Efficient Framing for House Plans

Fine Homebuilding has a new article on the future of framing house plans. For many years we have been framing houses basically the same way. And this way is not necessarily the most energy efficient or material efficient. The article makes the following recommendations to increase energy efficiency and to reduce material and labor costs at the same time:

• use 2x6 wall framing at 24" o.c. (in lieu of 16" o.c.)
• use 1" rigid foam insulation in lieu of traditional sheathing
• eliminate headers where they are not necessary structurally - where they are necessary size them properly (it is common practice to use the same size header throughout)
• eliminate all the corner framing - let the drywall hang loose or use clips
• use header hangars in lieu of jack studs
• eliminate one of the top plates

I happen to agree that all of these ideas are good energy savings tips. Some builders however would argue that they are not necessarily cost savings. For instance eliminating one of the top plates may complicate the drywall installation. Eliminating the wall sheathing means using other methods to ensure shear strength. So before you implement any of these ideas on your new house make sure you talk through the implications closely with your builder. I also suggest having a residential structural engineer look at your new lightly framed house to make sure it won't tip over when the big bad wolf blows on it.

You can see the entire fine homebuilding article at "The Future of Efficient Framing"

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Design Challenge for a 2000 SF House Plan

Lately I have been getting inquiries for modestly sized new home designs that feature main floor master bedrooms. A search of the web reveals a gazillion main floor master bedroom plans - but most are massive or ugly or both. So I decided this might be a good opportunity to design a new plan fitting this unique need, and to illustrate for you a little bit of the design process at the same time. So let's get started.

The design process I use typically involves the following phases:

• Programming
• Schematic Design
• Design Development
• Construction Documents

Today we will start with Programming. Programming really means just identifying a list of functional needs and qualities that you would like to see in your home. I'll start with a list that reflects the kinds of requests I have been receiving.

• Modest plan size - as close to 2000 square foot as possible.
• Open floor plan - Living, Dining and Kitchen spaces very connected with each other.
• Mudroom with space for hanging coats and sitting for putting shoes on.
• Laundry space should be on the main floor.
• A main floor master bedroom with walk in closet and bath. The bath should have a walk in shower, but not necessarily a tub (the days of the jacuzzi tub seem to be over).
• Spaces that are functional, but not over sized.
• A reasonable sized entry porch.
• A screen porch with spaces for eating and sitting.
• A main floor powder room.
• Possibly a den or away room - if space allows.
• An attached 2 car garage - possibly with some additional storage space.
• 2 additional bedrooms on a second floor.
• A shared bathroom for the 2 upstairs bedrooms.
• A basement that could allow future expansion space.
• Beautiful home but not overly complex. Should be reasonably economical to construct. The house plan should be simple, yet unique.

That's a pretty good list for now. But I wanted to leave room for your thoughts. So please feel free to comment. Did I miss anything? Throw your 2 cents in.

Next posting I will update the program with your relevant comments - and we'll see some initial design thoughts.

How to design a bay window!

I have had many clients in the past tell me they want a bay window. Sometimes I have been a bit reluctant to the idea because I have seen so many bad examples. The image below is a very typical example of the contemporary application of the bay. To me this just looks like they cut a hole in the wall and slapped on the window unit. It just doesn't look integrated.

Don't do this!

On the other hand my recent trip to the Napa Valley area reminded me that the bay window can be a beautiful design element when properly integrated with the architecture of the house plan. Here are a few examples on mostly craftsman style houses - all discovered in the town of Napa.

Square box bay instead of the typical angled sides. Simple shed roof with exposed rafter tails and supporting brackets. Shingle siding wraps the box out.

Here the bay walls simply extend up until they meet the roof overhang, which is deep enough to receive them. The continuous trim above the windows and the cedar shingles also help to integrate the bay properly with the house. The brackets below help to give the bay a sense of support.

Here is an angled bay window fitting below a square gabled form. This gable integrates with the house in much stronger way than our "don't do this example". Also note the small window below the bay. This completes the composition and reinforces the idea that the bay was not an afterthought.

My favorite bay window example in Napa. You can tell the designer spent a lot of time studying the form and detail to properly integrate with the house. Beautifully executed!

