The dimensions shown are for the house only (indicating the smallest area needed to build). They do not include the garage, porches, or decks, unless they are an integral part of the design.
39.5 W x 48.167 D
Rooms
Above-ground bedrooms
4
Above-ground bathrooms
3
Master suite
Upper
Lower-level bedrooms
0
Lower-level bathrooms
0
Attributes
Stories
2
Parking
garage
Number of stalls
2
House height
Traditionally, the overall height of a house is determined by measuring from the top of the finished floor on the main level, to the highest peak of the roof.
30
Ceiling heights
Raising or lowering the height of the ceilings on one or more floors of a house is often a simple change that can be made by your builder. However, if you want to raise the ceiling of the main floor of a two-story home, there has to be room to add steps to the existing staircase.
Main level
8
Upper level
8
Vaulted ceilings
We consider a room to be vaulted if the ceiling - whether flat, angled, or curved - is above 10 feet at its highest point. If you prefer that one or more rooms not be vaulted in your new home, this is a very simple change that your builder can make for you.
KEY TO SYMBOLS:
LR = Living Room/Great Room
DR = Dining Room
FAM = Family Room
FOY = Foyer
STU = Study/Library/Den
KIT = Kitchen
SUN = Sunroom
MBR = Master Bedroom
MB = Master Bath
LOF = Loft
OFF = Office/Guest Room
REC = Recreation/Game Room
ALL = Entire Level
This home is featured in the highly acclaimed book, “The Not So Big House – A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live”. With its traditional materials and styling, the Family Tradition house adapts itself well to many different neighborhoods.
The covered entryway leads to a foyer with a coat closet. Straight ahead leads to the living room and the family room beyond it, while to the left a hallway passes a bedroom, the laundry room, and a three–quarter bath before entering the kitchen and dining areas. Most of the living room sits under a 10’6″ ceiling, while the rest of this floor has 8′ ceilings. The family room is open on either side to the living room, but they are separated in the middle by the stairs. The family room has a wall of windows facing the view at the rear, and built–ins backed up to the stairwell hold a wood burning stove and wood storage, along with a TV.
The dining room is situated between the kitchen and the family room, and it features a light–filled bay with a built–in window seat. The kitchen has a large center island and lots of counter space, and a door leads from it to a screened porch for casual dining during warmer months. Stairs lead from the porch down to an open deck. The 2–car garage opens to the hallway that leads to the kitchen.
At the landing at the top of the stairs to the second floor, you may turn right to enter the master suite, or turn left down a hall that passes several stairs up to a landing at the door to a bedroom – where several more stairs lead up to a small loft area – before leading to a third bedroom. The two bedrooms at this end of the house share a full bath.
The master bedroom has a cathedral ceiling that peaks at 13’6″, and two doors lead out to a private deck and a small balcony, both of which face the view at the rear.
Modification Ideas
Lengthen the garage to create extra work/storage space. Add dormers to enlarge the master bedroom or closet. See the photo page to view how one of our customers enlarged the master closet and lenthened the garage.
Unlike many homes which face their “long side” toward the street, this home presents a compact facade, making it ideal for a narrow lot. The house was originally built on the shore of a lake, where the rear–oriented living spaces and master suite took advantage of the lake views.
SKU: DM-728 Or order by phone by calling 888-388-5735
Printers stopped using blue ink many years ago - it was very difficult to read, and the fumes were dangerous to inhale. So what we used to refer to as blueprints are now called bond copies (black ink printed on white bond paper).
If you are building in an area that requires very few copies to construct a house, all you might need is the 5-Set Package. It's also best for folks wanting either a quick bid process, or bids from more than one builder. In either case, you can always purchase more bond copies later on if you need them, or upgrade to a Mylar, PDF or CAD version (your original cost will be deducted from the price of the upgrade).Bond copies cannot be duplicated, but they come with a formal Copyright License that gives you the legal right to construct the house, and to modify the plans beforehand to suit your needs. If allowed in your area, modifications can be "marked up" (some people refer it as "red-lining") right on the plans.
