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jlevetjr
Joined: 01 Jun 2007
Posts: 1
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orcabianca
Joined: 21 Jun 2007
Posts: 2
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 Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2007 8:17 am Post subject: |
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I'm not an architect, but I have a passion for looking at drawings. I believe the flow from room to room seems complicated. I am also a firm believer of putting a laundry room near the bedrooms, since most of the laundry will be put away in the bedrooms & bathrooms. The location of the laundry room requires the person to go across the house and thru the kitchen.
The living room/dining room area would work much better next to each other. The living room could become an extention of the dining room for those who have lots of guests around the holidays.
The bedroom closet is too far away from the bedroom. I think closets function better when they're in the bedroom. I don't like the idea of going thru a bathroom to get to a closet.
Overall, the house design is very pretty.
Thanks for allowing me to voice (write) my opinion.
Rita
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mx2
millennium club
Joined: 18 Jan 2006
Posts: 1966
Location: Miami, Florida
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| Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2007 7:08 pm Post subject: |
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I find quite a few problems with the delineation of spaces and flow of spaces...you should read "Architecture: Form, Space & Order" by Francis D.K. Ching. It's a "bible" of architectural space planning...all beginners students read this as part of their reference for learning to design spaces. But I see that you are having fun and that's the best part about drawing plans and elevations; you can expriemtn and dream on paper...instead of actually building the structure first. You may want to experiment with building little scaled models...you can make simple ones with cardboard and glue. As you improve, you can move on to foam-core boards or basswood. At any rate, enjoy the process and never stop learning.
| Quote: | | ...a laundry room near the bedrooms, |
I've always had a problem with this concept, although this is not the first person to voice this opinion. My take is that laundry rooms are hot and noisy and should be as far away from the bedrooms as possible. Not to mention, on a rare occasion, they leak and dryers are known to start fires even...so....but a few other architects I spoke with in this regard have suggested the different opinions as well. I think the jury is still out...
mx2.5
_________________
*Art of Architecture: The conscious use of skill and creative imagination in the production of an aesthetic building.
*Science of Architecture: The calculated use of technical skill and knowledge in the construction of a functional building. |
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orcabianca
Joined: 21 Jun 2007
Posts: 2
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| Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2007 8:35 am Post subject: |
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mx2 You're right in pointing out the dangers and annoyances of laundries near bedrooms. Sometimes we forget to think it all the way thru. I'm sure that a happy medium could be found somewhere closer to the bedrooms, but not next to them.
Thanks for bringing this to my attention.
rita
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birgco
Joined: 01 May 2007
Posts: 302
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| Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 10:19 am Post subject: just starting out |
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Interesting discussion on the placement of laundry room near or very near the bedrooms. Here are my thoughts on the subject......
For the past 20 years, I have placed the laundry room near the bedrooms because, as someone has pointed out, all clothes come out of the bedrooms, why not have the laundry near the source and of course, this is only important if you do your own laundry(if you have a troupe of maids and butlers, the point is moot). Unless you decide to locate the laundry in the basement, it's a great idea to install a plastic (PVC) pan, floor drain, curbing, cement and tile so that any floods are directed down the drain, (check you local building codes, some inspectors might have a problem with a trap hooked into the drain system with little or no source of water for the trap). Locate the dryer near a short, straight route to an outside wall. The source of most dryer fires are long, winding vents that aren't easy to clean/ maintain, and make sure the 4 inch vent pipe is hard metal. Add extra sound insulation to the walls of the laundry room to help cut down on machine noise. Install a large slop sink to handle large clean up, soaking projects. A bunch of shelving is also convenient for all the laundry stuff. I don't think any location is necessarily right or wrong, its whatever works for you and your personal lifestyle. Hope this helps. 
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mx2
millennium club
Joined: 18 Jan 2006
Posts: 1966
Location: Miami, Florida
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| Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 4:31 pm Post subject: |
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Very well said birgco and I don't disagree with your reason and method for dealing with the issues. I would only say that in a lot of cases, many "designers" don;t think of these details and simply would draw a laundry room in plan and leave it at that...maybe even let the mechanical engineer rubber stamp his details on his drawings and it goes into construction with no added insulation or thought about long twisted ducts that collect lint and ignite...or even worse, when I bought my house, the exhaust vent on the outside of the house had been painted...shut!
