Window Sizing and Placement on New Build
I’m new to this site, but wish I’d found it much sooner! I’m hoping for input mostly on windows sizes and placement on these plans. I’m very wordy but don’t know the house building lingo so hopefully this makes sense.
This is our first and hopefully only time building a house. We live in a house smaller and much more poorly laid out than this right now, so this is ample space for our family of three. I believe these plans are approximately 1850 sqft of living space.
The main living areas of the house, great room if you will, will be 10 foot ceilings. I’m also looking for input on whether it’s practical and worth the money saved to have all of the bedrooms, kitchen, and utility rooms be only 9 feet. We live under an 8 foot ceiling now and 10 seems so excessive to me for bedrooms/kitchen. Would we be able to save money by having lower ceilings in those rooms? Can anyone give a ballpark figure?
The major questions I’m having are about the windows. I’m having a LOT of trouble visualizing bc we currently live in a weird little old house with 6ft long by 2ft deep windows running at the top almost near the roof line. They’re awful and we get no light. But bc our house is so small, I can’t adequately visualize how big the windows on this new house plan should be, and where.
If the bedrooms have 9 foot ceilings (assuming we stick with 9 cuz I don’t even wanna THINK about how it would change if we did 10), what is practical for window sizes? I’d prefer the windows in the front to be much shorter and higher sitting obviously than the windows in the back of the house. But even 4’x4’ seems huge for a bedroom (like I said- only have our current house to go by), let alone 6’x5’, which is what I put on the two pieces of the house that stick out. The architect originally had two smaller separate windows in their places, but aesthetically we prefer the look of one larger window. Which is why I’m thinking slightly shorter and wider, so that the window can sit comfortably higher than furniture etc.
Then there’s the windows in the back. We want tall thin windows there. There I feel like possibly even 6’6 windows might actually NOT read as tall in a 10ft room. I also can’t shake that I don’t like the 2 windows together, then the 4ish foot space and another window coupled with a door. I would personally prefer to move the door to the corner closest to the master bedroom, then space, then 3 windows together. Partner doesn’t like this idea but reasoning is unclear. My guess is that this 4ish feet of space is where the TV would sit and he’d like that to be the middle of the “room”? (I say “room” bc I don’t actually think any real separation between the dining and living areas is necessary. We will probably have a small 4 seat table in the dining area that won’t take up much space. In which case, can we take out the notch thingies separating these rooms? Are those signifying structural beams or is this something on these plans for aesthetics?) An alternative idea I’m floating is double glass doors to the back porch instead of a door and a window. That sounds expensive- I’m assuming doors are much more expensive than windows? Would that be more aesthetically pleasing?
Background on these plans: We got these plans from our builder. I tweaked the plans a bit, moved the kitchen into an enclosed space, and slightly adjusted some room sizes. The plans went back to architect for computerization, and now I could use some advice on the windows. We were told to draw what we’d want AESTHETICALLY. The architect we’re working with (via the builder-we’re totally new to this) does not put a ton of aesthetic thought into the work, at least not what my type A personality needs.
House/location information: Not sure what information is relevant but we live in very south Louisiana. The house will be built on pilings. The house is a regular house- I don’t know the options for house styles? The land is flat and the lot is about 100x100ft.
I’m obviously not an architect. Please let me know if any other info is relevant.
Thank you so much for reading!
Comments (15)
3 years ago- 3 years ago
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Comments (15)Thank you all for the help! I'm really unsure how to move forward from this point. It sounds like I probably should have hired an architect from the beginning. Or, at a minimum contracted directly with the designer to prepare the plans instead of him being sub-contracted through the builder. The one time I was able to speak to the designer, he seemed knowledgeable, so I don't want this to sound judgmental towards him. I think we just got ourselves into a poor process from the start, where the builder is the middle man and there is probably lots lost in transmission. Would it be worth it at this point to consult with an architect? The foundation is poured, so there is only so much we can change. Plus, we already have financing, so there is definitely a limit to changes without blowing our budget. Windows should still be easy enough. Would an architect even want to touch this at this point? I'm not even sure what services I would need from him/her at this point? What I normally do... is to locate the egress window (only one is required per bedroom) ...on the sides.... So, if I understand this correctly, this wouldn't resolve the issue of needing to switch window types (double hung to casement/slider) to avoid the 18" sill height, but it will put the window on a less noticeable side of the house. My three windows were placed higher and ganged together and they were narrower. On the other wall I made the single window wider and then added a window seat below it. That sounds like a lovely way to disguise mismatched windows. Do you have a picture of the window seat/egress window? I tried searching through your older posts, but didn't see it. I'd suggest a traditional approach often used in 2- and 3-story traditional residences, i.e., the windows on the first floor were the largest; the windows on the second floor were visually smaller; and the windows on the third or any other upper level, such as dormers, were the smallest of all. Virgil, thank you for lesson. I've always felt something wasn't quite right with the elevation, but couldn't figure out what it was. Part of what is triggering this ordeal, is that the plans were drawn with 10' & 9' ceilings, but the budget was based on 9' & 8'. When I caught the discrepancy, the builder didn't want to change the plans. I insisted because there is no way you can take out 2 vertical feet and not need to reevaluate the elevation, right?? Loosing those extra feet really made the larger 2nd story windows look odd and when I requested smaller windows, I was told they didn't meet code...would need casement windows...blah, blah....See MoreNew build/log home: Exterior light/doorbell placement
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PRO3 years agoI'd rethink the plan. All I did here is flip the right side to give you a visual, but it would obviously require more work. I would also work to move the hall bath so it has a window.
This puts the utility spaces like the laundry close to the bedrooms, and most important, opens up the living area so it has windows on 3 walls. The west wall will need shading.
Lovely Day thanked PPF.- 3 years ago
@Scott B why are you being so rude in every response? Are you ok? I literally traced the plans. I can’t find the version that I traced, but it’s very similar to this. I’m not trying to design a house by committee. I’m looking for advice on windows. I also prefaced saying I didn’t know the lingo so I’m so sorry I said “deep” instead of “high.” Please let me know if there’s anything else o can do to help you.
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2 years ago
cpartist