The Time Is Coming To Build a House

[S10Blazed_Si]

I’ve owned a piece of property that is directly across the street from my current residence. It was left to me when my grandma passed away quite a few years ago. There is a house on the property but it is is terrible shape. Beyond terrible actually and is getting razed. It’s a nice neighborhood (obviously) and is right in the middle of a group of houses that are all family. My cousin lives next door. Next door to that is my sister. Across the street is my parents. The other side of this property is a 2nd cousin who is practically never home.

SOOO…

My girl and I decided to build our own place. She is definitely the one, so we are going to build it together. I have been messing with a Home Designer program to get a good start on the layout. We’re still in the planning phase and don’t plan on really pushing to get things going until next spring. Here are a few shots from within the software to get you guys caught up on my ideas so far. It’s far from finished and I am still learning the software.

Click pics for higher resolution versions.

This is the front. Notice the nice big windows. Those will actually be pretty close to the street (as close as allowed by code) unfortunately. Nice simple front porch and a good start for garage space.

[.jpg)](http://www.s10blazed.com/624_Adams/02 - Rear Overview.jpg)
The rear garage door is probably not going to happen. I figured I wanted to see what it looked like. In actuality, that door would only be a few dozen feet from a small creek. There would be no reason to drive back there. Also notice the awesome deck right off of the master bedroom.

[.jpg)](http://www.s10blazed.com/624_Adams/03 - Inside Garage Bay.jpg)
This is from the back corner of the garage. I like how the 2nd floor is cut out to accomodate for the lift. :smoker: The room that over looks it is the office and the small portion of door there is the 2nd staircase to the 2nd floor.

[.jpg)](http://www.s10blazed.com/624_Adams/04 - Office View.jpg)
This will be my office that overlooks the garage. The window setup is surely going to change. I want either a large window or an open wall. I want to feel like I am in the garage sorta.

Sara’s kitchen. Very preliminary and bound to change a thousand times before the first nail is shot.

[.jpg)](http://www.s10blazed.com/624_Adams/06 - 1st floor dollhouse.jpg)
“dollhouse view” of the 1st floor. No furniture or other items placed yet. The textures haven’t been set on alot of it either. The bare room closest to the kitchen will be a dining room. The next one with the front entrance will be a plain living room. The front most room with the large windows will be the sun room.

[.jpg)](http://www.s10blazed.com/624_Adams/07 - 2nd floor dollhouse.jpg)
“Dollhouse view” of 2nd floor. There isn’t too much special here. 2 symmetical rooms for potential children. A large ‘common area’ or playroom. Storage, office, master bed and bath.

[.jpg)](http://www.s10blazed.com/624_Adams/08 - 3rd floor dollhouse.jpg)
3rd floor will be my man cave #2. It’s going to be where I setup my video games and hang out. It’s going to be more than 1 giant room eventually. I just haven’t figured out how yet. It might end up being another bedroom and my man-cave. Or possibly his/her hide-a-ways. FYI, the furniture is exact copies of furniture I currently have that I modeled in 3D Studio Max to see how it looked.

[.jpg)](http://www.s10blazed.com/624_Adams/09 - basement.jpg)
Empty basement. Nothing fancy yet…

Let me know what you think. I’m open to ideas. The size is a bit exaggerated too. I just used the entire size of my lot to design it. After accounting for ROW and set backs, I’m sure it’ll cut off 30 feet or so.

[BlkP42E]

bad ass. mancave needs stripper pole and pinball machine

[S10Blazed_Si]

@BlkP42E

bad ass. mancave needs stripper pole and pinball machine

I have a pinball machine actually. :bigok:

The stripper pole is a debate I don’t think is worth the trouble…

[bgblockelcamino]

@S10Blazed Si

The stripper pole is a debate I don’t think is worth the trouble…

i beg to differ

[sasquach]

To save money I would eliminate the 3rd floor and out the cave in the basement . Then I would put another staircase from the garage area to the basement so you have an entrance and exit for your buddies on adult movie night without bothering the wife.

[whitey]

It might be wise to add a bathroom in that would have doors to both of your spare bedrooms. Also a garage bathroom might be a good idea. A dumb waiter from your kitchen to the man cave would be an awesome touch IMO.

Ditch some of the siding and get some brick in there too!

What is the home design software called?

[Jeff95TA]

What kind of budget do you have (if that’s too personal, never mind)? Doing any building yourself, or acting as the general contractor? Maybe it’s the way the iso looks, but it looks gigantic. If you use typical allowances, I would add another 10-20% to them.

