Here are the elevations of the house. I wish I could get them laid on the scanner straight. They're a bit crooked.
Joe, I'm sure you are not going to like the 'transoms,' but I like them. Things are still be changed! I had CK make the changes to the upstairs bathroom and hallway and the first thing L said when she looked at it was - 'now I have to walk all around the stairs in my towel to get to my room.'
M.F.H.
5 comments:
What does L do at Grandma's when she uses the bathroom? The tradeoff is she gets a bigger room.
All the elevations look pretty good. Nothing wrong with transoms if that's what you like; I'm not opposed to them, especially the one for the bedroom. Surprisingly, the kitchen transom brings a sort of balance to the asymmetrical window layout on that side of the house.
I also see the builder squeezed one in for the MBR bath; I wasn't sure it could fit above the lower roof, so didn't include it when we worked out the plans.
Are you going with the double french doors between the bedroom and bath? I saw some nice-looking ones advertised at Home Depot. I'm considering it for the remodel on our future MBR, since we don't have a window in the bath. We have a 48" rough-in, not 90" opening you have, so would have a single door and sidelight.
Wondering if you resolved the cost vs. budget for the cabinetry.
More kitchen comments:
1) Roll-outs: Do you need then in every cabinet? We decided against them for our kitchen, both to save $$ and have more usable space in the cabinets. Instead of having to both open doors and pull out the shelf, why not just use deep drawers instead? The cost should be about the same, and stuff can't fall off. (We have one deep drawer used for our plastic containers.)
I find the cabinets with pots, pans, and appliances are fine without, but in hindsight we might have put a roll-out in the one cabinet with small items. But even there we rarely have to fish around to get to stuff in the back.
2) Cabinet as trash container: We have one, but today I'd do something different, as the wood interior absorbs and retains odors for a long time. Now we use a small stainless container with plastic bag liner on the counter for food waste, and use the cabinet for non-food trash only.
Hard to compete with Joe's cost saving ideas for your kitchen or anywhere for that matter. We are primarily designers and deal best with surfaces and color, anything that makes a space pleasing and beautiful, but when it comes to budgets that is just not us. But I'll give it my best try...
A few cost saving ideas:
1. Could you install fireplace later and use that money for cabinets, pantry etc. and make kitchen how it will function best.
Speaking of function and cost saving why not have a microwave range above the stove - we've always had one and I am very happy with it. Mine is a microwave speed cook oven so it microwaves, speedcooks, bakes and you can use it as a warming oven plus it is a vent-a-hood!
I could not live with a microwave on the countertop - this will make your space seem unplanned and not custom which doesn't make sense for a new custom house in our opinion.
2. If you do plan to install fireplace when building there is no need to spend money on a flooring allowance for fireplace surround unless you really want a traditional looking fireplace. We do not have a surround - it is just sheetrocked around it. Later you could add the mantel - cut from an old beam from the old house to finish it off! This will give it a more contemporary look w/o the surround. I doubt you will have the wood ready to create the mantel soon and if it is not done when the surround is installed around the fireplace the mantel may not look right with it later. I'd definitely opt for a simple look and just go with the mantel and save money on a tile surround. If it meets code in MN to use sheetrock up to a gas fireplace I bet it does in IA!
3. Was wondering about transom windows in baths that I heard were glass block? If they are, can you open them or do they just let in light? I know you like windows to have a view from each room and that is why I ask, but glass block doesn't allow this and if you cannot open them why not consider solatubes? Maybe solatubes could save some money over windows?
I agree with Joe that the kitchen transom brings a balance to the asymmetrical window layout on the outside of the house.
What have you decided for your kitchen? Have you been able to cut any costs? If so what did you cut out to meet your budget?
When we did our remodeling, the contractor suggested an interior designer, and I'm glad we used his suggestions on the surfaces and colors, even though we paid more than our budget for his services. You're getting Joanne and Mel's advice for free!
1. J&M are right about the 'unplanned' look with the counter microwave and I have no problem with the 'over the range' location - except as you said the girls can't reach that high, and it does require upper cabinets on that wall, not just open shelves. Ours is built-in over the wall oven and Anna is just tall enough now to reach it comfortably. Perhaps you could put one over the range and have a second one (temporary) on the counter until the girls grow up - that's only a few years.
