Close to final house plans

14 years ago

My husband and I are in our early sixties and building this house as a vacation home now and later as our main home. The lot is a half-acre, steeply sloping lot with vast veiws to the north/northeast which the deck side of the house faces. There will be an unfinished, for now, walkout basement of about 850 sf which eventually will have a bedroom, family room and office. The main floor is almost 1800 square feet. We have no children living at home but have two grown kids, each married with two kids, who visit a few weekends a year. We are still at the stage where we can make changes but are getting close to choosing a builder and getting permits. I'm worried that the living/dining room may be dark because of the 12' roof over the deck. Also want to make sure the kitchen is arranged optimally so will try to post that area on the kitchen forum. In our area building costs are around $120/sf and we are trying to stick to a budget of $250k, excluding lot and finished basement. We would welcome your comments and suggetions.

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Comments (4)

prescotthouse
Original Author
14 years ago
Here is the basement plan. I'm not satisfied with the way the steps come down into the family room. Not sure if we need a door to the outside; although it will be a walkout basement the lot slopes steeply enough that we would only have a small patio, at best. Neither my husband nor I are gardeners, so we won't miss having a yard to keep up.
zone4newby
14 years ago
Where are you building? The US Naval Observatory has a website that will tell you where the sun rises and sets as the seasons change anywhere in the world. That might help you decide whether or not your living room is likely to get much natural light.

Here is a link that might be useful: US Naval Observatory Sun Altitude & Azimuth lookup
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virgilcarter
14 years ago
I don't know where you propose to build, but I'm certain that a 12' deep roof overhand on a porch will block out all direct light in winter anywhere in the U.S. (when the sun is lowest and the need for passive heat gain is highest).

As stated above, there are lots of sources to check for blocking summer sun and permitting windter sun to access the interior.

Good luck on your build.
petepie1
14 years ago
If you're in a cold area, will you have a problem with the MBR toilet sort of "hanging" out from the rest of the footprint of the house? Will the pipes be protected? I lived in a house once with a powder room in a similar situation and the pipes on the outside wall would freeze if we weren't careful to leave the door to the room open at all times. It probably was more likely a problem with insulation and HVAC in the powder room, but it's a thought if you're in a very cold climate.