For you Tuxedo Park plan people, I was considering having the garage detached and doing a wrap around porch that side of the house, from the front, thus connecting the garage to the main house with a breezeway. Also extending the porch around the back to the end of the house so the master suite could have walk out doors. Thoughts?

Hello @Mindy,

One thing I can tell you from our experience, is that big porches cost big money . We ended up reducing our front porch to put the money in other areas we would use more often.

Here’s a comparison of our changes from the original plan.

Yeah @J Freeman my husband's #1 want for his dream home is a "wrap around porch" so I was playing with the plan and came up with this... A bit scared of the hypothetical pricing. What state are you building in? Can I ask what the price range is for your "Tuxedo Park" build so far? I am hoping it totals less than $500,000 in the end (I know it varies by location and specific selections and materials). We may be building in the Boston area, but with his job right now we travel a lot and I am not sure where "home" will be just yet. Thanks for the info!

@Ryan that's looking great so far! My husband and I are still going back and forth between this plan and Northfield Manor. There are definitely aspects we like from each of them. We're *hopefully* going to walk through a Northfield Manor this weekend that's being built by us. Can I ask where you are building? I would love to see a Tuxedo Park in person!

@Mindy We are building in North Alabama. We actually just broke ground this week, so we’ll be able to start adding construction pics in the weeks to come. On Cost to Build, I would say this plan can range from $400K - $1M depending on materials, trim and upgrades. We toured a couple of Northfield Manor’s (which are similar) in GA that were all priced in the $900K - $1.2M range.

We're building in southern Virginia.

We detached the garage and swung it around to the side due to site requirements. We extended the roofline that covers the mudroom space to make a breezeway connecting the two.

Interesting to see that no one added a closet by the front door. What if guests come with jackets in the winter?

@Val B We did, our 1st floor is shown a couple of post above.

Ryan, I have a question for you. I'm building this plan in North Carolina but will actually be in southern VA this week because I'm from that area - small world! I see that you also closed off the loft, as I did. Now that the drywall is up, it's a really dark space, and I'm considering adding solar tubes or changing the storage area off the loft to add a window. Did you make any changes in this area to deal with no windows? Thanks for any input!

Making some progress in North Carolina....

@Val B I actually didn't think about that as I saw most traffic coming through the mud room. Something to consider.

@lbetz60 It is a small world! We replaced the eyebrow dormer that was on the original plan with a gable dormer so it looks like there will be plenty of light from that window. It's hard to tell yet since they haven't fully closed in the roof over the breezeway.

@lbetz That's looking great! What part of North Carolina are you building in? I think my husband and I are headed to Greensboro next Tuesday. Would love to swing by and see it if you're anywhere on the path from Atlanta to Greensboro lol! Also, can I ask what changes you made to the plan? Thank you in advance!

Quick question for tuxedo park plan, what is the size for the master bath vanity with double sinks? Is it the traditional 72"? Thanks for your help.

Hi Ryan, I really like the change you made with the dormer. You won't have the problem that I will with lack of light that I will.

Hello Jacqui, sorry for the delay reponding! I'm building in the community of Eagle's Watch in Hampstead, NC. It's just north of Wilmington, NC. I enlarged the master bedroom by a few feet, enclosed the keeping room, and also reconfigured the appliances in the kitchen. The eyebrow dormer was removed, which I now regret because the enclosed loft is very dark. It's about a three hour drive from Greensboro to Hampstead, but if you decide to make the trip, I can make sure you get in the community (it's gated) to see the house. It's around 2 months away from completion.

Anyone make any progress and willing to share any updates or photos on their Tuxedo Park builds? Hope things are going well.

We’ll be posting pictures soon. We just started framing, the floor joist have to get inspected then the sub-floors can go down and the walls can start going up....

I just built this plan outside of Raleigh, NC. Plan was so new when we started there was nothing on the web to go off of or look at so I thought I would help if I could. We stayed pretty true to the original layout.

@davistripp, Thanks so much for sharing!!! Absolutely gorgeous! You are so right that there is not much out there on this plan, as it is so new. Keep us updated on your progress as well! Would love to see your choices for the interior. Have a great day!

@davistripp That’s a beautiful home... I 2nd @mindyapple on seeing how you designed the interior.

Mindy, you are hoping this house can be built for $500k in the Boston area? Have you talked to any builders about cost? To put it mildly, I am highly skeptical. I live in the Boston area, and just to add a dormer to the back of my cape cod home and reno 2 bedrooms and a bathroom would have cost $150k.

I added a few pics of kitchen, living, keeping room. Happy to answer any questions. I’m not great on navigating this site.

@davistripp, thanks for sharing! Looks beautiful!! I have family in Fayetteville not far from your neck of the woods.

