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Old 06-07-2016, 03:56 AM
 
Location: Lake Arrowhead, Waleska, GA
1,088 posts, read 1,446,913 times
Reputation: 1606

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I've posted recently about my ongoing (and maddening) experience trying to find a house plan for my parents to build as their retirement house. My mom is incredibly picky and I've tried to convinsdce them to go to an architect so they can get exactly what they (she) wants. But why pay all that money to an architect when they can drive me insane instead???

They're downsizing from 2,218 square foot house with a full finished basement. My dad (step-dad actually, but I like him a lot more than I do my bio-dad) wants to keep the house around 1500-1600 square feet, one-story with a full unfinished basement and with a 2-car attached garage. My mom has added the requirements that the master bedroom be bigger than their current one (which is 15'8" x 16'10") and the master bath needs to be larger as well (admittedly, theirs isn't huge now and they need more room for future mobility issues (canes, walkers, etc.) if needed. She also wants a screened porch (or 'screened-in porch', in Southern-talk) integrated into the design of house somewhere on the back. Additionally, she thinks 1600 square feet is too small and it needs to be at least 1800sf....so much for downsizing!

I've been looking for plans with a screened porch or a covered rear porch (which their builder could easily turn into a screened porch). I've found a few 2-bedroom plans that come the closest to meeting her requirements and that she thinks are "pretty", while keeping the square footage under 1600. But I know that 2-bedroom houses are very difficult to sell if they ever needed or wanted to do so. Ideally,I'm looking for a 3-bedroom with a screened porch and a huge master suite.

I have found one that she loves (and the exterior is exactly what I'd build for myself), but it's a 2-bedroom and just over 1300 square feet. But it has a 386 square foot bonus room that could be finished as a bedroom with a bath (probably a 3/4 bath with a shower stall in lieu of tub or tub/shower combo) and a closet. From a resale and practicality standpoint, would this be a bad idea? The bonus room bedroom could be shut off from the rest of the house when it isn't needed, turn off the HVAC vents and not worry about it when cleaning house since it would have a lot of steps). For resale purposes, would a 2-bedroom with a 3rd bedroom in the bonus room be as appealing as a traditional 3-bedroom ranch? It seems like it would be better because the 3rd bedroom is larger than it would be on the main floor and the extra bath would be in addition to the two full bathrooms on the main level. It would also be economical to build, with only a 1300sf foundation/footprint. The problem with larger single-story homes is that it's a lot more expensive to built out than up (2500sf in a 2-story would be cheaper than the same size in 1-story). Any thoughts or advice on this would be appreciated. (I also found one plan that met all of their requirements and was 1720sf, but it didn't have a garage....perhaps it might be a viable option and the builder could add an attached garage without much difficulty?

Another question is about dining rooms, or more specifically, not having a dining room. Many of the plans I've found that come close to what she wants have a medium-large breakast nook adjacent to the kitchen, but no dining room. We all agree that a dining room is a waste of space as they've used the one in their current house less than 10 times in 17 years. Since use of space will be very important in keeping the size down, I don't see a problem. I'm not sure if this would be a problem for resale, but I doubt it would be a huge issue like not having a 3rd bedroom. Instead of a proper 'dining room', the square footage could be used to make the master or secondary bedrooms even larger, increase closet size or as a small sitting area (or any combination of those). Is a house with an eat-in kitchen and no dining room a bad idea?

Finally, I have a few questions about dormer windows. Their current house (again, built 17 years ago) is a large ranch but it actually looks like a 2-story from the outside. My mom insisted that the roof pitch be increased and it has three dormers across the front roof. A lot of the plans I'm seeing have interesting variations of the dormer, particularly the 'sloped' dormers which have a downward sloped roof rather than a small gable. I've seen a few with very wide (10-12' wide or more) and usually shorter dormers also. The wide ones are usually placed over rooms with vaulted ceilings, so I'm thinking that their function is to bring in more natural light (in addition to being aesthetically pleasing). Any down sides or considerations I/we should make about dormers of any type?

I'll continue looking but any input or advice will be appreciated, even if I don't like or heed it! I am surprised that there aren't more 'stock' plans available for a 3-bedroom/2-bath ranch with a large master suite, even without the screened porch. If we found something that was perfect except for the lack of a screened or covered rear porch, the builder could basically build a screened deck as a last resort.
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Old 06-07-2016, 08:10 AM
Status: "Mistress of finance and foods." (set 16 days ago)
 
Location: Coastal Georgia
49,999 posts, read 63,313,910 times
Reputation: 92476
I am actually at the same stage of life as your parents and I give a lot of thought to perhaps building a last house that is just exactly the way I like it.

I can only suggest that you encourage your mother to think outside the box. Start with the room arrangement she will actually use and then let the exterior evolve from that. I personally can't think of a more useless feature than a dormer, so why does she want them? Encourage her to think about the latest and greatest design innovations, not redoing the same old stodgy stuff. I assume she has looked at floor plans online?

My husband and I have downsized already, but we still only live in a few rooms of the house. My ideal house will have huge rooms and high ceilings, just not very many rooms... 2 master suites, 1/2 bath, laundry room, eat in kitchen, great room and a little den for the TV and bookshelves, and a lot of windows and porches for enjoying nature. I could not care less about resale, since I would be dead when it happens, and also there will be plenty of other retired people coming after me who will want the same things I wanted.
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Old 06-07-2016, 10:02 AM
 
Location: Johns Creek, GA
17,404 posts, read 65,560,365 times
Reputation: 23516
There are plans that are ADA compliant. And for that matter almost any plan could be "converted" to being ADA compliant.

Any house that has a deck/patio can easily be a screened-in porch; especially on a ranch house. Adding a garage isn't really a problem either- it's just a matter of how the interior of the house is laid out; more specifically where the kitchen is.

Shed (your sloping roof) dormers are usually "enlarged" living areas- where the esthetic of a "dog house" (your gable) dormer is not necessary. If the dormer is being used as a light source for a vaulted ceiling- it's a poor design. However, if there is a need for light why not use it for ventilation also? Then you want a clerestory window design.

There are a lot of other aspects of home design that should also be considered- other than layout; and a lot of these could curtail sq/ft design based on cost per sq/ft.

As for the "resale" of 2bdrm versus 3bdrm- yes, the pool of potential buyers is greater with 3 bdms. However, depending on where the house is being built, it may not matter- for instance, a retirement community. But, there's nothing that says a bedroom has to be used as a bedroom- it could be that "tv den", craft room, exercise room, etc.

One last point- with an architect or designer it is possible to take pretty much any plan and tweak it to fit.

Last edited by K'ledgeBldr; 06-07-2016 at 10:11 AM..
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