Plan B.5 in 3-D

Red is the only color metal roof that Sketchup has...I'd prefer green. Flat roofs are reflective white.

Big blank wall above garage (back of Storage, W.I.C.) would be a nice place for a mural. Seriously, this wall and the protruding kitchen wall should be related. The "Storage" room might become an office alcove--it's 8' x 7' and it could have a window on the front and overlook the Trees Room.

Note corner window at kitchen (different from the plan).

The master bedroom deck could move east and the deck would serve as rain shelter for the BR5 door. But then it would be visible from Trees Room and would shade the bathroom window. Another alternative is to move it around to the west wall.

Plan B.5

The latest plan, based on Peggy's plan, with more Master Suite detail, trades the gracious wastefulness of the most recent A plan (the one with the kitchen "prow" pushing north) in favor of being able to claim 5 bedrooms and 4 baths.

Plan B.5, First Floor

Plan B.5, Second Floor

There are fewer things wrong with this plan compared to previous ones. First, the workbench pop-out has expanded to a 6 x 10 room with backyard access. Like a crew member with a red shirt on Star Trek, this could become Phase II in a heartbeat. 

I'm worried that the kitchen seems like a blind alley. Also, we've put the TV in the brightest part of the plan (but we could change what I've labeled "Family" to "Media." The Music Room (labeled BR5) still doesn't have a stealth kitchen. The closet doesn't need to be where it is.

On the second floor, the Storage room is wasteful and the W.I.C. looks huge. The linen closet (with a raised floor to clear the stairs below) could move back (or maybe turn the kitchen unit and sacrifice lower cabinets.

I don't like the door at the top of the stairs, but maybe if it was a one-lite frosted glass. I've shown a little sculpture shelf next to it for more breathing room. Note the window from the MBR into the Trees Room. I don't know if I want the MBa to have a very high ceiling for clerestories over the WIC roof.

Don't let the drawing fool you--I have very little idea what the flat roofs over the entry and kitchen are supposed to be doing. The existing hip roof is obvious, though. It becomes standing seam metal (and we lose those ridiculous gable vents). I see now, by the way, that I should have extended the clerestory dormer over BR3 (currently the drafting room) to make up for the missing side window.

"The Birds" of Trees House

A noisy flock of some kind of bird was audible inside the house this morning around 11:40a, and I have seen American Robins and California Quail on the front lawn occasionally in January. (I didn't notice any in November or December.) The sky was crowded with them circling, zigging and zagging. They were mostly concentrated over Vemana Creek, but sometimes a dozen or more would land on a single tree, and they flew over me in the backyard once.

According to the City of Seattle, only certain birds are associated with the upland forest part of Carkeek Park:

• California quail
• Sharp-shinned hawk
• Cooper's hawk
• Red-tailed hawk
• Bald eagle [no kidding!]

I Build It?

I met with Ken Peterson of U-Build-It for an hour this afternoon. For a fixed price of 10-15% of the cost of labor and materials, U-Build-It provides budgeting, site and plan review, clarification of choices, costing (bidding), recommends subcontractors and suppliers, a construction calendar, a detailed notebook, 25 site visits and a 24-hour hotline. The fixed price is based on the square footage--in our case, Ken specifically said that the square feet in the Master Bedroom wouldn't count if we were only changing out door and window trim. He used the word "negotiated" when he discussed this fee. A 500-1000 SF moderately complicated remodel would be $19,115 according to his laminated chart. If it's more than 1000 SF, the fee would jump to $26,038.

Ken explained that most general contractors aim to make 33% on each job. Labor and materials are each 33%. They may quote 10% profit and 15% overhead, but they have side deals with their suppliers and they count on change orders to turn that 25% into 33%. Sometimes, they make more than that, other times its closer to 25%, but it can't go as low as 10% for them to stay in business.

U-Build-It handles the budget based on constantly-updating numbers from their other jobs in the area. Their price for a shower surround, or a square foot of drywall, is going to be more accurate than other estimates. Because UBI gets a fixed price, they are not incentivized to push higher-cost materials or to pad the budget.

UBI bidders, on the other hand, are incentivized to offer good value, so that they continue to be reommended by UBI. UBI gathers bids, using checklist forms that they call "specifications" to ensure apples-to-apples bids, but I would be signing contracts and writing checks. This has the advantage of introducing me to an array of contractors and suppliers, perhaps for the next project. Also, UBI has below-retail suppliers for everything, including construction loans (Wells Fargo won't touch an owner-built project, he mentioned, they prefer Washington Federal and Timberland Bank). At the same time, Ken said "It's not a buyer's club." If I want Erik Futterman (Eazy Electric) on the bidder's list, he's there.