That said, this is not a probelm of location, this is a problem of bad detailing and specifications. But, myself, being a light sleeper, short of sound isolators, a few inches of batt is not going to cut it...especiually the way my wife overloads the washer and the constant "waahump, waaahump, waahump" is not my ideal dreamscape background noise...
I wake up if the dishwasher is turned on before we go to sleep...and it downstairs on the other side of the house! But, I do wish my laundry room were not on the ground floor but rather on the same floor as the bedrooms, but I would not recommend locating it next to a bedroom, if possible. The pan and curbs are great ideas, as done in bathrooms, but the drain (catually it's called a floor sink) is a tricky problem since the trap would indeed dry up eventually since leaks may be very rare occurences...and without a drain, the curbs are moot anyway because the door threshold shouldn't be more than 1/2" high. I'd gamble on the leak though and put the darn things in the garage even...
true story, one week after I bought my house, the washer flooded...turned out some idiot threws some trash in the space where the coupling should have been connected but instead the drain hose was just sitting in the coupling and at some point the hose slipped out and just started dumping the entire washer full of water into my gypsum wallboard partition...which happned to be under my stairs. Luckily the builders were on site and fixed it within 8 hours...like new. Now I keep thinking had it been upstairs...ouch!
mx2.5
_________________
*Art of Architecture: The conscious use of skill and creative imagination in the production of an aesthetic building.
*Science of Architecture: The calculated use of technical skill and knowledge in the construction of a functional building. |
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birgco
Joined: 01 May 2007
Posts: 302
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| Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 5:48 am Post subject: just starting out |
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| good points, mx. Three things I forgot (since I'm beating the subject to death), the hot and cold water supply hoses should be braided stainless steel, more money but worth the hose burst protection. A one handle, ball valve type shutoff right above the washer is convenient so every time the washer isn't in use, the water can be quickly/easily shut off. (this is probably code in most places) Also, if you opt for a floor drain, maybe the best idea to prevent the dry trap problem is to run a separate 1 1/2 or 2 inch PVC drain line to the pitched garage floor.
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phansford
Joined: 18 Apr 2004
Posts: 531
Location: SW Ohio
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| Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 6:33 am Post subject: |
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FWIW and IMHO...... its really a matter of opinion and convience that each homeowner will want...... Some folks prefer a "mud room" with the laundry right there. The kids come in covered in snow, dirt, whatever, and Mom has them strip right there before they track through the house. Others want the laundry next to the bedrooms. There isn't a correct answer..... that's the beauty of design....
Which is the same about orcabianca's comments concerning the kitchen., living and dining areas. His/her comments are more about preference and not what makes good design. Some folks what a formal dining area and want it separated from the more causal living areas..... while its not how I live, there is nothing wrong with it. The same goes with closet locatons. Some folks prefer to have the dressing function away from the sleeping area (particularly spouses who have different schedules).
So is the design you are looking at wrong or just not how you prefer to live. As a practicing architect with over 20 years experience, I have lead many residential horses to water, yet some have failed to drink. 
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mx2
millennium club
Joined: 18 Jan 2006
Posts: 1966
Location: Miami, Florida
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| Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 10:30 am Post subject: |
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birgco, I like the idea of draining straight to another zone but in this case then it would be best to create an interior drain to a wall scupper and let it drain into a landscaped area (or if code requires it) a french drain field.
phansford, it's definitely a part of designing to work for/with a client and both create new ideas and incorporate clients ideas. In fact most of the effort required for architects is trying to decipher exactly what it is the client really wants...many times they decribe specific things and are quite adamant about them but if you did it just the way they ordered it, they respond that it's not it at all...often it's trying to read the intent and delivering a well designed package that includes changes for the better. On occasion though, the client will insist on an inferior product or design, but as long as it doesn't compromise safety, it's best to accommodate the cleints desires. I think we all concur...the location of the washer/dryer has no right or wrong answer.
mx2.5
_________________
*Art of Architecture: The conscious use of skill and creative imagination in the production of an aesthetic building.