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Old simple house plans - design inspiration

I posted an article the other day on gaining inspiration from old houses. Below is another great example - a bungalow that I stumbled upon near Forestville, California. It is so simple yet so well done. Why aren't builders and designers creating more homes like this anymore? Has the idea of doing a modest, simple and well detailed home escaped them? There must be a niche for this kind of house plan, but perhaps it's a lost art.

So here is the brilliant idea:

• keep the overall form and roof line very simple - this costs less to build
• use nice deep overhangs - this protects the walls, windows and doors from the elements
• create a good composition of windows - here picture windows are combined with double hungs and centered between the porch columns and the wall surfaces
• use minimal ornamentation - the window grid patterns and the exposed rafter tails are pretty much the extent of it here
• create a focal point - the simple shed dormer with louvers and the stair that is "captured" with side walls helps to create a center line and create focus on the entry
• give the house a base - the white clapboard siding provides a platform for the house to sit on and it contrasts nicely with the red shingle siding.

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Finding Design Inspiration in Old Houses

My better half and I just got back home from a short trip to the Napa Valley area. We don't really go for the wine, although that's nice too. For us it is really about the scenery. The area really has such a subtle beauty that we just love. On our trips I of course like to see the local architecture. I try to take snap shots of things I see that I might draw some inspiration from later on. Anyway I thought I'd show you an example from this recent trip and illustrate what I am trying to learn.

Here is a snap shot of the gable end of a historic home (the Kelley house) in Mendocino. I love the simplicity in form and the strength of it's details. This is a key to good design. If you have a simple form you need to pay attention to the details. Here are my thoughts:

• The proportions of the gable are quite nice - neither too slender or too squat with roof pitch neither too steep or too flat.
• I love the depth of the gable end roof overhang (this is called the rake end). The brackets underneath provide a sense of support for the overhang.
• The crown molding at the fascia creates additional shadow line and adds a subtle detail.
• A wide frieze board (that's the white trim on the wall below the overhang) provides a nice transition between the siding and roof overhang.
• The siding lap is nice and narrow. The proportion of the entire gable would be altered if the siding had a wider lap.
• I like the narrowness of the windows, and the fact the pair of windows are separated. Look closely and you can see a subtle little "pilaster" detail at the jambs and mullion. Also the trim at the head projects outward creating additional shadow line and interest.
• One thing I don't care for here is that the upper windows are nearly identical to the lower windows. I would rather see a bit of hierarchy - with the lower windows being a bit larger and more detailed than the upper windows. Another thing that bothers me slightly is the upper window intrudes upon the frieze board. It looks a little "crowded".

All in all it's a very pleasant composition and I can take away some good thoughts that I can apply on a future design.

New Dutch Colonial House Plan Unveiled!

Simply Elegant Home Designs has just made the "Tonka Dutch Colonial" house plan available for purchase. The home was designed by Ron Brenner in Stillwater, Minnesota. Ron Brenner; who has been featured in a number of National and Regional publications has gained a reputation for designing charming and functional modestly sized homes. You can obtain more information on this house plan by visiting the following link:

Tonka Dutch Colonial House Plans

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Revit House Plans

It's taken me a while but I am really convinced that Building Information Modeling (BIM) is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Traditionally buildings have been drawn using 2 dimensional CAD technology - or by hand drafting. But with BIM you create a 3 dimensional "virtual" model of the building. In order to communicate the design to client and contractors you then generate various views from the model (plans, elevations, sections, etc). I'll show you an example of how this works below.

Here you can see an axonometric view of the 3 dimensional model of this house plan. The model was created using REVIT software, by Autodesk.

Now I have "sliced" a view from overhead looking down onto the plan. What is great here is you can see the relationships between the various elements (windows, doors, trim and even furniture) so that you can better evaluate the design.

Here is another sliced view, but this time from a side. You can see the roof, ceilings and the decorative trusses.

The section below is just another "slice" taken from the model. The walls, floors roof and ceiling profiles are all in precisely the correct position. To make it into a construction drawing you just need to add the pertinent detailed information.

Here the virtual model has been exported into Google Sketchup, which is a great design tool. In this case all I did was added the materials, colors and a little entourage. Isn't this a better way to convey the interior design concept?

All images above are of the "Hudson Cottage" house plan which is available for sale at Simply Elegant Home Designs.

It takes a while to learn and become efficient at BIM. But in the end I am convinced it is a better way to understand your design, a better way to communicate the design and a better way to assemble the construction drawings.