Let's build a retirement house

[ShokWaveRider]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sailor Around 300sq ft. Most likely would buy used instead of new. Probably something like the picture below.

Like this:

Cruising The Caribbean

[wingfooted]

We are starting to get an itch to do 'something' on a retirement house after so many years of LBYM on housing and the overseas complex syndrome.

We have an old clunker house in Houston, but nice neighborhood, and going through the motions on what can be done to demolish and start over. Unfortunately it is located in one of the new 'historic preservation' districts and not sure we are going to be able to get permissions to tear the clunker down.

The other farm property in Oregon deserves a 'real' house and DW /myself have been busy defining exactly what we want. So spending some time in Sketch Up and playing amateur architect prior to turning it over to the professionals.

Features
- the massive Great Room in timberframe w/ custom bar
- Big Kitchen with the latest and greatest
- Dining room with a view.
- Tower Room to watch the sunset.
- Big deck off the south side
- Jack and Jill master bathroom with view from tub
- Formal living room w/ barrel ceiling and wall space for art work
- Crawl space foundation
- 2 x 6 + external EPS or SIP walls
- Metal roof
- Radiant heat floor on ground level
- Geothermal heat pump for heating and cooling requirements. Horizontal closed loop to natural 'seep' terrain off to the southeast.
- Elevator between the first two floors

[ShokWaveRider]

Good things come in 3's: 3 bed, 3bath, 3 Car Garage, 3 Reception Rooms (Great, dining, Study).

[Jack_Pine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wingfooted We are starting to get an itch to do 'something' on a retirement house after so many years of LBYM on housing and the overseas complex syndrome.

Nice, love timber, we thought long and hard about that. What tool did you use for the design? did you do it your self? Now I have to post mine.......................

[Jack_Pine]

I am still working on this plan, especially the elevation. In the doll house view the lines over the kitchen are beams. It's fun to work on this and learn the software.




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[Jack_Pine]

This is Kitchen, looking in and looking out. Challenges here are how the beams work and what the back splash is going to be. We aren't in love with anything we have done except the tin behind the stove..........

Sorry for all the pics, I'm kind of into this thing right now. Passes the time as we plan to FIRE.

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[wingfooted]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jack_Pine What tool did you use for the design? did you do it your self? Now I have to post mine.......................

Sketch Up

Yes I did the hacking around myself, basically a mish mash of all the cool ideas surfing timber frame designs on the web plus the houzz site I find to be a good tool for inspiration. I work on it - a little bit here a little bit there - as I have the time. It's been through numerous iterations over the last six months.

What SW are you using for your design ? I like the way it does a blue and white style floor plan in addition to the 3D.

But really, mine its strictly amateur hour quality and will be turned over to the pros for a complete re-vamp prior to the next steps. As always, the difference between a hobbyist and a trained architect is like night and day.

[Jack_Pine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wingfooted Sketch Up Yes I did the hacking around myself, basically a mish mash of all the cool ideas surfing timber frame designs on the web plus the houzz site I find to be a good tool for inspiration. I work on it - a little bit here a little bit there - as I have the time. It's been through numerous iterations over the last six months. What SW are you using for your design ? I like the way it does a blue and white style floor plan in addition to the 3D. But really, mine its strictly amateur hour quality and will be turned over to the pros for a complete re-vamp prior to the next steps. As always, the difference between a hobbyist and a trained architect is like night and day.

I am using Home Designer which is the consumer version of Chief Architect.

Mine is armature hour as well. The roof is no where near correct. We too will turn it over to a architect for final drawings.

It is a great way though for the wife (and me) to visualize changes and such. Like I said we are struggling with the back splash big time.

Can't tell you how many hours I have into this thing................

BTW yours has great street appeal, love the roof lines.

[hakuna matata]

I designed our dream house and we were going to build right around the market crash, but the appraisers were spooked at that moment in time, and the appraisal came in way low. So I would have had to throw more money at it than I wanted to, so we didn't build it. On a whim we went house hunting and found a house we love for about half the cost of the one I designed.

Lots of fun doing the Sketchup stuff and am glad to see people using it. It helps me as an Architect when people have thought about what they want. I will tell you though my first question I ask people is 'how strong is your marriage'! Building and designing a home brings out the best and worst in people. There are so many decisions that need to be made and you would be surprised at how some folks don't or can't understand the process. Decision (or more likely) the lack of decisions will cost you lots of money!

