Builder Made Fireplaces Too Dark
ItIsWell
4 years ago
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Help Builder saying too many windows for insulation code
Comments (26)While your grand 2 story windows are pretty, you do realize that there will be practical problems? I don't want to beat a dead horse about heating that room... ok well I will. Obviously the r-3 wall (what it will be with windows and the pack of studs in between, is going to be a huge heat loss. Combined with the heat rising, it will be a room that will take the majority of your heating needs. And it isn't just an energy use problem, but it becomes an issue with vastly different loads between this room and the rest of the house. Second, I know that Washington is not sunny NC, but it surely gets sunny at times. A SW facing wall of windows that you can't cover is going to be frustrating from the glare. I have a view wall facing SE and we need sunglasses inside at times but we can close the blinds. It isn't 2 stories either - just 10 ft ceilings with 14 ft wide window bank. Third, again while it isn't as sunny there, when it does get hot and is sunny, you will have a cooling problem. And mind you, it isn't just the energy use, it is the differential in the rooms. You may be turning the stat on 75 but have some rooms at 70 and freezing just to keep that room comfortable. It is very difficult to design a HVAC that can handle such different gains in different rooms. I have a study with a wall of west windows and have planted a tree to deal with the 4-6pm heat up. I rent mountain houses fairly often in the Asheville area and this type of wall is common. But it can be frustrating even just for a few day stay. The last one had tinted the windows and installed an electric awning outside. Blinds and drapes just don't fit well with these walls in the mountains. Honestly - they could be installed but no one wants to because it doesn't fit the "mountain" style. In that house, we had to sleep in double beds downstairs because the king upstairs was too hot from all the gain in the afternoon - and yes the house had a/c. Obviously not the best designed system and you will do better but the challenges are there. I have an oceanfront house (vacation rental) - I understand the need for view without compromise. But the 2 story huge windows you don't really see anything out of except sky and for a large portion of the time you are there, you might be staring at the sun. Yes - they look dramatic. But drama's appeal wears out and practicality does not....See MoreUrgent help needed:Good gold for 8 ft ceilings? Not too dark?
Comments (13)Hmmm... I looked at some photos of Pittsfield and Napery and they're lovely, but they're just a step under what I'm looking for. If this abstraction helps at all, I'm looking for one step beyond "safe". Not over-the-top dramatic and too dark, but not super neutral. The wall colors are fine. If all I had to worry about was the walls, I'd just stick with the Twilight Gold. It's the darned 8 ft ceilings. Harumph. I guess I need a camel color that is not as deep as Twilight Gold. I keep ignoring my painter's calls! ::Gulp::...See MoreHelp another MCM fireplace. Bonus: ceilings too!
Comments (53)Pipdog - Sorry, I missed your earlier post. That house was the inspiration for one of my neighbor's remodels! Interestingly, they painted everything white BUT the fireplace and put in similar light wood flooring. Their fireplace is on an outer wall, not in the center, so it doesn't really stick out. Palimpsest - LOL on the mullet. I admit, I did have a mullet haircut 5(?) years ago when they were back in style, and DH had the faux-hawk. But hair is temporary by its nature, and I like looking silly. :) I didn't mean to be dismissive of "whatever this is" but I honestly don't know what to call it. I'm a big fan of modernism, and I'm clueless when it comes to transitional decor. I understand modern design principles, but ask me which chair goes with which table in a transitional home and I'm at a loss. And I'm really not a preservationist. We are making significant changes. The siding is definitely not original (I'd argue better than the stucco). We're updating the kitchen and baths, removing walls, etc. And our furniture is definitely not period correct. The house I posted above with the metal sheets is from a Dwell home tour and dubbed the "Hyper Eichler" by the architect. He approached the update by considering what the architects / builder might have done if the materials and building technology of today was available back then. I think it stays true even with the numerous changes from the original finishes, and I try to keep this approach in mind. Marcolo - I don't know that wanting to paint a fireplace or making any non-standard MCM chalterations is necessarily due to a lack of appreciation or trend following. Most of my neighbors truly believe they appreciate the MCM nature of their homes and probably wouldn't know a current trend if it hit them in the face, but they make all kinds of changes that purists would cringe at: granite counters, shaker cabinets, atrium conversion, fireplace removal, wood flooring, etc etc etc. A lot of it is due to tweaking their homes for their lifestyle (fireplace in the way, needed sq footage from atrium), or something I often hear is the emphasis on natural materials (granite counters, wood floors) despite the fact they're replacing formica and VCT....See MoreGehan Homes Experience (other large builder experiences welcome, too!)
Comments (11)Yeah, no, they don't allow any interior wall moves. If that were the case, we would have jumped *all over* removing those angles and making the rooms more usable!!! :-D And because the toilet has its own door, we're actually taking the bathroom's double doors completely off, to help light bounce around in there (we didn't have a door separating our master bed/bath -- just an arched opening -- in the old house, and we liked it). Oh, and I have to ask the GC/supervisor/whomever if I can flip the hall closet doorway, to swing out into the hall, rather than it hitting the Laundry room door. I had asked the sales person, as well as the design center chick, and they both said I'd have to talk to the super ("just in case it interferes with Code"). Seriously, something so minor as a *door swing* is apparently a big thing. "Code" my rear end. This has been a good experience for me, so far, though. Lots of compromises to humble me. Good character building. ;-) And yeah, PG, we totally jumped the gun and went out to visit an empty lot last weekend, hoping to be on top of progress. Well, we're so on top of it, that we noticed the place had been staked with lot line markers and little flags, lol. This will be our second tract build, so we know a few things. This time, though, I'm gonna get the window manufacturer/make/model info (again, only the Super knows this), so that I can make sure the windows are installed properly. I didn't have any problems in the first house, but we didn't live there long enough to find out, and I don't want to take any chances in rain-heavy central TX....See MoreItIsWell
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