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I have just started doing research on my "forever" home. I would like to build a simple small home, 1500 sq ft, like a modified Shotgun home. I want to build in Michigan. I lived in a small shotgun for over 2 years when I was down south for work. I fell in love with it. I want my home to have a great room that includes the living space, dining area and kitchen. The wall behind the kitchen would have 2 bedrooms, 2 full baths and a small laundry area. Basically a ranch home turned on its side to fit on a long narrow lot. I read that the less corners a house has, the less expensive it is to build. I do want 10 or possibly 12 ft ceilings in all rooms. So basically the house is a long rectangular box, very open. A great room area, with the bedrooms/ baths behind the kitchen. I would want a basement. I have been looking at all kinds of homes, new builds, older homes, everything in between. Everything is cookie cutter with a lot of chopped up small rooms. I have a friend that is a realtor and she said my best bet would be building as she has never come across what I am looking for in the area. There is a home similar to what I want in my current neighborhood but it is over 100 years old. I have been inside and the owners said when they bought it, it was very open but they didn't like that and built a lot of walls! I am just trying to get a feel for cost without land/land prep and utilities. Should I go stick built, modular? Would doing a modified camelback with the bedrooms up stairs be better/less expensive? I read it's cheaper to build 2 story. I have never done anything like this before, having traveled most of my life for work. Mostly lived in rentals. I did own a home built in 1891 and redid the whole thing. That's why I am leaning towards new built I know I will need to talk to a builder eventually but I would like to have some idea before I do that. ANY help would be appreciated.
I did a similar exercise last year. I was looking for a little bigger (we ended up at about 2000 sq ft) but had to fit in a 60' wide lot. Even with variances I had to hold it to 40' wide.
We looked at Modulars but had a problem with getting one into the lot (in an existing neighborhood) because of overhead power lines. If you look at modulars there are some dimensions that cannot be changed and have to be worked with.
At the same time I started with a sheet of graph paper and started laying out what I wanted. I used 2' to the square and tried to be accurate to a foot (1/2 square) in my measurements. Since this was to be our 'forever home' I planned on 36" door ways, 4' hallways (future wheel chair access). Master suite and at least one other bedroom on the main floor. We ended with Master and two other bedrooms on the main floor as well as a Library/study that could be an additional small bedroom.
Since we were going to have a stairwell to the basement anyway I included an unfinished upstairs which could easily have a couple more bedrooms and a bathroom (I was running plumbing up to the second floor but not finishing)
Even before I was finished with the sketches We talked to builders. I narrowed it down to two local builders with excellent reputations. One of the pointed me to a draftsman he used and He turned my sketches into 'real' plans. We then made a few changes and used the plans to get bids from the two builders.
So I would suggest to start playing with floorplans on paper. The advantage to graph paper is that it lets you quickly create scale drawings IF you are realistic (allow realistic widths for hallways, stairways, etc) Many of the dimensions I used came from our current home or models we visited (Always carry a tape measure with you :-))
We ended up with a very clean plan, Open family area, two car garage, full basement and unfinished 'Cape Cod' style upstairs. The plans cost me $1500 for the mylars. I would be glad to send a PDF of the plans if you are interested. My real point is don't be afraid to sketch up what YOU want and have those drawn up in detail.
I would recommend putting the bedrooms at the front of the house so that the living area can open up to the yard.
This is a very common style of house in Australia, you're googling for a renovated worker's cottage (the renovatuon is generally to open the back up into a big living space). The classic floorplan has a front door on one side, opening to a long corridoor, with bedroom off to the side, then a bathroom, then it opens onto the kitchen and living area, which in turn opens up to the garden.
Last edited by WildColonialGirl; 05-30-2016 at 08:02 AM..
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I know I will need to talk to a builder eventually but I would like to have some idea before I do that. ANY help would be appreciated.