Any of you looking to hire an Architect--give me a shout. I work via the internet quite a bit and will give you the special ER discount

[Jack_Pine]

hakuna,

Cool, sill keep you in mind for sure. Also glad for the feed back from an architect's point of view. I did not know if they thought my plan was helpful or intruding in their :space".

This is the second home we have designed and built and it is already bringing back memories of the last process. there are a TON of decisions/choices. Key for me is to pick my hand full that are key for me and let DW have the rest.

[hakuna matata]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jack_Pine hakuna, Cool, sill keep you in mind for sure. Also glad for the feed back from an architect's point of view. I did not know if they thought my plan was helpful or intruding in their :space". This is the second home we have designed and built and it is already bringing back memories of the last process. there are a TON of decisions/choices. Key for me is to pick my hand full that are key for me and let DW have the rest.

No problems I find any info I get from a client is helpful, what isn't helpful is when they can't let an idea go! Some ideas are great as ideas, but don't work in reality. I see my job is to help you determine which work and which don't, but still try and make the dream come true. A great resource I send my clients to is a website called Houzz.com They have lots of ideas there so people can visualize what they want. Once I have the 'idea' of what you want, then I can much more easily help you get to that point.

Hey a question on your floor plan--the BIG spaces outside say the bay in the dining--is that indoors or outdoors? Your roof line look like it covers all that, that could be pretty dark back in there, just an FYI.

[CoolChange]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hakuna matata ... Any of you looking to hire an Architect--give me a shout. I work via the internet quite a bit and will give you the special ER discount

I may take you up on this in a few years. While I actually do have several friends who are architects, none of them will do residential work.

[RunningBum]

I had my house custom built 13 years ago. A lot of things are personal preference and budget dependent but one special thing I really enjoy is the walk in shower, especially after my knee surgery. Another nice useful feature cat owners might consider is a pet door under the stairs or in a closet for a littler box. It contains the litter and controls the smell very well.

[FIREd]

We're going to completely renovate our planned retirement home over the next few years and this list offers plenty of good ideas. Personally, I don't want carpets anywhere in the house anymore (allergens paradise that's hard to keep clean). The first floor of the house will be tiled. The second floor will have hardwood floors.

That home is less than ideal for someone with limited mobility (2-story home sitting on a steep hill). So we are not planning on retrofitting it with limited mobility in mind. If it ever came to that, the plan is to sell the house and move into a condo.

[martyb]

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Originally Posted by imoldernu Whether your dream house is 5000sf or 800sf, and even if you are already living in your "permanent" retirement home, you must have ideas of what would make for ease of living, not only now, but in the later years. To kick this off, I've put together some of the "features" that were incorporated in our 'made for retirement" home, the design of which was state of the art in the year 2000. We are very happy with the design but know that it's not perfect, and think that you may have additions or subtractions, based on your own preferences. Here, in no particular order are some of the major parts of our "retirement house". 1500sf, 2 car garage, cathedral ceilings, open lving room, dining room, kitchen combination, 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, very large walkin closet in master bedroom, a smaller den/computer/extra bedroom. -all painted comfortable white interior -all levered door handles -thermopaned windows -all (same) lowpile high quality, light neutral color, wall-to-wall carpeting in all rooms and closets throughout house, except bath and kitchen -gas fireplace in living room (a must) -all room electrical plugs 2 feet above floor level (no stooping) -multiple outlets on all walls total 30 in the open area combination -kitchen outlets on walls and front of some counters. for small appliances -kitchen pantry/closet -SS sink, disposal, dishwasher s/s refrigerator, glasstop electric range, overhead microwave/vent -master bath raised commode, large walkin shower, double vanity/sink two bath closets. safety tiled floors -2nd fullsize bath tub/shower, closet -walkin closet wall shelves, 10 ft. closet rod -all counters throughout the house... kitchen, baths have roll out drawers -ceiling fans in all rooms -all lighting in main rooms have dimmer switches -built in vacuum system -all doorways througout are wheelchair accessible, and all rooms and outside doors have shotgun access (no turns) -all rooms have built in TV/computer cable access -gas furnace, gas HWH, air conditioning, -no cellar -no doorsills throughout house except small ones at front and back door -no steps anywhere, from the street to anywhere in the house -large landry room with slider doors to easy access utility room -garage is oversize with three level wall shelves for storage -a built-in emergency call system... wall string pulls in all rooms and integrated with fire alarm and security system. (We have disconnected because of the cost, but can reconnect if necessary) -exterior is brick and vinyl siding and alminum door and garage door frames -30 year architectural shingle roof Some things we would add or subtract or would affect price Kitchen- closeable counter appliance shelters and multiple plug in strip Living room floor plugs Gas line for outside grille Built in vacuum system... unwieldy, unecessary Mid grade on most items... ie, Milamine rather than granite counters, basic appliances rather than top of line, (exept for wahsher dryer) Our general thinking is that although this will be our final home, we don't need to provide "forever" improvements, such as solar panels, sound or intercom systems or any other long term energy saving addition. No comments on house grounds as we live in a CCRC and all exterior and grounds maintainance part of our association fee. Not everybody likes vanilla, so you'll have different ideas about quality, design, and your lifestyle... More space for entertaining, larger kitchens, more bedrooms, hardwood floors etc... If you haven't select a homestead yet, what needs do you have? What size? If you already are living in your retirement home, what additions or improvements do you plan for the long term? Suggestions for retirement accomodations?

