My wife and I are contemplating a major remodel of our house and so I am doing some models/drawings to get a close idea of what we want before we start spending money on an architect or designer. We have most of the floorplan figured out but i'm stumped by the master suite. Here is the envelope you have to work with. I've got a few random things dropped in as i work but those are not set.

sky is the limit on how you would do this but here are the checklist items we are trying to get:

• Walk in closet
• Large 2 person shower
• double vanity
• Fully enclosed water closet
• king size bed
• if possible a tub would be great but can lose this if needed

curious to see what y'alls thoughts are

2 closets are a must- his/hers
Sitting area , looking to backyard

I like the ideas, but I guess i should have been clearer. I'm struggling most with exactly how to lay it all out in the space available.

I like having a window in bathrooms when possible. It looks like there are some existing but would it be an option to add one on the left wall near the top wall?

If so, you might do closet on the right as you come into the room. Could put the door there or inside the bathroom. Bathroom would run along the top wall similar to how you have it with the tub likely under the added window on the left wall. Shower next to it, then vanities, and then closed in toilet near the closet.

I've been seeing a lot of newer high rise apartment builds with a tub entirely in the wet shower area. Saves space by putting the tub all the way against the wall and the shower right next to it with no divider or additional walkway. If I had to put in a tub in a master, I'd probably do it this way.

There are many more questions to be asked (predominate views, how you both use the space, storage requirements, etc. The Master Bath has many more questions and specific requirements. All that to say, you will be much better off hiring an experienced designer that can assist you through this process.

I would start hitting Pinterest and create a folder of all the things you like. Then, start interviewing designers. You will save time and money in the long run. Establish a style, is it modern? transitional, eclectic, or traditional? All of those inputs will help you guide through the hundreds of decisions. There are "living patterns" that are great space savers.

One thing you can ask the Designer is if they will give you 4-6 hours of time to visit the site and make some sketches. We call this a charrette. Kind of like a design "brain storming" session.

Good luck!

BlackGoldAg2011 said:

---

I'm struggling most with exactly how to lay it all out in the space available.

---

This is kinda why people hire architects.

Find a flat fee and consult with the guy for hours.

That is the ultimate plan, and will probably be hiring one this summer, but i'd like to have a starting point when i get to the architect to hopefully save a little time. I also really enjoy this kind of stuff so just wanted to do a first pass for my own amusement. Not asking for someone to do a full architects job, just thought i'd throw this up here and see if anyone else who enjoys this kinda thing had any ideas. I also enjoyed the commentary on the toilet placement.

Side note, anyone have recommendations for architects in the Houston area?

BlackGoldAg2011 said:

---

That is the ultimate plan, and will probably be hiring one this summer, but i'd like to have a starting point when i get to the architect to hopefully save a little time. I also really enjoy this kind of stuff so just wanted to do a first pass for my own amusement. Not asking for someone to do a full architects job, just thought i'd throw this up here and see if anyone else who enjoys this kinda thing had any ideas. I also enjoyed the commentary on the toilet placement.

Side note, anyone have recommendations for architects in the Houston area?

---

While it's cool to do a 3d in sketchup or whatever, I find more enjoyment in grid paper and to scale cutouts in early stages. Then it's easy to just move stuff around to get the instant visual.

I did it recently for my mudroom addition. Once I found the best layout, then I 3d sketched it up.

One thing to consider is the closet. We prefer it to be off the bathroom, so you don't have to enter the bedroom when getting ready. We have had houses with both, and this was a big requirement when we built our house. Do you have a preference?

Didn't you already remodel your master? I thought you made a thread about it. Or did you move?

Sure did
https://texags.com/forums/61/topics/2530714

problem is we've had 3 children since then and with that and me working from home now, the house is starting to be a bit full. We've started thinking about getting more space by either moving or adding a second story, so right now I'm exploring the second story option. The problem i've run into, is looking at our layout and some other second floor additions is it seems like the best place to put the stairs might be eating the tiny bedroom that is adjacent to the master. This would leave either a weird/giant hall closet, or we could consolidate it into the master and redo our redone bathroom. I hate this option due to the blood sweat and tears that went into that bathroom, but also, we squeezed it into a smaller than ideal space, and so could use this as an opportunity to change the things that we had to make due with due to the space available.

here is a clip with a bit more context

Agthatbuilds said:

---

Marvin_Zindler said:

---

Looks great as is!!

