Here is the latest creation.

I have a 75 x 100 lot. The set back in the front and back is 25, so that leaves 50 for the house. The patio is already there, or should I call it a Lanai? LOL

Doors are all 36" for wheelchair code. Except for the closet bifolds. Also, all beds shown are kingsize, cuz I chose that size to make sure I could put them in there if I wanted. And both cars shown are as big as a Lincoln Town Car, so the garage is sized alright for our little motor cars.

I learned how to import a print screen from that program into MS Front Page. Then when I save that, it turns the picture into a jpeg. so now I don't have to take photos of the monitor, which show the refresh rate. Cool, huh? [edited to insert new cropped gif.]

-- Anonymous, August 05, 2001

Answers

this is great...I need to learn how to do this...so I can move furniture on paper instead of breaking my back!

-- Anonymous, August 05, 2001

Here is the layout prior to Andrew. Some internal changes occurred after that hurricane, but the outside dimensions are the same.

From 1163 sq ft to 1860 sq ft is pretty good, I think, considering there is also a two car garage, which is not included in that sq ft measurement.

I haven't checked yet about going to two floors, but sometime next week I'll call and see...

-- Anonymous, August 05, 2001

This program cost me 4 dollars and 95 cents.

www.unbeatabledeals.com

there are others, including a 3D Interior one, but that one isn't nearly as much fun for me as this one is. That one uses actual furniture, and placing the furniture and building the rooms is a pain.

This one is okay cuz you can select the piece and make it the size you want. You just have to use what pieces there are to represent what you have. Not all furniture is available, just the basics.

-- Anonymous, August 05, 2001

Hi Barefoot, love the layout of the house! Don't hit me over the head but, if you have the room to extend the master bedroom to 14 feet in the width, I think you will be glad you did.

I tried to print this out and only the first half printed on the paper. I wanted to see the two floor plans side by side, instead of going back and forth (scrolling up and down) on the computer.

Maggie

-- Anonymous, August 06, 2001

fifty is the max on the depth of the house, so I would have to steel the space from the bath and the other bedrooms. I tried to keep the other rooms at 12 x 12 but they ended up as 11.

If you save the individual pictures, you might have better luck printing them. They are bigger than usual because they are printscreen images and not just the plan itself. Can you edit images? that might help, too. I hadn't thought to edit them till just now. But I lent my picture software out and haven't gotten it back yet, and since I reloaded everything on the computer, those programs were lost until I get the disks.

I thnk I can get it back to 13 feet, but it makes the bath more cramped.

-- Anonymous, August 06, 2001

Hi, my printer won't let me adjust it. so I'll wait until maybe after you get your program back, you can post it again where I can print it. I love the way your parlor is arranged.

I see what you mean about making the bathromm cramped, if you were to make the bedroom wider. You have done such a wonderful job drawing up the house plans!

I use to sit in bed with graph paper and rearrange my house. My husband use to say "oh no, here we go again. I absolutely loved doing stuff like that.

-- Anonymous, August 06, 2001

Hey, Barefoot, that's kewl! (Except for not being able to open the car doors once you get the cars in the garage. Kinda like my situation once I load up the garage with wood for the winter.)

-- Anonymous, August 06, 2001

There is two feet on all sides, but in this one we have one car back in, so the driver doors are in the middle. Then you can put the car a little closer to the side, leaving more room in the middle. My parents garage is similar, but only because we had more junk in it then and a big ole stationwagon behemoth.

-- Anonymous, August 06, 2001

Okay Maggie, I cropped the images using GifWorks. Hope that makes them easier to print.

I can't garuantee them being the same scale, but it should be close. The patio outline should be the same and I tried to leave one wall in what became the kitchen because it has water and vent stack already there. I just made it six inches thick instead of four. I think it moved, though, because that room shows as 10' 7" and the kitchen is 10' even. LOL

Just measured here again, and that room should be 9' 4". If you look at the kitchen area, that big square in the middle is where my computer is now, so I can see out the door, or rather doors, since the closets in that room are gone and the room is now part of the kitchen. Andrew's compliments...

