Universal 20' x 34' 2-story Cottage?

[Don H]

Hello,

My wife and I are interested in building the 20x34 Universal Cottage on our land.
I do have a couple questions however.
Any assistance would be great!
We are ready to order the plans as we speak.

Questions:

1) When standing on the ground floor and looking up at the ceiling.....do you see all the plumbing from the 2 upstairs bathrooms?
What do you do about that?

2) On the page that you order the plans from, it mentions plumbing "notes."
What does this mean?
Are there specific detailed drawings for the plumbing, or just vague suggestion and I have to figure out all the rest, or ...?

3) How tall is the attic?
Does it have any headroom at all to be used as another room, or is it just suited for storage?


I appreciate any help I can get.

Don H

P.S....There seems to be a lot of Don's around here...lol

[John Raabe]

1) The main floor ceiling is covered with drywall on the bottom of the joists and hides the plumbing and wiring.

2) Plumbing notes show fixture placement and everything a plumber needs to install the fixtures (you will choose the make and model). The exact location of your water inlet, where the house drain line exits the foundation to your septic or sewer are site specific and not shown on the plans.

3) The attic is not designed for living space. It is designed for attic storage with 7' headroom at the peak. Some folks have turned this into living space but that option is not detailed in the plans.

[Don H]

1) The main floor ceiling is covered with drywall on the bottom of the joists and hides the plumbing and wiring.

2) Plumbing notes show fixture placement and everything a plumber needs to install the fixtures (you will choose the make and model). The exact location of your water inlet, where the house drain line exits the foundation to your septic or sewer are site specific and not shown on the plans.

3) The attic is not designed for living space. It is designed for attic storage with 7' headroom at the peak. Some folks have turned this into living space but that option is not detailed in the plans.

I ran across this picture, and I do see drywall on the ceiling as you say.
But I also still see exposed joists too which I think look very nice.
That's why I'm wondering how this is done with no plumbing showing?
There is still a gap between the drywall and the 2nd floor?

I don't mean to sound stupid or anything....I just want to be clear in my understanding about it.
The toilet drains and the p-traps on the bathtubs don't show through the ceiling?
Do the upper floor drain lines come down inside the laundry room or something?
Looking at the floor plan, the 2 upstairs bathroom are located directly over this kitchen/dining area.
Yet, I see no plumbing.
What am I missing?

[John Raabe]

Yes, there will be plumbing in that ceiling. It is done in the joist cavity. I think those are non-structural beams that are running the same direction as the joists above them. Alternatively, you could have these be exposed structural beams with joists running perpendicular on top and then the drywall attached to the bottom of the joists. Either way the plumbing is hidden.

[Don H]

Yes, there will be plumbing in that ceiling. It is done in the joist cavity. I think those are non-structural beams that are running the same direction as the joists above them. Alternatively, you could have these be exposed structural beams with joists running perpendicular on top and then the drywall attached to the bottom of the joists. Either way the plumbing is hidden.

OK and thank you.
So this pic is not the typical ceiling as built by the plans?
I didn't know that.

[John Raabe]

This is probably the standard framing as shown in the plans with the addition of decorative, non-structural beams.

Here is another version of the Universal. When I click through to see some of the photos in the Fine Homebuilding article you can see flat ceilings of drywall and wood paneling both done on the bottom of the joists, of course.
http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=6626.0


Upper floor with wood panel ceiling


Main floor drywall ceiling


Stair to attic