2. Our fireplace does not have a surround or a mantle. J&M are on the mark here with their ideas and also to delay the FP for a better kitchen.
3. I'd go with the lowest cost whether glass block or solatube. The effect will be similar, but the solatube provides more uniform light throughout the room. Get the larger size solatube, even though the specs may say the smaller for your square footage, I find they don't distribute as much light as you'd think, especially on a cloudy day, with an 8' ceiling.
I agree with Joe - if you want a microwave for the girls to use get a cheap one at Target and put it on the counter temporarily. The girls will grow up quickly and when they can reach the range hood micro you could take the counter microwave elsewhere.
Speaking of which... does your house have a basement? That's where we have our extra microwave for making popcorn etc. downstairs.
We aren't so into the open shelving look in the kitchen. It may look cool in the magazines, but those people often have the bare minimum and that's why it works for them.
I must give credit, where credit is due though! It was Mom's suggestion to me that you save the money from the fireplace temporarily and finsh your kitchen off with that money. At least with the cost of our gas fireplace Mom is right - you were wanting to save about $4K on your kitchen weren't you? I think our little fireplace was about that or a little more.
We enjoy ours and get a lot of use out of it, but it is colder here longer and our area is very confined so it helps to cut back on our gas bill so it is not just for ambiance.
Plus if you don't install fireplace right away it will give you more time to figure out how you're going to deal with a big heavy beam from the old house and make it into a mantel. Who can cut it down and transport it etc. That's a project in itself and I'm sure you have plenty going on with just the nuts and bolts of building the house.
I know you have all admired our solatube when you have been here so that's why I thought to suggest it. Ours is probably the standard size for our 5 x 8 bathroom, but Joe may be right - it may be working well for us because our roof line/angle is very shallow so the tube part is very short thus it lets in plenty of light.
From what I can tell though the transom glass block window look neat inside and out and do add interest to the outside of the house. So I would just do a price comparisson between those windows and solatubes and see if they can help your budget.
More from Annette that I'm posting for her:
Doors - I like glass pocket doors too! I wouldn't let builder talk you out of this either. Like Joe said it is a fairly inexpensive way to make your house unique plus add light!
Transoms - I'm fine with them but I would check out cost diff with solar tube too.
Window treatments - do you have an allowance for them? I know you have lots of windows, & you should consider doing some nice things at least downstairs. Silhouttes are expensive but there are many nice options for less. Plus you have access to a great discount.
Fireplace - I think Mom/Joanne had a great idea of holding off on fireplace for now. I would plan on where it will be in future to make sure it is possible to add where you want it, plus make plans for heavy mantel.
Furnace - Did builder suggest a 2 zone system? I know it will be more $, but your house is large & you would be a lot more comfortable, you might want to check it out. An option would be to to put in dual zone duct work with manually adjusted dampers instead of electric. So you can adjust in the summer to send more cool air upstairs & readjust in winter to send more warm air downstairs because cool air falls & warm air rises. Ron is not familiar with Fridgidaire Furnaces, who makes them? How efficient is AC? Remember over time these extras will help you save on energy costs. (sorry Mom has specs so I can't refer to them)
*Also many rebates on energy efficient appliances, windows, etc are available.
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Hi now it's me, Joanne:
Since Annette mentioned the furnace I had this to add since we are buying a new furnace and AC soon. We are getting a HE Furnace and AC unit for the same amount as we could have paid another contractor for much less efficient equipment soley due to the fact that the rebates are so much higher for HE equipment.
We will get $2,630 off the regular price which includes: $500 tax refund, $800 back from installer for paying cash and a current coupon offer and direct rebate from them, $1,000 from Carrier and $330 from the electric co.
Even the cheapest equipment will run $5K total for a house our size so we figured the extra $2K was worth it for close to the best HE equipment available.
I was very surprised at all of the discounts available that made a $9,825 bid come down to $7,195.
Plus we got all kinds of helpful advice from Ron & Annette.
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