-- Anonymous, August 06, 2001

I adjusted the Mbedrm to 13' and stole a foot for the closet, so that area is 11' wide. The master closet got so small with the a/c closet, which I think I can put into the attic, or maybe the corner of the garage. This program doesn't really have any a/c units, only furnaces, so I use the electric furnace, which is bigger than our present air handler unit. The water heater is the preset size, but current technology allows for small ones under the sinks. there is even one that has no tank, just coils, and it goes on only when you turn on the faucet and it takes very little space. That is a good thing.

-- Anonymous, August 06, 2001

Where did you get this program...at the link you gave? or is it what you buy separate! I want to do this too!!!

Maggie, I never did the drawings before...just actual move and put back if it didn't work!!! I am a "visual" person, have to actually SEE it in real life. But I am changing...will work on paper for these next "50" yrs!!!!! hehehehe

-- Anonymous, August 06, 2001

yep, Unbeatable Deals

This is called 3D Architect and the other, not so fun one, is 3D Interiors

All you pay is shipping, 4.95 per title, and they mail them. No boxes, just in a sleeve. I received Learning Spanish the first time by mistake, they let me keep that and sent the correct item. Took about a week.

There is a newer version, 2.2 that does roofs. I am ordering that one today.

-- Anonymous, August 06, 2001

BAREFOOT!!!!!!!

Quit your day job. You can make a lot more money in design. You have talent, kiddo. Go it!

What are you going to charge me to do my house? Mine is fun. It was custom designed in a "C" shape, with a magnolia tree in the middle of the "C" I'm going to add a dishwasher to the kitchen.

-- Anonymous, August 06, 2001

Post your measurements, and I'll rearrangement your whole house. LOL

The dishwasher is easy, as long as you have a 2 foot base cabinet that it can take the place of. Preferably near the sink, but I know of one woman who has hers next to the dining room table. She just clears off the table and loads the dishes right there, and when they're done, she just sets the table again for the next meal.

-- Anonymous, August 06, 2001

This house was built in 1941 and the kitchen has never been updated. I'm getting a professional to whack out the hole and do whatever needs to be done to the plumbing. This is just not a job that I'm comfortable taking on. I'm fixing the plaster and painting the entire house (one room at a time) by myself, so I think I can afford a pro for the dishwasher install. (Besides, I can always repaint something if I screw up. Messing up the plumbing could cost megabucks to fix!)

I may take you up on posting the measurements. Give me a couple of days. I'm "between company" right now, so I'm trying to get a little laundry and housekeeping in (rearranging the dust! HA!)

-- Anonymous, August 06, 2001

The dishwasher attaches to the downpipe under the sink, just before the P-trap. The drain is a little bitty one inch tube, that comes with the machine, and all you'll need is to drill a large enough hole in the sink cabinet to fit it through. The downpipe is a standard piece that you can get at the hardware store. We have plastic pipes under the sink here, and those are easy to cut to the desired length needed.

As for hooking up the water, it depends on the machine. Some need to be attached to your hot line from the sink, and others heat the water themselves and so the cold line will do. have fun! I understand wanting a pro to do it. if we can get the financing to do the plan I am working on, I don't want to anything except maybe paint, and only inside! LOL I hate doing the ceilings, which is why we have so much unpainted plaster here right now. I just can't hold the roller long enough to get anything done. Plus all the plastic to cover everything and then put it away since we are living in it too.

-- Anonymous, August 06, 2001

It's the old copper pipe. I don't mess with that. If the joints loosen, they'll need soldering. PVC can just be re-glued.

I'm not draping the furniture. I just clear out one room at a time and put everything in the garage. I paint ceiling with an extension roller and schedule a session for a Swedish massage at the local massage school for the following afternoon. I can paint an 11 x 14 room in about 90 minutes. It's moving, surface prep, changing out plug and switch plates that takes all the time, sometimes as much as three days.

I don't blame you for not wanting to do ceilings if you have to work around furniture. I just don't have the patience for that anymore.

-- Anonymous, August 06, 2001

I wish I had a garage... LOL

-- Anonymous, August 06, 2001

I borrowed a large tent one time when I was working on a house and didn't have a garage or room inside for the furniture. It was good Ethan Allen stuff, so I opted to move it, rather than cover it.

-- Anonymous, August 06, 2001

If I had to choose, bigger bedroom or a garage, I would choose a garage.

What does that say?

