Vote for my house addition
 

Looking for everyone`s opinon here, but would be very interested in hearing from designers or architects.
Here goes: we are thinking about adding 1 bedroom and 1 car garage to our house, which has currently only two bedrooms. Problem is, it was already added on by the previous owner, and he made it a really funky looking Cape Cod. So, I am trying to come up with a design that would not make things even worse...I played a little bit with Autocad last night, and here is what I came up with:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1139764302.jpg
So, let know by kindly voting to my poll which one your prefer, or if I should let design to professionals...

Aurel

Would help to know which side is the front of the house.

Can't offer an opinion till then although I'm leaning towards option C.

Scott

Looks like the bottom-left, with the overhang for walking into the door...

Technically, the front is on the back of the picture, where the sunporch is. But in practice, we enter by the side, where the driveway is (next to the future garage). Also, the backyard is a sideyard, on the opposite side of the front. This is a corner lot.

Aurel

So I take it you want to remake the look of your house at the same time?

Do you really have the property room per the setbacks to add to the garage side?

An actual photo of the house from the street side would be worth a thousand words right now.

Speaking as an architect, hire an architect.

However, I also do a lot of work with a quality builder I can trust. Some builders only use draftspeople, not all are of equal capability. I have done sketches and studies for people trying to decide whether to move or add on. Typically a meeting with them at the house with a sketch pad gets to to first base.

The first base you are at has opened up more questions than answers. An architect can help you answer those questions by pointing out the positive and negative of each option. However it's still your money and you will have to make the final decisions, although not blindly and not alone.

NOTE:
Start with the site plan and find the buildable area. You can typically get the setbacks over the counter at city hall - smile a lot. Bring your Mortgage Plot Plan/Site Plan, make sure it is to a "scale". Be careful of "breaklines" and other things on the drawing which might not be to scale or might not be accurate.

Here is one, taken at the same angle as the drawings:


Aurel

Oops, image was too big. Here it is:http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1139773398.jpg

Aurel

Personally, I'd tear off the section from the chimney out (part directly in front of your SUV). Then, start over. You could make the parking pad bigger or add a nice 2 car garage with living space in the second story.

I would NOT add onto the existing structure. It is a lot of work and the results may be a compromise.

You will definitely need to look into city ordinances. You're already close to the pavement.
Best of luck to you,
jurgen

Do you know anyone with a dozer? Just kidding.....sorta:)

I'd agree with this idea. I don't know how old you are, but I'm a one story advocate unless you've got a very limited space on your lot to expand the first floor square footage.

I see that you have living space under your roof, or appear to have it, that would make me favor plan A over the others. I'd also redo the roof on the room to the left of where you park the cars, getting rid of the tacky flat or near flat roof, putting a sloped roof in its' place and blending it into the roof over the major part of the house higher up.

Finally, I'd strongly suggest hiring an architect. True, they do cost some money, but you'll get a solid plan, well integrated, using your ideas and some of his/hers, and they'll generate a set of plans that are readable by a builder who can give you accurate estimates of costs.

That's what we're doing right now.

'a' looks more aesthetically-pleasing to my eye. the others look like a 'factory' at a glance.
ryan

All of those additions look like...additions.

You need a plan integrates the existing structure with the new parts more gracefully.

I second that.

Hire an architect! Get rid of the ugly (cheap) flat roofs, they're bad news in the rain and snow.

Yep; resolve the roof lines all to something simple. . . make it ONE primary and a few symetric secondaries.

Remove all the additions not attached to the 2 story construction. Your addition will be a continuation of the 2 story as far as the setbacks allow. It will then look original and not an addition.

You will gain the sq ft and a front lawn area. Add a 1 or 2 car garage under the end of the 2nd story.

Remove all the prior additions and add onto the 2 story part as a continuous line of 2 stories. You will gain the sq ft and gain a front lawn area. Slide a 2 or 1 car garage under the 2nd story on the end.

Like that?

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1139798929.jpg

Aurel

That's looking better. . . tho, maybe loose the shead-dormer (low roof) and make it into a deck for a second floor master bedroom.

...not knowing the surroundings, it's tough to plan.

Weed-whacker, man, weed-whacker!

I voted "They're all ugly, hire an architect."

Looking at the picture, I'm also wondering if that's asbestos siding? If it is, you may not be able to afford too much demolition since the cost can get pretty crazy. You may have to formulate a plan that puts an addition on with the least amount of disruption to the siding.

Figure that an architect will run you from $1500-2000.00 for this job, more maybe, but not more than $2500.00. A small part of the extensive work you intend to do, and the outcome will be much better from every aspect.

My architect, who was the designer of this house for the previous owner, sat down with me, walked all around inside and outside the house, asking me a steady stream of questions to find out what it was we wanted to accomplish, what changes we wanted, and even how much we planned to spend or our spending limits for the remodeling/additions.

He's drawing up initial proposals now and will likely contact us to go over those in a few days or couple of weeks.

Aurel,
Why is it that the grass grows better in the concrete rather than the lawn? Only kidding.....:cool:

The lime in the concrete is leaching into the soil, reducing acidity and encouraging growth.

He needs lime on the rest of the yard.

Move down here to Texas! Thyere are a few good Universities that would love to have you and you can get a heck of a deal on a home for what you can sell that one for.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1139949058.jpg