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Help us "change up" the elevation design on this ranch

KayakCove
9 years ago

Hi, (Excuse some spelling- trying to eliminate SPAM)

I would like your suggestions on how to make the elevation more impressive/ unique/ have more character.
The young man working with us on this desig-n is a structural_ engineer_ and his father is a general_contractor we want to get a bid from. We did not know at the time we hired him, to draw up plans, that this is his first house he has designed. We know little about building- a home- and we think we would have benefited greatly from someone with experience.
We feel the elevation he has given us is fine but wish it had more character. It looks like every other house in a subdivision. We would really welcome any comments suggestions from Garden Web . It is very impressive what everyone does for one another here.
Some points of interest:
-Our lot is in a fores-t that slopes down to a lake cove. We want lots of windows on the back of the house.
-We want a large screened in porch.
-We did ask him to cut back the total ranch square footage to be near 2100. But I am worried we took too much away from the dining & great room.
-I am worried the kitche-n may be dark. The back will be facing the west.
- He has the roof at 7/12...that does not seem like much of a pitch. Would your recommend it increased?
-Looking for a look that will stay "fresh-" for a long time.
**CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM
All your comments are welcome!
Thank you :)
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This post was edited by KayakCove on Tue, Aug 19, 14 at 20:51

Comments (7)

  • palimpsest
    9 years ago

    I would rework the roof in front to give you something more like this, with a full porch. The multiple gables and tiny dormer in the original seem to make the façade "droop" in the middle:

  • palimpsest
    9 years ago

    Messy angle drawing

  • dekeoboe
    9 years ago

    We want lots of windows on the back of the house. ....
    The back will be facing the west.

    Where are you building? Is is somewhere where you do not have to worry about the heat/sun coming in all those west facing windows?

  • KayakCove
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    palimp:
    Nice image and like your idea of a porch. It gives it a totally different look. What pitch is the roof?

    dekeoboe:
    The sun will disappear behind a large hill. We will not get much afternoon direct sunlight.
    I attached the view looking to the west. Standing where the back of the house would end.

  • palimpsest
    9 years ago

    I don't know what the pitch is. It would have to change to fully incorporate the porch roof or the porch roof could be a shallower pitch possibly. The dormer position would also depend upon whether then entire front pitch of the roof changed over the porch area , or on how high the pitch changed for a separate porch roof. This is just a drawing of an idea that could work but the details would need to be worked out.

  • Nick
    9 years ago

    Maybe one of these could work?

    This one flips the garages, so the double garage is toward the back and the single is slid under a long porch roof that extends across the front elevation. This makes the walk to the front door shorter and gets rid of the obvious garage mass up front. Personally, I'm not opposed to front facing garages, as long as they're pushed back and the door is attractive.

    I kept main roofs on both 7/12, porch roofs at 2/12 (may have to be steeper depending on climate).

    Second option keeps the double garage up front, but extends the porch to full length and breaks up the front garage wall a bit to disguise it from the road. Front facing gables are 12/12.

    I can explain/provide more pics if needed.

    This post was edited by nicke360 on Wed, Aug 20, 14 at 4:15

  • KayakCove
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Nicke: That is really amazing how a house can have a totally different feel. I like the "cottage" look.
    We want to keep the double garage as a side entry. This gives us privacy if our garage door is open because the bend in the street is at our driveway entrance, so cars will be looking into our garage as they approach the bend in the road. I am not sure what questions to ask but would like to see more pictures. I like the little windows a lot.
    Would a window like this work on your elevation? I love the little roof:

    [Craftsman Spaces[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/craftsman-home-design-ideas-phbr1-bp~s_2116) by Wayzata General Contractors Stonewood, LLCSo very kind of both palimpsest & nicke360 to provide these drawings.
    Did you look at the floor plan? I have read some of your pasts posts and respect your opinions you have offered others and would like to hear from you about the floor plan.

    This post was edited by KayakCove on Wed, Aug 20, 14 at 22:25