ᐅ Building a Pre-Designed House – Minor Changes and Unintended Consequences
Created on: 28 Mar 2022 13:38
V
Vrumfondel
Hello everyone,
this thread is meant to be a collection of experiences from how we built a production house and made a few changes during the (floor plan) design phase, and now want to share the results and some unexpected side effects. This might serve as a reference for future homeowners in similar cases or at least provide some ideas to go through your own requested changes a couple of times in your head to make sure everything is thoroughly thought through. Of course, hindsight is always 20/20, and you might end up making “different” mistakes later on – but perhaps this list can still be helpful for some.
I’ll start:
We built a Town & Country Flair 125, in the version with a “guest bathroom with shower and an additional study” (no external links allowed, but easily found on the Town & Country homepage).
During the architect meeting, we discussed the following changes:
1. Front door extended with a fixed window panel in front of the stairs
2. Storage room removed, utility/technical room (HAR) enlarged by moving the partition wall between the hallway and utility room from the exterior wall to the kitchen wall
3. Door to the open-plan living area moved and replaced with a door featuring a glass panel, positioned flush with the front door
4. Relocated the pull-down attic staircase by about one meter (3 feet), and reversed its direction so that the stairs now lead towards the bathroom door, allowing a continuous path through the ground floor, upper floor, and attic.
Here are the “side effects”:
1. The light switches at the stairway are now about at the fourth or fifth step instead of above the first step. Since they were installed in the “standard” installation zone, they seem a bit low in that position. This takes some getting used to—at first it felt odd, but by now you don’t even notice it.
2. Good decision: the square footage in front of the storage/utility room would otherwise have been unused space in the hallway.
3. Two side effects: the space originally planned for a coat closet (even a small one) no longer exists. We now have a wall-mounted coat rack where the door to the open-plan living area used to be, which works for three people. The partition wall separating the kitchen countertop remained in its original position. It’s not 100% practical there and in hindsight, we might have moved or removed it altogether. Now a sideboard goes there, which at least makes it look reasonable. Looking back, this is a decision we would probably change.
4. No downsides.
Additionally, a few general notes about the Flair 125 (no changes here, but still worth sharing):
- The window sill height in the study is 1.27 meters (4 feet 2 inches). This likely comes from the L-shaped open-plan variant where this would be a kitchen window, and the height fits that purpose. In the study, this means that when sitting, you’re basically looking at a wall instead of out the window. Definitely something worth checking! A small consolation: with more and larger monitors these days, it’s easy to open the window above the desk without major modifications.
- We initially considered installing a stove with an external chimney pipe later on. In hindsight, I’m very happy we didn’t and won’t do so. In exactly that spot (in the pictures on the Town & Country page where the couch and TV furniture are) I would definitely plan for a window next time. That wall faces west, and getting more natural light there would definitely be worth losing some decoratable wall space.
- For the detail enthusiasts: we originally planned to mount the light switch in the upstairs hallway (on the small wall in the guest room) in the middle, so it would be equally accessible from the guest room and the bedroom (in our case, a child’s room). In reality, there is a stud profile right there in the wall. We saved some money and the guest just has to stretch their hand a little further until the light comes on.
- On every side of the house where there is an external wall outlet for an outdoor light (on our lot with the street lamp that’s only two sides; elsewhere it might be all four sides), we also had an outdoor electrical outlet installed. Although 25-meter (82-foot) extension cords can do the job, shorter cable runs are usually more convenient.
Those are my experiences—I’m curious if this topic sparks any interest here.
this thread is meant to be a collection of experiences from how we built a production house and made a few changes during the (floor plan) design phase, and now want to share the results and some unexpected side effects. This might serve as a reference for future homeowners in similar cases or at least provide some ideas to go through your own requested changes a couple of times in your head to make sure everything is thoroughly thought through. Of course, hindsight is always 20/20, and you might end up making “different” mistakes later on – but perhaps this list can still be helpful for some.
I’ll start:
We built a Town & Country Flair 125, in the version with a “guest bathroom with shower and an additional study” (no external links allowed, but easily found on the Town & Country homepage).
During the architect meeting, we discussed the following changes:
1. Front door extended with a fixed window panel in front of the stairs
2. Storage room removed, utility/technical room (HAR) enlarged by moving the partition wall between the hallway and utility room from the exterior wall to the kitchen wall
3. Door to the open-plan living area moved and replaced with a door featuring a glass panel, positioned flush with the front door
4. Relocated the pull-down attic staircase by about one meter (3 feet), and reversed its direction so that the stairs now lead towards the bathroom door, allowing a continuous path through the ground floor, upper floor, and attic.