If I need $50,000 worth of materials (lumber, concrete, drywall, windows, flooring, roofing) and $50,000 worth of labor to install it, Ken suggested that I would pay a general contractor near $150,000 for the project. If I give Ken $20,000 and do the admin work myself (which I would likely do in either case), I save $30,000. To put it another way, I get a 20% discount from the contractor.

They start by preparing a line-item budget, and we can do a few revisions without extra costs. This might be a good solution for my process. If I pay them $1495 for the budget and plan review and then go ahead, they'll apply $1000 toward their fee. Or, if I pay upfront, the budget and plan review are included.

I met Ken's wife, Ruthie, and we chatted--their son, Jeff, is a manager at Costco. Greg Bruley is their only other employee; he does the detailed estimates, plan evaluation, and site visits. Until he bought the UBI franchise in 1998, Ken was a general contractor with 38 employees. He gave me a sheet with 30 references on it.

7301 Woodlawn Ave NE
Seattle, WA 98115
(206) 405-4417
seattle.wa@ubuildit.com, ken@homestylingdesign.com
Blog: http://ubuilditseattle.com/

Zoning Envelope, again

Time to update the expansion possibilities, based on the survey. There is more detail here, but the simple answer is:

We have at least 9 feet on the north (street side), 6 feet on the west (garage), 4.5 feet on the east (rockery) and a minimum of 16 feet on the south side. Remember, the garage can't be closer to the street than the rest of the front of the house, To come out fully to the front setback, we would have to bring the whole house out as well.

One wild idea this sketch suggests is to leave the BR #3 (Music Room) where it is, but offset a larger garage 6 feet over and 8.25 feet up, effectively building a new garage. But the huge tree that chokes the width of the driveway would cause a bigger problem, so forget that.

Peggy's Plan B

Still working out the details, but we know the A, B, Cs. Plan A expands the footprint of the house only slightly. Plan B includes a second floor, and Plan C expands into the backyard.

Design for a house with two separable apartments by Peggy Dallas, Architect. Designated B.4

As explained previously, Peggy's idea is that semi-autonomous apartments should augment the Trees House. The owner can use the rooms in yellow as extra bedrooms for family or as rentals.

Here is my plan.....essentially it involves leaving most of the main house the same and concentrating the remodel at the entry and garage.....including putting the Mstr suite over the garage (set back from the front) and over some of the guest room and putting a deck for the master suite above the guest room. I visualize the Entry, Dining and Family room as being a two story volume.

Peggy's design extends the breezeway north and south, and includes the spiral stair to the generous wine cellar/pantry/windowless game room. I like the entry/mudroom and its connection to the garage and upstairs master. I also like the remodeled master bath and that Bedroom #2 now has a proper closet. Sun tunnels as shown in the hall would work, as would the revised stair into Bedroom #3 (called "Guest Room" here). The stairs to the Master are shown with illegal winders, but a soffit in the garage would solve the problem, too.

It's a fine design, but there are a few concerns:

• Bedroom #3 ("Guest Room") has no closet--perhaps a pop-out like the workshop? Not clear where a stealth kitchen would fit.
• Bedroom in the Apartment/MIL has no room for a dresser.
• En suite in the MIL bedroom--toilet blocks the shower, as it does now
• Laundry area is not generous
• With the door as shown in Bedroom 3 (current Master BR), a nightstand and bed blocks the closet, but moving the door eliminates access to the MIL.

This plan really packs a lot of house into a small footprint. It takes the 1,596 SF existing house up to 2,167 SF, not including the garage. We have to construct 192 SF to extend the garage, plus the 571 SF living space. About $80,000 @ $120/SF ($60/SF for the garage).

We would advertise a 5 bedroom, 4 bath, 2167 SF house with a 2-car garage and a wine cellar.

"Perhaps what you need isn't a home, Mr. Blandings, but a series of connected cabins..."

Sims, the architect from Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948), may have been on to something. A childless couple (our target demographic) wants a nice bedroom, a party-friendly kitchen and great room, and an office space for each of them. But beyond that, their needs might be met with one or two separable apartments.

These secondary units would be for

• Grown children who need to move home
• Grown children visiting with grandkids
• Aging parents
• Renters
• Airbnb renters

Flexibility is a wonderful thing. Wouldn't it be great to have a quiet place to put the grandchild down for a nap, without shutting the whole household down? Or to offer an efficiency apartment to drop-in visitors for a few days at a time?

Peggy's recent concept sketch (which I will post when she sends me a photo) imagines a Plan A variant with the apartment behind the garage, the master bedroom where it is, and an apartment in the existing living room and dining space, using the existing front door.