If you were to design a house that would really support the way you work and live, what features would you include? Would the shop be separate or attached to the house? A mudroom with shower and laundry all in one? Storage for all the stuff you drag home? Maybe you’ve already incorporated some good ideas into your place. What’s a great house for a builder?
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The Man shower in the mudroom/business catalogue etc stash area with laundry-boiler and the myriad shelves to hold it all is a GOOD idea and works very well here.
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I think it depends greatly on whether you have kids. A spouse by herself would be lonely with you out in the shop, but the kids would be disturbed by the noise and swearing if the shop was part of the house.
I've done it both ways with the house I live in - now that the kids are 5,8, and 11, their fussinga nd fighting and screams of glee would drown out the good shop noise and cursing, were I back attached to the house.
So - once that's answered, I'd love to noodle with such a design - which tells me right off I'd be designing it for me, and might not suit the customer - just a caveat.
Forrest
i started out working out of our home.... but i built some commercial condo's on spec and wound up owning one
i got in the habit of having the office/shop/ storage downtown and the house out in the burb's
i prefer it that way... now our next move is to put an addition on the office and move back into town
i'll let you know how that works outMike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
maintence free concrete, everything concrete, storm proof, bugular proof, fire proof concrete
I dream of building a severely planar, sculptural house, with nothing but raw concrete formed in 1X, thick green-tinted (old Coke bottle colored) glass, and either stainless or Cor-Ten steel.
Forrest
That stuff is over rated you know.
yea , it was either that or steel plate
Shop needs to be separate for safety and good marital relations as well as to satisfy IRS
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Since I'm still working on the house I don't know what the final judgment will be. Thus far we have two seperate building for DW and myself. Her building houses her dog kennel and her studio. My shop is just down the hill from her building, about 35'. When the house is complete it will be about a 50' walk to get to the studio/kennel. My shop is has a full bath and her building is plumbed for bathing the dogs and has both a washer and dryer. Both buildings have heat and a/c.
I expect her to take up some additional room in the house for her art because I really don't think some of what she does mixes well with dog hair :-)
We chose this route because we learned in our last home that our hobbies and interest tend to spill over into family time to much when everything is under one roof. Now if one of us is working on a project late into the evening, it doesn't bother the other or our grandson.
>> Would the shop be separate or attached to the house? <<
Detached unless you are never gonna have any flamable liquid, solvents, oil paint, etc in there. Heck - actually, even sawdust is flamable. It is not just a fire safety thing though. It is an indoor air quality issue as well.
It doesn't matter how many great ideas and features a "Builders" house has........If it's a builders house, it'll never, ever be finished.
True dat .
Maybe... ;-)
Our last house DW said she would help. Didn't happen as far as actually building the house, other than bringing out sandwiches a few Saturdays, however she was actually a HUGE help because she 1) sold our old house, 2) packed all our stuff, and 3) refused to move into the new one until the house was 100% complete - and even hired a home inspector specifically to verify that! :-)
Additionally - being a superintendent for new construction homes who uses mainly subcontractors for the construction process I've learned that it's my job to get the subs to finish everything completely when he is there, because otherwise I know who it will fall on. That means having all my ducks in a row as far as scheduling and having 100% of the materials on site when the sub arrives. This sometimes requires a quick trip to the BS to get just one more piece of base molding, return/replace a damaged light fixture, or whatever... Punchlists are addressed as the house is built - not all at the end.
