Smarter Designs
 FROM THE DESIGNER’S PERSPECTIVE
Soaring Vaulted Ceiling
In smaller homes, vaulted ceilings can have quite a dramatic effect. Such is the case with this design, where from the entry we included an unexpected sense of volume in the great room. We carried this sensation of space throughout the entire main level, with 9-foot-high ceilings and an open arrangement between the primary living spaces – the great room, dining room and kitchen. The kitchen has a very practical layout and includes the convenience of a large pantry and access to a covered rear porch. In as much as we wanted the living spaces to be open, we also wanted the sleeping rooms to enjoy a more secluded environment. We accomplished this by creating a segregated alcove, complete with two linen closets, from which each of the bedrooms can be accessed. Peace and quiet is ensured in the master bedroom, where we created a noise barrier from bedroom #2 via the master bath and closets.
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Backyard Project Plans
We offer a wide selection of today's best-selling do-it-yourself project plans. All plans come with complete materials list and step-by-step instructions designed for the do-it-yourself customer.
SEE ALL OF OUR PROJECT PLANS
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Design Styles
CAPE COD
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Cape Cod style home plans were among the first home designs built by settlers in America and were simple, one- or 11/2-story house plans with steep rooflines, low eaves, a large central chimney, and a central front door with transoms. This type of house plan, built all over the New England area, later became known as the Cape Cod style. This home design is still popular today for its affordability and efficiency. As you’ll discover in this collection of floor plans, the Cape Cod house style has influenced other architectural design styles, flavoring them with New England accents. |
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COLONIAL
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What is thought of as the Colonial home style actually encompasses a wide range of styles that draw influences from Dutch, English, and French architecture. This collection of Colonial home plans includes a variety of such classic Colonial style houses as the Garrison, Saltbox, Georgian, Dutch and Spanish. Simple, classic detailing characterizes these home plans. Symmetrical exterior styling, multipane windows, and central front doors are often paired with home design features such as dentil molding, fanlights, Palladian windows, shutters, and pilasters. Colonial home designs are still very popular today. |
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EUROPEAN
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A catch-all designation, so-called “European” home plans play host to a variety of Old World influences. Typical European home plans and French house plans may bring together such eclectic elements as Georgian-style quoins, Palladian windows, Normandy-style turrets, and Provincial-style dormers. Brick, stone, or stucco materials often clad the exteriors to give the house styles a touch of sophistication. Flavored with stylistically French and European elements, this collection offers floor plans from modest cottage style houses to elegant luxury European house plans for the refined. |
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CHOOSING A NEIGHBORHOOD
By Cynthia Doggett
 You know you want to build. You have your dream house in mind. But where?
Haven’t you heard? Location, is everything. In fact, location has the greatest effect on everything to do with your investment—in terms of property value and your family’s well-being. Choosing a neighborhood sounds easy enough, but there are considerations that should be investigated and guidelines that will help you make a sound decision.
Despite distinct differences in objectives, most people require some basic qualities that make a neighborhood desirable including: low crime rate, nearby shopping areas, good public facilities like community centers or parks, well maintained homes and convenient commuter options.
A way to begin your research about a community is to start with statistics. Log on to the Internet and you can check crime statistics and demographic and lifestyle data. Good school systems are an indicator of a healthy community and can effect your property’s resale value. A real estate agent should be able to provide you with detailed reports on the local schools.
 Web resources will also help. Check out web sites for state and local government in your prospective neighborhood for information about schools, taxes and public facilities. Statistics will give you a base of information about a community and often indicate trends. But remember that statistics alone can be misleading and don’t often tell the whole story.
Nobody knows a neighborhood like the people who live and work there. Your best bet is to visit the local businesses and schools. Talk to neighbors. Visit the community at different times of day and night, both weekdays and weekends. Attend a town meeting and read the local paper as it may give you a sense of its citizens and their issues. Trust your feelings and responses to a community.
