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Old 07-27-2014, 11:08 PM
 
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Hello, I am rehabbing a house and I want to make the most of the first floor. It used to be a commercial building so I am having a hard time coming up with a floor plan. In the end I would like to accommodate a kitchen, living room, formal dining room, full bath and master bedroom. The non-load bearing walls can open up or move. The stairs are where they are. What do you think? Thanks in advance
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Old 07-28-2014, 12:32 AM
 
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Mods, if this belongs in the architecture forum please move, thanks
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Old 07-28-2014, 12:40 AM
 
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Pretty much a blank slate now? What about plumbing? Windows? What about yard? Solar exposure?

If you don't have experience with these sorts of questions you should consult with professionals...
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Old 07-28-2014, 01:09 AM
 
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Blank slate. All plumbing will be redone, heat is hot water baseboard but nothing is in yet other than the boiler. Small yard to the rear of the property, back door which is at the top of the jpg is elevated approx 5 feet and double front entrance is at ground level. Front of house faces East. There are two small windows on the South wall but they are ackward and can go so I did not include them. We would rather add windows to the North wall as the South wall would only look out over a parking lot for an adjacent business.
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Old 07-28-2014, 09:18 AM
 
Location: Johns Creek, GA
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I'll ask the obvious question-

Has this "commercial" building been rezoned "residential"? If not, why waste your time?
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Old 07-28-2014, 02:57 PM
 
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It's pretty much dictated if you have the load bearing wall. Living rooms in front, dining room behind it, and then kitchen. Bedroom on the other side.

Or could you do a header and a large archway to use both fronts as Living room dining room with kitchen behind that.
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Old 07-28-2014, 03:17 PM
 
Location: Meggett, SC
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kayekaye View Post
It's pretty much dictated if you have the load bearing wall. Living rooms in front, dining room behind it, and then kitchen. Bedroom on the other side.

Or could you do a header and a large archway to use both fronts as Living room dining room with kitchen behind that.
I thought the same when I saw it. Only thing that really needs to be done with doing this is to change it out so there's not a front door entrance into what would be the master bedroom. Plus, it would be better to only have one front door into the house anyway. That small room off the back on the right, where the kitchen would go, could be a laundry room and/or pantry.
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Old 07-28-2014, 03:29 PM
 
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Here's a quick idea. Don't know what some of those spaces are so marked it with a "?". But something to play with.

Windows will be needed in each room no mater what they overlook. If you don't like seeing the parking lot then make the windows stained glass or frosted design but you will need the ventilation and light in each and every room.

This only works if you can put a header in the load bearing wall to open it up a bit.
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Old 07-30-2014, 04:25 PM
 
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Those spaces with ?'s are the window displays for each storefront. They might have a built up section that's higher than the floor, but that can be all torn out so it's level with the floor. I'd get ride of the vestibule because it's unnecessary and move the front door to the exterior part of the building instead of being inset. That way he can have one door instead of two doors coming into the building, and the loadbearing wall won't be in the way.

OP, it sounds like you want a one bedroom master. Do you want a second bedroom for guests? You have plenty of room to have 2 bedrooms and an office or another living area like a den. Are you wanting large open spaces with less rooms or do you want it cut up into a bunch of small rooms?

I personally would rather see a more loft-like design with big open spaces. I'll try to find some real estate listings of commercial buildings this size being made into homes. That way you can get an idea of what's possible.
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Old 07-31-2014, 02:47 PM
 
Location: South Park, San Diego
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Making some assumptions here.

-Masonry construction; the rooms at the back are frame construction additions. I don't see a huge issue in creating some openings in the load bearing wall, it's done all the time- posts to a beam or footing (basically already existing) and headers above.

-The existing rough openings to the front were storefront sized windows and not the tiny ones depicted.

-Zero lot line, or similar buildings up next to sides precluding side windows on at least the front 2/3 of the building and therefore needing some way to get light into the interior of the building. My solution, a two story opening above the stair and part of the living room to a large pyramid skylight on the roof (hopefully a low slope, commercial style roof)- plenty of room for 2-3 bedrooms upstairs and a couple of bathrooms with an open bridge to the front of the building. Or, if you can put in some side windows obviously a couple of strategically placed ones will make all the difference.

Edit: I saw the O.P.'s 2nd post about being able to put in windows so I popped in three on the desired North wall.

-You are in the northeast (Scranton) and therefore an air-lock would be a good thing.

And this should go in the Architecture Forum

[IMG][/IMG]

Last edited by T. Damon; 07-31-2014 at 03:00 PM..
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