will be doing an owner/build exemption. I don't know what this means. We have what will become, our master bedroom, already built ... We know essentially what size we want BUT we dont know best layout for everything nor the roof lines and so forth ... We don't have design software experience ... couldn't find any for 24x32 floor plan ... Okay, I think this was a very complicated way of saying, "We have a small building and want to add onto it. This is a renovation /an expansion." What you are describing is a heck of a lot harder So much harder, but you have what you have. I assume this is an older house that was already on the property? Is it in good condition? What kind of foundation does it have? I wonder if you might do better to use this as a storage building ... and "start fresh" elsewhere on your 12 acres. So we built a 24 x 16 cabin thinking this would be our great room Oh, you walked into this on purpose! I'm wrong about this being an old house. Was the cabinet permitted? How is 24x16 not an ample great room? We intend to add on and it doesnt have to be that complicated. This is probably why we will just do the plans ourselves. I think you need some help with the plans. Why? You've already put money/effort into one space, which you've now determined isn't what you need. You have a gauge on the sizes you want (even though you missed on your first try with the great room) ... but you don't know where to place the rooms. This seems like a backwards way of addressing the design. Step back and ask yourself, what would you say to someone who told you what you just told us?

If you ignore the builder-grade detailing, its a late Victorian Queen Anne style house. The only unusual feature is the second front facing gable. Its impossible to say if it could meet the zoning height restriction without seeing a definition of "height", the topography of the site, the floor to floor heights and a scaled elevation drawing. With that information it would be a simple exercise to lower the slope of the roof until it meets the zoning restriction and see how it looks. In the meantime, assuming the width of the house is about 36 ft, lowering the roof slope from 12 in 12 to 10 in 12 would decrease the ridge height by 3 ft. Lowering the slope to 8 in 12 would lower the ridge another 3 ft. But the first thing I would do is lower the first floor ceiling to 9 ft and the second floor ceiling to 8 ft. I would also consider truncating the top of the main roof. I don't think it would be very noticeable on this house. One way or another it appears possible to build this house without corrupting the design. A Field Guide to American Houses Everyone should own this book. The old one is $6 used and the new one is $25. I've owned the original version for 35 years.

Not sure how to reply directly to a comment millworkman - I was wanting more of a generalized opinion than my specific house. Mark Bischak, Architect - I said that I was going to get an engineer/architect. If that is what you were referring to. Celadon - Can you expand on why it's a bad idea? PPF. - Visually it's not what I want. I feel like discussion with people who receive no monetary benefit is better than one who has a direct relation to it. It's like going to the car dealership and asking what vehicle and options I should get. Of course the salesperson is going to go for the biggest commission that they can.

I would like to extend my small screened-in porch into the deck area to create a covered L-shaped screened porch, but I don't see an easy way to add a roof over the deck that would tie into the existing roof lines. Any thoughts or ideas?