Protect your investment by researching the possibility of future development in the area that may decrease your property value. Visit municipal offices to investigate how the surrounding land is zoned. Check for any approvals of large commercial projects or road construction. If the property is close to an airport, look for expansion plans. Research both the existence and future of cell towers or emergency broadcast systems (sirens).
Before investing in a property, it is important to research its potential resale value. Finding a neighborhood that is on the rise and likely to be in high demand in coming years, takes some digging and a look into the future. A yes answer to some or most of the following questions is a positive indicator that an investment in this community will maximize your homes potential resale value.
• Are developers planning the kinds of projects that will enhance a neighborhood?
• Do most children in the neighborhood attend the public schools?
• Are there plans to improve or expand local schools?
• Is there a revitalized or growing business district?
• Are there new public facilities, such as a new mass-transit stop?
• Are there many sales pending or sold signs in the neighborhood?
• Are there neighborhood committees, activities or celebrations?
• Does the neighborhood identify with a park or recreational facility?
Fear of the unknown is the biggest obstacle in choosing a neighborhood for your new home. In your pursuit, don’t forget to check the statistics, ask questions, do your research, and make first-hand observations. With knowledge, you can make a decision that will meet your family’s lifestyle needs while making a sound investment for the future.
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Healthy Home Ideas
WOOD STOVES
 Wood is good. There’s nothing like the smell, feel, and warmth of real burning wood. And tending a wood fire is an appealing challenge to many; it can even be an art.
Although burning wood can contribute to air pollution, there are good reasons to utilize wood as a fuel source. Wood itself is a renewable energy source. And unlike the carbon dioxide released in fossil-fuel burning, carbon dioxide released in burning wood does not contribute to global warming. Living trees take in the carbon dioxide that is released from burning wood, creating a recycling effect.
For areas prone to power outages, a wood stove may be a reliable standby for keeping homes heated in the winter months. If the power goes out, the flame won’t. In addition, by buying wood from local sellers, you are supporting your community rather than the giants of the utility industry.
 Choosing Your Wood Stove
To choose the stove that’s right for your home, think about how much heat you want to produce and where you plan on installing the stove. Also think about the kind of stove you want. A wood stove is going to be a part of your home for a long time—do the research, find exactly what you want, and don’t be afraid to buy the best one you can afford. As far as safety and satisfaction are concerned, not skimping on cost will pay off in the long run. And don’t forget to look for the EPA certification sticker on the
stove that tells you the appliance’s BTU rating, or heat output.
The large soapstone panels on this stove give it great ability to store heat. And because the firebox is totally lined with soapstone walls and a refractory bottom, this stove will hold coals much longer than other stoves. And the firebox is deep enough so that ash needs to be removed only at 7-10 day intervals.
Wood stoves are available with and without a catalytic combustor. Similar to a car’s catalytic converter, the catalytic combustor helps the stove burn not only wood but also the gasses and other emissions that come from burning the wood, which makes it that much cleaner and more efficient. Noncatalytic stoves utilize a heavily insulated firebox, which helps to hold in heat and leads to more complete combustion. However, the key to the efficiency of the noncatalytic wood stove is a secondary combustion chamber that allows for even more gas and particle burning.
 You’ll need to consider the size of the stove to ensure that it will fit where you want it to go. Also note the diameter of the flue, firebox volume, and the maximum length of wood that the box will hold. And note whether the appliance features top or rear venting as well as front or side loading, which has a bearing on where it can be installed.
Just because you don’t have much space for a wood-burning stove doesn’t mean you can’t have one. Stoves like these handsome cast-iron 1400 Series models are designed with limited space in mind. A small depth allows them to be installed in places where a protruding stove could cause problems and specially designed heat shields allow minimal clearances.
Options vary from model to maker. One option is an air wash system that allows air to constantly flow across the inside of the glass door to keep it clean. Other manufacturers offer a blower to distribute the heat. And others offer an outside air kit that draws in air from the outdoors into the combustion chamber (which means that if your house is very tightly constructed, you’re not burning up all the breathable air). Look for a brick-lined firebox that will help wood burn better and guard against additional fire hazards such as escaping embers.
