Your Thoughts on This House Plan/Purchasing a Plan In General
Hello!
My wife and I are looking at house plans and I wanted to here your feedback on this particular plan:
https://www.concepthome.com/house-plans/small-house-ch51/32
We really like the double shed roof style, and would consider adding clerestory windows on the taller half. I think the amount of windows in the front portion (which would face south) would probably need to be reduced as I’d be worried about it overheating. In general, I like this plan for efficiency and the views that would be possible from the second story (which would face north towards the mountains). What are you thoughts on this plan in terms of layout and PGH standards?
We’re currently looking at plans on Concept Home. Anyone used them or a similar plan site for their home? Obviously we would need a structural engineer stamp them as well as plumbing, electric, and mechanical plans for the home draw up, but we’re thinking of going this route instead of the cost of hiring an architect.
Thanks!
Colin
GBA Detail Library
A collection of one thousand construction details organized by climate and house part
Replies
Most people thinking about building a home tend to take a look at
house plans from the viewpoint of the aesthetics rather than energy
efficiency. Because you are on this site, I assume you have more than a
little interest in building a really efficient, well-constructed home and
that you might want to take a look at the relatively inexpensive stock plans
produced by Passive Design Solutions, a Canadian firm which has been
involved with the design and build of hundreds (mostly in Canada - some in the U.S.).
Here are a couple links.
https://www.passivedesign.ca/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OtF0osQ0Cc
Please note that these plans are produced by registered architects & engineers
and adjusted slightly for your particular climatic conditions so when I use a
phrase like "relatively inexpensive" it refers to plans produced by a registrant
in these fields. Please also note: I have never met or had any contact with any
member of this firm - but, am generally impressed with what I see on the web.
Perhaps you will find this site of interest. GOOD LUCK!
I see quite a few stock plans, and they almost always need to be adjusted for local site conditions or code requirements. I would suggest finding something you like (as you have found) and sending this to a local designer as a conceptual idea, and get them to draw you up something custom to your location and wants.
what he said.
Deleted
Convergence,
Please be aware of copyrights when taking copies or images of plans to other architects or designers. You certainly may review many sources and synthesize features into a new whole with a designer, but that is not copying. If you do intend to buy plans and have them modified for local conditions, I would suggest reviewing the terms and conditions on whatever website you are looking at. The source may well have specific requirements for just such needs.
The plan is OK, not great. Some issues:
There's a lot of square footage dedicated to the front hall, the powder room is awkwardly laid out (very tiny sink near the door), the front hall closet is HUGE, the master bathroom has a really bad 1980's layout with that corner tub, only one sink and the toilet visible from the bed.
Personally, I would put the powder room up against the master bath wall so that the plumbing lines run in the same wall, then have the utility room and then the closet next to the front door.
The main room also has a lot of empty space. I would move the dining table closer to the living area and add a kitchen island. The fireplace should also be shifted down so that you can see it better from the sectional sofa. Since there is a "den" on the second floor do you really need a big TV in the living room?
Upstairs, that bathroom is way too small. I would make that upper bedroom's closet a lot smaller, shift the den up, increase the size of the bathroom and put in a proper tub/shower.
Thanks so much for all of your feedback on the layout. I'm definitely not fully sold on the floorplan, more the general bones of the layout and design of the house. It would be nice if there was more openness to the north side as well for a common area on the 1st floor, as that is where our view of the mountains is. But I do like the den on the second floor for the views, so there's that.
I definitely agree with your assessment of the kitchen needing an island to fill in the space better.
Seems like a very dated plan to my eye and would be a white elephant on the resale market.
No garage would be a deal killer for me.
The glass wall is expensive to build and a huge hole in your energy budget with too little overhang to control its summer solar gains. I say passive solar is a quaint idea that would have become mainstream 50 years ago if it worked in the real world.
Walta
Yeah, we would add a garage to that design on the right. I also agree regarding the glass wall being too much in the way of solar gain. I would minimize windows and increase the overhang from the roof to limit overheating in the summer.
hire an expert in design, hire an architect.
Colin,
I think the plans are a good starting point. As an example of what a good designer may be able to come up with using them as a conceptual basis, I've attached a photo of a house by James Tuer.
A related thought, hopefully helpful. Double check the dimensions of the rooms for your own furniture choices. The plan you linked to doesn't show dimensions, but the tile pattern in the entry on one of the plans shows 12" square tiles. You can use that to dimension the plan. Sketch it out to scale and draw on your own furniture, just to make sure.
Don't trust that the furniture shown on the website has any bearing with actual furniture sizes.
If I were building, I would definitely look at pre-fab homes. There are some excellent companies out there with plenty of designs and energy efficient construction.