Needless or Necessary? Basements? Window Views? Bathrooms?

[gyzngalz]

   I love the projects and plans members are showing on this site and I mean it.  I've spent hours in a near addiction to this site looking at the entries here and admiring the determination, creativity, zeal and hardwork of so many. I'm building a more conventional suburban house now to live in down here in Louisiana near the northshore of Lake Ponchatrain - my own floorplan and one that capitalizes on a rarely available view of 300-feet of wooded area behind my home.  I own several 'million dollar view' tiny sloped lots up near the Continental Divide in the Rockies and hope to build (pier and beam) on one soon.  But, back to the great projects on this site:  I have to ask why so many plans omit window walls on the views of nature that presumably prompted their wanting to build the dwellings in the first place? 

Basements?  Expensive has heck and easily replaced by moving utilities to an insulated attic and storage to an outside storage barn.  Pier and beam is the least expensive and perhaps most authentic, Green, site-friendly way to go -- an insulated monolotic slab is cheaper, too, unless hauling the concrete is an expense. ( Several 'Hi Country' Colorado counties in recent years started approving insulated monolithic cement slabs for dwellings even at sites 10,000 feet above sea level.)  I can see the sense of a basement that doubles as a garage on a site not large enough for a garage or sloped too severely to do it cost-effectively any other way, but an underground basement as a basement when the money could be used otherwise, has me puzzled.

I've seen floor plans ranging from clever to ho-hum, but often they do not capitalize on views.  Even if its a collection of trees or an open field, seems to me its more fun and soothing to look at than a fireplace against a solid wall that has no view  or relegates the view to three-foot wide suburban home windows flanking the sides of the wall.

I'd put fireplaces on an adjacent wall to the side of seating -- seating facing a large windowed view wall or push the fireplace as much as possible into a corner at the window wall's side and place the television (wide screen or not) on the floor front and center under the window wall so it doesn't block the view but is still easily enjoyed by those of us who must have it. (the tv industry long ago studied the subject and concluded humans are most comfortable watching any television if the screen is near the floor so when the viewer is seated, the eyelids are slightly closed and the eyes look downwards - I tried it all ways and believe the industry's floor-level conclusion is the best  -- and I'm told the industry recently conducted the same test again and got the same result.)

Windows can make the house colder, I realize and offer no view at night -- I wonder if anyone has tried window-sized, light-wieght insulated foam or fiberglass batting six or eight inches thick in lightly framed and luan veneered window-sized rectangles to 'plug' the windows at night and when the views are otherwise not being enjoyed night or day.  I'm hoping to do that when I finally get a place built in the mountains.

Bathrooms with tiny showers ?  A necessity to save space in the view of some folks, but a 3x5 shower 'tray' floor (at Lowe's and/or Home Depot) costs less than $200 and glue up plastic shower walls about the same.  That's my kind of comfort and it will face into a 24" x 5' foot floor area where lavatory with medicine cabinet mirror  and toilet will be located facing each other if I'm pressed for space.  I even have an idea of putting a shower on the outside of the building with 54" fencing around it in a 5x5 space for the shower-in-nature option when the weather is friendly and the codes allow.

So many great projects at this site, I can't begin to honor all, but all are admirable in my view.  I hope noone is offended by my notes here and invite responses of any kind to show how wrong I am about things or otherwise.  Thanks for reading.

[glenn kangiser]

to the forum. 

I don't think you are wrong especially.  You have different views.  Many are limited by code prescribed bracing and energy requirements.  In a free country that would not be a problem, but here in the US, there are so many laws and regulations we can't even legally use the jobsite outhouse.

[ScottA]

  gyzngalz

Wrong and different are not the same in most cases. There is more than one way to skin a cat as the saying goes. RE: Basements- they are great if you live in a cold climate and need a deep foundation anyway. Also they are traditional in some areas and a house without one would be considered underbuilt. Personaly I don't need one. RE: Glass- It's expensive and it reduces efficency. South facing windows make more sense in north america if your goal is to save money. If the view faces north then having north windows is going to cost you. RE: showers- I've found that a 3x3' is plenty but if you've got the space for more then go for it. Smaller than 3x3' can be a bit cramped for a well fed adult.

[MountainDon]

 

A lot of what goes into a house, design, materials and all, can be personalized for our own tastes. Sometimes doing something too much out of the ordinary can lead to a diminshed value in the eyes of the next potential owner.

Scott's mentioned a factor that most folks should consider regarding basements. That is if it is the norm to have one the house will/may be less desirable on the resale market. It's fine to do your own thing and many times it's not a biggie when resale time comes. It's just something to consider in the decision making process.

I used to live in the north and we had a basement. It became more rooms, more living space. Now I live in the desert where basements are virtually unheard of. Sometimes I wish I had a basement here; but that has faded over time.

Walls of Windows. Even the best "insulated glass", an oxymoron if there ever was one, are big heat holes. I can see how a removable insulated plug would help with that, but I feel most people are not going to want to be bothered, and where do they get stored. A wall of windows would be nice for the view, but in many climates not practical with today's energy costs outlook. A place like Hawaii would be favorable. There many commercial street side buildings have completely open fronts like a shopping mall. Thay have movable walls/glass that can be rolled into place when needed.

