Wish list (a.k.a. "notes to Mike Towne") updated 6/10/24

 

624 Grandview.

These notes are a wishlist for our house to be built at 624 Grandview.  (updated after reviewing Mike Townes' initial plans, and further thought....)

Note the photo above doesn't show the addition of a 2' cantilevered bumpout on the east part of the first story.  It does show the cantilevered bumpout on the second story. 

Notes:

1. The lot is 51 wide at the road and 59 feet wide at the back, 129 feet deep. 

2. It's important that we can drive from Grandview to the backyard, to store trailers, haul firewood, etc.  So, we decided to put the garage in the back. And we've left the house narrow enough (34') to allow  a 12' wide driveway to hug the east property line and to position a side entry garage behind the house, positioned 12' from the back of the house (not counting the 6x6 laundry room).  The 12' "courtyard" between the house and garage will be our "private Idaho", a place for privacy for the hottub, chairs, BBQ, etc. 

3. The house will be a praire style 34' wide house, 32' deep, plus: on the main level: a small 6x6 bumpout for a laundry room at the back and a 12' x 2' bumpout at the front. The house will hug the west 5' setback line and hug the 15' front setback.  The 6' deep porch will NOT encroach on that 15' foot front setback. 

***update: I originally said the porch would encroach on the front setback, but we've decided Mike's correct that keeping the house AND porch 15' back is a better idea). 

4. The house will have a hip roof and, if allowed by city code, 3 foot eaves.  (We model our ideas on the house at 737 Tohomish which is praire style and DOES have 3 foot eaves, which encroach on their 5' setback.  )

5. The house is 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a 2 car garage.  It is on two levels over a crawl space.  The main floor is 34 wide x 32 deep plus a 6x6 bumpout mudroom/laundry room at the back and a 12'x2' bumpout on the front.  The main floor contains an open LR,DR,kitchen, plus two bedrooms, a full bathroom and a utility room. The LR is on the front west, thus getting a full view of Mt. Hood.  

7. The Mt. Hood view is on the very west part of the lot, (a tree blocks the view in other parts of the lot), thus it's important to position windows on the far left side of the living room and on the bedroom above.

8. Mike had mentioned that engineering might be required if windows are too close to the corner, but we really do want windows near the SW corner, plus it matches the style we're looking for. 

9. The upper floor is 21.5 feet wide and 24 deep.  It houses the master bedroom at the front, with a full view of Mt. Hood on the far west, a loft area at the back, a bathroom, and a bumped out sitting room at the east front.  The main part of the master bedroom has windows on the South and West, hugging the corner, to get the 100% view of Mt. Hood which is only available on the far west side of the lot. 

10. The morning sunroom on the upper SE takes advantage of a 9'x 2' cantilevered bumpout.  It also gains floor space by sitting partially over the lowest two treads of the stairway. (Total Floor space=2' (bumpout) plus 3' (over stair landing) plus 20" (over two stair treads) equals 6'8".  In addition, there's a 20 inch x 36 inch "table" in the sunroom, built over 2 stair treads below. (I'll write a separate post describe the inspiration for this). This "table" gives a more spacious feel to the sunroom and uses that stairway "wasted" space efficiently.  Windows in the sunroom will hug the SE corner to get morning sun.