*Science of Architecture: The calculated use of technical skill and knowledge in the construction of a functional building. |
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phansford
Joined: 18 Apr 2004
Posts: 531
Location: SW Ohio
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| Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 12:26 pm Post subject: |
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| mx2 wrote: | | phansford, it's definitely a part of designing to work for/with a client and both create new ideas and incorporate clients ideas. In fact most of the effort required for architects is trying to decipher exactly what it is the client really wants...many times they decribe specific things and are quite adamant about them but if you did it just the way they ordered it, they respond that it's not it at all...often it's trying to read the intent and delivering a well designed package that includes changes for the better. On occasion though, the client will insist on an inferior product or design, but as long as it doesn't compromise safety, it's best to accommodate the cleints desires. I think we all concur...the location of the washer/dryer has no right or wrong answer. |
It certainly is a fine line we walk at times.
As far as inferior products and such, I just refuse to specify or detail products I have concerns. (I have not used EFIS for over 16 years and have turned down projects where clients want to use it) We are still liable for these things.
More than once a client and a contractor have changed a material or product from what we have specified only to have it fail after a short time. In those cases, we have no liability. I have also stood my ground or have been very clear that I disagree with an Owner's decision. I always document those changes and how they occured.
The problem is you will have people (clients/contractors) who have a strong opinion, even if you have clearly explained your concerns. Then when things go south for them, they want to blame the architect for not protecting them from themselves.  Document. Document. Document those decisions. 
We have clients who clearly understand why they are contracting our services. They look to us for advice and information as to make informed decisions. Then we have clients who only want us to do "permit" drawings and question why we do the things we do and will defer to the contractor on all decisions...... Biggest mistake they can make. As I tell our clients, we don't have a financial interest in using inferior products (we don't have a dog in that race) - the contractor does, so they should think seriously on whose advice they should consider. I also tell my cleints I like to sleep at night, so we design accordingly.
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mx2
millennium club
Joined: 18 Jan 2006
Posts: 1966
Location: Miami, Florida
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| Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 3:29 pm Post subject: |
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I somewhat agree...but certainly on principle. However, I would not (have not) have a problem designing using products such as EIFS. I don't prefer it and it does not endure much longer than many building products, however if detailed well, it not only looks good (never at ground level near entrances though) but can save the client money whihc can be allocated to other areas.
mx2.5
_________________
*Art of Architecture: The conscious use of skill and creative imagination in the production of an aesthetic building.
*Science of Architecture: The calculated use of technical skill and knowledge in the construction of a functional building. |
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phansford
Joined: 18 Apr 2004
Posts: 531
Location: SW Ohio
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| Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 5:55 pm Post subject: |
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That's the funny thing, I have yet to have EFIS come in under or near the price the Product reps quote ($7.00 / SF). I can do brick and wood siding cheaper, but then again, Ohio is a great masonry state. Go figure.
Now doing larger buildings where material weight would be a factor, I could see the value of designing with EFIS.
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mx2
millennium club
Joined: 18 Jan 2006
Posts: 1966
Location: Miami, Florida
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| Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 2:19 pm Post subject: |
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Sorry...been busy. Down here, siding and brick are uncommon and require slightly more expensive skilled labor and material. CBS is the norm; concrete-block-stucco. hence, why EIFS fits in nicely in some budgets. However they're the first element to fly off a building during a bad storm, ie, hurricanes. But I'd rather foam than wood or even brick fly off and hit the side of my house....but that's another matter. I suppose what I am arguing is that any material, cheap or expensive, if detailed well and crafted with care, can be part of beautiful architecture, EIFS included. But each material has its strengths and weaknesses...
mx2.5
_________________
*Art of Architecture: The conscious use of skill and creative imagination in the production of an aesthetic building.
*Science of Architecture: The calculated use of technical skill and knowledge in the construction of a functional building. |
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