I do like large windows, but have to balance what I, or my wife, would like with what makes long term economic sense.

I like an efficiently sized shower stall like a 36 inch corner style. But couple that with a long whirlpool tub, and then you're talking my bathroom!    

As "they" said in the Sixties, "Different strokes for different folks."

[apaknad]

well, umh as far as basements go... as one speaking from a northern state, it only costs a little more to dig a basement after you dig a foundation that has to go below the frost line and adds alot of value to the home.

[firefox]

Insulated window openings: I was thinking about this a while back. Maybe an outside awning like block of
EPS with a top that complimented the siding. Set it up on a timer or programmed into a computer program that monitors weather/temperature conditions. Can be used for shade during the summer, or all the way up to let heat in during the winter day, then shut all the way down during the night.  Also has the advantage in
storm areas where debris is flying around, and it would help deter burgulars.

Bruce

[firefox]

Regarding Television, I was under the impression that the best viewing angle was achieved
by eliminating the unsightly electrical cord that is attached to the set.

My apologies to anyone who might have been ofended.
Bruce

[firefox]

The shower in nature thing could have some advantages as follows:
Have a concrete pad on the side of the house, but along with the shower, include a large
outside sink for washing big  heavy dirty stuff that always shows up. Have a small bench there for
taking care of potted plants or other outside type stuff. Put in some infrared heaters overhead
but that are suitably protected from the moisture. This way you can use it year round.
You might also put in an elevated soaking tub a couple of feet off the ground, but high enough where you can enjoy the view without being the view.

You might want to add some radiant coils just under the path to the shower area and the sower area,
and under the soaking tub.
They should be relatively close to the surface so that it will heat up quickly. You don't want to have it on all the time for obvious reasons.

Just an idea.
Bruce

[Redoverfarm]

gyzngalz as Don would say "different strokes for different folks".  A lot of the design features one chooses are derived from the area they live.  IE: a outside shower would prove useless to us in the mountains except for 5-6 months of the year.  A basement here is a necessity at least for me.  It incorporates more storage, more living space, a place for the mechanicals without giving up living space, a shop area, and fruit cellar.  Any contractor will tell you to gain the most for your buck the most efficent way to gain space at less cost is to "Go Up" rather than out.  As for windows most people if they are trying to achieve energy efficency place them on the side that is less intrusive of the weather.  Me for one if I had great views then the windows would flank the fireplace of stove area so at night you could use some atmosphere and during the day the views would also be abundant.  The heat dispersement would also be greater if it was situated in the middle rather than in a corner.

I am sure that some people have taken advantages of the conversations on the forum and changed their designs for the better.  So just sit back take it all in and I am sure no one will lead you in the wrong direction. 

 

John   

[considerations]

When I have time, I make quilts.  From my association with a quilt club, I have learned about insulated curtains that can take on almost any appearance desired by the user.

They really make a difference.   

[JRR]

A basement can be a real comfort if Thor sends a twister to the neighborhood.  And as far as a view of the outside ... why not just go outside for a close unhampered look? ... to a covered/screened porch perhaps.

...."different strokes". 

[glenn kangiser]

All houses should be underground if you ask me.

[Jackson Landers]

Gyzngalz,

With respect, are you building a house in the sense of personally pounding every nail? And is it financed or are you paying cash?

The reason that I ask is that most of us here are personally pounding every nail and many of us are paying cash as we go. And we don't necessarily have much of it.  It's easy enough to splurge and add $2,000 to a window budget when one is financing the project and it will only add maybe $12 to the monthly mortgage payment.  But if you have to come up with that $2,000 in cash money out of your own pocket and you're having trouble scraping up enough money for gas and groceries as it is, then that nice big wall of windows is absolutely going to be crossed off the wish list. I want lots of windows but I *need* to pay for my kids to go to the dentist and the choice between the two is literally that stark.

I believe that John Raabe's house plans are specifically tailored towards being as simple as possible for the amateur owner/builder to construct.  There are ways of building fancier houses with more architectural interest, but that's just not what most of us are in a position to do.

Regarding basements, you live in Louisiana. Of course you don't need a basement. Heck, given your location it would probably end up flooding periodically anyway. There is a reason why the indigenous architecture of that area of Louisiana tends to feature elevated homes with a high, open crawlspace, high ceilings and straight shots from the front door to the back to allow breezes to pass through.  It's well-suited to the hot, wet climate.  Up north in New England, it isn't generally so prone to flooding. Winters are much colder and it makes sense to hunker down into the ground. The frost depth is so deep that you really have to put footings so deep that you're pretty much going to be approaching basement depth anyway so you might as well make it useful.

Whenever I encounter an architectural feature common to a given geographical area, I have found that no matter how strange or pointless it seems at a glance, there is usually a good reason for it or else it would not have become so common in that area.  The flat roofs of the Southwest would not work here in Virginia. Our wood-framed houses here would be battered into matchsticks in the weather of coastal Florida, where they usually build with concrete block for good reason. And so on.