDRH
3 years agoSBDRH
3 years agoSlow progress over the past couple weeks, but we're hoping to see much more this week. All the trim is complete and the interior painting is underway. The stone fireplace is complete but we haven't been up to see the finished product. Master bath floor tile should be going in this week as well as the doors and drawer fronts on the kitchen cabinets.
SBDRH
3 years agoThe septic drainfield has been cleared and the drip tubing runs laid. Exciting ;) When we purchased the lot there was a septic permit and plan already complete, but we had to rework the layout to better work with the house and site. The lot doesn't perk well, so we had to go with an ex$pen$ive drip septic system.
Here's a view of the rear from the hillside leading to the septic field
And a view through the wooded area between the house and septic field.
autumncolor
3 years agoSBDRH
3 years agoFinally got to see a burst of activity when we delivered some items to the site yesterday. The countertops are installed, the interior is painted (SW Silvermist in main areas, SW Breezy in bedrooms). The stonework is complete on the fireplace and the electricians will begin their finish work Monday. Gutters and downspouts are on, and final grading should happen this week as well.
Cheryl Hannebauer
3 years agocourse411
3 years ago
mnphotog
3 years agoSBDRH
3 years agoOur weekly visit to the house was a bit of a letdown. All the subcontractors are having trouble getting enough crew. The electrician normally uses a 5 man crew to trim out and finish, but they are down to only a 2 man crew so it's taking way longer. Still there was good progress, all switches, receptacles, and most can LED lights are in. Almost of the plumbing is done except for what is waiting for flooring. The backsplash is up in the kitchen and we're really pleased with how it turned out. Side steps off the screened porch are done and rails and screen are almost ready to go in. Still hoping for a move-in at the end of October, but it's looking tight....
One of the pendant lights for above the island, Pottery Barn Flynn
Trimmed out the opening for the screen door from the kitchen side screened porch onto the center open porch.
SBDRH
3 years agoOur most recent "mistake" was choosing to have the master bath painted the same color as the main rooms, SW Silvermist. Once it was done, it became clear that the color tone didn't work very well directly against the cabinets painted SW Stamped Concrete. So we paid the painters to repaint in SW Breezy, which is what we used in all the bedrooms. It was a really minor thing, and I was on the fence about just waiting and repainting it later ourselves, but I'm glad we bit the bullet and did it now.
SBDRH
3 years agoWe went to visit the house and attend our HOA meeting on Saturday. All the electrical trim-out is complete and the HVAC is installed. LVP and tile flooring is on-site and hopefully will go down this week. One minor snafu, the mirror we purchased for the powder room is WAY too large for the space. We have a plan to use it in another room, but now need to find another mirror quickly
SBDRH
3 years agoI realize I've been neglecting to post updates here again.
After some debate on whether to try to cut some corners and save money, or “buy once, cry once”, we have revisited our landscaping plans for our sloping areas. Instead of rip rap we are grading and finishing the areas, planting over 300 creeping cedar and mulching around them. A crew of 10 will be working for 8 days to do all the work manually due to the steep hillsides and the lack of access for any machinery.
It‘s the right choice since any erosion in some areas could compromise the foundation, but it’s still hard to swallow. Let’s just say we could buy a Tesla model 3 or pay for the landscaping. Cry once.....
It's a rainy wet day here, we went up to drop off some shrubs for the landscapers to install. The guys were inside working on a coat of poly on the rails and stair treads, so we only walked the main floor. We are at the mercy of the weather gods so the landscaping can get completed.
Hardwoods in the family room against the back wall of windows
Planks cut and laid out in the master bedroom, just need to be nailed down
Master bathtub and shower enclosure are in
The rails and screens are up on the porches. The screens are very light and don't block much sunlight at all
One thing we're kind of unhappy about is the placement of the pedestal sink in the powder room. The plumber set it according to the plans, but we didn't realize how awkward it would feel jammed into the corner so tightly.
Tanya Shelly
3 years agoSBDRH
3 years agoSBDRH
3 years agoAnother rainy Sunday trip to check on progress. All the flooring is (finally) down, and the painters are doing touchup work. The landscapers have been hard at work clearing the lakeside and the slopes, laying down rip-rap, etc. We got the change order for the landscaping work and they are estimating using 136 TONS of rip rap stone. Wow.
Hopefully all the work can wrap up this week and we could start moving stuff in the following week. Fingers crossed!
The LVP in the basement bedroom overlooking a muddy yard and the cove beyond
Dining area, you can see the mulched hillside through the screened porch
Master bedroom
Side entry mudroom.
A view from the adjacent dock
SBDRH
3 years agoDespite being frustrated by continual delays getting the final survey and inspection, things are FINALLY getting close. Yesterday was productive and the finish line is in sight! The microwave and washer/dryer were delivered, and the propane tank was set and hooked up. The final as-built survey was approved by the county zoning office, and our final inspection is scheduled for tomorrow. Hoping we can be moving in next week!
I grabbed a couple pickup loads of stuff from our storage unit and worked on assembling furniture while I was up there yesterday. I assembled the Christmas tree and put lights on it as a surprise to my wife, who is a HUGE Christmas person.
Front of the house just before the driveway was poured.
I got the barstools set at the island, and put the espresso machine in the coffee station location
jandrews2012
3 years ago
New_to_this
3 years agoSBDRH
3 years agoSBDRH
3 years agoKeepthefaith MIGirl
3 years agoNew_to_this
3 years agoSBDRH
3 years agoFoyer
Family room viewed from the foyer
Kitchen and dining as seen from the top of the stairs to the basement
Family room as seen from the corner of the kitchen
dining and kitchen seen from the rear of the family room
SBDRH
3 years agoFamily room and loft
dining side screened porch
mudroom (excuse my mess on the bench)
Loft from top of the stairs
Family room seen from the loft
SBDRH
3 years agoright side upstairs bedroom
left side upstairs bedroom
master bedroom
master bedroom and bath
SBDRH
3 years agomaster shower
master vanity
stairway to basement
basement rec room
basement kids bedroom
opaone
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoK H
3 years ago
Brandie May
3 years ago
Monica
3 years agoSBDRH
3 years agoMonica
3 years agoSBDRH
3 years ago
SBDRHOriginal Author