If you leave a gap there's a good likelihood of water finding its way in there. I live in a 100 year old house- trust me, I know how water loves finding any and every crack and crevice. I can't speak as to the "right" way to do a stone veneered, 2x4 framed porch add-on because I've never seen it done that way. It's not how I would do it. Where I've seen structures built with framing, backer board, and veneer is usually outdoor kitchens (and they use steel studs anyhow). They can work because they're all supported on a poured slab, so even if the slab moves/settles, it's all doing it together. If I were building this, first of all I'd be ooked out by the idea of wood framing in contact with the ground and tied into the house (because removing the siding and attaching to the structure is what I would do). Then I'd also be concerned about how I'm supporting the walls and columns without them shifting or settling differentially. To be honest, I would do footers to frost depth (or deeper if it's a new construction home), and at that point I may as well use CMUs (concrete block) for the structure. And then if I was going through all THAT, I'd just jackhammer out the stoop and start from scratch so it was all one piece and I didn't have to worry about independent parts moving. But again, I'm looking at this through the lens of how I would approach this as a pro. As a homeowner job where you're accepting all your own liability- it could work, I guess. Maybe. As far as the design end of things, I always think in terms of having Thanksgiving at your house. With your existing porch Sid, Myrna, and their three kids can't all stand on the landing while you come to the door, but there's still kind of a connection between the up and down spaces. with what you have drawn, it's almost like mom and dad are in the vestibule and the kids are still outside. But that's just one person's thought; I'm sure others will disagree. Yay internet!

We-l-l-l, lemme see if I can give this a shot...done a couple of rock things in the past. Here's how I would describe it: The pro mosaicists who do walls are doing the same thing we are with slight modifications. They use thinset with additives for outdoor strength, both for adhering the pieces and for the grouting. The best substrate to use would be a solid concrete piece; the lowest would be a wood structure with foam board (like Wedi) attached to it, then covered with a heavy wire mesh called lath. The lath is then covered in stucco which squeezes thru the openings in the wire mesh, effectively encasing them and becoming a strong substrate which will not expand and contract like the underlying wood will. There are two ways to build a rock wall: wet set and dry stacking. Dry dtacking is just what the names says....no mortar, etc. to hold the rocks together. Wet setting rocks means the use of some sort of mortar to stick them together. Any gaps remaining between one row and the next are "pointed" that is to say filled with mortar for stability and appearance. Cement-type materials cannot be wiped off natural rocks like we wipe it off tile, china, etc. So a pastry bag type thing is used to squeeze the mortar into those gaps. Tesserae for outdoor use should be carefully chosen. Glass, natural stone, high fired tile and pottery are all possibilities, but I don't know how to determine what is high fired and what is not. Personally I have used regular tile on stepping stones and they have been outside for many years; however, snowfall is rare and below freezing temps are infrequent here. How'd I do, NT???? Not trying to be a trouble-maker, just a shot at being an interpreter. HTH, Pat

Fori, I wanted the extra inches where our hearth is for extra walking space, so we recessed it flush with the floor. You could also always do a Candace Olden and set a gas or electronic "fireplace" on or into a wall. The advantage to this is it could go wherever you wanted. BTW, have you defined the way you'll be using these areas labeled "LRM/FRM" yet, or have they told you? There's talk of adding undefined space. What needs are they already not filling and why? Back to the kitchen, you could have a very nice kitchen where the original galley was, of course, especially with the door in off what you're calling the FRM area now, so the one counter could go long. It's a shame the door to all the utility areas and garage is in that wide area. I'm wondering about that space beyond, though. Flying totally blind here, but 1. Any possibility of adding some of the back hall/pantry/laundry space to the kitchen nook and putting the kitchen down there? If you were to extend it toward the garage, would it be possible to have a kitchen with windows and/or window plus glass door to both the front and rear? That might create a very nice feel for the kitchen, slightly eccentric in shape, views front and rear, breaking the standard galley box. 2. Or, how about slicing off about 6-7' of the garage end of the family room and turning it into a family entry that didn't run through the kitchen, reorienting some of the functions off the garage? This would allow the kitchen to fill in that end with cabinetry uninterrupted across the south side and no through traffic. Perhaps the stretch of the current kitchen/nook wall separating it from the family room could be pushed into that 6-7' hall a counter depth's worth to add that space to the kitchen? Could the powder room be accessed without going through the kitchen? For the FRM/LRM area, this would have the effect of "shifting" the FRM toward the back yard, adding further definition and eliminating that long rectangle feel that'll be there whether a wall separates the spaces or not. I like that, on paper at least. The FRM end could even have its own shape, not echoing the other. 3. It seems the rear yard is pretty much filled with pool and pool decking outside the LRM part, plus? If that's the case, could you make that view and an indoor-outdoor connection a defining element for the LRM side itself? 4. You have a nice piece of yard in the corner formed by the garage and FRM area. Could you add big windows/doors to orient the FRM to a view out there? It could be a complete change of mood from the pool area (presumably, still flying totally blind here), AND the window(s) would face south for sunshine all day (in summer sun arcs high so mostly wouldn't come in). If you have mostly paving elsewhere (?), this area could be green. One issue with these 2 spaces is is that they're both oriented to the same view, same sunshine, same privacy, shape, ceiling, etc. If they're going to be different spaces they would benefit from different characters that fit different moods, times of day, etc. Note that the typical subdivision home orients front-rear only, so developing this asset alone, opening to the outside on 3 sides, would give notable distinction and make both the house and the yard feel richer and more spacious. 5. Or vice-versa for the living areas, with the LRM oriented more inward toward TV, bookcases, game table, cozy conversation, etc., without direct access to the back yard, that being reserved for the FRM side, which could be more of a sun room area oriented to outdoors activities on both sides. ? Likely all impossible or unsuitable, but maybe something'll spark an idea. :)

With a tub/shower combo, I am a huge proponent of curved shower rod and curtain over glass doors. It makes for a much more comfortable shower. With that layout, it will be easier to enter and exit as well. Shower curtains can be left open to show the tile. You can use them as a decorative element of the bathroom as well and they are easy to just throw in the wash and clean from time to time making them much lower maintenance than any glass door. (Squeegeeing after every shower with glass to make it easy to clean later I still feel is a hassle). Double shower hooks make for easy hanging and removal of both a liner and curtain. For a higher end look, you can put your rod at ceiling height and make a custom curtain that extends to the floor. This is not what I personally prefer as it makes it more difficult to put up and take down and since you do not have a light in the shower would make your shower too dark.