---

I'm a fan of the toilet spacing. And right out there in the opem so you can enjoy the view.

---

Open toilet spacing is awesome. Reminds me of Basic Training.

Flip door into shower so that opening is on north wall - shower door swings in. Add window to shower wall to the west (assume up is north).

Long vanity along bedroom wall (hers/hers lower to sit/his) to the left of the door.

Tub sort of where it is now but maybe slide East a little bit. Put a window above the tub and frame with sconces or a nice light fixture.

****ter closet to the right when you open door and have that flush to door into closet. Don't want to be looking at the toilet when you open the door. If the double vanity is tight, then do hers/lower hers on the bedroom wall and yours across from the door on north wall. Could flip the tub and your vanity so the door opens to the free standing tub.

Massive closet off the bathroom. Opposite end of the shower. Probably have enough room for a nice linen cabinet in the bathroom.

Tell you what. I'll go through what I normally do for my clients, if that's helpful. This way others can get a feel for how someone like myself (Architect/Interior Designer) approaches a remodel.

If that's cool with you, I will do my best to be as transparent as possible and maybe shed some light on the value of design. Let me know :-) I'd like to do this in the open on this thread.

Before you pull the trigger, I will be asking some questions that may seem personal, such as the "all-in" budget. Maybe questions about how you like to live, your lifestyle, and really just a way to get to know you. If you have children, is this your "forever home" and such. If that is a little too uncomfortable - just say so and we can adjust.

Let me know.

EDIT to add - This can be just one of other design options you consider. I will deal with just you and your wife as the stakeholders. Can't have too many chefs in the kitchen.

PabloSerna said:

---

EDIT to add - This can be just one of other design options you consider. I will deal with just you and your wife as the stakeholders. Can't have too many chefs in the kitchen.

---

Fixed it for you

Lol! Good one... so that will be my Pearl of Wisdom #1:

Figure out who's in charge.

+++

I can't count how many times I have been given a scratch sheet of paper, Excel spreadsheet, or even CAD files from Home Designer Pro - all works of art! Unless they flip houses for a living, most home owners, have been thinking about this remodel or custom new home for a while. Usually, but not always, one so more than the other. So here are some things I try to figure out even before the design ideas get rolling...

Together we stand, united we fall:
I tell clients that I prefer to meet with both of them at all meetings (assuming 2 persons, not always husband and wife!). I do this because it will allow me to see what type of dynamic I will be dealing with. I also want both to "buy in". If they are going to spend $50k - $150k on a remodel, they better both have a say. Usually, they compromise and say something like, "So and So likes to cook, so they got the Kitchen" or "She Shed", "Man Cave" are spaces where I can work one on one.

I have never witnessed a shouting match, but I have been in some uncomfortable situations. I try to diffuse the situation and say, "This is the dream stage -everything is on the table." I want to build a consensus. I do that by offering to sketch-up (by hand) multiple schemes to explore each person's ideas. By contract, I allow for (1) Programming Meeting and up to (3) design meetings to arrive at a final design solution. I also, limit the design options to 3 schemes. My goal is to give them some freedom, however, we cannot spend more than 40% of the fee to arrive at a solution that meets the project goals and is within 15% of the stated project budget.

There are two steps in this Design Phase: Schematic Design (loose sketching, multiple options) and Design Development (hardline, one option). Depending on the client and scale of the project, this phase can take between 1-2 months. It is however - the most important of the phases. So, unlike some of my colleagues, I make sure to get the program right and put down a scheme that they are excited about.

I use a couple of tools to help me "program" (this is the analysis aspect of the project). As a member of NKBA (National Kitchen and Bath Association) I send clients a Survey for them to fill out before the first design meeting. Pre-COVID, I would review this form with them at the Kick-Off program meeting. It is an exhaustive form, but covers just about everything I need to know to do my job.

