Designing the home

9 years ago

Howdy!

Here's what I have currently. I couldn't find any decent free software to design the house, so I used what I could. I don't want to take the time to learn CAD...I'm probably going to use graph paper for the bank and building department to let them visualize the plans.

Anywho, I'm having a Self vs Self debate. I want the house to be 30' deep. The back side of the house is a walk out basement, facing mostly east. Front door of the house faces West. Climate Zone : 5B S.W. Nebraska

My original idea was to do 30 x 44. My brother thinks 30 x 44 is too big, and said I can shave off 4' and make it an even 30 x 40 and have just as nice of a home. He lives in a 30 x 26 with a 9x10 bump out. It's cozy. However, I am planning a master bath and decent closet. Also, laundry upstairs where his is downstairs. I want to maintain an open look from front door to back patio door next to the kitchen. I feel like the kitchen, dining, and L.R. could be done more efficiently with layout.

The main thing I see would be moving the dining table to the open space. Then you walk around it all the time, making it a horrible idea. :O

Here are the current plans: (click, or view below)
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So that is the first issue, deciding to do 40' or 44' long. The other issue has to do with a couple variables. The roof, and the attached garage. I want an attached garage for the woman in my future. I also want the front of the attached garage to catch sun in the winter. I also want the garage on the NORTH side of the house, as shown in the plans. For it to be North, and catch sun, I want to bump it out. This will also add character to the house. However, it creates an issue with the roof I don't know how to get around unless I use a hip roof. They cost more, look a little nicer, but cramp the attic. My brother suggested just keeping it in line with the house, told me to forget about appearance of a roof and go with what I can afford. He said I should not worry about bumping it out to catch a little extra winter sun.

Apologies for being long winded.

TL;DR: Any efficient way to make the 30 x 40 plans decent while maintaining an open living room to kitchen area?

Can a garage be bumped out from a house without a hip roof? if so, how is it designed?

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Comments (4)

dekeoboe
9 years ago
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Although I would swap the bathtub and the closet in bedroom #2. That walk-in closet is very skinny and a reach-in closet would be much easier to use.
renovator8
9 years ago
Unless you have training and experience designing while drafting in plan view, you will have limited feedback which can stiffen up your best creative ideas.

If you are willing to invest a bit of time, try SketchUp. It's free and fun to learn and use. The payback in design quality is limitless.

I have used for all of my projects since the first version was released. Its a lot more fun than drawing in plan with CAD or graph paper. You can also hire someone to put your sketch in SketchUp and open the file in SketchUp Viewer on your computer.

There is a push-pull tool that will make short work of most drawing tasks and a section tool that will remove part of the house so you can see inside. A section cut horizontal to the floor produces a floor plan. There are thousands of downloadable objects online. You can print elevation views or perspectives from any angle. Some of these features require the Pro version that costs $590 which is a bargain if it allows you to create a better house.

Here is a link that might be useful: One of many SketchUp tutorials on YouTube
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Nicoletta
Original Author
9 years ago
Of those two plans, the second one is more my style with seeing from front to back of house in living area. The bedrooms and sort need to be mirrored to the other side. I feel like the laundry/utility area is wasted space, but there is no staircase in either plan so it has to be housed somewhere convenient.

I think if my kitchen uses a 45 degree bar, it will solve most issues. What are those technically called, or are they custom built?

I found floorplanner.com yesterday evening. What a difference! It's much less glitchy, and a lot more fluid. I've used SketchUp in the past, but the quick item database and standard sizes in floorplanner are hard to beat. I appreciate the suggestion, as SketchUp is the only tool I would consider spending a lot of time with.
neonweb US 5b
9 years ago
Take into account the standard sizes of materials. For example, if your siding comes in 10' sheets, you will pay for full sheets you dont use if your house is 44'. Figure out what you will be using for building materials.