I know the thing about the shoe maker's kids not having shoes, but with respect to homebuilding this is mainly a case of the individual taking on too much himself or having a project that doesn't fit one's budget. I guess for some a 5 yr project is OK - For me a year is about the max.
when I started my house I wanted a 5000 sq ft house and a shopnow I wish I had a 500 sq ft hose and a 5000 sq ft shop
I agree with everything you said.....But somehow it doesn't seem to apply to (most?) builders own houses.I was a full time gc for 10 years before I got on a paid fire department, and still do 1 or 2 houses a year. When I was building solely, I did the frame and the finish, oak floors.....that was it as far as physical work (aside from clearing an occasional lot when I needed firewood). Basically subbed out the rest, and was fortunate to find good subs that didn't need to be hounded to complete their portion af the job. Have always prided myself in delivering a complete product, soup to nuts, here's your keys, pleasure doing business with ya..............Now on my own house.......I did a lot more stuff, mostly to save $. Cut trees, formed footing, framed house, shingled roof, sided, partitioned, painted, tile, oak, finish, kitchen, landscaping.....you get the idea. Unfortunately I ( and a few other fellows here, I suspect) am wired differently when it comes to my own stuff. Hard to stay motivated when you're the one doin it all, for an extende period of time. Oh yeah, then there's the "I'll finish ---- when we move in, I'll be here all the time, it'll get finished right away" HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Not. Ultimately, In my case, I probly fall into both your scenarios, taking on too much, and not having enough $I started a thread on here, I'm guessing a year ago, about how guys stay motivated to do stuff on their own houses. I just have a hard time with it. I do know this; I've told my bride that if (when) we build another house, I treat it like a paying job, and every last detail gets finished before we move 1 single box in....Good for you though, if you've managed to be the cobbler whose kids actually have shoes. I would hazard a guess that you're in the minority..:)Bing
I'd certainly want the shop in a separate building at least fifty feet from the main house. I'd also incorporate an office and a lounge in the shop, probably with a bath and small kitchen too, back to back.
The idea is that it's a place for business and production woodworking, where one or two employees could spend the day working, without interaction with my family. I'd also make it comfortable enough for clients to visit and feel welcome.
Storage for materials is another question. I don't want to store most materials and fixtures in a finished, conditioned space so I might add an attached shed to the shop for that purpose. It all depends on what the building department and zoning will allow.
The house is another entity, not associated with the shop. It's never occured to me to make any alterations to basic design criteria, just because I'm in the trades. I'd be more inclined to design for family hobbies, like extra garage space for recreational vehicles, or a green house, or a proper basketball half court.
Edited 7/17/2009 4:37 am by Hudson Valley Carpenter
"It's never occurred to me to make any alterations to basic design criteria, just because I'm in the trades. I'd be more inclined to design for family hobbies, like extra garage space for recreational vehicles, or a green house, or a proper basketball half court. "
My thinking has been circling around this issue for years. It has to do with how custom a house should be. After observing what changes clients generally request that distinguish their dream home from what any (intelligent) builder would have put on their sites, I've come down less and less on the side of custom houses.
But the generic house that we build for people today usually doesn't support many activities beyond sitting and bathing - both of which it does quite well. If you get dirty at work, you present a problem to your house when you come home. If you want to make a mess doing something, or play active games there generally is nowhere to do these things.
I'd love to see houses eat up some of the passive spaces reserved to watching TV or showing off your stuff and have them instead include somewhere that, as you say, you can do stuff. Here in the PNW the climate is benign enough that you can work and play outside all year round as long as you have some protection from the rain. Why don't houses here incorporate large covered areas? Basketball, potting, ball hockey, woodwork right outside the door.
I'm not inclined to build anything very custom for my own use at this time because my retirement plans include using a big tax advantage available in the U.S.; no capital gains tax on profits from the resale of your primary home.
To begin, I plan to build a modest sized, energy efficient home with a few luxury features, the type of place that will appeal to a large percentage of buyers.
After that one sells and my investments are doing well again, I'll reconsider certain custom features for the next one.
Shoot, I'd still like to build the big tree house I've had in mind for the last fifteen years or more. I may rent out the main house on that lot, year round, and keep the tree house for our summer residence. Now that would be fun.
Two words-
Bat Cave. I want to roar down my driweway just like the batmobile. Flames coming out of the back of my car (intentionally) would be great.
But really, I have a mudroom that is off of my kitchen that connects to the barn. I can't imagine life without a messy entrance and a clean entrance.
I meditate, I burn candles, I drink green tea, and still I want to smack someone.