LOL

[feeling much much much cooler now~!!!!!!!]

-- Anonymous, August 06, 2001

I like it!

-- Anonymous, August 06, 2001

Hi Barefoot, yes the pictures came out great. Thanks for doing that for me! The reason I want to compare the before and after, is to see what and how you are changing the house. Do you like the 13' width bedroom over the 12'? The place where you have your computer is nice. I've always loved a kitchen with an island in the center of it. The show I had before, lokks to be about the size you are thinking of putting off the master bedroom, it had a built in seat at one end of it. The seat was a great extra to have in the shower.

I have a garage but, it is so filled with stuff...my van has never been in it.

Question, would a side by side refrigerator still work, even after being stored in the garage since 1995? When I moved here, there was one in the kitchen already, so I put the one I had in the garage, along with a trash compactor that I don't use now because the kitchen is too small.

SAR, I've been known, even after carefully drawing out all the furniture on graph paper, to change it afterwards...once it was put in place. But, it really does help. In this house, the only thing I would change around now is the parlor stuff.

Maggie

-- Anonymous, August 06, 2001

P.S. I really like the way you planned the shutting off of the master suit area, with the two doors.

-- Anonymous, August 06, 2001

Never mind, on second look...there is one door but, still like the layout.

-- Anonymous, August 06, 2001

There were two doors, but I removed one when I slid the walls around. It would still fit a door, but I kinda liked the idea of a larger closet door. maybe one at an angle.

The width of the bedroom where the bed is should be enough to walk along the side of the bed without stubbing the toes or banging the wall with your knuckles. At least I think so. I can do it in a twelve foot wide area, thirteen is better, but I think the extra foot would work out better in the bathroom. Maybe I could just split the distance, and give each six? LOL No, I think it would do more in the bathroom, actually. besides, there is all that room at the foot of the bed; gee, the room is about as big as the living room. Compared to what we have now, an extra foot of width would be great! There are only two walls that the bed can go up against, and each leaves a narrow aisle on one side, when you consider the dresser and chest of drawers. right now I can't have my chair in there, which I miss. We have a small bench [intended for the shower, actually] that I use, but it's hard to curl up on that with a good book.

I ordered the newer version, 2.2, that they have at UnbeatableDeals.com and can't wait to get started on the roof. the roof will make or break the whole thing. Seems that metal roofs are coming into style these days around here. I would think the noise during a heavy rain would be a turnoff, huh? I know I never went upstairs during a heavy storm in NC. fortunately I was only in that house for a few months.

It's 75 degrees in here now. It feels great! LOL

-- Anonymous, August 07, 2001

How about a different view?

-- Anonymous, August 07, 2001

Question, would a side by side refrigerator still work, even after being stored in the garage since 1995?

If it has been laying down on its back or side, it should be stood up and left standing for at least a day before plugging it in.

Also, it may not smell too good inside, so you'll want to clean it out real good with mild soap, or baking soda, or something. Make sure it's dry inside and out, then plug it in and hope for the best.

Oh yeah, make sure the coils on the back or bottom are clean. The dust and stuff will make it run harder to cool.

As long as it isn't broken, it should work.

I suspect that it will take more power than the latest technology, since there is one now that uses the same power as a 75 watt bulb.

-- Anonymous, August 07, 2001

All I can say for now is WOW!!!! That new 3 dimentional layout is awsome!!! Now I will go back and finish reading your post.

-- Anonymous, August 07, 2001

I thought I was losing my mind when I saw the two doors, then just saw one. When I woke up this morning and noticed the doors had been changed on the second rendition of your house plans, I felt much better.

Your back patio is the focal point from the house, I love all the rooms going out onto it. Yes, I see by making the bedroom 13', it cramps the bath too much. Is that a large food pantry next to the fridge?

I like the idea of the flat drawing of the house and then the 3 dimentional one to enhance the first one and give a feel of living in it.

Hey kiddo, I just realised I have "Key Design Center 3-D". What do I do with the CD to make it work on the computer? In other words, how do I install the darn thing?

The fridge that's in the garage, has been standing upright. I will wait until it's cooler here before cleaning it. I will make sure the coils are clean before I try to run it. That's amazing about the low power new refrigerators!

