I will eventually hire an architect and engineer to put together a final set.

Make it easy on yourself and the Architect -- hire one now and allow them to do their job.

And if you want comments on your plan, make it easy on others and create an image (jpg or png) and post here.

Thanks for your suggestion on the JPEGs. I will post those later. I understand what you are saying about hiring an architect, but what I was looking for with this post is suggestions related to the plan I have created. If you are interested in commenting on that, thank you. If not, I would prefer we not clutter the post.

PPF is correct. You do not need to take plans to an architect.

And architects cannot "draw up" plans created by others--it illegal for them to do so.

PPF is trying to save you time and wasted effort. His is good advice,

i understand how it works. The intent of this exercise is conceptual. There is nothing wrong with working out a concept before hiring an architect. I have been down this road and I know how quickly those billable hours add up working through even the basic conceptual ideas on the front end. also This home is very remote and not near enough to an architect I trust at this time. I have good reason for doing what I am doing, but I do understand Both sides. It seems maybe this was not the right place to come

I echo the advice above but to humor you I looked at the plans and here are my notes:

-There is no entry way. You open right up into the living room. In a cold environment you'll want a bit of separation and a closet there. The mudroom is great, but it's best to have storage at the front too

-The half bath is cramped and in a very public area

-There are SO many exits to the deck on this space. Do you really need 5 exits to the home?

-I'm not a fan of sinks on the island. I prefer a clear island. People tend to hang out there. I'd move it in front of a window so you can enjoy the views

-Will you have a TV? They don't belong above a fireplace...especially a wood burning which most mountain homes have

-The whole master level is just...no

-Are there no other bedrooms? Or secondary living spaces?

-Do you really want all your outdoor living to happen on the front deck? most people prefer the privacy of a backyard deck. That would also place is closer to the kitchen.

Look conceptually I get wanting to play around. But let the architect do their job. Your job is to create a budget, and write down a list of your wants and needs. Take that to the architect and let them do what they're trained and experienced in doing.

-The half bath is cramped and in a very public area.

I once bought a house with an even handier 2 pce--in the kitchen. (Filled many construction bins with the p.o.'s improvements.)

Great suggestions and comments, thank you. I have been debating Quite a bit over the exterior doors. What is shown now is a shot in the dark. It is details Like that where I will definitely need an architect‘s touch. .

My current idea is that the basement area will be used for the additional bedrooms and an additional living space.

Thsnks for the tip tip on the deck. I had to keep the front deck 8’ because of the way the grade is but I could expand off the back behind the kitchen instead of the front. Great suggestion.

If if you are willing to make further suggestions, what about the master level sticks out the most. I’ve struggled with ideas For the second level. I originally thought I would want a second living space there but hadn’t been able to work out the layout.

There are 100 things (+/- 500) that others need to know to make good comments on a plan.

Why is the plan the way it is. That is, what caused you to make each design decision -- if there was a decision, when drawing the plan.

What's the site like -- views, weather, size, orientation, topography, restrictions etc.

What about the budget.

You are wanting to reuse a foundation to support a larger structure. Will it do the job?

Who will live in the house?

And on and on.

This may be a fun exercise for you, but it's rather frustrating for someone wanting to help.

And then there are the ones who post a plan for review, than cannot find any good suggestions, believing the plan is perfect as is, or ones who post a series of poor plans, showing they learned nothing from previous comments.

Neither of the bathrooms work well at all. I'd rather see the closet on the interior than the exterior. Maybe move the 1/2 bath to the mudroom area?

Understood. It Seems difficult to articulate the “why” behind every line on the plan. Regarding the foundation of course this will be addressed. If the existing foundation won’t do the job we will replace or improve it. This is not part of the scope of this discussion. I am in the construction business, I’m not going to rush out and build a Home without going through the proper due diligence, but thank you for the reminders and suggestions, you have clearly reiterated the need to hire a professional to design the home and this advice does align with my stated intentions.

The first things I noticed:

- The powder room in full view of the kitchen and dining room, with the toilet right by the door (hard no for me)

- The way the living room is designed, at least the way you have it shown, all the furniture is facing in. This is a mountain home on a hillside, so I assume that somewhere you have a view you want to showcase. Make sure that when you're relaxing by the fireplace, you don't have to crane your head around to see it.

