The Time Is Coming To Build a House

[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.