-- Anonymous, August 07, 2001

Barefoot, AWESOME 3-D! Wanna make some money? Set up at the mall on weekends and let people bring measurements to you or do them via email. People will pay good money for designs!

Maggie, ditto on the "energy using" comment. At the beginning of the summer, I helped a neighbor set up her 'fridge that had been stored for around ten years at her sister's house. The unit worked, but it added $38.30 to the electric bill (her husband, an engineer calculated the usage). I didn't listen carefully to the rest of the math, but basically, if she sold all her extra stuff at the upcoming church garage sale and tapped into savings for the rest of the cash for a new unit, which will be on sale at our local applicance shop (10% discount for cash), by Christmas, she'll be even and after Christmas she'll be paying less for electricity than with the unit that was stored at her sister's or the unit she had which recently blew.

-- Anonymous, August 07, 2001

Meemur, when you explain it like that, I'm now wondering if I should just sell it and down the road when I need another one...buy the new type that takes up alot less electricity. Plus, it would give me more room in the garage. Just thought of the price tag for a new one and that would be over $1,000. Hmmmm

-- Anonymous, August 07, 2001

If you can't sell it, you can donate it. then you can deduct it on the income tax.

Whirlpool is the one that runs on 'less electricity than a 75 watt bulb.'

The fridgidators are here.

-- Anonymous, August 07, 2001

Best I can suggest, Maggie, is to do the math for your situation. I, myself, would run an older unit before I'd take on credit card debt right now, but if I had a choice between storing and selling an older 'fridge, I'd sell it now while I could still get the most money for it. I live in a college town, so my market would be grad student renters. I'd post a free ad in the suburban newspaper and maybe hang several posters at the laundry and at Meijer on the community b.board. I might also put an ad online on the OSU campus electronic b.board under for sale items. If I couldn't sell it within three weeks, the VOA (Volunteers of America) would cart if off for the tax write off that Barefoot mentioned, or I could pay for an ad in the city paper.

My fingers are crossed . . . I hope not to have to replace my 'fridge for another couple of years. When I do, I'll buy one of the low energy ones and pay cash for it.

-- Anonymous, August 07, 2001

Thanks to you both for the suggestions.

-- Anonymous, August 07, 2001

I like the new plans they have, where you buy on credit, and don't have to pay for a year. If you 'make payments' to an account for that year, then just before it comes due you pay it off. No interest charges. We did that for the dryer we bought in February. Was 500 dollars, and it's paid off already. We missed on the furniture one, mainly because I didn't know I would be out of work for 15 months. But that is almost paid off too. It came due in May. We have about a thousand left on that. I figure another two months.

-- Anonymous, August 07, 2001

Yes! I want this exact program..this is so neat..I LOVE the e-d over view....

and I agree with meemer..you could make BIG bucks doing this for people!!! think on it, and see what your intution tells you!

-- Anonymous, August 07, 2001

I fiddled the kitchen a bit, the 'wet wall' had moved, and so I had to put it back. Which made the kitchen a tad smaller, but with some careful rearranging of the sink, dishwasher, and some custom cabinetry, I managed to keep a decent width for the walkway at the entrance from the dining room. I am still thinking the fridge could move back next to the Pantry which would put the doorway to the dining room between the fridge and the stove. Right now it is in line with the counter.

If you can imagine a large beam running from front to back, just above the slider doors in the master bedroom and going to just to the side of the front porch, that is the roofline I am trying to fit to this. It would put the ridge of the roof in the living room, slightly off center which is better than dead on even, making the ceiling in the living room and the dining much higher than the rest of the house. The other rooms would have 8' ceilings, or maybe nine foot.

Hmmm, that's another thought, how high can I go with ceilings? Too high and the rooms would feel small in width compared to height. eight foot is basic. The larger the attic space the better, or so they say...

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2001

I don't care for high ceilings -- too hard to keep dusted! (:

Have you considered any structural improvements that would make make the house less likely to suffer hurricane damage? How about any survival enhancements? For example, is there an area that you could cook with a solar oven where passersby can't see?

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2001

Well, structurally the house did okay in Andrew. It was the lack of window coverings that messed things up. The ideal roof would be the hip roof, like a pizza hut type roof, except without the little turrent in the center. The finished surface is in question.

