Fixing a 2700 sq.ft. Single Family Home – Part 2

Posted on: March 4th, 2011 | 11 Comments

In the conclusion to this week’s “From Fast to Slow” segment, John and Matthew show how they would remodel the master bedroom and ensuite of this 2700 sq.ft. single family home.

If you enjoyed today’s Design Minute, you may also like “From Fast to Slow: Fixing an 800 sq.ft. Apartment” and “From Fast to Slow: Fixing a 2500 sq.ft. Single Family House”.

  • Brad W

    Hi John and Matthew,

    A couple of practical points –

    First, this is how the house should have been designed and built in the first place because this would be a very expensive change likely only viable if undertaken as part of a complete renovation.

    Second, since the master bedroom is now adjacent to the family bath it would be appropriate to undertake sound proofing measures to ensure quiet

    In the context of a remodel, I think something more modest could work. Reduce the size of the existing bath and expand the size of the closet and you can get the intent of your design in terms of scale and flow without breaking the budget.

    Anyway, while I occasionally miss the good old Slow Home days I continue to enjoy the site! Thanks for your continuing efforts…

  • Terri

    I would like to concur with all of Brad’s comments above–my thoughts exactly!

  • Matthew North

    Hi Brad W – nice to hear from you! We really appreciate your comment that you “miss the old days” of the Slow Home site and that you continue to enjoy the site. We have been working really hard behind the scenes to finish the next version of Slow Home and we are hoping to launch it all very soon!

    Your comments about today’s episode are well taken. Yes, it would be an expensive change to alter the master suite the way we have shown and if it was a newly built house, it would not make economic sense. The exercise was more of a critique on the floor plan as opposed to an actual renovation idea. I agree that a scaled down version of the remodel would be a good option – we are going to keep that in mind when we film our next segment.

    By the way……I’m also curious…..how is your renovation project coming along?

  • Matthew North

    And Terri……do you agree with Brad that you miss the”good old Slow Home days” or that you think the remodel is too extensive……… or both? :)

  • Anonymous

    I double on the sound needs with the family bath! I think I would place the bed on that wall.

    ************
    House hunting update. After spending over a month looking at google maps, real estate sites, bus and rail transit routes, and research on city neighborhoods- we went house hunting in Denver.

    We searched neighborhoods that did not feel like suburbia and were walkable. We liked a 1950 brick bungalow with spanish mixed in, there was a late 1890 italianate that was so close to downtown, my husband had to pull me away from a mid century modern brick ranch with this fantastic 6 by like 12 solid glass window that was to the corner of the living room. But in the end – we are negotiating on 1920′s bungalow with full basement.

    Later!
    Mid America Mom

  • Brad W

    Matthew,

    Until recently, I would say my renovation project was like the universe – it kept expanding. Or you could say it was like an entire season of Holmes on Homes episodes. In other words, a typical renovation. Solving plumbing and electrical issues uncovered structural and insulation deficiencies so I decided to completely gut the basement, second and third floors. This sounds extreme but was not entirely unexpected and it really has made putting things right much easier. In another week, drywall should be complete and we can start on the finishes. BTW, for me the cost to dump a 16′ bin filled with typical construction waste averaged $400. I needed 4 bins. Might need a fifth – demolishing a house is like moving – at the end you always find extra stuff you forgot to pack…

    One thing I did was spray foam the attic. My house is solid brick with the rafters embedded into the masonry. This makes conventional roof venting via the soffits difficult so I opted for spray foam and an unvented roof. I could have opted for a new roof deck over the existing with a gap to allow for venting but decided it was not worth the complexity. For those interested, buildingscience.com has many articles on unvented roof assemblies and other stuff. Here is a relevant article – http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/digests/bsd-149-unvented-roof-assemblies-for-all-climates.

  • Matthew North

    Brad W – thanks for the update on your project! So you have now done a complete gut – sounds like you are somewhat relieved! Now you can be confident that you have addressed all the past building issues. I understand the garbage disposal fees – seems to me that it costs about the same in Calgary as what you are paying. It is crazy how quickly the bins fill up. I am also really impressed that you are at the drywall stage – you are really keeping things moving along. I am hoping you will be able to post some photos of the progress as I am sure everyone would like to see. The spray foam insulation detail for the roof also makes sense.

  • Terri

    Matthew,
    Yes, I dearly miss the old slow home projects. (sniff*)

    Mid America Mom
    Such interesting options in Denver. Sounds exciting–1920s was a particularly nice era, IMO. Of course it all depends on orientation and construction.

    BradW,
    We should have had you filming your progress for a segment on Slow Home. Sounds like good TV to me. I second Matthew’s request for photos.

  • Elizabeth

    Miss old Slow Home projects too.

  • Ally

    I just discovered your wonderful site via a McClatchy News story in my local newspaper (here in Ashland, Oregon). Have been having a lot of fun watching the current videos you have available.
    However, I’ve seen many comments from those who miss the “old” videos that I’m now very curious about them. Any chance of those being made available again someday, perhaps a few at a time?

  • Meg

    I miss the good old days too. I come back to see what’s going on every now and again. The slow home course looks exciting!