+++

IMO it doesn't look like you have enough room in there for separate walk in closets, not very good ones anyway. What worked in my situation was having it half and half, but both sides made completely from IKEA Pax wardrobes rather than plain racks or non-adjustable plywood shelves put in there. Both sides have a 6-7' run with a full length mirror on the wall in the middle.

Also you've probably been told this already but adding outward is going to be more cost effective than going up. Not that it can't be done, it's just that the project gets a lot more complicated. Totally understand if you still want to go through with it if for example you're in a great location and don't want to leave it.

One the best reasons to go up is to add Kids Rooms with a Jack and Jill and a common Study. A really good living pattern is to keep the Kid's spaces away from the Master Suite. This type of plan will add years to the life of a house if done strategically.

Stairs should not be hidden. They are a great design opportunity. Think of the monumental stairs seen on many two story homes. People intrinsically walk toward light - so put a window at the top of the stairs.

Well I don't know how I can pass that up! That sounds great. As for the personal questions ask away, that's the beauty of a mostly anonymous message board. As a starting point here is the all in vision/background for the project.

Current home is 4 bed, 2 bath and 2,464 sf. We currently have 3 kids ages 4 thru 2 months. Between adding the 3rd kid and me working from home all year, the house has started to feel a bit smaller. In addition to that all of our family lives out of town and so we also just lost our dedicated guest room for when they come. Due to this we have been seriously considering trying to get a bit more space. Our 3 options have been move to the suburbs to cash in equity for more space, move somewhere in the area either already renovated or cheap enough to renovate, or add on here. We are hesitant to do the suburbs because my commute is so great from this location, and the moving in the area option doesn't solve a ton because most of the houses in our area are roughly the same layout so a renovation should cost roughly the same there vs here. This brings us to the final option of renovating here. The process for that we had in mind is this: we would start with our whole wishlist and see structurally and financially what it would take to make that happen. We understand that our dream list is likely outside our budget and are willing to trim some items to reach a budget but also are of the mind that we aren't going to go through the hassle of renovating our home if we can't get a significant chunk of what we want checked off. The plan would be that this would be the forever home.

Now for the dream list of what we would like to achieve.

• At least 5 bedroom with an office that could be used for a guest room when needed. If possible I'd love 6 beds though because I'm not 100% convinced there won't be a 4th child at some point.
• A half bath added in the laundry/mud room area
• At least 1 full bath in the upstairs and possibly a half bath too.
• Open up the kitchen dinning room area to create a great room feel rather than individual rooms.
• Widen the garage to accommodate a second set of stairs and a bit more width so we can actually open our car doors while inside it. Would love to bump up from the current 16' to and 18' garage door.
• "Bonus" room above the garage. This is where I would like to move all of my shop tools both to have a dedicated work space and to get them out of the way of the cars. I would also envision it being easily convertible to a mother in law suite if we were to ever sell.
• Since the only place I could figure to fit the stairs is to eat the small bedroom next to the master, I'd love to figure a way to re-layout the master suite to incorporate that space. (Original post)

These are the high points of what we are thinking. Our target budget is around $250k but can be a bit flexible on that depending on what we are getting for it. My plan was to do a preliminary design to hand off to a few contractors for some high level estimates to see if we were even in the right zip code for pricing. And if so, then engage an architect to work with for a full design and plans to get final bids from.

So that's our thinking in a nutshell. Let me know what other questions you have. I will follow up here in a few minutes with some of the drawings I've got so far.

here is the current 1st floor layout. i don't have all the doors drawing in yet but it conveys the point.



here is the new first floor layout as I have it right now, obviously not finished yet. Here i still have the master in the original layout and you can see the extra space left after putting the stairs in. this also has the wider garage and i've bumped out the laundry room wall by 2 feet to meet the new garage wall and make it attached. You can also see where the current side wall of the garage is in this.

zoomed in on the master space

and here is the roof layout i'm working with. I have been trying to minimize roof changes to try to control costs. In this iteration of the design, the changes are kept to the back half of the roof and involve raising the ridge line of the sections over the master suite and the laundry area to create a bit more space, as well as adding a shed dormer to the back middle for an upstairs game room. the dominant roof slop is 7/12 with only a few outliers.