Currently we have the asphalt shingles, which in our case did very well in Andrew but on other roofs didn't hold up. Ours stayed on because we nailed it down by hand according to the directions. I like the tile roofs, except for the orange barrel tile, or 'S' tile as it is called. The multi-colored ones are nice.

We have two turbines for attic ventilation, and now we also have the covers in case of hurricane. Also, we have the storm panels for the windows. I may have to delete some of the windows, like the two in the dining room and leave just the doors. Then I will have all the panels I need for all the new openings. [One reason why there is only one window in the master bedroom, another is it faces west and gets to hot. Besides, who wants to look at the neighbors barnlight all night.

The house will still be 'in line' with the rest of the neighborhood, which gives it a good wind break. the prevailing winds are from the east, which fits with the patio which is open on the east side. I added, in the last picture, an eight foot wall on that side with one opening, since I will need some support on that side for the new roof.

The yard has a six foot privacy fence, from front corner around back to the other front corner of the house. So, there is plenty of space out back for our 'solar barbeque.' I'd like to put in a little pool as well. May as well go whole hog, right? The backyard is 25 by 100, so it would hold a nice little pool without having to eliminate any of our plants, since we can move them to other areas. The front yard would hardly change as a result of the new house,except that I would fence it in as well, tastfully, and plant fruit trees there. Gotta have the fence otherwise we'd never get any fruit.

What really hurts is having to move the banana trees, which are just getting well established on the west side of the house. We can feel the difference in temperature in our bathroom in the afternoon now, with all the shade they generate there.

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2001

I new plan, tha includes a 14' wide master bedroom. some rearranging of the bathrooms and closets. Closets are wee bit smaller, but if I delete the spa tub in the masterbath I can fit some more closet space in.

-- Anonymous, August 15, 2001

I dunno, Barefoot. Both spa and closet space are really important! Maybe you should make a smaller garage? (:

-- Anonymous, August 15, 2001

I could, at this point, make the closets extra tall, which would allow for more shelving, or even higher clothes poles, thus doubling the closets as far as storage capacity. There is no real necessity for deep attic space above the closets. I have been discussing roof ideas with a friend at work, and we both feel that having a high ceiling in the main area is a definite plus. this would mean that instead of trusses for a roof/celing support, we would use rafters, basically 1 x 10's for example, spaced about 12" apart on center. the roof would attach to the top edges, and the ceiling drywall to the lower edges. Most interior walls would go all the way to the rafters, but some, like the master bath, for instance, would stop at about eight feet, thus creating an open shelf which could hold plants, or artwork. the bedrooms could be either/or as well. I would have a level ceiling in the garage, thus allowing storage up there, and over the laundry room, but the kitchen would be the same as the living/dining rooms, with the wall separating the kitchen/dining only eight feet high. One drawback is running the ducts for the a/c, and the only way to get around that is to have two units, one for the right/east side and one for the left/west. The hallway would be a flat ceiling to allow the ducts to run the length of the house from front to back, with the fan up there as well. the outside unit would be behind the master bedroom since having it out front is tacky. The right/east side unit would be outside the laundry room, with the ducts running right along the top of the garage walls.

-- Anonymous, August 15, 2001

Except two units will double your maintenance, although for the extra space, that might be worth it. How about resale value, though? That's my ulimate test for any improvements that I do on my house.

You've got some great ideas! I'm sure it wouldn't be long before you settle on the perfect design.

-- Anonymous, August 15, 2001

"Maybe you should make a smaller garage?"

Meemur, I was gonna offer a crowbar or can opener to get Mr. and Mrs. Mailman out of their cars as it was!

-- Anonymous, August 15, 2001

I was teasing him, Brooks. I love your comment about the can openers. Hey, I'm still dealing with a single car garage that my little beast barely fits into. The shape of my yard and the area zoning laws are such that if I want a larger garage, I'll have to move. Of course, when I bought this place, I had no intention of owning a large vehicle, anyway.

-- Anonymous, August 15, 2001

One of the main reasons I started thinking about remodeling was to get a two car garage. LOL I was actually thinking that I could shave a few inches off the living room so the garage was wider.

I measured the garage again. I have 2'4" on each side of the vehicles next to the walls, and 3'4" in the middle. If one vehicle backs in so the driver side is in the middle, you can share the center area, and even park the vehicle closer to the wall.