@course411, We will not be building in Boston afterall, as my husband's job site has changed. We are actually in NH now near New Boston and I am hopeful as there is a subdivision in the area that build Frank Betz plans specifically!! Currently their 4 bed, around 2700 sq ft PRE-construction on 2 or larger acre lots go for about $480,000 to $510,000 so I was just going off of those specific comparables as I am hoping to get into this subdivision. It specifically states that we can select from any Frank Betz plan. The Tuxedo Park plan is bigger and I have made a number of my own modifications to the plan, but I hope to have $100,000 cash to put down on that contract so we will see how it plays out. At my initial post, we were expecting to be in MA but we decided to settle in NH which seems more affordable and I just love it here (hubbs works out of Tyngsboro, MA). I plan to request a quote and pricing list directly from Frank Betz site before purchasing blueprints as I know it will cost more because I love big porches. Still in the planning phase... If anyone who is/has built Tuxedo Park wants to share their price range for their build, I would appreciate, just to get an idea. I know it varies state to state/city to city. Thanks!

@davistripp Did keep your windows in the garage the same level as the main house or bring them down in order to see out of. Right now we’re framing the garage and if ours stay level with the main house, the bottom of the windows will be 5ft off the garage floor. All help is appreciated....

@JFreeman I left the windows as the plan and yes they are high. I never really thought much about looking through them though. I actually thought about omitting them for more wall space in the garage, but wanted the light and to keep the aesthetics of the home in check. See pic for reference.

Visible progress has slowed down as they work on plumbing/electric/HVAC.

@davistripp, Do you have additional pictures of the family room? I'd like to do the same furniture layout but was worried about the spacing.

Interesting change up @ryan. You will think the pace of work fell off a cliff now. Here is current living room, however my wife wants to put chairs in front on French doors for a try.

Thanks @davistripp, we decided to keep our windows in the garage at the same level as the main house. It gives a better look in my opinion.
Two questions:
- What height are your ceilings on the main floor?
- Did you changed the layout of the pantry and do you have a picture of it?

10’ ceiling downstairs 9’ upstairs.
Pantry is kind of hard to take a good picture. Hope this helps.

Exterior Progress Pics

@lbetz do you have any updated photos? my husband and I are leaning more towards this over Northfield Manor at the moment, but we still haven't been able a whole lot of pictures of it!

Would anyone on here be willing to share their floor plans with me? We've met with a builder, and are needing the floor plans in order to get a more accurate cost to build. My email is jacquihorn1@gmail.com - thank you in advance!!

We’re 90% done with framing. We have a frame walk-thru this week and then the doors & windows will be installed.

We are strongly considering this plan as well, but we want a basement. I can't imagine how it would work with the garage in the back (although aesthetically, I like how the garage looks in the back). Has anyone seen or built this with a basement? Or have a photo of the back of the home with a basement?

@jmmotsin If you go to the Northfield Manor blog on Houzz, there are a few people who have built the Southern Trace / Northfield Manor (which is very similar to the Tuxedo Park) with a basement. I toured one in Roswell GA, with a basement under the main portion of the house.
https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/2829974/anyone-built-or-seen-built-frank-betzs-northfield-manor

Progress Pics: Shingles and 90% of the windows installed...

Does anyone have the dimensions of the windows on the front of the house (original plan)? First and second story...

Jason Freeman, saw your post about building in North Alabama, I live in North MS we want to build Tuxedo Park as well, thought I might ask which city it’s in and if you minded my wife and I come look in person?

Hello Chase,

The Tuxedo Park is a great plan that allows you to modify it to fit your needs or leave as originally drawn. We live in Huntsville, AL and don’t mind at all for you to check it out. You can contact me at jason.freeman1980@gmail.com to setup a time to walk thru the house.

Exterior Progress Pics: Initial brick work is complete, Hardie coming soon.....

Siding all done ✅

We are starting to build (this week- fingers crossed). We are in Massachusetts so had to do some modifications for the roof/framing. Some other changes we are planning on: half bath off of the garage where the closet is, framing in the front porch off the laundry room to be a pantry, eliminated One fireplace. Any tips from those who have already built?

Has anyone added a window in the staircase? Right now it appears as a "fake window" from the outside with the shutters closed. If we go with this plan we will be taking it to an architect to make some adjustments anyways but just wanted to know if this has been done and if it is possible.

I am so thankful to have found this thread! We are also working on “making this plan our own” and everyone’s comments are very helpful. Please keep posting updates and pictures as you all build!

@jfreeman How are you liking the house and the plan? Do you have nay pictures of the interior now that it's finished? I'd love to see!

@jfreeman I too like your changes and would love to see interior pics.

I absolutely love all the big windows in this home!

Hello All,

We have finally started the move-in process, we closed on our house this past Friday. We're still just as much in love with this plan as we were when we first saw it on the FB website.

Drone Pic

Mudroom / Garage Entrance

Laundry Room

Craft Room

Kitchen

Keeping Room

Family Room

Master Bedroom

Master Bathroom

Master Shower

Guest Bathroom w/o the shower grid panel & toilet installed

Staircase

Daughter's Bathroom

Son's Bathroom

Media Room

Loft Area

Playroom (Front) & Home Gym (Back)

Beautiful Jason!!