- Master bath looks cramped. I'd skip the 2 sinks and opt for more counter space and storage drawers. Looks too small to have 2 of you in there at the same time anyway.

- I'd swap the side of the room the master closet is on. If the deck is by the view, don't give the view to the closet. And personally I wouldn't want my master open to the living room below. But that's personal preference.

Great advice thank you. I will try repositioning the master And living room. The view is evenly distributed across the entire front of the house (front being towards the long section of deck, plan east).

I struggled with the half bath, but I do now understand that this is not a good position. I need to come up with something better/more private.

The master is not meant to be shown as open to the living, there would be a solid wall there on either side of the “chimney” (for lack of a better term). The open note is signifying that the second floor does not extend over the living area, the living room would be open all the way to the roof. I will clear that up a bit more on the plan. Thank you so much for the suggestions, I will keep trying new ideas until we get a functional concept that we like.

The problem with you creating a plan now is you're investing so much of your time and what happens to so many of us is once we're invested in our creation, it's like our baby. It becomes harder for us to see the negatives, especially the more time we spend "fine tuning" our "baby. So many of us become unwilling to see something that might be so much better that has nothing to do with what we created.

Any of us can become attached to even the most dysfunctional plans. We see it on this forum over and over again. Truly the best thing you can do is create a bubble diagram of what you're looking for in adjacencies, what you need and want, what views you want to showcase and how you want to live. Then also to find photos of homes you love and point out what you love about them.

Yes, it's a human trait to become attached to something we have worked and worked on. It makes the architect's works just that much harder, since s/he has to initially spend time explaining all the negatives with a consumer's plan. And begin to show how there are better and stronger approaches with a fresh start.

And then the consumer gets offended because all of their fine work isn't recognized or appreciated.

It's an unfortunate common occurance for consumers who insist on doing their own floor plans.

Why?

Because 99% of consumers are only looking and thinking about the single floor plan they are working on at the moment.

Architects, on the other hand, are educated, trained and experienced in thinking and visualizing in three-dimensions. They know that site plan, interior space plans, exterior elevations and style, and roof plan are all inextricably linked together. They know that a decision in one of these spheres has direct effect on all the other spheres. As a result, they are constantly thinking, visualizing and exploring all of the spheres together in a simultanious design process.

There's more...

The difference between what you are doing and what an architect will do is that you are simply arranging rooms next to one another, one floor at a time. An architect on will first explore and discover a workable concept for a site and a house, and then begin to work with adjacencies of major spaces throughout the house. Major exterior form and style will be a part of the exploration.

Finally, more detailed development will take place with specific room development and sizes.

You are shortcutting this process and simply bumping rooms together, one floor at a time.

Would you say you have an architectural concept which is guiding you in the development of your design? What would that concept be?

How does your floor plan fit and accomodate your site? How does your floor plan lend itself to aesthetic exteriors and architectural style? Will your roof plan be humongeous?

Do you see the difference between what you are doing and architectural design?

Absolutely I definitely understand this. I spend every day reading plans and visualizing them in three dimensions, it is my profession as well but I am on the construction side. I get it and I appreciate everyone’s advice and input. From the flip side perspective, I work with architects every day that can’t understand how their designs are not practical or buildable. I see details that worked great in Revit but deny the laws of physics every day. It is my job to take a design and turn it into reality. I understand The relation of 2d to 3D and the interior to the exterior. But I am not a professional architect and I also understand the undeniable value they bring. I will be hiring an architect, but I think everyone should also understand all architects are not created equal and from the Builders perspective there are things to consider conceptually as well. I appreciate everyone’s input and I will expedite the process of finding an architect at your advice.

We had the Ugly Baby discussion at work the other day.

"It's breathtaking".....

but I think everyone should also understand all architects are not created equal

Agree 100% as we see that too on this forum all too often. There have been times when we've questioned whether an architect was truly licensed as what they created was so poorly conceived. So yes, it goes both ways.