Vellum paper is no longer being manufactured, so we've switched to a vastly superior product called Mylar. These semi-transparent sheets are actually a thin-film composite that was designed for plan modification, using a simple electric eraser. The ink that is printed on them sits on the surface (instead of sinking into a coated vellum sheet), so lines and dimensions can be erased and redrawn quite easily by any design professional.
If you - like the vast majority of our other customers - intend to modify the plans before construction, and you are building in an area where plans can't simply be "marked up" with a red pen, the Mylar copy is definitely what you should order (unless of course you prefer the PDF version). After the changes have been made to this "master" copy, you or your builder can then print as many copies as you need, whenever you need them, on regular bond paper. That way everyone - you, your builder, his or her subcontractors, local permit officials, and your lender - will have the final version of the plans to work with. Even though they cost a bit more initially, they will definitely save you time and money later on.Mylar copies come with a formal Copyright Release giving you the legal right to modify them in any way you wish, and to make as many copies of the plans as you need to successfully build one house. Mylar copies are shipped with a free bond copy of the plans, so that you have something to look over and mark up before making final decisions about the changes you want made to the "master" set.
The acronym PDF stands for Portable Document Format. These are electronic files that can be emailed from computer to computer. You can open them on your own computer as well as email them to others, and the Copyright Release you receive with them allows you to make as many copies as you need before and after modifications are made.
THE most popular way to purchase plans these days is in PDF format. It's no more expensive than the Mylar version, plus you save $30 in shipping fees because the plans are emailed to you. But the biggest reason why they're so popular is because they can be passed along to others via email. The builder can zip them to their sub-contractors, truss manufacturers, and (if needed) an engineer; you can open them on your own computer to view at your home or office; and you can zip them to your builder (or builders), lender, and anyone needing to approve the plans before construction. If you'd still like to make modifications on Mylar sheets, your Copyright Release allows you (or your builder) to do this locally, and you'll only need to print a handful of the most important sheets.
The acronym CAD stands for Computer-Aided Design. Design software from AutoCAD and numerous other companies - ArchiCAD, SoftPlan, VectorWorks, etc. - is used to draw plans in a format (DWG - short for drawing) that can be easily manipulated and modified on a computer. This can speed up the process of modification dramatically - for example, a change in one part of the plans creates an automatic change throughout the drawings -- potentially saving the person making the changes quite a bit of time, and thus saving you quite a bit of money!
Plans purchased in this electronic format are emailed, so you get them right away, and there's no shipping fee. Like the Mylar and PDF options, these plans come with a formal Copyright Release giving you the legal right to modify them in any way you wish, and to make as many copies of the plans as you need to successfully build one house.If the changes you wish to make to our plans are rather extensive, or structural in nature (including changing exterior wall systems), purchasing the plans in CAD format will almost certainly be your best option. Design professionals charge by the hour, and making changes to electronic files is much faster and easier than erasing and redrawing lines and dimensions on a Mylar copy. So purchasing an electronic version of the plans can save you both time and money.The files you receive will provide the drawings in at least two formats: .DWG files that will enable the person modifying your plans to do so using AutoCAD software (the standard for the entire construction and engineering communities); and .PDF files that will enable you to view the plans on your home or office computer. If the plans were originally drawn with a design software program other than AutoCAD (eg. SoftPlan, ArchiCAD, VectorWorks, etc.), this will be noted at the end of the Description of this house, and the email will include these files along with the .DWG and .PDF formats.
Bedrooms
We highly recommend that you click on two boxes – the number of bedrooms you know you need, and one less bedroom. For example, if you need 4 bedrooms, click on the boxes next to 4 and next to 3. Otherwise you will not see homes where existing rooms on the lower, main, or upper levels might work perfectly well as a bedroom instead of as an office, study, etc.