PROGRAM RELATED QUESTIONS:

In order to begin any meaningful design, a designer will need to know as much about the house and the site as possible. Many jurisdictions place site and building limitations that need to be researched.

With that in mind , I have a few programmatic questions:

1. That is a lot of bathrooms. Do you know what size your water is? PSI?

2. Before planning, I would need to research your deed and restrictions. Would also need to research HOA. Also, Zoning and would need a survey.

This type of information will tell me if you can go up, if you can't, if you will need to add a residential sprinkler, if your site has any impervious cover limits, if there is a tree ordinance, if there are any easements, if HOA has restrictions. Well you get the idea.

You may not want to post that online, however, it will need to be researched. Can you do this or will you need some assistance?

Also, the as-built plans will need a higher level of information. Floor drains, outlets, VTRs, HVAC, load bearing walls, every window, and door opening, built-in cabinets, all plumbing fixtures and light fixtures plus switches need to be drawn. I know this is a lot of work, however, it will be invaluable when trying to save money and make good design decisions.

Last time- pictures. Lots of them! Every room, each facade, and all parts of the yard. The survey should indicate where the electrical service and water meter are on the site, if not- will need that as well. Oh yeah- will need pictures of all HVAC, HWH, electrical panel, and a list of the equipment and furniture with sizes you intend to keep and incorporate into the design.

How do you suggest we proceed? A lot of this is very personal and I don't want you to risk identity theft?

Let's talk about the budget. With $250k, I would allocate it as follows:

A. Master Suite:
- Master Bath @ $65k
- Master Closet (system) @ $15k
- Master Bedroom @ $20k
B. Two Kids Room w/ Jack and Jill Bath @ $82.5k
- assume 550SF + Stairs (second floor addition)
- patch and repair existing
- larger HVAC
- framing improvements+ energy rating
- mid level finishes and fixtures
- assume minor upgrades to plumb/ elec.
C. Interior upgrades + contingency @ $50k
- code upgrades
- patch and repair
- open up walls between Kitchen and Living Room
- minor site improvements
- keep at least $5k for a contingency
D. Engineering and Design Fees + Permits @ $17.5k
- Engineer for foundation and framing
- Architect or Interior Designer all other plans
- if in a city, permit review

What is your schedule to get this done? May affect labor and materials estimate.

DESIGN RELATED QUESTIONS:

This information is not so much driven by the physical aspects of the building And site, but more about how you live, the style of the house, your goals, and aspects about the site (orientation, predominate views, trees, prevailing winds, etc.). It may sound like overkill, but the more I know the better I can design something that doesn't look "added on".

With that in mind, some questions:

1. I noticed you placed the future Master Suite at the front of the house, is there a particular reason? I ask because there is a design concept we call the "progression of spaces". Basically, the more public spaces are towards the front of the house and the more private spaces farthest away. By locating the Master Suite towards the rear of the house, it can add another element to this area - a reflective garden. This could even be a private patio? Again, this is a big picture thing and something that is a little easier to explain at the site itself.

It could also mean evaluating another design option where you build a ground floor addition to the back of the house for the Master Suite and put the Kids Rooms up front? Just a thought.

2. I can see from your plan outline that the house is split into 3 zones. Entering through the center, I imagine the living room is in the center with the Kitchen, Laundry, Dining areas off to the right. To the left are the bedrooms. Having seen this type of scheme in the past, it makes for a congested atmosphere. Basically the Master Suite is too close to the kids area. This will be magnified as the kids get older and louder. One solution may be to put the Master Suite, Home Office, Guest Room on the left and add Kids Rooms upstairs above the Kitchen and Dining. This will be great when the kids have sleep overs and you just want to get away.

3. How big is the current Garage? I see it faces into the courtyard space and that is a good thing. One design option may be to explore adding rooms over that space? The other is over the back half more toward the Kitchen. That would put the stairs off to the right as you walked in. This is where pictures will help.