The great thing for you is you'll be able to know right away that something will be buildable.

I hope you take us along on your journey. :)

We had the Ugly Baby discussion at work the other day.

"Oh look at your new baby. Um, uh, what a head of hair on her!"

How many ppl clicked on this link? Did you all see the message that came up before the plan loaded?

What kind of message? Should I remove the link to protect my privacy or data? I don’t see what you mean. Thanks in advance

Dad-ism #311: "Cute" is what you call an ugly baby.

When I click on the link I get an error message that says the file is no longer available. Make a .jpg and post that. Png's don't work.

I took it down just now based on the question about the “message”. No reason to risk anything. I’ve learned my lesson about posting here, I’ll be sure to use JPEG if I ever request a plan review in the future...

Png's don't work.

For the lurkers

They work fine -- most of my images are png format.

Hmm. Those are the images I can never get to load. Possibly because I use the GW side, exclusively?

@R T

Have you considered 3D design software? Sounds like you are familiar with Revit.

I can recommend Home Designer. Prices start at $100 and a free trial is available.

I really was not trying to run you off or discourage you from seeking feedback here on houzz, just suggesting ways you could help others help you.

The more someone knows about you and your building site, the more helpful they can be.

Post some pictures of your site, your views, say generally where it's located etc.

You mentioned kids, but not how many or their ages.

All this info is in your head, but it's not in ours.

I mentioned decisions above. An example might be, I like morning light in the kitchen so I placed the kitchen on the eastern side of the house. Or, I need a powder room on the 1st floor, but do not know where to put one.

@Holly

What device are you using?

Can you see my images here?

I saw it say that this crab is hacked

Weird. I deleted the link after you said that Just to be safe. Thank you

I am dying of curiosity to see the plan, and I guess it will never happen now.

You’re Welcome!

@PPF, I can view your link, but I couldn’t view OP’s. But perhaps she had taken it down by then.

Edit: or he

PPF - a Windows laptop. I can view your images, but if I try to load up png's of my own, they never come out of the greyed out state.

To the OP, I'm sorry you decided to withdraw. You did say this was your first time trying to design a house and asked for help.

The best help for you and for lurkers in a similar situation is to talk to a local architect to save yourself time, money, hassle and improve overall quality.

Good luck.

Virgil - you are correct, I asked for help. And from many people, the only help I got was “hire an architect“. Read my first reply where I said yes I understand this but it is not the Type of help I am asking for and I would rather not clutter the post. I expected a more helpful DIY culture here To be honest. Help people learn how to be Better at what they are doing, don’t just discourage them from learning and practicing.

I am am a member of many message boards, at most of which I am a subject matter expert myself. When people come there and ask for help with a construction project they are trying to DIY, i help them understand how to do what they are trying to do. I could just as easily tell them to give up and hire a professional contractor But that’s just not how I roll.

Perhaps this is just the difference in culture and attitude between the professions, I don’t know. I’ve certainly worked with plenty of architects who have their noses stuck up......

RT, thanks for your comments. You raise good points IMO.

But here's the thing: trying to help people learn and practice architectural design is a far cry from helping someone understand and install, say, insulation or roofing or framing.

Probably that may be the case because insulation, roofing and framing tend to be finite and easily defined. Design, on the other hand, is hardly finite and strong design includes a large measure of experienced intuition which is very difficult to define and describe. And not everyone, even architects, can do it well.

The common response of "look for a local architect" is often simply a polite way of saying the posted design sucks, is hopeless and a waste of time.

Why?

Because architectural design is a three-dimensional activity, involving site planning, interior space planning, exterior aesthetics and style, and roof plan. And this means one must also be considering structure and systems integration--all considered simultaneously.

Most consumers, when they post a floor plan and ask for help simply are only thinking about the posted floor plan and the size of a kitchen island or counter top material. They are completely unaware of all of the other related design issues.

Guven your experience, perhaps you are different. But we can't know that.

For those serious about trying to learn architectural design, the very best advice is to enroll in a degree-granting architectural program.

Spend the requisite 5-6 years, graduate and spend additional years of practical experience, take and pass the architectural licensing exam, and thereafter spend the next twenty years advancing ones knowledge and skill.

