Nicole,

Where are your electrical panel(s) and HVAC unit?

Your data/comms panel is usually located in the same area as the elec panel (with proper separation). Under the stairs may work but ensure cable routing through ceiling joists facilitates this location. You will need power there as well (modem, light, etc.). I like the fish tank but could you put the panel in the fish room if it cannot be co-located with the elec panel?

The HVAC return location looks fine but all duct S/R design should be by the HVAC installer. Where is the rest of your system located? The compressor will be outside the house but the air handler unit is inside.

Also, you might want to design the bedroom walls along the stairs to be more sound resistant.

Thanks, Terry.

Unfortunately my GC just sent me the revised estimate (about a week early). This saves a bunch of money but I'm still too far over budget and this scheme isn't going to work either. Unless I come up with another radical game changing idea... I guess I'll be putting my lot up for sale.

*sigh*

But for future reference, I wouldn't want to put telecom equipment anywhere near a large reef tank. They generate too much humidity and very fine salt spray. It's one of the reasons why you want a fish room -- to trap it.

As far as the bathroom you could move the wall on the left of the sink into the bedroom a few inches or a foot or so. You lose bedroom space and it's a little inefficient because you create a small 'hallway' to the bedroom door but I think adding a little to the bathroom would be worth it. Just enough to get at least a 36 inch cabinet in there (if not 48 in). You would also gain in the closet.

Alabama,
Where exactly are you going to place the furnace?
Is it in the basement?

Okay, I'm still trying to save this thing. Another $20k reduction and I can have my contingency percentage. I may be losing my center stair step in favor of a slab above; if so, I can line that new wide hallway with HW, HVAC and a linen closet. (See below.)

Marthaelena, we don't have furnaces in Alabama. New construction typically has a dual fuel heat pump. The air handler is probably upstairs but could be put down here, I guess.

Terry, we're using open web trusses, so routing cable should be no problem.

Your HVAC room is likely too small, if that is where the air handler is supposed to go. It might work for a slab on grade with one return at the base of the unit, but it won't work for two or more conditioned floors. That room would have to hold the air handler itself, and at least two large ducts (supply and return).

I say likely because we have no information on the basement ceiling height, truss height, or the floor above, so we don't know how the ducts might be run. For that matter, we don't know where you plan to locate the supply vents and returns on the main floor or in the basement itself.

We have roughly 2200 sf up and 2200 sf down and a 8x8 equipment room. The HVAC and the WH fill it. Even though ours includes the "man space" for the technician, and yours would use the hall, so the comparison isn't exact, I'm still pretty sure you would run into problems with that small a space.

BTW, if that is just a chase, you should label it as such. And if it isn't, it needs a door. :-)

Good catch on the cabling vs salt spray. And good choice using the open web trusses.

Not sure I understand your stairs with the elimination of the 2nd story. As shown it appears you have a landing midway up to the 1st floor. That would put your data/comms closet at about waist high. Doable but not comfortable for the installer. You haven't ID'ed the elec panel so I assume it is on 1st floor?

The air handler (AHU) can be on the 1st floor but you will want to insulate for sound suppression. Check with your installer but, with avg lows around freezing (Huntsville area), you may be able to place the AHU in your attic (if you have one). What do you plan to heat with on days in the low 60s and below?

I think the fish room sink layout is unusable but I have no idea how to address it without taking up too much of the family room. Maybe squaring off the angled wall while maintaining 4' clearance off the corner of your family room niche? For perspective re your current clearance of 20-1/4", my desk's computer keyboard tray is 24" wide. The 3' of technician "man space" is a good rule of thumb for comfortable use of the sink.

Finally, I know you really want to do this. It's tough to back away but think long and hard before you settle for a design that may fit your budget but will always be regretted. Good luck whichever way you go.

I honestly don't know where the HVAC guy will want to put stuff, I'm just trying to be sure to leave him room. Originally this was going to be 2 ton geothermal, but I'm guessing that's not on the table now. So, the likely unit is a dual fuel heat pump.

I guess I'm confused -- it would be an understatement to say HVAC is not a strong area for me. I don't know what you guys are visualizing, but here the heat pump and blower typically go outside and you just need clearance to run ducting, vents, chase, and an air return on each level. Since the house is sealed very tight, there's a fresh air system, too, but I have no idea what that looks like. I do have an attic, so placing the unit within conditioned space is preferred if it can be worked out.