That's it for now. This will be a challenge, because I like to visit the site and spend a couple of hours taking it all in.

I think I have your Garage turned around. Facing the street right?

PabloSerna said:

---

PROGRAM RELATED QUESTIONS:

In order to begin any meaningful design, a designer will need to know as much about the house and the site as possible. Many jurisdictions place site and building limitations that need to be researched.

---

I know a lot of this information offhand from past research and will provided it. The rest I'll start tracking down and post it as I find it.

Quote:

---

With that in mind, I have a few programmatic questions:

1. That is a lot of bathrooms. Do you know what size your water is? PSI?

---

I will check the line size coming into the house in the morning. I don't know the PSI though, if it gets to the point of that being necessary I can get a gauge and check it.

Quote:

---

2. Before planning, I would need to research your deed and restrictions. Would also need to research HOA. Also, Zoning and would need a survey.

This type of information will tell me if you can go up, if you can't, if you will need to add a residential sprinkler, if your site has any impervious cover limits, if there is a tree ordinance, if there are any easements, if HOA has restrictions. Well you get the idea.

You may not want to post that online, however, it will need to be researched. Can you do this or will you need some assistance?

---

I can absolutely dig up all these specifics but can say offhand that our civic association is not super stringent. Assuming the street facing portion of the house doesn't change a ton they are going to approve anything we would be happy with. From looking at other renos in our area basically the back of the house and garage are fair game. For survey, I'm going to post a better as built below and it has most of the needed info on it. the quick version is I have building line setbacks of 3 feet from either side of the property. I'm looking to find it but I believe the aerial setback is 18". The property line is the dotted line and as you can see the fence is on the property line, the western most corner of the garage is on the lateral setback, and if I remember correctly the back most corner is on the rear building line setback. You can see the driveway curves out and hits the property line. Basically there isn't any room to go out. Back could be an option but I'd rather no lose what little backyard I have right now.

Quote:

---

Also, the as-built plans will need a higher level of information. Floor drains, outlets, VTRs, HVAC, load bearing walls, every window, and door opening, built-in cabinets, all plumbing fixtures and light fixtures plus switches need to be drawn. I know this is a lot of work, however, it will be invaluable when trying to save money and make good design decisions.

---

working on this. The one below has more info and I'll post a final one hopefully this coming weekend with all this information.

Quote:

---

Last time- pictures. Lots of them! Every room, each facade, and all parts of the yard. The survey should indicate where the electrical service and water meter are on the site, if not- will need that as well. Oh yeah- will need pictures of all HVAC, HWH, electrical panel, and a list of the equipment and furniture with sizes you intend to keep and incorporate into the design.

---

took pictures tonight and will post them below with labels. For hvac, panel and hwh, are pictures needed or just specs? For electrical and water, I've got them roughed in below and will fine tune their location in the final drawing. Electrical comes into the back of the garage. Water main runs along the street with the meter in the front and water coming in the east side of the house. Sewer main runs along the back fence. And in the exterior pics you will see the gas meter comes in at the back wall of the master bedroom.

Quote:

---

How do you suggest we proceed? A lot of this is very personal and I don't want you to risk identity theft?

---

my plan is to dig up all the needed info and post it scrubbed of personal identifying info as much as possible. If I hit a snag with that we can address it.

Quote:

---

Let's talk about the budget. With $250k, I would allocate it as follows:

A. Master Suite:
- Master Bath @ $65k
- Master Closet (system) @ $15k
- Master Bedroom @ $20k
B. Two Kids Room w/ Jack and Jill Bath @ $82.5k
- assume 550SF + Stairs (second floor addition)
- patch and repair existing
- larger HVAC
- framing improvements+ energy rating
- mid level finishes and fixtures
- assume minor upgrades to plumb/ elec.
C. Interior upgrades + contingency @ $50k
- code upgrades
- patch and repair
- open up walls between Kitchen and Living Room
- minor site improvements
- keep at least $5k for a contingency
D. Engineering and Design Fees + Permits @ $17.5k
- Engineer for foundation and framing
- Architect or Interior Designer all other plans
- if in a city, permit review