Very nice drawings!

[Bravada_442]

Just from my expertise, I second the 3rd floor thing and moving it to the basement. That 3rd floor is actually going to be like a 4th floor in terms of difficultly in controlling the indoor environment (heating/cooling/humidity/etc…)

Once you start getting serious with this as far as rooms and drawings and architechts and all that jazz, let me know and I’ll get you some numbers and quotes go as far as the heating and air equipment so you know at least roughly what the part of the setup will cost ya.

love the idea though. That part of land is perfect, I know you’ve been kickin around the idea of what you wanted to do over there for a long time.

[S10Blazed_Si]

@bgblockelcamino

i beg to differ

To remain sane, I know which arguments to pursue and which to drop. Besides, who wants to see me on a stripper pole??

@sasquach

To save money I would eliminate the 3rd floor and out the cave in the basement . Then I would put another staircase from the garage area to the basement so you have an entrance and exit for your buddies on adult movie night without bothering the wife.

I guess that is a common notion. But we are dead set on having that 3rd floor. We wanted it for asthetic reasons. Also the basements in my area are just prone to wetness. There is a fresh water spring nearby and its inevitable the basement will be moist. We’re keeping the basement utilitarian and building it as big as we legally can. I’d rather do it once than remodel in 20 years to add a 3rd floor.

@whitey

It might be wise to add a bathroom in that would have doors to both of your spare bedrooms. Also a garage bathroom might be a good idea. A dumb waiter from your kitchen to the man cave would be an awesome touch IMO.

Ditch some of the siding and get some brick in there too!

What is the home design software called?

You mean a 2nd bathroom on the 2nd floor? There is already 2 doors to the bathroom that’s there. Having a ‘kids’ toilet might not be a bad idea. We wanted to add closets in there too, so maybe it will be easier to add that in at the same time.

I will definitely have my own garage sink/utility tub. The bathroom is right there though. It would be pretty redundant to have another toilet so close. Maybe a partitioned off urinal though…

A dumb waiter is a high priority on Sara’s list. I haven’t found a way to add one in with the software, but I am keeping it in mind for sure. I am going to do as much of the CAD work myself (which will probably be almost all of it) and my uncle Ed (who is an architect) will do the finishing touches and make sure we’re all up to code.

The program is called Home Designer 9 by Cheif Architect and is marketed under the Better Homes and Gardens name.

@Jeff95TA

What kind of budget do you have (if that’s too personal, never mind)? Doing any building yourself, or acting as the general contractor? Maybe it’s the way the iso looks, but it looks gigantic. If you use typical allowances, I would add another 10-20% to them.

Very nice drawings!

Well the actual budget is TBD. Like I said, this plan is certainly exaggerated in it’s size. We’re focusing on getting the layout we like, the scaling it back until we get the OK from all levels of government. We’re aiming for $100k but could do up to $150k if we really watch our budget until then. The exterior structure we are going to contract out. Between myself and my family we certainly could do it ourselves - just not in any type of quick fashion. I want it up and sealed quickly. Plus I hate doing roofs so I’ll pass that on to someone else. Everything on the interior will be done by myself and my slave… I mean family.

@Bravada 442

Just from my expertise, I second the 3rd floor thing and moving it to the basement. That 3rd floor is actually going to be like a 4th floor in terms of difficultly in controlling the indoor environment (heating/cooling/humidity/etc…)

Once you start getting serious with this as far as rooms and drawings and architechts and all that jazz, let me know and I’ll get you some numbers and quotes go as far as the heating and air equipment so you know at least roughly what the part of the setup will cost ya.

love the idea though. That part of land is perfect, I know you’ve been kickin around the idea of what you wanted to do over there for a long time.

Just a forewarning… one of these days I’ll be coming to you with a lot of questions. I’m saving them all up for one giant brain-pick. I know the additional floor is a nightmare for heating/cooling… but I’ll deal with it. We are dead set on having that floor. I am curious how much that open area in the garage is going to hurt as far as HVAC goes too. Maybe I should think about a 2nd furnace JUST for those 2 areas.

After my uncle checks over the plans, I’ll send you some blue prints with just the HVAC stuff and you can give it a look over.

[dyingwish]

Looks very nice, I like the design…but it looks absolutely massive! Good luck on the project!

