I sent some drawings your way and I hope you find them interesting and useful. Spend as much time as you need in the planning phase to get things right and to your liking, and good luck with your project!

Note: Top of windows and doors need to be at the same level; typically 80" off the floor.

Posted By sailawayrb on 03 Dec 2018 01:01 AM
I sent some drawings your way and I hope you find them interesting and useful. Spend as much time as you need in the planning phase to get things right and to your liking, and good luck with your project!

thanks so much for those. those docs are more of a wealth of knowledge than you can imagine.

Posted By arkie6 on 03 Dec 2018 04:23 AM
Note: Top of windows and doors need to be at the same level; typically 80" off the floor.

thanks for that information. I have fixed that. all the front windows are now 6x6 with the top flush with the top of door. I appreciate you guys really chiming in here.

6x6 windows in each bedroom and office? That sure is a lot of glass area. Expensive to buy and heat/cool. Unless you go with really high end glass units, you are looking at a big ~R3 hole in your ~R15 wall. While you may get some solar gain during the day, it all goes back out the window at night unless you have a means to keep it in (higher end low-E glass, insulated shades, etc.).

Just an idea/suggestion, but maybe consider a single 3x6 window in each bedroom and office on the front and two (2) divided 3x6 windows in the living area. 3x6 windows are a common readily available size and generally meet bedroom egress code requirements.

You can get a pretty good roof overhang with manufactured trusses, but the amount depends on the assumed load. You would probably need to go with a raised heel or cantilevered truss to keep the fascia above the top of the windows/doors. How much snow do you get? Where are you located by the way?

Nice changes....very cool house.

I might suggest that you put the door to the closet coming off the bathroom. Most people shower and then go right into the closet to get their cloths.

Also I think I would swap the bathroom and the shower. It is really nice to be able to pull the cloths right out of the dryer and hang them up with out making a pile and moving cloths all around.

Here is the washer/dryer combo we use if you choose to go that route.

https://www.lg.com/us/washer-dryer-combos/lg-WM3997HWA-washer-dryer-combo

Posted By arkie6 on 03 Dec 2018 11:36 AM
6x6 windows in each bedroom and office? That sure is a lot of glass area. Expensive to buy and heat/cool. Unless you go with really high end glass units, you are looking at a big ~R3 hole in your ~R15 wall. While you may get some solar gain during the day, it all goes back out the window at night unless you have a means to keep it in (higher end low-E glass, insulated shades, etc.).

Just an idea/suggestion, but maybe consider a single 3x6 window in each bedroom and office on the front and two (2) divided 3x6 windows in the living area. 3x6 windows are a common readily available size and generally meet bedroom egress code requirements.

You can get a pretty good roof overhang with manufactured trusses, but the amount depends on the assumed load. You would probably need to go with a raised heel or cantilevered truss to keep the fascia above the top of the windows/doors. How much snow do you get? Where are you located by the way?

hi, I think the 3x6 windows are a great idea! I I live in close to Dallas TX so not much snow load to speak of. I think I would need a raised heel of 1 ft 8 inches to have the overhang be 5 ft and still have 8 ft under it.

Posted By newbostonconst on 03 Dec 2018 12:10 PM
Nice changes....very cool house.

I might suggest that you put the door to the closet coming off the bathroom. Most people shower and then go right into the closet to get their cloths.

Also I think I would swap the bathroom and the shower. It is really nice to be able to pull the cloths right out of the dryer and hang them up with out making a pile and moving cloths all around.

Here is the washer/dryer combo we use if you choose to go that route.

https://www.lg.com/us/washer-dryer-combos/lg-WM3997HWA-washer-dryer-combo

great ideas THANKS!! the closet via shower would solve the problem I had of staring at two doors close to each other in the master bedroom so Im definitely going to implement that. and I also like the idea of the closet being next to the laundry. My wife would love that idea. thanks guys!

updated




will show updated floor plan this evening

Saw the comment about windows heights. FYI, If a window is within 18 inches of the interior floor it has to be tempered which adds cost. Also if a door handle can swing into a window it has to be tempered.
Window supplier should take care of this for you.

Bedrooms also have to have a egress windows. We sized all our windows the same size and the bedroom ones were egress but they all looked the same.
In our case the egress windows are slightly more expensive so the window supplier on his own to only did egress where needed.
So not knowing we had two types of windows, we ended up installing a non-egress one in a bedroom. It was a easy switch of the tracks but it could have been really bad if we had to change the whole window.

Posted By newbostonconst on 03 Dec 2018 07:47 PM
Saw the comment about windows heights. FYI, If a window is within 18 inches of the interior floor it has to be tempered which adds cost. Also if a door handle can swing into a window it has to be tempered.
Window supplier should take care of this for you.

Bedrooms also have to have a egress windows. We sized all our windows the same size and the bedroom ones were egress but they all looked the same.
In our case the egress windows are slightly more expensive so the window supplier on his own to only did egress where needed.
So not knowing we had two types of windows, we ended up installing a non-egress one in a bedroom. It was a easy switch of the tracks but it could have been really bad if we had to change the whole window.

thanks for bringing that to my attention. I had briefly read about that. I really like the look of the 3x6 and Im thinking of going with a 9 ft ceiling height so I might still be able to save money on non tempered(I havent looked at the cost difference) but I could also do a 4x4 if I go with the 8ft ceiling height. with advanced framing on 24" centers, this may be easier to frame as well?