Yes, the fish room sink is awkward, but I'm not a man-sized technician. I'm little. :) Mostly I just need a drain I can plumb to, a water source and somewhere to wash hands, tools and parts. I agree it's definitely not ideal. And in retrospect I need at least another 6" behind the tank.

Yes, the data closet is short. It's mostly for me -- a home base for the ethernet runs, patch panel and half rack for a couple of servers & stuff. There's no intercom system and I can't imagine I'd bother to run phone cable. If we did need more room, the other storage area under the stairs could be used.

Electrical panel, if I have my way, will be in the utility room on the first floor which is outside the basement footings.

It's not hard to find a pretty nice house around here for quite a bit less than even the "budget" version of this plan, so I am definitely struggling with the want vs. what's wise to do. It's just hard to walk away from 2 years of brain sweat and blood over this house.

quite a bit less than even the "budget" version of this plan

How much are you talking about here? What about appraisals? If the other houses are very close to what you want to build sf wise and same amenities but your GC is charging alot more.....maybe the GC hasn't faced reality of what the market is now?

I guess I'm confused -- it would be an understatement to say HVAC is not a strong area for me. I don't know what you guys are visualizing, but here the heat pump and blower typically go outside and you just need clearance to run ducting, vents, chase, and an air return on each level. Since the house is sealed very tight, there's a fresh air system, too, but I have no idea what that looks like. I do have an attic, so placing the unit within conditioned space is preferred if it can be worked out.

Heat pumps can either be package units or split systems.

With a package unit, everything is contained in one box (package) which usually sits on a outdoors pad directly against a wall. The ductwork runs through the wall connecting the system to the house. Package units are sometimes also installed on roofs. Package units are cheaper than split systems, but always lose a little bit of conditioned air to the outside world.

Package units are common on mobile homes and not that unusual on site built houses in mild climates.

The most common arragement is the split system. With the split system, the compressor sits on a pad outside, while the air handler is installed inside the house, ideally in conditioned space. Refrigerant flows between the two units in copper piping. All duct work is connected to the air handler, which is where the indoor blower and other components are located.

Air handlers come in vertical and horizontal configurations. Horizontals are usually found in attics, while verticals go in the basement or HVAC closet. Speaking of attics, you don't want your air handler in the attic, unless you have no other choice. The HVAC guys hate working up there for good reason. It's cramped and often very hot, so it's not a fun place to install or work on something, especially a broken down or new unit in mid-summer. You will find some of the worst HVAC work in attics.

Air handlers generate condensation, which needs to be drained off. A malfunction in the condensate removal system, usually a pump, can result in water dripping in the attic, which can cause structural damage if not caught in time. While attic air handler installations normally have an overflow float switch for a safety mechanism, these can fail.

In my opinion, an air handler should only be installed where

1... it can't cause damage if the condensate drain malfunctions, and

2... the homeowner can easilly inspect it every now and then.

Air handlers installed in attics usually don't get inspected until something goes wrong.

If your attic is not conditioned space, you absolutely do not want the air handler up there. None of them are perfectly sealed, so you will lose conditioned air to the attic.

The air handler in our new house during installation.

I assume your fresh air system will be an energy recovery ventilators, or ERV. ERVs make sense in the humid South. Here's what the unit installed in our new build looks like.

The ERV mid installation. Two more ducts will be connected to the left side.

A lot of home plans make absolutley no provision for the HVAC, so the systems end up wherever the installers can fit them. Usually that means the homeowner loses some sort of closet space to ducting and returns, while the air handler gets stuffed in the attic.

In my opinion, plans for homes built in AC or heat pump country should include dedicated space for the HVAC installation, including the air handler, supply and return ducting, and air returns. Too often this is not the case.

If you locate the air handler in the basement, don't forget to spec a floor drain for the condensate.

Thank you, creek_side, that's amazingly helpful.

"How much are you talking about here? What about appraisals? If the other houses are very close to what you want to build sf wise and same amenities but your GC is charging alot more.....maybe the GC hasn't faced reality of what the market is now? "

It's a cost plus contract, so the GC isn't charging anything except a percentage on top. The market is fine here; we never had a bubble to burst. Home prices are slightly depressed because they are staying on the market longer, but really only the higher value homes are affected. And around here, anything over $200k is well above median ($140k)

The contractors must be working because when we complained their bids were coming back too high they declined to negotiate. (With the exception of the cabinet maker, who's bid was quite reasonable.)

Would it appraise? Absolutely. With all versions of the plan the home would easily appraise at significantly higher than the cost to construct. That doesn't mean I want to bite off that much debt.