Home Renovation Plans-Comments Wanted

[WordMan]

1. I would not want my closet off the master bath. Have it into the bedroom. Moisture issues.
2. You have a dead space at the hall to the bedrooms/bathroom (90ft^2). The bathroom is tiny, would be like a echo chamber. Rework that area.
3. I would bring the porch across the back of the master bed, and put a door out to it.

Nice idea on the porch, but it's already there (part of the original house) and I don't want to add on to it.

That space isn't ideal, but I have a brick on block supporting wall to contend with there.

 

[MattT]

Shrunk the corner room and expanded the guest bathroom. that makes that bedroom roughly 10'X11'. Does that sound too small?

11' is more than enough. A kids room really doesn't need 3+' of space on both sides of the bed. I'd grab at least another foot for the bathroom

One other thought on these guest/kid bedrooms is maybe don't build the closets right now. Then you'll have larger rooms which might suit your uses better. It'd be cheap and easy to add them at a later date if the need arose.

Messed around a bit and got a tub in the second bath. I pushed the tub out from the back wall a bit to give more room in the bathroom, and I'll fill it with a wall with pockets built in for soap, shampoo, etc.

Making it large enough for a tub is definitely a good idea. Whether you install one now is up to you but it'll be good to have the option. Though why did you take space away from the bathroom and give it to the hallway?

 

[yeldogt]

You keep saying this, but don't explain why. Where would you put the closet?

We have a walk-in closet off our master bath, and love it. I get up an hour earlier than my wife, go into the bath/closet, close the door and get ready for work without disturbing her with noise or lights.

It's also very efficient to have the rooms adjacent - shortest distance from shower to dressing, and the numerous trips back and forth to the sink, mirror, etc. while doing makeup, etc. (her, not me).

His design is wasting space -- there is no way to use all the floor space in the closet. It requires a space to enter That space is now wasted.

This falls back to another thread I have about big garages attached to houses ... I get that the OP may want something in his house. One must also understand that in some situations "wanting" may create design problems ... and compromise other parts of the design.

 

[yeldogt]

You have to understand, without resorting to tearing down structure, including part of the roof, this is what I have to work with:

Removing the big brick and cinderblock wall is not a realistic option, so I have to work around it.

Further, I don't want a small master bath, I want it big and airy. As for the closet off the master bath, again, it's done in many, many new homes. It's common, it's convenient, it's easier for my wife, and it's staying.

If you want a big and airy bath ... you should try and design one -- you don't have one designed now? It's a hallway with a vanity .. and a 5.5' tunnel with a toilet at the back of it.

I have built and renovated many small spaces -- they can't be looked at the same way as larger ... taking designs from larger houses and sticking them in smaller is often a bad idea. My new bathrooms are using wall toilets and floating vanities to create more space and open them up visually.

Also -- I would not do a corner sink in the kitchen.

 

[WordMan]

Couldn't sleep, so I played around some more. What do you think?

 

[K'ledgeBldr]

That makes much more sense.
Secondary bedrooms- closets with no doors?
Kitchen- eliminate the peninsula and you can do a d/w; plus it won't close it in making it claustrophobic.

 

[WordMan]

That makes much more sense.
Secondary bedrooms- closets with no doors?
Kitchen- eliminate the peninsula and you can do a d/w; plus it won't close it in making it claustrophobic.

Forgot to put the doors in. Oops.

Can you elaborate on the kitchen comment?

 

[yeldogt]

You are still looking at things in "blocks" ..... flipping the bath and the closet in the master allows the bath to move into the living ... it's wide for the space anyway. The master bath is not a nice design .. there are many possibilities. Same with the two bedrooms/ bath ... they don't have to be the same size .. especially if one needs to be a multi use space

 

[WordMan]

You are still looking at things in "blocks" ..... flipping the bath and the closet in the master allows the bath to move into the living ... it's wide for the space anyway. The master bath is not a nice design .. there are many possibilities. Same with the two bedrooms/ bath ... they don't have to be the same size .. especially if one needs to be a multi use space

Again, you seem to forget that one of the blocks is dictated by a big freaking brick and block wall that must be worked around.

As for the two bedrooms, yeah, they're the same size, but only because one both are already at the narrowest limit (10' wide).

I can't move the front porch.

I can't move the brick/block wall.

I can't move the back porch.

I'll look at swapping the master bath and walk in.

I suppose I could burn the place down and start over, but I think insurance frowns on that.

 

[GMCGarage]

Why are "moisture issues" better in a bedroom than a closet? Regardless, a properly constructed and vented bath has no moisture issues.

Closets are usually dark and cool. introduce warm moist air into that, you could be at a risk of mold. Plus, who wants to walk in and out of a bathroom to get to a closet?

 

[K'ledgeBldr]

Can you elaborate on the kitchen comment?

The peninsula- that part of the countertop that's to the left of the sink if you were standing at it. The angles don't allow space for a d/w- and you'd be trapped at the sink if the door to the d/w is in the open position. Take the sink out of the corner- face it straight at the living rm, and d/w to the lft of sink.