The Palladian window of this stove is set gracefully into a gently cast pattern of diamonds, with soapstone panels below. The stove will comfortably heat several rooms, keeping the rooms warm for eight hours or more on a single load of wood. A large internal catalytic combustor increases efficiency and heat output, and reduces pollution.
 Stove styles and materials have come a long way since the black pot-belied stoves of the past. Steel, cast iron, and soapstone stoves are common. Soapstone stoves are known for their ability to retain heat and maintain high burning. They are said to be best for overnight burning. Steel and cast iron are said to be best for cooking.
Created with traditional styling and ceramic coating, this cast-iron stove comes in a variety of colors, can be loaded from the front or side, burns for up to eight hours, and holds logs as long as 22 inches.
Ultimately, the material is secondary to style in most people’s minds. Wood stoves are often beautiful—the problem is that there are many beautiful designs to choose from. You can go with the traditional black, porcelain enamel-coated stove, or you can choose from a host of other colors. Some offer very basic designs, while others are more intricate, adorned with stone, tile, or marble accents. There is also a variety of leg and door design options, although most doors are made of ceramic glass.
While this classic stove has traditional good looks with its blend of Danish, European, and American style, it is far from traditional. Its vintage style belies its modern, non-catalytic clean-burning efficiency. The firebox has the capacity to hold enough wood to burn through the night. Its rear exit height and overall depth make it ideal for installing in a fireplace or in a place where there is not enough room for it to jet out too much.
Photography: Courtesy of Hearthlink International, Woodstock Soapstone Co., Inc. and Waterford.
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Smarter Building Materials
RADIANT FLOOR HEATING - DRY SYSTEM HYDRONIC
Radiant heat installed beneath a finished floor that isn’t embedded in concrete.
 Dry system radiant flooring is radiant heat installed beneath a finished floor without material poured over the tubing. Several manufacturers offer dry radiant systems that position radiant floor tubing above floor, between two layers of plywood, or below floor under the subfloor. Hydronic radiant floor systems pump heated water through tubing positioned in loops beneath the finished floor. The heated water flowing through the tubes heats the surrounding air and flooring material.
Radiant floor systems allow even heating throughout the entire floor. The heat radiates from the floor and warms objects near the floor as opposed to forced hot air that tends to rise to the ceiling. Radiant floors eliminate dust, draft, and noise problems associated with forced air systems. They can be more aesthetically pleasing than other forms of heating because there are no heat registers or radiators to obstruct interior designs. Manufacturers claim radiant floor heating saves 20 to 40 percent on monthly heating bills.
Courtesy of PATH
www.pathnet.org/homeowners
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Smarter Homebuilding Technologies
BAMBOO FLOORING
The look of wood flooring from a fast growing, renewable plant source.
 A flooring material which resembles wood but grows like grass? Bamboo flooring is an attractive alternative to wood or laminate flooring. Botanically classified as a grass, bamboo matures into a merchantable size in three to five years compared with 50 to 100 years for most hardwood species. The appearance of bamboo is very similar to wood flooring. It comes in vertical and flat-grain patterns and generally is offered in a light, honey or natural color and a darker, amber "carbonized" color.
Bamboo flooring can be nailed or floated and its strength and dimensional stability compare very well with traditional wood flooring. Some bamboo flooring products are highly dent resistant. Other bamboo flooring products are softer, so be sure to check with the manufacturer for product warranty information. The cost for prefinished bamboo flooring typically ranges from $4 to $8 per square foot plus installation. Common thicknesses for bamboo flooring products are ½, 5/8, and ¾ inches. Widths range from 3 to 4 inches and lengths range from 2 to 6 feet.
Besides the environmental benefits of this sustainable, fast-growing resource, bamboo makes an attractive, stable, dent-resistant alternative to wood flooring.
Courtesy of PATH
www.pathnet.org/homeowners |
