Some initial design ideas

In a previous post I outlined some of the general plans we are considering with regards to house design. As previously stated, we are looking at a simple rectangular shape. This is advantageous both from a materials standpoint as well as a construction standpoint, as waste should be minimized and construction ease maximized. From a usage standpoint, this approach eliminates any blocked views, and any given window will have a minimum 180º field of view.

Following this shape, the best living spaces would be at the 4 corners, where you can get two perpendicular walls' worth of windows (and therefore ample sunlight, cross breezes, etc.). The middle of the house can then be used for the kinds of spaces that are more utilitarian and/or less dependent on windows and scenery: garage, utility room, kitchen, bathrooms. (We are not "kitchen entertainers" and do not care to make the kitchen part of our living space; though we probably will have space for an eat-in kitchen.)

From these concepts we have been sketching out some rudimentary house plans, just to get some kind of an idea of how this might all come together:

In this example, each square on the grid is 2 feet, and north is straight-up. Here we are considering overall dimensions of 32'x64', giving a total square footage of 2,048.

• Estimating a garage of about 20' wide by 17' deep, this gives a total living area of 1,708 sq ft. 
• Across from the garage, in the middle of the house, are the kitchen and the utility room. These are placed strategically based both on the reasoning above as well as ease with which to get groceries to the kitchen and 50-lb bags of salt buttons to the utility room. Also, the dryer (in the utility room) and the range hood can be on opposite sides of one wall and can share the same exhaust.
• With this placement, the rest of the house is essentially divided up into east and west "wings": east wing for bedrooms (capitalizing on morning sunlight), and the west wing for living spaces. 
• The main hallway is currently planned to be 42" wide. While that seems like wasted space at first, we learned the hard way that skimping on hallway width can make life surprisingly difficult, especially if you find yourself maneuvering something like a wheelchair.
• We plan to have pocket doors or sliding barn doors at either end of the main hallway that can allow for each "wing" to be closed off. This is helpful for purposes of entertaining, heating, or even containing smelly food preparation.
• There is a full bathroom near the bedrooms, and a half bathroom near the main living area. This placement follows our living patterns but also makes plumbing very convenient, as all sinks, tubs, toilets, etc. are concentrated in the center of the house. The shower and all sinks are also therefore in close proximity to the water tank, so hot water will come on practically instantaneously. 

As you can see, we haven't nailed down any ideas of how to break apart the living spaces into rooms. We have sketched and erased some ideas for walls, but this was mostly to be sure that if we were to break up the east "wing" into 3 bedrooms that the total area would be large enough. Overall we are not sure how we will want it to work out. Part of the beauty of only having one level and truss construction for the roof is that we don't have any interior load-bearing walls. So, we might choose to start living in the house without breaking up the "wings" at all initially, and then see how the spaces work for us and go from there. 

I am not a big fan of "open" floorplans, but I can definitely get behind a "flexible" floorplan - especially because I find it very hard to predict how I will want a space to be until I have had a chance to be in it for a while. Also I like to be able to rearrange furniture, so it would be nice to have rooms that allow for multiple configurations. We can also feel free to adapt the rooms according to our place in life: have a kid, wall off a bedroom; empty nesters, take down walls and reclaim unused space. Since we plan on being in the house for the remainder of our years, this is a pretty attractive approach.

Which isn't to say we couldn't use a little suggestion and inspiration from an architect. Plus there are additional considerations like where to position outlets and light switches. We definitely need to get on the ball finding an architect so that we can benefit from some professional experience, advice, and knowledge of building codes.

Time to find an architect?

Today's Democrat and Chronicle's Real Estate and Rental section had a helpful column about home building. It's actually part of a series that started last week, but I thought this week's installment was more useful for our purposes than what I read last week. You can read it here (or if that link stops working, as D&C links are apt to do after a week or so, I've also uploaded a copy).

Basically the article outlines the importance of hiring an architect. There wasn't necessarily a lot of information I didn't already know, but I really need some direction, so I found it useful. One thing I was surprised by was the author's estimation that a new custom designed house would cost about $200-$300 / sq ft - and that was with only "good" materials. I must admit, I did not expect costs to be that high - I wonder whether his definition of "good" is different than mine; if he assumes most custom houses are more extravagant than what we're thinking; or if I'm way under-estimating how much this whole venture is going to cost. If you use for example a 1500 sq ft house in the middle of that estimate, you're looking at $375K - wow. I would definitely like a cost breakdown on that estimate and more information on the assumptions made besides "good" materials.

