Victoria minus BR - or can Builder's cottage be used for ground floor BR?

[roadtripray]

I was ready to pull the trigger last night and buy plans, but I changed my mind ... AGAIN!  For personal reasons I really want something quick to build myself and inexpensively, so I was thinking hard about the builder's cottage.  I reasoned that it would be pretty easily built and is a manageable project size for myself and some helpers.

But of course then I go thinking about the future and how I'd really like to have more space.  So I started looking at Victoria's Cottage.  I considered building the VC, but maybe without the downstairs bedroom "wing" just to save time and money to begin with, thinking I could add the bedroom wing in the future as time and money opened up.

Now I'm wondering if the 14 X 24 builder's cottage could be built first, and live in it prior to building Victoria's cottage as an addition.  (I know, kind of like the tail wagging the dog)  I'm wondering if it would be feasible to match up the Builder's cottage (14 x 24) in the place where the 12 x 14 bedroom wing normally would connect to the rest of Victoria's cottage?  I know it would have to be customized to make this work, but I'm wondering about any potential pitfalls anyone sees prior to me deciding on which end to start.

Thanks!
Ray

[John Raabe]

The thing I would want to have worked out is that the living spaces have the right scale and relationship when the project is complete. Then you can build and use the first phase of the construction. Usually the primary (read expensive) spaces such as bathroom and kitchen want to be in the right place and of the right size to service the final project. You might be able to live with camping gear in a temporary kitchen but you don't want to have to tear out stuff and rebuild it in another part of the house.

You might consider one of the one-story projects as well since they can be easily added onto or a wing held off initially (check out the Grandfather cottage and the single story 20' wide (with a future addition).

Doing some sketching of a floor plan layout will help you evolve your ideas.

[roadtripray]

Thanks for the quick response, John.  I actually have given some thought about how the mechanicals will piece together.  If I can sketch it tonight maybe i'll upload it, but I'm thinking about building the Builder's Cottage with the broad side being the "front" and the kitchen/bath portion being to the left.  This way if/when I attach the Victoria's cottage to the right end of the Builder's cottage, the exsting bath will become the master bath -- perhaps even enlarged into the living space a bit, and what would be the kitchen area in the builders' cottage would become a walkin closet.

As for the living spaces being to scale, the width of the builder's cottage appears to be only a couple of feet wider than the ground-floor bedroom wing in the plans of the victoria's cottage.  It would, of course, be much longer at 24' versus 14 feet, but I think the master bath and walk-in closet would be a neat addition ... as long as it could be done without looking goofy from the outside.

Thanks,
Ray

[John Raabe]

I don't think the longer extension for what will be the master bedroom will look bad. You may want to raise the sidewall in the Builder cottage section to match the addition of the Victoria cottage.

[roadtripray]

Well, I've gone and done it now!  I ordered the Enchilada plans.  I think I will start out with the Builder's Cottage just for the sake of simplicity and expense.  I will try and see how best to position the Builder's Cottage on the lot to ensure I have room for expansion later on.  Or, I may just use the builder's cottage as a detached home office and build my more permanent house on the other side of the property.  I'm fortunate that my lot has two wells and two septic tanks on it.

I'm excited that I did something.  I was nervous pulling the trigger but even if I change my mind (again) before I start building the small houses in the Enchilada set will be useful for other purposes.

Blessings,
Ray