Replies

1. 
   Ethos | Apr 08, 2003 05:25pm | #1

   Kind of a blanket query-

   The most helpful specifics you might provide to help others help you would come from a site plan that includes the topography of the site with a north arrow, critical views, meaning: what you want to see and what you don't, including existing and likely-to-be-built adjacent structures, roads, drainages, boggy areas, roch shelves or outcrops, etc.

   Then, make a list of what you want to do in your structures and on your property.  Everything you have to do and want to do should have a specific and well articulated place in the final design.  This will give the person(s) doing the mechanical layout the best chance of success.

   A good design will be a convergence of constraints, desires and practical expedients.

   IMHO, the best designs start with many constraints and in the end, end up harmonizing with them like a massive old vine and the things it's grown upon.

   Something I think almost every house should have is a graywater recycling system/cistern/solar batch heater-hot tub.  In the overly well-to-do west, indulgence is best enjoyed if it is smart.  In the same way that going out for a nice meal is a delight for a fit person and an absurdity for someone with a spare tire.

   Post some pics of the site, tell us about your family.........

   Lance

2. 
   PhillGiles | Apr 08, 2003 05:31pm | #2

   My wish-list always includes: "His & her" ensuites for the master bedroom and a pantry off the kitchen.

   .

   Phill Giles

   The Unionville Woodwright

   Unionville, Ontario

3. 
   GoldenWreckedAngle | Apr 08, 2003 06:51pm | #3

   It depends more than anything on how you live. Architects typically develop a program that is very helpful in designing a home that fits you like a flexible glove. Think about what you do in every single room and how you can make those tasks easier or more enjoyable. What items will go in each room and where will they go? Consider the personality you want in each space and use light, color and furnishings to establish it. Good programing is really pretty involved but it is the most essential foundation to a well designed home. The number one feature I always recommend is the employment of a very competent and experienced designer.

   For your construction method- look into Structural Insulated Panels. http://WWW.sipweb.com I don't believe there is a better bang for the building buck out there when it comes to thermal efficiency and structural integrity. There have been quite a few discussions of them here if you want to search the archives.

   Now, on to the features:

   Think accessible. One feature I thought of for the two story I am building right now is a dumb waiter with enough open space around it to convert it to an elevator later in case the stairs to our master bedroom ever become too much of a challenge. An appropriately sized upstairs hall closet directly over a downstairs hall closet with load bearing walls is another way to add this flexibility for the future. You don't have to build everything like you are in a wheel chair but it's not a bad idea to consider the fact that you might be down the road. Just make it easy to convert to fully accessible if the need should arise.

   A mud room just off the garage with a small shower. It is a nice place to drop the coat and shoes and to give the dog, and anyone else coming in grungy from outside, a conditioned place to get washed up with warm water.

   Large covered outdoor spaces for informal gatherings in good weather- ours is a large wrap around porch that also shades the downstairs windows.

   Shop space in the garage. Even if it's just big enough to put in a small bench and keep a few tools out of the way.

   Outlets under the eves and at several convenient exterior locations and exterior faucets on all sides of the house are a good idea. An exterior faucet plumbed with hot and cold water is nice for washing cars, kids and dogs too.

   Orienting the home to take advantage of views and solar conditions for heating/cooling is mucho importante' as well.

   Gadgets in the kitchen are much less important that having a well thought out work triangle with the essentials close at hand. Think workflow first and impression second.

   Storage, storage and more storage. Try to work in enough conditioned storage to hide the items that might be susceptible to degradation in unconditioned garage and attic storage.

   In todays popular open floor plan houses it is also a good idea to have some isolated quiet spaces tucked away here and there where you can "hide out." Remember how cool those big cardboard boxes were as a kid? Think adult space with the same feel.

   Large enough electric panels to add a bunch of additional circuits as future items are added and ways to get cabling from the panel to all areas of the house without tearing part of it up. Having accessible wire chases and attic space adds a lot of future flexibility. Who knows what the next innovation in technology will hold for us. The easier it is to add electronic stuff to your house, the smarter you will feel in a few years.

   Multi-stage adjustable lighting with good ambient, task and accent lights goes a lot further toward setting the mood of a space than just about anything else. Lighting designers are worth their money. They can produce far more dramatic results with light than you can achieve with the most expensive finishes in poorly designed lighting conditions.

   Well, I sense that I'm just getting warmed up here and this post is already getting a little long. I'll leave a little bandwidth for others to chime in.

   Kevin Halliburton

   "One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man." -Elbert Hubbard-

1. 
   migraine | Apr 08, 2003 08:14pm | #4

   How about an extra "home run" conduit to each room in the house and then run it around the entire room.  I have never seen a home where some one didn't say "we should have run it over here"

1. 
   TomPoe3 | Apr 08, 2003 11:22pm | #5

   Optimal Design suggestions/questions:

   1. Accesibility

   2. Flexibility for addition/modification of future wiring/electronics

   We are deep into process of designing an addition / renovation.

   Accessibility, is great NOT only for wheelchairs.

   Think about carrying groceries, laundry, packages, garbage, recycles, in/out up/down. Think about kids, carts, bikes, strollers, lumber racks with materials into your shop, completed items out to be spray painted or cleaned. Fun when you retire? or impossible ?

   If you plan for elevators, remember that stacked closets on each floor are nice now - even if they never become elevators (typical residential cost is $12K-$20K for three levels, remember to confirm space, these closets need about 52"x57" clear finished shaft space for the cab and rails and a double 2x12" securely bolted to each other and to the structure all the way up/down - remember to make the floors/ceilings structure easy to cut away to eliminate.

   2.

   PLAN NOW WHERE/HOW to add connect and modify Electronics, Computers, networks, Electrical service, Security, Home Theater equipment ? ? ?

   I am planning a set of stacked closets on each level (similar to the elevator closets/shaft) This space will be called "ELEC MEDIA CLOSET". The fuction and location for this space will be to have good working access to the BACK SIDE of most every piece of electronic equipment used in the home. For instance:

   The TV/Stereo/Entertainment center(s) would face the Living room/Home theater while the back side of the equipment would be acessible from the Elec/Media closet.

   The home office(s) would also share a wall with this closet so that the back side of all office equipment would connect easily to and from the elec/media closet. Other equipment such as network eqpt, servers, cable racks, CD/DVD jukeboxes, UPS and power protection eqpt would be located in the closet. Other cables woudl be routed through the closet or terminated in racks or panels in the closet for equipment that was shared by all in the house such as some printers, faxes, etc. Everything could be added or shared easily.

   The home security and home automation systems would be based in this closet.

   I know EVERY room can not share a wall with these closets - but if most electrical/electronic equipment and controls can be placed in close proximity, access to the back, and "integration" - you will be way ahead of the game. Anyway - you will not have to pull the machine all the way out to the edge of the shelf, stick your head inside the cabinet and try to unhook the VCR, plug in the DVD, watch a DVD knowing that you better reconnect the VCR before the kids wake up so they can watch one of their tapes :-)

   If stacked vertically: these closets would provide vertical chases to every floor for cables of any kind, perhaps the closets would be "ballon" framed without base or top plates. Conduits or empty conduits from locations in each room would be run to this vertical space for future cables, fiber optic, etc.

   Any suggestions ideas, or info. to help me explain and justify this idea to myself, my wife and the designer would be most appreciated.

   Sincerely,

   Tom Poe

1. 
   GoldenWreckedAngle | Apr 08, 2003 11:52pm | #6

   I have a friend that did that very thing. At least with his entertainment system. Not a bad Idea.Kevin Halliburton

   "One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man." -Elbert Hubbard-