But, if you go to most any recently painted parking lot and measure between two cars, you'll probably find at least that much space between them, and I would say usually less.

When I started with the garage measurements, I used the dimensions of the Lincoln Town Car, the largest car I could find. Cadillac is smaller. Trucks don't usually go into garages for some reason, but the Cadillac Escalade [Chevy suburban] is smaller than the Town Car, just taller, and not a problem in this garage.

this picture shows two other vehicles, and they have the measurements of our current vehicles, Chevy S-10 and Toyota Corolla. the S-10 is just a little shorter than the Town Car. Width is about two inches less, if I recall. Oh wait, I still have those measurements....

deville......length 207.2......width 74.5......height 56.7

seville......length 201.0......width 75.0......height 55.4

escalade.....length 198.9......width 78.9......height 76.5

continental..length 208.5......width 73.6......height 56.0

towncar......length 215.3......width 78.2......height 58.0

Chevy S-10...length 206.0......width 68.0......height 63.0*

Corolla......length 174.0......width 67.0......height 54.0*

*these two I had to round up, as the program didn't take decimal points. These are inches, not centimeters.

I know it's hard to judge dimensions in this type of drawing, so I'll give some sizes of things. All the beds are king size. The king size bed is 77" wide by 83" long. I measured mine and it is the same size. If you can't fit a king size bed in a bedroom and walk around it, the room is too small, in my opinion.

The coffee table in the picture is 3' by 3' but ours rectangular and smaller. I chose the 3' one to show the space was there for it.

Let's see, what else...oh, the shower is 4' by 33" deep. I adjusted that to fit. The program uses a representation of one of those plastic preformed ones, but I would opt for tiling in place, with niches for soap, shampoo, and a bench seat at the end. I would love to have the spa tub for real, it is 5" by 42", but I think that budget wise I'll end up putting the shower there instead at 5' by 3' with the built in features, and maybe even twin shower heads, one at each end?

The tub is a standard 5' and if I go to a 6' the bedroom get too small for me, unless I take the foot from the master bedroom.

The sofa is 8' wide. Ours is too, actually. The one in the bedroom is actually a sectional sofa, and I sized it to 30" by 30" each piece. The program makes them 34" by 34" so it is only a little bigger.

The bathroom counters are 5'3" in the master and 4' in the front bath. I changed them so that they would have more drawers than doors. Never enough drawers in the bathroom, unless you count the ones on the floor. LOL Each bathroom also has a floor to ceiling linen closet, the master is 1' deep by 33" wide, and the front bath has one 20" by 20" so there is plenty of room for towels and stuff.

The fridge is 3' wide, and so is ours. The cook top is a 30" and we have a 30" stove now. Dishwashers are fairly standard at 24" and the sink is a standard corner type. Washer and dryer are standard size as per the program. I don't think it allows for the required venting behind the dryer, though. Ours adds an additional 5" of space in back for the vent.

Most doors are 36" wide, which is standard for a front door, a double door would be 72" unless you have a custom job, perhaps with a window panel on the side or something like that.

The depiction of the dining room table is 97" long. I guess that would mean it has the leafs in it? LOL

Closet shelves are 12" deep, and hangers will work on them, but I find that a rod that is at least 14" or more from the wall keeps the garments from touching the wall in back, and allows for more ventilation.

Nightstands are 18" square, except in the master, where I made them 24" wide by 18"

The kitchen island is 30" square. All counter tops are 24" deep except where they curve. A bit tight there, so I made them 19" deep in that one spot. In the upper right corner of the kitchen is the wall oven, standard size, in a tall wall cabinet.

I can make pictures of each wall, and even do a 3D type view of rooms, like a snapshot from a camera, which is what the mouse turns into with that feature; if there is something that you would want to see that way.

All interior walls are 6" thick, and all exterior walls are 10" and the walls of the garage are ten inches as well. This may not be required with today's available materials, but for now it works. Firewall protection for the living area, you see.

In reality, my walls are 5" thick, but the program goes from 4" to 6" and I figured 6 would be better cause then the real rooms would be bigger.

I just noticed that the first picture on this thread shows the two cars with the Town Car dimensions.

-- Anonymous, August 15, 2001