The author also emphasizes how house design is a lengthy process, and that if we want to start building next summer we need to get the ball rolling now. While we want to get started right away anyways, we weren't necessarily feeling a sense of urgency before. Since we already have a plot of land picked out, as well as a number of ideas in mind, I'm hoping we are at least a little ways into the process already. On the other hand, I am feeling a bit of a mental roadblock trying to picture how everything will come together. (My situation reminds me of that point in the wedding-planning process that I decided it was worth hiring a wedding planner.)

It is quickly becoming apparent that we need to get moving on finding an architect. Do you know any architects that seem like they would resonate with some of the ideas mentioned in our last post? Please share names and contact info in the comments!

On a final note, I do appreciate the second-to-last paragraph in the article: 

"With most of today’s new homes designed by builders in order to maximize profits, it is no wonder that there is a proliferation of look-a-like boxes that sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Just how many gables does a roof need, anyway? Why are there no windows on the south side elevations to let in sunlight? Why is there wasted space in huge, two-story entryways with lighting fixtures and windows that one needs an extension ladder or scaffolding to reach?"

My thoughts, exactly.

Questioning the Status Quo

We already have some overreaching house plans in mind which would obviously have major implications on what other decisions we make. After visiting the Greentopia EcoFest and doing other research, we have a better idea for some of the basic specifications we plan to employ (with a short explanation of our reasoning):

• 30-35º roof pitch on a true-south facing roof (to maximize solar panel efficiency; numbers are specific to our region)
• Raised seam steel roofing (allows for solar panel attachment without any drilling or nailing; requires practically no maintenance)
• Single level floorplan, no attic or basement (keeps costs way down, uses fewer materials; maximizes space; more efficient for heating)
• Radiant heating (uses less energy; maintains more constant/consistent temperature)
• Basic rectangular shape (no unnecessary corners which create more work, more places to seal/insulate, etc.; full 180º-270º views from all sides/corners with no blocking)
• 8' ceilings, no cathedral or vaulted ceilings (height of drywall, so allows for efficient material usage; no wasted space, more efficient for heating; though, may want to also investigate other heights since other dimensions are available)
• Trusses to support the roof (sturdy, allows for next bullet point)
• ~4ft overhang of roof on N/S sides (will block summer sun but allow winter sun angle; blocks rain, may not even need gutters)
• <2,000 sq ft (we really have no need for anything more than that... even that much seems rather extravagant for us)
• Lots of insulation and sealing (obvious reasons; insulation material undecided as of yet)
• And then all the obvious things you can get energy efficient upgrades on - triple pane windows, front loading washer/dryer, energy star refrigerator, low flush toilet, low flow shower head, CFL/LED lighting, etc. (again, obvious reasons)

You might notice that some of the things described above sound a little bit goofy, or at least unconventional. Through our research and brainstorming we have had to do quite a lot of questioning the norm. If you had asked us a few months ago what we wanted, our answers probably would have been quite different: 2 floors, attic and basement, 2 or 2.5 baths, so on. But along the process we have been forced to reassess what is really necessary and what really makes sense. Do we really need an attic and basement, or is that just what we're used to? What is the real motivation behind 2 floors, and is building up really necessary when you have basically limitless surface area to spread out over? How much does the house really matter in comparison to the "estate" as a whole? Our adventure is growing from your basic building-a-dream-home to a full on experiment (which we see as a good thing).

This list is by no means comprehensive, nor is any of it set in stone. This is basically an overview of many of the ideas we have come up with that seem to maximize efficiency, solve problems, and follow logic. Many of these ideas will probably get their own blog posts with more detailed explanations of how we came up with them. Any feedback, suggestions, ideas, or constructive criticisms you may have now or along the way are most certainly welcome in the comments - after all, we are still just feeling this out ourselves. Not all of our ideas are necessarily good ones.

The little icon for this blog is actually drawn to scale according to ideas described above,
including a 33.7º roof pitch, 4' overhang, and 8' ceilings.