I thought the tempered vs. non-tempered window issue also depended on how high the window was above the ground level, i.e. windows relatively high above ground level needed it, those close to ground level didn't need it, but it has been a while since I looked at this issue.

Slab or crawlspace?

Where is your heat/air unit going?

Where is your ductwork going? It is generally not a good idea to run your ductwork through the attic, but I know that is the most common practice in your area and you will have a hard time finding a builder that will deviate from standard practice. Just make sure the duct work has the best reflective insulation you can get (6R or better) and is thoroughly sealed. Also, go with rigid steel ductwork over flex duct. Please do not allow them to put the HVAC unit in the attic. That really kills efficiency and is a pain to work on in the summer when you have an issue.

You probably need to carve out a closet for the HVAC unit and water heater in your floor plan. The HVAC unit needs to be near the middle of the house with the air return grill in the hallway. The water heater needs to be close to the areas where hot water is used. . For the HVAC unit, you could carve out a 3x3 closet in the back corner of your home theater room with the door facing into the theater room and the air return grill facing the hallway. You could then put another 3x3 closet on the opposite corner of the room and put your hot water heater in there which puts it between the kitchen and bathrooms. Between these 3x3 closets is where you could put your video equipment so that you don't really lose any room depth.

Posted By arkie6 on 04 Dec 2018 12:27 PM
I thought the tempered vs. non-tempered window issue also depended on how high the window was above the ground level, i.e. windows relatively high above ground level needed it, those close to ground level didn't need it, but it has been a while since I looked at this issue.

Slab or crawlspace?

Where is your heat/air unit going?

Where is your ductwork going? It is generally not a good idea to run your ductwork through the attic, but I know that is the most common practice in your area and you will have a hard time finding a builder that will deviate from standard practice. Just make sure the duct work has the best reflective insulation you can get (6R or better) and is thoroughly sealed. Also, go with rigid steel ductwork over flex duct. Please do not allow them to put the HVAC unit in the attic. That really kills efficiency and is a pain to work on in the summer when you have an issue.

You probably need to carve out a closet for the HVAC unit and water heater in your floor plan. The HVAC unit needs to be near the middle of the house with the air return grill in the hallway. The water heater needs to be close to the areas where hot water is used. . For the HVAC unit, you could carve out a 3x3 closet in the back corner of your home theater room with the door facing into the theater room and the air return grill facing the hallway. You could then put another 3x3 closet on the opposite corner of the room and put your hot water heater in there which puts it between the kitchen and bathrooms. Between these 3x3 closets is where you could put your video equipment so that you don't really lose any room depth.

great questions, and thanks for bringing them up. re: slab vs crawlspace- I think it will end up being a slab for cost, if I can figure out a way to not run the plumbing through the slab. I also looked at a full foundation and got a quote of $110k for the foundation I said thanks but no thanks. I am hoping to run ductless mini splits. 1 for the hall area(living area ) and maybe one or two with multiple heads for the private areas. There will be a pocket door between the living area and the private area. my goal was to have the mechanical room also be the laundry room and house the : ERV, water heater, electrical panel, solar panel inverter, etc.

Posted By patonbike on 04 Dec 2018 05:56 PM

Which way is south?

If there is no basement  I would definitely have some sort of large storage closet  or multiple purpose specific closets.

Where is the main entry way to this house?

Is there an entry closet?

Kitchen closet or pantry?

Linen closet in the hall?

Closet for vacuums, tools, etc.

south is at the bottom of the floor plan. the house is in the Dallas Ft worth area btw. we don't see a lot of basements here. those are all great questions and I must admit I haven't thought deeply about that yet. I think with y'alls help I have the main floor plan figured out (key phrase being " I think") now I plan to start putting furniture and cabinets and appliances and see where everything needs to go. the office may become storage space, or I might steal a foot from the northside of bedrooms 1 and 2 for storage space and linen closet in the hall way

ahh ok
I would just look at closets. Multi purpose closets don't work great. A closet for jackets (not sure if that is a thing there!), linens, vacuum and cleaning products, food, etc. All separate is ideal.

Posted By patonbike on 05 Dec 2018 01:10 AM
ahh ok
I would just look at closets. Multi purpose closets don't work great. A closet for jackets (not sure if that is a thing there!), linens, vacuum and cleaning products, food, etc. All separate is ideal.

copy that. I will add closets. I need to optimize the plan anyway to make the 2nd and 3rd bedrooms a max of 12x12. that will create lots of storage space.

here is an alternate plan for your critique.

it is 51x51 so 9 sq ft more than the old house shape, but uses about 6% less wall material

it also seems to make better use of the space

IMG]http://i.imgur.com/trpc9Eh.jpg[/IMG

very quick and dirty plan done online with sketchup free.

here is an alternate plan for your critique.

it is 51x51 so 9 sq ft more than the old house shape, but uses about 6% less wall material

it also seems to make better use of the space

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/trpc9Eh.jpg[/IMG]

very quick and dirty plan done online with sketchup free.