Ok guys, another in-the-middle-of-a-build question for the group. As a reminder we’re building a home that will be about 3200 s.f. and looks out over about 50 acres of woods/wetlands in southern Michigan.
Our family room is about 22′ wide by 19′ deep. It’s two stories high. We wanted a lot of glass in these southern facing areas so that we could take good advantage of the views. (Of course what I’m finding out is we have a LOT of windows in this darn house). In the family room we’re going with three 5′ wide french doors (don’t ask, wife insisted on it – I would have preferred windows…but…) and then three windows above the doors. Originally I thought the builder told me there would be roughly 2 – 2 1/2 feet of vertical wall space between the top of the french doors and the bottom of the windows above them. However now that the wall is up there’s actually more like 6′ of wall space. Please take a look at the attached pics. My question is do you think there’s too much vertical wall space between the two vertical glass/door openings? Wouldn’t it look better if the top windows were dropped down about 2′?
The builder and framer are telling me that it makes sense to keep them up higher because they will be level with other second story windows that will be up there (bedroom, etc.). They said if I drop the top family room windows down then it’s going to look pretty goofy from the back of the house. Good point, though I’m not sure what I care what it looks like from the back because there’s 50 acres of nothing back there! 🙂 Although some day we’ll have a deck off the family room.
Your thoughts?
Thanks in advance guys, Rob
Replies
From what I can tell it looks like you will have a very nice view out over the tree tops from the windows when you are on the second level. I have been in a few houses similar to yours. One had the upper windows too high and all you could see was the sky, very annoying. The other one had the windows too low, then all you could see was the ground about 20 feet from the house. I would make sure that the windows were placed so you had the best view possible from the second floor.
Dan
"Life is what happens when you are making other plans." - John Lennon
You bring up a good point Dan. I hadn't considered what it would look like from the second floor hall/loft space. As you're sitting in the family room looking out we're going to have bedrooms to the upper right. The stairs exit out to a 9'x12' landing up there and that landing overlooks the family room and of course you'll be able to see out the family room windows. I'm still a bit concerned that the windows are too high from the family room perspective but maybe I'll wait until they frame the second story to get a good feel for the whole thing.
- Rob
I agree with Dan, but is there a mezzanine or some other area on the 2nd floor where you can see out of those windows, or are they just letting light in for the living room. They will let more light in if higher, although maybe only marginally. If you can see out the windows from the upstairs I would position them so that you cannot see the backyard, but land, trees, and sky in the distance. Seeing only sky will be annoying.
Looks like you're somewhere near Ann Arbor. I lived there until I was 25. We used to call the lumberyard 'Finger-Me' because the service was so bad.
I have a similar setup in the house I am building. We set the upper windows centered in the gable wall. Inside, a loft looks out those windows over a two story great room. After installing the windows, I looked out from the loft and wished they had been set just a few inches higher to better frame the view from the second story. Oh well.............My wife thinks they are fine since she is 6 inches shorter.
Mike,
Nice looking house.
Are those casement windows? I'm pretty sure from the photo they are not double hungs.
Just curious how you like the big room. Are you living there now?
BTW, I know a Mike Fitz from around here. Are you a tile guy?
EricI Love A Hand That Meets My Own,
With A Hold That Causes Some Sensation.
The lower two flanking the door are casements, the upper two above them as well as the little top window are awning windows, and the big one in the middle is a fixed pane. They are all from Loewen.
I am not living in it yet, interior still has a way to go. I always liked the big two story room and loft concept, makes a small house (1600 sq ft) seem much bigger and more open. Add in an exposed timberframe, and small square rooms with drywall walls and ceiling will never look the same......
No, I'm not a tile guy- wish I was, I am about to have to learn so I can do a kitchen and bathroom! I actually grew up in Rockland county but haven't lived there since leaving for college.
do you have an elevation drawing or picture you could post so we could see where you are going w/ this - muntins in windows, roof overhangs, siding material, roof lines of what is to right and left of family room wall?
my neck of the woods you would have to supply some of your own energy or have triple glazing for those windows and that wall would be a "moment" wall of steel ( maybe the side walls have very few windows? )
Hey Stroke...beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. If you think it should be dropped...then it should be dropped...don't let anyone talk you out of it.
Heres a picture that I took of a very similar house that had the lowered windows. Judge for yourself whehter the exterior is enhanced or diminished.
The framers should have had a proper elevation to follow showing the exact windows ordered. The elevations should show how high the exterior windows are. If they've improperly raised them, then they should fix it free...they shouldn't be imposing their design theories on you. If the plans show all the tops of the windows lining up...then the expense is yours....you saved on architectural fees and now will pony up to get what you want.
I'd lower those windows figuring .5 hours each...for a total of $180 without arguing.
blue
Warning! Be cautious when taking any framing advice from me. Although I have a lifetime of framing experience, all of it is considered bottom of the barrel by Gabe. I am not to be counted amongst the worst of the worst. If you want real framing information...don't listen to me..just ask Gabe!
OOps... i forgot to confess that I acutally used photo edit to produce that pic.
I did want to point out that the main rear wall appears much more proportionally "correct". It is now symetric....with the same space between basement and the uppers. Asymetric is fine too...it's a personal choice.
blueWarning! Be cautious when taking any framing advice from me. Although I have a lifetime of framing experience, all of it is considered bottom of the barrel by Gabe. I am not to be counted amongst the worst of the worst. If you want real framing information...don't listen to me..just ask Gabe!
My builder found us a 14" high window to go over the top of the french doors. By the time we get that properly placed that will - I hope - allow us to have more light above the french doors while also diminishing the wall space between that and the top windows. I'm going to go there tonight to measure things up.
- Rob
I like the idea of placing the top windows high enough that they are useful and pleasant to look through from the 2nd floor.
You might also want to consider how the interior of this feature wall will be decorated... Maybe you have large velvet Elvis paintings to put up, or a Jackson Pollock or two. Big art needs big walls.
If I had been drawing the elevation out, I probably would have made the spaces between all three openings the same (w/o basement, 1st floor, "transom" 2nd floor). That's about what blue set up in his edited image.
If you are using a transom over the french doors, it would be a 50/50 on whether I'd match the transom above (be more than a few sheets of onion-skin tracing paper expended at the task, at least . . . )
If the builder says "Hey I ordered the windows on the plans, and built the openings to suit," he'd likely be right to want a CO for any change now. On the other hand, you might have a moose head that would "fit" that interior space between the two sets of outside view from the inside.
That being said, they taught me, decades ago in archy school, that elevated views want to be "down." That is, the person on the second floor wants to see the horizon, and the "stuff" from there back to the building they are in. With a tall ceiling, and a break in the view, that second floor gallery can seem like it's floating. That's good if that's what you want (and you aren't living with any acrophobics).
So, it's really down to you. Get up to where the second floor will be and look. If you don't like it, now's the time to change it, even with a CO--it will only get more expensive.