[obi-1]

I like the garage with a lift and the office over top.
The third floor doesn’t look right to me though. And I would definitely avoid flat roofs if possible. How about a roof with a steeper pitch and some dormers instead of that full third story?

[S10Blazed_Si]

Damn, you guys really don’t like the 3rd floor, huh? Well it is staying. We both want it for many reasons and the cons are not deal-breakers.

The only flat roof is the one in front with the sky lights. The rest of the roof is the software’s default auto-roof settings. I was going to see what my options were with my uncle. I’m not opposed to steeper roofs, but I’m more inclined to keep them less steep. That is easier to walk on and would be less shingles to buy.

[Jeff95TA]

I would kiss the building inspector’s ass as much as possible. I’ve never heard someone say, “Yeah the building inpsector is a real nice guy. Doesn’t have an attitude at all and is real helpful.”

Also wondering, do the plans have to be signed by an architectural engineer?

[S10Blazed_Si]

@Jeff95TA

I would kiss the building inspector’s ass as much as possible. I’ve never heard someone say, “Yeah the building inpsector is a real nice guy. Doesn’t have an attitude at all and is real helpful.”

Also wondering, do the plans have to be signed by an architectural engineer?

This is information I’ll need to find out. I’m not even sure if there is an inspector from my municipality or if it is county based. If any drawings need signed off on that won’t be a problem.

[steelcitysix]

basement wise you may need too chop up the rooms smaller consider downforce loads on weightbearing walls. thats alot of house on top of a large open space on the basement.but then its hard to figure with out measurements.

[77rednecktruck]

looks good, but I wouldn’t want 3 big and expensive windows that close to the street.

[S10Blazed_Si]

@steelcitysix

basement wise you may need too chop up the rooms smaller consider downforce loads on weightbearing walls. thats alot of house on top of a large open space on the basement.but then its hard to figure with out measurements.

I figured that too. I didn’t really want 1 giant room anyways. I had planned to inquire whether I could add support with stud walls of if another brick wall would be recommended.

@77rednecktruck

looks good, but I wouldn’t want 3 big and expensive windows that close to the street.

I know. I am with you on that. Not only for the chances of them getting broken but for some privacy too. My sister’s house has a giant window in the front about 15’ off the road and it’s got plenty of cracks and pieces missing. Plus its always freezing cold near it. It is circa 1960 though and not up to the same quality available today. But the windows in that room is something the ol’ lady is pretty adamant about. The doorway to the sun room is going to be a french door so it can be shut off from the rest of the house.

[Bravada_442]

@S10Blazed Si

Just a forewarning… one of these days I’ll be coming to you with a lot of questions. I’m saving them all up for one giant brain-pick. I know the additional floor is a nightmare for heating/cooling… but I’ll deal with it. We are dead set on having that floor. I am curious how much that open area in the garage is going to hurt as far as HVAC goes too. Maybe I should think about a 2nd furnace JUST for those 2 areas.

After my uncle checks over the plans, I’ll send you some blue prints with just the HVAC stuff and you can give it a look over.

That’s what I’m here for bro, once we get to that point it will probably be best for us to just sit down and have lunch or dinner or something that way we can sort of banter back and forth while looking at your drawings so we know exactly what it is we are talking about.

Once you get up to and above 2000sq/ft with the amount of open air you have, its probably going to be in your best interest to heat with 2 furnaces. But I have a seperate idea also that might work for the garage too. There are tons of ideas and thoughts out there though so when you get closer to trying to figure out how exactly it will work, we will go from there and get ya some definite ideas indoor comfort wise.

[S10Blazed_Si]

@Bravada 442"

That’s what I’m here for bro, once we get to that point it will probably be best for us to just sit down and have lunch or dinner or something that way we can sort of banter back and forth while looking at your drawings so we know exactly what it is we are talking about.

Once you get up to and above 2000sq/ft with the amount of open air you have, its probably going to be in your best interest to heat with 2 furnaces. But I have a seperate idea also that might work for the garage too. There are tons of ideas and thoughts out there though so when you get closer to trying to figure out how exactly it will work, we will go from there and get ya some definite ideas indoor comfort wise.

Sounds good to me. I’ll take any chance I can to get out and grab a bite to eat.

I am not opposed to the garage having it’s own furnace, either. I had been toying with the idea of a separate room for a furnace and air compressor right off of the garage…

[whitey]

If i was building a garage like that I would definitely do radiant floors. Working at the hybrid shop during winter months were great.