The Plans

After several interim design phases, with architect Bob Schatz, we had one that I thought would meet not only my needs but many of my fantasies as well. What I ended up with was a floor plan that added a new office, giving me back my second bedroom. It also includes an entryway and a half bath. On the outside there will be a porch and a garage at ground level, with a door into the basement ... crazy, I know, since I don't even own a car at the moment, but for me, the garage will provide several worthwhile aspects including: the obvious added resale value; increased security by blocking street access to my secluded back yard; a place to store my bike, getting it out of the living room; a workshop area; the chance to remove an ugly and leaky carport; and a dramatically expanded back yard, since the driveway length will be cut in half.

The other consideration here was the engineering issues around the shared wall between the new addition and the garage. Now is the cheapest and easiest time to build it. And all it will take is money.

This is the point, when I had a complete but not final plan worked out between myself and Bob, that I opened the design up for general discussion among friends and family. I carried it around and even took it to a family reunion with me going over the whole thing with anyone willing to listen to me. In the end I got input from a lot of people, some of it very valuable. Several ideas ended up in the design exactly as originally suggested. Many others, while not feasible as suggested, led to design changes or pointed out limitations that I had not considered.

In the end I brought back those ideas (and some questions) that I found most valuable and went over them with Bob one last time. With this last bit of input he created a final plan.

The new floor plan makes it possible for me to keep all business functions outside of the house's living space, gives me back the spare room I need, and dramatically expands the back yard while making it more secure at the same time. The office will be at the front of the house where I can see the front door and the street. It will have a high ceiling with clearstory windows and a ceiling fan, which should make it possible to vent the office, and hopefully the whole house in the summer heat, a problem that I've been coping with for a while.

The new garage will be at street level, so that the bedroom beside it will not loose it's only remaining window. The garage roof will be more or less flat, giving me a place for an added garden space in the future, or a deck if that turns out not to be possible.

The front of the house will begin at a lemonade porch (somewhere to sit and drink lemonade) which leads to the entry hall that will have a small storage closet and a larger coat and shoe closet. Maybe my shoes won't end up all over the house if I have someplace to put them that is right inside the door. We'll see.

The entry hall will lead to a half-bath, an office, and the living room. The office, entry and living room will be connected by an unusual arrangement of three pocket doors. This will make it possible to divide the office/entry/bath completely from the living space; to close the office without blocking access to the house from the front door; or to open up all three areas into one big room. If it works it should be a very versatile space.

The next step was getting it all approved by the city. Much more complicated than I expected.

The Permits