---

Just a few notes on this budget allocation:

• A. Master suite is the bottom of our priority list for this reno as we have already redone it once ourselves about 6 years ago. There are a few things that are less than ideal due to our inexperience when we did it and working with less than ideal space so if the budget allows we would love to make some changes, but it won't need to be a full master suite remodel.
• B. Extra SF upstairs is where I would expect and hope to spend the lions share of this reno budget. The main driver for the renovation is for additional space. For upstairs space excluding the garage discussed below, I would also want to get + 2 bedrooms and a full bath, but ideally 3 bedrooms so all our kids (current at least) could be on the same floor. I would also want to have a game room type space on this level, as the current playroom will most likely go back to being a dining room in any renovation plan. I would expect to be looking more in the range of +1000 SF upstairs before you include the garage.
• C. This is where I expect to break the budget. I'll outline it in more detail when I post my final as built plans but one of my wife's deal breaker items for the reno is to redo the kitchen. Opening it up with an island where there is currently a wall and expanding it into the breakfast area a bit and into what is currently the office. What she has described, I imagine we spend 50k before we even put up sheet rock.
• D. I am in a city, so this project will get the pleasure of dealing with City of Houston permitting office.
• E. For the $250k number, out goal for this project would be to get an estimate based on a rough design including everything on our wishlist, and then depending on the final number, work backwards on our priority list and see how much has to be cut to make it to our final number to see if the project makes financial sense for us.

Quote:

---

What is your schedule to get this done? May affect labor and materials estimate.

---

my schedule is to try to have a good idea what this project scope and cost would be by this summer to be able to make final decisions from and then if the remodel is the winner, likely start construction next summer (ish). We aren't in a huge rush so could wait on things like lumber prices to return fully to pre-pandemic prices.

Quote:

---

DESIGN RELATED QUESTIONS:

This information is not so much driven by the physical aspects of the building And site, but more about how you live, the style of the house, your goals, and aspects about the site (orientation, predominate views, trees, prevailing winds, etc.). It may sound like overkill, but the more I know the better I can design something that doesn't look "added on".

With that in mind, some questions:

1. I noticed you placed the future Master Suite at the front of the house, is there a particular reason? I ask because there is a design concept we call the "progression of spaces". Basically, the more public spaces are towards the front of the house and the more private spaces farthest away. By locating the Master Suite towards the rear of the house, it can add another element to this area - a reflective garden. This could even be a private patio? Again, this is a big picture thing and something that is a little easier to explain at the site itself.

It could also mean evaluating another design option where you build a ground floor addition to the back of the house for the Master Suite and put the Kids Rooms up front? Just a thought.

---

this is just because of how I had the model oriented. The one below will be clearer but the master is at the back. The bump out window looks out into the back yard.

Quote:

---

2. I can see from your plan outline that the house is split into 3 zones. Entering through the center, I imagine the living room is in the center with the Kitchen, Laundry, Dining areas off to the right. To the left are the bedrooms. Having seen this type of scheme in the past, it makes for a congested atmosphere. Basically the Master Suite is too close to the kids area. This will be magnified as the kids get older and louder. One solution may be to put the Master Suite, Home Office, Guest Room on the left and add Kids Rooms upstairs above the Kitchen and Dining. This will be great when the kids have sleep overs and you just want to get away.

---

other than right/left being flipped this is basically correct. I like the idea of separating master from kids rooms, but due to my wife's vision for kitchen/living/dining I don't see there being space for the left right split. This is what leads me towards the up/down split instead.

Quote:

---

3. How big is the current Garage? I see it faces into the courtyard space and that is a good thing. One design option may be to explore adding rooms over that space? The other is over the back half more toward the Kitchen. That would put the stairs off to the right as you walked in. This is where pictures will help.