 

[WordMan]

Closets are usually dark and cool. introduce warm moist air into that, you could be at a risk of mold. Plus, who wants to walk in and out of a bathroom to get to a closet?

Yet this is something that is common in new construction. Apparently someone must want it, they keep selling houses like this.

My folks had a closet right of their bathroom for more than 10 years. They just moved out (and into a new home in Florida that has a closet right off the bathroom), and there was zero mold and zero mildew on any of their clothes or any of the stuff that was in the closet.

In our case, it would make thing a lot easier for my wife.

 

[WordMan]

The peninsula- that part of the countertop that's to the left of the sink if you were standing at it. The angles don't allow space for a d/w- and you'd be trapped at the sink if the door to the d/w is in the open position. Take the sink out of the corner- face it straight at the living rm, and d/w to the lft of sink.

Got it... thanks!

 

[ard]

Again, there are literally brick walls that need to be worked around. I'm not in love with the hallways, either, but tearing the house down and starting over isn't in the cards.

looks like a 3+ foot wide hallway in the garage to get to a laundry closet at the end.

Brick walls there?

 

[WordMan]

looks like a 3+ foot wide hallway in the garage to get to a laundry closet at the end.

Brick walls there?

Here's the house sans any removable/movable walls. I scrapped the one with the long hall.

 

[3onthetree]

Here's the house sans any removable/movable walls.

Since this house was bastardized with multiple additions and considering it's age, is it safe to assume there are no roof trusses? You have a gable spanning 27' wide on the skinny end and the 34'-6" wide gable may have been built over an existing roof if that masonry wall used to be the exterior. If so, where is the middle bearing wall(s) along the long axis? Then you will have that as a very major design marker too.

Also, your sketches show completely new window locations and sizes, mostly in (assuming) veneer brick. You don't have a problem with doing the work there, but don't want to touch the old interior masonry wall?

I will throw out there that compounding to a complete interior gut job, if you also want to save the brick and start cutting out and toothing in every new window, then maybe having some big flush beams for the open areas, all new electrical and plumbing, the cost and added frustration will start approaching a new build cost. If you don't need to live there while remodeling, I have had 1500sf houses demo'd for $8-15K. Or build next to it while living there.

Kudos to your later revisions though as your plans are much improved, you're headed in the right direction.

 

[WordMan]

Since this house was bastardized with multiple additions and considering it's age, is it safe to assume there are no roof trusses? You have a gable spanning 27' wide on the skinny end and the 34'-6" wide gable may have been built over an existing roof if that masonry wall used to be the exterior. If so, where is the middle bearing wall(s) along the long axis? Then you will have that as a very major design marker too.

Also, your sketches show completely new window locations and sizes, mostly in (assuming) veneer brick. You don't have a problem with doing the work there, but don't want to touch the old interior masonry wall?

I will throw out there that compounding to a complete interior gut job, if you also want to save the brick and start cutting out and toothing in every new window, then maybe having some big flush beams for the open areas, all new electrical and plumbing, the cost and added frustration will start approaching a new build cost. If you don't need to live there while remodeling, I have had 1500sf houses demo'd for $8-15K. Or build next to it while living there.

Kudos to your later revisions though as your plans are much improved, you're headed in the right direction.

All good points.

The only additions are the front porch which was turned into some sort of small room, and the master bedroom suite which sits to the south of the big interior brick wall.

I'll be returning the front porch to its former duty as such.

I have no problems cutting holes (moving doors) in the big brick interior wall, but I think it's outright demolition is probably more trouble than it's worth.

As for the outer windows, since the house has had an addition that isn't brick or brick veneer, I was thinking of going with some sort of external finish that would be used to hide the changes made and at the same time give the exterior of the house a uniform finish. This could be siding of some sort, or stucco. Frankly, I prefer the stucco idea.

The ceiling joists will be supported from above via a hanging beam set on the brick wall on one end, and the exterior wall on the other. I'll have to consult with an engineer to find exactly what I need to do that part of the job properly and safely.

Given the topography and the location of the septic tank and system, I don't think moving the house (building a new house while living in the old house) is a viable option. This leaves me with either living in this house while renovating, or moving out and tearing this one down. Economically, living in this house while renovating is, I think, the best option. We can do the renovations at our own pace, and thus will not have to borrow funds for the purpose.

Thanks for your input, it is much appreciated!

 

[Prospecter]

Renovating old houses DIY is about compromise. Lots of great ideas here. Our original house is c. 1840, and the renovations were mostly 20 years ago, so not a lot of brand / product suggestions.

One thing we did was increase the size of ventilation fans. We bought a top of line stove hood that is really helpful at controlling kitchen odors. I also bought 2 x 300 cfm bathroom fans for the bathroom that is not ideally placed. The 600 cfm contains any moisture and odor, and the twin motors do a nice job masking sound.