We just bought our retirement house last month. It has probably 90% of what's on your list. Notable exceptions are:

No vacuum system...we do it the old fashioned way.
Carpet in 60% of the house, but kitchen, dining area & bathrooms are tile.
Not wheelchair accessible.
No dimmer switches....yet. That will be changing.
Most everything else is pretty close. The house is 1640 sf, 6 yrs old.

[Jack_Pine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hakuna matata No problems I find any info I get from a client is helpful, what isn't helpful is when they can't let an idea go! Some ideas are great as ideas, but don't work in reality. I see my job is to help you determine which work and which don't, but still try and make the dream come true. A great resource I send my clients to is a website called Houzz.com They have lots of ideas there so people can visualize what they want. Once I have the 'idea' of what you want, then I can much more easily help you get to that point. Hey a question on your floor plan--the BIG spaces outside say the bay in the dining--is that indoors or outdoors? Your roof line look like it covers all that, that could be pretty dark back in there, just an FYI.

Those spaces are screened in porch. This is in WI and bugs a really bad. Understand the light issue...we are thinking skylights to mitigate.

Great catch. We have the same light issue in our current place. Mostly from trees and some porch. The new one is in open field.....

[Jack_Pine]

Another thought for those on wells......I always thought if our softener is in the basement...would be nice to have some kind of shoot to dump from the first floor. No more carrying 40lb bags down the stairs.....

[martyb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jack_Pine Those spaces are screened in porch. This is in WI and bugs a really bad. Understand the light issue...we are thinking skylights to mitigate. Great catch. We have the same light issue in our current place. Mostly from trees and some porch. The new one is in open field.....

I recently lived in Wisconsin for a year (2008 - 2009) and I hardly remember seeing any bugs at all. Maybe it had to do with the part of the state where I was (Janesville). Plus, we didn't live near any woods either. I actually enjoyed my time there, even though I'm a lifelong southerner. Ya'll can keep that winter stuff, though!

[Jack_Pine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by martyb I recently lived in Wisconsin for a year (2008 - 2009) and I hardly remember seeing any bugs at all. Maybe it had to do with the part of the state where I was (Janesville). Plus, we didn't live near any woods either. I actually enjoyed my time there, even though I'm a lifelong southerner. Ya'll can keep that winter stuff, though!

We are going to do snowbird. This is the North house. It is in country near Eau Claire on some acreage. Trust me, with rain, the bugs are intense......

Our thought is to keep the best of both climates......

Personally, until I can't, I would do the snow with the right tools. (tractors and such) DW wants north/south.

[martyb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jack_Pine We are going to do snowbird. This is the North house. It is in country near Eau Claire on some acreage. Trust me, with rain, the bugs are intense...... Our thought is to keep the best of both climates...... Personally, until I can't, I would do the snow with the right tools. (tractors and such) DW wants north/south.

Interesting....I have a friend who just retired from the federal government, and he moved from Louisiana back to Eau Claire....only a few weeks ago. That's where he's from originally, but he's spent lots of years living in Louisiana. Within about 2 weeks of retirement, he was already back in WI for good!