The sheer cost, complexity, and enormity of a house build can not be underestimated. And while we thought our last floor plan was it. It was not.
In the cost consideration area, the last house plan had a huge volume in the roof. Pretty typical of recent home designs. And that roof surface wasn’t serving and purpose except to point into the sky!
Especially over the main living area. That extra volume wasn’t even visible in the plan. It would all be for show. This indicated to us there would be more money tied up in that element of the house than it needed to be. Instead of putting money in details, like cabinets, windows, countertops, flooring or, appliances. The plans were also kind of pricey and the modification costs seemed to just keep adding up. There would also be additional architect fees locally to have them approved and possibly more changes based on that review.
In the area of style, it didn’t have enough of the Arts & Crafts style we really have been dreaming about for so long. So after re-visiting Ross Chapin and Tightlines Designs, and talking a lot more about the project, we made an important decision to change house plans. Maybe (hopefully) for the last time.
What’s the New House Plan? A Mash Up!
The new house plan is a mash-up of two plans from Tightlines Designs. Throughout all this pre-planning Tightlines have been responsive and wonderful to deal with via e-mail. Everyone at Tightlines has been responsive to our many questions and requests. A joy to work with at this stage.
For the house plan, my wife and I decided to combine the Arts & Crafts architectural details of Tightline’s Cameron II with the floorplan of the Carlisle III
The Cameron II
The 6/12 pitch of the roof ensures our roofing won’t take too much of the budget (unlike our last plan). There are also plenty of those Arts & Crafts touches, from the gable end roof brackets, exterior trim to the porch columns, that make it feel more like a “home”.
I am always fascinated by the fact that in many commercials for real estate they show this style of home. And it’s a style of home I and my wife have been enamored with for many years.
The Floor Plan – the Carlisle III
It’s an efficient, well-laid out floor plan with all the space we need. It’s so well-laid out we are only re-arranging a bath and adding on a garage!
For some reason, all the houses we looked at were categorized as “narrow lot”. But, that’s not what we were necessarily after. Just what we picked. It fits all the original criteria and with the right attention to materials and other selections we think should be budget friendly.
Why Tightlines?
- They are awesome to deal with. Seriously
- They are awesome to deal with. Really.
- They are based in NC. Which means the variability (and extra cost) of an out of state design is gone.
- Tightlines Designs plans are NC Code compliant. No extra approvals or, expense. (Win!)
What’s Next?
The next thing is to interview a few local builders and begin to get some idea on price. We’ll also need to start looking at home loans and land.