Here are the “side effects”:
1. The light switches at the stairway are now about at the fourth or fifth step instead of above the first step. Since they were installed in the “standard” installation zone, they seem a bit low in that position. This takes some getting used to—at first it felt odd, but by now you don’t even notice it.
2. Good decision: the square footage in front of the storage/utility room would otherwise have been unused space in the hallway.
3. Two side effects: the space originally planned for a coat closet (even a small one) no longer exists. We now have a wall-mounted coat rack where the door to the open-plan living area used to be, which works for three people. The partition wall separating the kitchen countertop remained in its original position. It’s not 100% practical there and in hindsight, we might have moved or removed it altogether. Now a sideboard goes there, which at least makes it look reasonable. Looking back, this is a decision we would probably change.
4. No downsides.
Additionally, a few general notes about the Flair 125 (no changes here, but still worth sharing):
- The window sill height in the study is 1.27 meters (4 feet 2 inches). This likely comes from the L-shaped open-plan variant where this would be a kitchen window, and the height fits that purpose. In the study, this means that when sitting, you’re basically looking at a wall instead of out the window. Definitely something worth checking! A small consolation: with more and larger monitors these days, it’s easy to open the window above the desk without major modifications.
- We initially considered installing a stove with an external chimney pipe later on. In hindsight, I’m very happy we didn’t and won’t do so. In exactly that spot (in the pictures on the Town & Country page where the couch and TV furniture are) I would definitely plan for a window next time. That wall faces west, and getting more natural light there would definitely be worth losing some decoratable wall space.
- For the detail enthusiasts: we originally planned to mount the light switch in the upstairs hallway (on the small wall in the guest room) in the middle, so it would be equally accessible from the guest room and the bedroom (in our case, a child’s room). In reality, there is a stud profile right there in the wall. We saved some money and the guest just has to stretch their hand a little further until the light comes on.
- On every side of the house where there is an external wall outlet for an outdoor light (on our lot with the street lamp that’s only two sides; elsewhere it might be all four sides), we also had an outdoor electrical outlet installed. Although 25-meter (82-foot) extension cords can do the job, shorter cable runs are usually more convenient.
Those are my experiences—I’m curious if this topic sparks any interest here.
@11ant
Regardless of the specific names of the components, for me, it was about beams running from eave to eave. A staircase is being installed perpendicular to these beams, so the staircase has to intersect the beams. When climbing, you have to pass by the cross beam somehow; otherwise, you'd literally have a board in front of your head. Since @Vrumfondel clarified things for me with the terms "dropped beam" and "header beam," that was very helpful. I am familiar with this beam modification that is done for roof windows when beams (ridge to eave) are in the way. I just didn’t realize that the same applies to folding attic stairs. I have to admit, although your writing style is quite unique, I read your text several times but didn’t understand it any better than before. Now, after reading again and seeing the word "beam replacements" along with the information from the original poster, it finally made sense to me.
Regardless of the specific names of the components, for me, it was about beams running from eave to eave. A staircase is being installed perpendicular to these beams, so the staircase has to intersect the beams. When climbing, you have to pass by the cross beam somehow; otherwise, you'd literally have a board in front of your head. Since @Vrumfondel clarified things for me with the terms "dropped beam" and "header beam," that was very helpful. I am familiar with this beam modification that is done for roof windows when beams (ridge to eave) are in the way. I just didn’t realize that the same applies to folding attic stairs. I have to admit, although your writing style is quite unique, I read your text several times but didn’t understand it any better than before. Now, after reading again and seeing the word "beam replacements" along with the information from the original poster, it finally made sense to me.
Andre77 schrieb:
To be honest, even though your writing style is quite unique, I read your text several times but still didn’t understand it any better than before. My editor often says something similar ;-)
Andre77 schrieb:
For me, those were the beams running from eaves to eaves. Actually, no. Those would be one level below (between the ground floor and attic – but not here, as there is, to my knowledge, a concrete ceiling). The ceiling under discussion here is between the attic and the loft, so above the eaves line.
Andre77 schrieb:
Beams (ridge to eaves) Those would be called rafters. They are part of the roof structure, but this ceiling is not.
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