macv,

Thanks for your response. Just so that I am absolutely clear, you would have no problem with me asking our architect for the following:

all interior and exterior door heads at 7'
all window heads at 8'

Any advice on how to ask this of our architect since he was the one that explicitly stated we needed to keep all door and window heads at the same height? Does this kind of change require a redraw, or can I work this out just between me and the builder (he delivered what was supposed to be our final set of drawings today)?

When the initial change from 8' doors to 7' doors happened, he reduced the window heights by 6" and also moved them 6" lower on the walls. If we do go back to 8' headers, do we move them back up the wall 6" and increase the height 6", or leave them at the stated height and add a foot?

cintijen

My advice is general; I would need to see the elevation drawings to give you specific design advice.

I agree about 8-0 swinging doors with a 9-0 ceiling.

I can say that if the windows looked good a foot higher, they can probably be left at that height and the front door could be designed as a separate element. Add a transom light to a 7-0 door if alignment is important.

I can't imagine why the casements at the fireplace would need to be lowered.

As for the interior doors, the rule of aligning the heads of doors and windows died in the 60's.

Macv,

I can't really say if the windows look good at 8 ft or not in general. We only have a few elevations for built-ins, etc. We will not have any crown molding, but in the great room we do have 6" beams. Our architect does not use a program that gives us a 3D view. I did ask.

I am happy to either post or email you our latest plans. I have the PDFs as well as DWFs. My email is listed on my profile here. I can't imagine how you have the time to give all the advice you do here on GW. It's invaluable.

Thanks,
Cintijen

I came on GW just to ask the same question that cintijen just asked !!

Our ceilings will be 9 foot and all interior & exterior doors are planned to be 6'8". If sliding glass door is 6'8" tall and the window next to it is 5' tall and 2' off the floor, how stupid will it look that the top of door is at 6'8 and top of window is at 7' right next to each other ? If there was more of a difference, I dont think it would matter too much, but being only 4 inches difference in the height of the tops, wouldn't it look odd ?

Should I make that window 20" off floor so the top of the 5' window is even with door top at 6'8" ? Or should I change the window size ? Does it make any difference that these are 9' ceilings, instead of 8' ? And I assume all windows should be the same height from the floor so it doesn't look stupid from the outside as it would if different rooms had different heights ?

We are going to stay with 6'8" doors because it is sooooo much cheaper !! I think 7' would probably look better but it is way too much money for 4 extra inches. And I dont think 6'8" looks too bad with 9 foot ceilings. Thoughts ? Also, exterior trim will be very wide, so I cannot go too close to the ceiling with the windows

Angela12345,

Have you actually priced out doors in 7' vs. 6'8"? We found that the cost was minimal for our particular door style. Might be worth it to solve your height dilemma.

Let me know what you decide to do. I'm leaning towards raising all the windows to 8' but keeping the doors at 7'.

Good luck!
Cintijen

I think a one foot difference in door to window height would look good. It's when they are so close that it almost looks like a mistake that I am worried about (with mine).

I did call Home Depot tonight just to get an idea. We are not going with expensive doors at all. Will be putting the money in other places in this home. I had them price out 32" 6-panel prehung textured Masonite doors (paint-grade) 2.25 casing - satin nickel & brass hinges were free (antique brass was $4.50 more).

80" hollow core $63.00
84" hollow core $165.50

80" safe'n sound $154.50 "Solid Core" construction for feel of solid wood w/reduced sound transmission
84" safe'n sound $216.50

http://www.masonite.com/productPages_InteriorDoors_Detail.php?doorID=PAN-MPS-DR-6PSQ-XXX-6-80-HBD-TX

What are the doors you are pricing out ?

The problem everyone seems to be having is upgrading the ceiling heights of their house and nt upgrading the window heights. I believe this is the result of approaching each element in the design independently without considering the whole.

A 5-0 tall windows work well for an 8-0 ceiling but for a 9-0 ceiling I would automatically make them 6 to 12" taller.
The additional material cost of taller windows is not unreasonable since it doesn't increase the installation cost. Often an even better deal is to use a "cottage" style window where the upper sash is one pane shorter than the lower one. (At least that's true with Andersen Woodwrights)

The imortant desgn issue is the better proportion of the windows to the wall height (if you have height ceilings why not let it show) and the opportunity to bring more light deeper into the room (natural light is free and amazingly wonderful).

If cost is the more important than aesthetics why not stick with 8-0 ceilings?

If it is just the trim that bothers you, add 4" to the top door trim or add a transom-like panel between the door head and the trim.

With the possible exception of cheap copies of popular light fixtures, I find things like doors and windows to be 10 to 30% cheaper from professional suppliers than from Home Depot. There can be even greater savings for things that Home Depot needs to special order like 7-0 doors. But not all professional suppliers will quote to homeowners because they suspect they are only trying to get a written proposal to show Home Depot so Home Depot will beat that price. If you want the good stuff and reasonable delivery service it is usually better to go through a building professional even if there is a markup. If you're buying everything yourself you must buy what is normally offered or pay an even more unreasonable premium to the retail stores.

Angela12345,

I can't give you very specific pricing on our doors because I can't put my hands on that paperwork at the moment, but we are looking for a Craftsman style 3 panel door. We will be going through our builder and using doors that are not special order for 7'. Our second floor is 8' ceilings so we will be using 6'8" doors there. If I remember correctly, the door we decided on was the Craftmaster Crossmore, and I think the 3070 was around $135 pre-hung, about $60-70 lower than a similar style from other manufacturers. It does pay to shop different lines. HTH.

Macv,

I'm not worried about the minimal difference in cost, I just want what is most pleasing aesthetically. That being said, I do look to my design professional to guide me on issues like these and he is the one that lowered all my windows.

I did send my elevations so let me know if they didn't make it through.

Thanks again,
Cintijen