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Discussion Forum

Discussion Forum

How would you design this entry

hipaul | Posted in General Discussion on June 27, 2010 12:37pm

 

Haven’t been here in a while, but thought I’d check in.

I’m coming up blank on what to do with this entry. My plate has been full (fortunately) so I haven’t been able to give this much thought.

The homeowners want the awning gone and some sort of shelter from the rain. I don’t like the look of a two-tiered shelter like they have now with the awning, but it seems like it could get a little bit heavy there if I were to extend the gable out a ways more either with or without any posts.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

 

Paul

Reply

Replies

  1. DanH | Jun 27, 2010 03:17pm | #1

    Pergola style?

  2. runnerguy | Jun 27, 2010 03:50pm | #2

    I might be confusing this with another "45 degree door where two walls intersect and how do I do the entry" post, but wasn't this posted about a year ago?

    Doug

    1. hipaul | Jun 27, 2010 05:20pm | #3

      This is all new to me at least. I didn't see the other post last year or it might have given me some ideas. I'm just looking to get some creative juices flowing since I haven't had a lot of brainstorming on this one yet.

      This one seems tricky because it already has a dormer that sets a precedent to the left above it, and the house won't allow for anything too big to happen, so pulling the corner dormer out too far seems risky.

      Paul

    2. Piffin | Jun 27, 2010 06:26pm | #4

      There was another one a while ago - on the old site. I made some drawings for it. It was very close to the same house. I can look and see if I find those drawings again.

      1. hipaul | Jun 27, 2010 06:59pm | #5

        Thanks Piffin,

  3. k1c | Jun 27, 2010 08:58pm | #6

    entry cover

    Is this workable?  Remove the roofing and maybe sheathing too.  Resheath but new roof will extend out 36"?  I am not sure if you have enough of the dormer structure to serve as base for plywood cantilever.  But if it works, leave the extension open and finish the underside with t&g and decorative cross brace.  I would check if dormer is attached solidly to the rafters.  Hope it helps.

    1. DanH | Jun 27, 2010 09:18pm | #7

      I still think a covered pergola is the way to go.  A little lower and wider than the existing dormer, and I think visually they would work together.  Could be either garden style or classical, depending on the HO's tastes.

      1. hipaul | Jun 27, 2010 11:24pm | #8

        I could see that. I think the key is either to make the existing dormer work somehow without becoming too big for the proportions, or to add something that is very clearly a separate structure but that works with the facade as a whole, like a pergola.

        The only thing that I like about the existing awning is that it's a separate enough entity so that it doesn't read as part of the existing building. 

        That could be a good possibility, as the two variable height rooflines make for a weird intersection if I were to enlarge the existing dormer. I may play around with the pergola idea some. Thanks

        Paul

        1. DanH | Jun 27, 2010 11:43pm | #9

          Of course, they've also got that other awning, which looks even more out of place....

          A different tack might be to make the dormer flatter and wider -- the tall, narrow dormer looks awkward even by itself. 

        2. Piffin | Jun 28, 2010 05:30am | #10

          I'm thinking pergola cover also, mainly because the close flanking windows and the varying roof levels make things get pretty tricky there. Didn't find the previous drawings I had - they may be on the laptop, but I don't think those ideas would work here given the variables and constraints.

        3. DanH | Jun 28, 2010 07:01am | #11

          Another advantage of the pergola is that you can pick and choose what areas you actually roof over -- doesn't have to be the entire structure.  So the structure can be wide enough to block the windows somewhat (particularly the close one on the left) without necessarily taking away their light.

  4. User avater
    Dreamcatcher | Jun 28, 2010 07:37am | #12

    GO BIGGER and go home

    As a professional designer/builder, I run into this sort of situation (not this exact situation) quite often. Generally it boils down to having to fix past poor judgement in home design. Often that means totally removing the offending piece of architecture and starting from scratch. If this were my client I would advise the same. Unless the plan is to have a unique water feature during a rainstorm, keeping an inside corner entry is no good and not fixable. 

    The term "can't polish a turd" comes to mind.

    Instead, I'd try creating an entry either in what appears to be a dining room (to the left, under the dormer) or even easier would be a shed off the right side roof but it depends on the room. The right structural detailing could just eliminate the windows and make for a nice open foyer. A good upgrade could be to add on both an entry and a dormer extension upstairs. Lots of possibilities once you realize that there is no fixing what is there. 

    So get your salesman hat on and tell those people what they really need. You can do it. Remember 51% of being a contractor is making the sale... anyone can do the other 49%.

    DC

    1. DanH | Jun 28, 2010 08:00am | #13

      Yeah, I had a thought of that too.  Depends, of course, on the budget and how complicated the inside layout is.  Plus it's hard to think of a GOOD design that would leave the door in roughly the same place and provide a cover.

  5. cussnu2 | Jun 28, 2010 11:59am | #14

    Could you just go with an L shaped deck / covered porch?  That might also help to hide what to me is a goofy change in roof elevations.  The door could stay in the sam spot then and all the changes would be on the outside with the bonus being added outdoor living space.

    1. DanH | Jun 29, 2010 06:58pm | #16

      One problem with the deck/porch is that they'd have to lose all those plantings, and it would change the entire look of the house (though perhaps for the better).  The porch could be done either "classical" or "country".

      Worth running it by the HO, I suppose.

  6. User avater
    Mongo | Jun 28, 2010 12:21pm | #15

    The lines would have to be massaged a bit...

    A couple of idea. All pretty much retain the existing dormer, but extend off the front of it. Geometry and weather coverage for the porch underneath might be improved by pulling dormer gable wall "forward" a bit and extending the existing dormer geometry out a bit so the bottom of the left dormer rake as shown in the original photo meets the eave/gutter of the intersecting roof to the left.

    Working off that gable extension...or maybe not even doing the extension...

    1) Could you extend the existing dormer towards the front, by turning the existing gable-end dormer into a hip? To me that would be easiest. It could be a basic hip or a 3-sided extension.

    b) Another idea that would be soft on the eye would be to extend the dormer out as an inverted half-cone. The geometry of the half-circle may or may not provide adequate protection from the weather for the porch underneath. Depends on the proportions.

    Trois) You could get a little more lateral coverage for the porch underneath by keeping the original pitch of the existing dormer, but kicking out the rafters at the bottom of the dormer and adding a kicked out skirt around the front of the dormer's gable wall.

     

     

    1. hipaul | Jun 30, 2010 12:46am | #17

      All three of those are good ideas, as well as the pergola idea.

      I like the 'inverted ice cream cone' as it ties in to the semi-ocular minaret type floor to ceiling window at the front of the house (forgive my architectural language butchering there). 

      Those two differing roof lines still chap my hide, so I think simplicity is going to be the key in terms of not making too many levels or textures there at that intersection. And I don't think they're going to want to spend the kind of money that I think they should spend on it, so a total redesign is probably out of the picture. I added a barreled dormer entry to the house of some friends of theirs a few years ago for something like $12k, and I bet that that's the number that they're going to have sticking in their heads, but we haven't had that conversation yet, they've just hinted that less is more in terms of budget!

      Thanks for the tips and time so far. This has already helped me along greatly and gotten my own gears starting to spin.

      Paul

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