Instead, many people buy a $100 residential CAD program and post their designs here asking for help, not knowing the difficulty in providing any really useful commentary.

Of course, you are in the construction biz so perhaps this is all common knowledge for you. But it's useful for the lurkers if nothing else.

Nothing at all about noses in the air...design is a challenging endeavor and it's simply knowledge and skill that not everyone possesses.

Trying it for the first time is a learning experience...sometimes a rather tough one, even for architects.

Best wishes with your project.

R T, here's a thought, since as you noted, you feel that there are no local architects that you are comfortable with yet...

Poster di0spyr0s (who is a software engineer) has a separate thread asking for feedback on her (architect-designed) house. She posted an amazing Imgur link of the wishes and images that she took to her architect. In the link (beginning around image 12), she starts posting bubble diagrams about how she wants her house to flow, what looks where, etc., including compass orientation:

https://imgur.com/a/E0dWMMm

Perhaps as part of your getting some thoughts in order before bringing in the architect, you might start doing similar bubble diagrams. No specific this-here-and-that-there, just (as di0spyr0s called it) a walkthrough of the house in your head.

When you get two or three that you like, you might post them here for comments. I understand that you will probably receive the "get thee to an architect now", but if you're willing to ignore them, you might get some useful feedback on general layout and flow. (That is one of the givens about posting on social media - as much as you might like to, you can't restrict replies.)

I did bubble diagrams in my head when I started kitchen remodels, but since I've never built a house from scratch, I had never thought how this might work.

di0spyr0s, I'm using "she" - apologies if I guessed wrong.

Edit: here's the thread which I'm citing:

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5764149/help-with-kitchen-layout-please#n=28

Great feedback, thank you!

PNG files load just like jpg files. Your images are probably too large. Reduce them to a MB or less and try again.

Bubble diagrams are a great way to explore and study interior adjacentcies and linkages--primary, seconday or none.

They are not a floor plan. They are initial explorations of what needs to be close to what in a primary, secondary or none sort of priority.

Their value is to preceed floor plan studies and to be a sound basis for the conceptual organization of a house (or any structure).

following RT..

RT, on another "critique my house plan" thread which you commented on, I posted the following link for bubble diagrams,

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/4351651/beginning-bubble-diagram-for-a-custom-home#n=22

A couple of other helpful posts,

"What's A Well-Designed House?"

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/whats-a-well-designed-house-dsvw-vd~5370217

and

What are you doing to make your house enrich your life?

By the way, including your plan in your post, and also making sure it's large enough to be legible, is very important in getting as many eyes as possible on your plan. A lot of people will just scroll by or click away if there's just a link provided.

I am am a member of many message boards, at most of which I am a subject matter expert myself. When people come there and ask for help with a construction project they are trying to DIY, i help them understand how to do what they are trying to do. I could just as easily tell them to give up and hire a professional contractor But that’s just not how I roll.

Perhaps this is just the difference in culture and attitude between the professions, I don’t know. I’ve certainly worked with plenty of architects who have their noses stuck up......

My husband has been a builder for more than 40 years, but one of the things we realized when we first started our new house project several years ago is that you don't know what you don't know : ) . And when it comes to building, remodeling, renovating, or designing a new house, the first three in my experience lend themselves better to DIY than the latter.

Having been a member of many message boards myself in the past 15+ years, I will say that each board/forum has a culture of its own, and it helps to figure that out first to get the best results.

Good luck with your project!

R T
now you understand why you don't let the internet design your project.

https://www.lifeofanarchitect.com/dont-let-the-internet-design-your-project/

everybody is an expert

Except in the article referenced, the author IS an EXPERT....

I've found the internet to be quite helpful in matters of car repair - of course - you have to know enough to ask the right folks and separate the wheat from the chaff. Same on the internet for house design.

Usually if someone is bound and determined to "go it alone" without and architect or person of design talent - the group can offer some very pertinent insights IF the poster is open to them. Not all amateurs are created equal.... nor are all OPs.

Why so angry? If you want help, stop complaining and post your design.