---

the garage is currently 21' 5" wide and 19' 5" deep internal dimensions measured from the studs. And actually, adding on top of it is one of our preferred options. The dream would be to widen it into the backyard to accommodate the stairs, and make it attached so that the stairs land in the newly enlarged mud room and the top connects to the upstairs space of the main house. This new above garage space would become the new home to all of my tools and shop equipment/supplies and give space in the garage for our two large cars (Silverado and explorer). Right now there isn't enough width to have anything inside the garage and still open car doors, which is one of my wife's greatest frustrations with our current house. Having this space would allow me to remove everything in the garage currently preventing this.

Quote:

---

That's it for now. This will be a challenge, because I like to visit the site and spend a couple of hours taking it all in.

---

I'll continue to post my updates in batches like this as I have them. And once I get the full as built posted ill have a list of notes with it on what our dreams and priorities for this renovation would be. But the simple version is this in order:

• 1. Extra space upstairs for kids living. Out goal would be to have at least 5 bedrooms so each kids gets one and have a dedicated guest room since all of our family is out of town.
• 2. Open up/renovate kitchen/living area. This is where my wife spends most of her time and as far as upgrades go is her number one priority
• 3. Some solution that allows wife to open her car doors at least to the first catch point while in the garage so she can load/unload kids without dinging doors. In our heads this is an upward expansion but if there are other ways, we are open to ideas.
• 4. Larger mudroom with half bath incorporated.
• 5. A dedicated/semi dedicated office as I currently am working from home and will likely have greater opportunity to do so in the future even once our office goes back.
• 6. Rework master bath/closet layout to better use the space and incorporate any added space from the staircase eating the nursery.

On this list 1-3 are basically our "deal breakers" of if we can't do at least this, we likely wont end up doing the project. As for the site visit if you are in the Houston area would love to have you out to look at the site if you are interested.

Current most updated as built (just realized, the "property line" on the west side (side with driveway) is in the wrong spot. the building setback is what is depicted there. ill correct that in my next set):





now for the photos. I forgot to get some from the font. I'll take those in the morning and add them
Entryway:


playroom:



office:



Kitchen/breakfast:






laundry:



living:




Hall from living:

Bathroom:


Bedroom 4:



Bedroom 3:


Hall (from turn towards master):

Nursery:


Master Bed:



Master Bath:



Backyard (panning from garage to master extension):






Covered Patio:



West side exterior:



SW Corner Exterior:
Front Exterior:
SE Corner Exterior:

This is excellent. I will work up a scheme (bubble diagram) and we can go from there. Gonna be fun! Your timeframe is realistic as well.

Code & Development Hurdles:

1. As a result of the recent Hurricane, Houston has adopted new development standards to mitigate flooding.
2. Here is a link to download the City of Houston "prerequisites" for residential permit application. Nothing out of the ordinary, however, they are serious about flooding. You will need to research where your property is located in the flood zones. Also, if you are in the 100 yr or 500 yr zone - you will need a Certificate of Elevation signed by a Licensed Surveyor.
3. Site Calculations will be required. That means you will need that survey and whoever stamps your plans will have to identify.
4. Didn't see any tree ordinances yet. Just that all trees are to be called out on the site plan.
5. Didn't see any "vertical zoning" regulations yet.
6. If you are in a historic district, Certificate of Appropriateness will be required.
7. There are Energy Code requirements.
8. All structural drawings will have to be signed/stamped by an Engineer.

In short, you are looking some $$ to spend on professionals to prepare your drawings to apply for the permit. You won't even make it out of the gate without satisfying each of those check boxes.

I don't stamp other people's designs, even if they throw a bunch of money at me (this has actually happened!) because of the liability I carry. So, while we can explore some "schematic" ideas, you will eventually have to find either an architect or engineer that is familiar with residential permitting to get you that permit. Its a lot work, but not impossible. What you are doing now can help by you and your wife understanding that this is not a Chip and Joanna kind of thing. By the way, they are my favorite show on HGTV!! Even they have a network of professionals.

That is the downside - lots of planning. The upside is that you will get a very custom home and depending on where you live, can really increase the value of your investment. If you do have a real estate connection, the question to ask them is simply, "What is an appropriate total investment for this area?" You want to make sure where you are now and where you will be after construction is not more than that - from what I have heard.