Paul,
The residential profile will be posted shortly. We received it a little bit late.

I don’t have a basement plan drawn up but will see what I can do.

In terms of your questions about context, parking, etc. – perhaps Leo, our client for the week, can add some commentary and then you can ask any specific questions you might have.

Leo is supposed to be monitoring the site over the day but it is still a bit early on the west coast.

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Leo,
Thanks for the information. I had thought that maybe the garage was underneath given the amount of risers leading to the main floor. A few years back I was in Victoria and saw this form of housing (aatched) which I thought was a nice way to deal with the parking. Any information with respect to adjacent homes? Are they inline front/rear wall wise? Any overlooking concerns? I don’t want to dwell too much on this discussion/information just trying to get a sense of the overall surroundings.

Leo, is an addition at the back possible? And why do you want to remove the fireplace in the living room?

Hi

John is there any formats for a Mac user, so I can play too?

I am also curious to know why not new build. Considering the cost of such a extensive renovation, I expect that often the surprise and limitations of old and benefits of new make it worthwhile.

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OK, here is a first attempt to get the ball rolling. Basically, the main weakness in the house is the kitchen. To fix this, I removed the existing bathroom and added a family room. The new kitchen occupies the old space but hopefully in the better way. There is a powder room and a study but no closets or mud room on the main floor. If you park in the basement perhaps the mud room/closet/storage is located there. Anyway food for thought…

With respect to the fireplace, we are not dedicated to removing it. We simply would not be averse to having it removed if it opens and improves the spaces.

With respect to a new build, our contractors have told us that the frame and foundation is in good shape, so that a reno should save us a significant amount of money.

with respect to expansion, my suspicion is that zoning will not allow it. Also, given the size of the footprint, we should be able to squeeze our requirements into it.

I have little to add but I do live in Victoria in an area of old homes such as this.

Most people in Victoria do not park in those basement garages. Maybe because they are too small and too low or maybe because of the air quality and fire concerns of sharing space with a motor vehicle. At least the garage satisfies the municipal requirement for off-street parking so no further land has to be used for this. Generally basements in these older houses are not nice places. They are usually low – about 6′ and often have a musty smell from years of water seepage or flooding.

I see very few two storey homes torn down here. The bigger houses seem to be of high quality and have fetures that make them feasible to renovate(and some people like character). Bungalows are different. They are often of poorer quality and are routinely replaced with new construction. I am about to do just that in south Oak Bay.

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Hi Leo

Here is another option for you to consider. I flipped the living room and study around, so that the living room is now at the back and the study is now at the front, and left the dining room and kitchen in their original locations. I opened up the wall between the kitchen the the dining room, on the assumption that the existing chimney chase will be removed when the furnace is replaced with a high-efficiency direct vent furnace. I added front hall closets on either side of the study door and a powder room off the hallway between the living room and study. The remaining space on the west side of the powder room has been split in half and filled with millwork facing into each room. I converted the front sun room back into an open veranda, as I did not see a need for more enclosed space and did not like having doors right at the top of the steps. I also eliminated the walls at the front of the interior stairs facing the front entry and on the side of the basement stairs, to make the front entry, stairs and hallway feel more open and gain more access to natural light. I installed a built-in desk facing the window between the kitchen and living room as an easy-to-supervise place for your children to do crafts and homework, or for you to pay the house bills while keeping an eye on the children. I installed a window seat in the bumped-out window in the dining room, as I thought that on a chilly morning it would be a wonderful place to catch the east sun while sipping a cup of coffee.

Leo,

We bought at a previous peak in the market in 1994. We have an architect who is doing our design as a side job with the consent of his employer. You should have no trouble finding someone as the whole building industry is in a slow patch these days.

I recommend ditching the fireplace too. Waste of space and it seems very ungreen to have combustion as entertainment.

Murray,
I agree with Leo – a nice plan that is not what I was expecting. Nicely done.

Brad,
You did a good job of working the original flue into the scheme. I didn’t think that would be possible.

Hi Brad, that’s a nice revision. It’s an interesting idea to take the floor space from the addition and add it to the kitchen. I have no idea about the zoning implications, so i don’t know if I can get away with it, but it looks great. And I agree with John, that’s a nicely done job with the flue.

The preference for our family would be to have a larger entry closet. We have three kids whose stuff seems to take up a lot more room than the grownups’ stuff.

While we are on the subject of the internal stairs, is there a desire to minimize alteration? (nice original millwork worth saving type of affair)

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Leo, another option – a modern kitchen that can be opened completely to the outdoor space.

Additional closet space is available at the top of the downstairs. The original dining room is maintained but clearly the reno is extensive and hinges on planning approval to trade the existing back room for the modern extension.

I am sure John will come up with something that works with the existing flue without adding on but I am finding that difficult – need to sleep on it. If the flue can be moved then no problem…

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Well, I happen to like old fireplaces,so I didn’t remove it on my first attempt. I also thought it’d be nice to retain the box window in the present dining area, so it’s been converted into an herb window in this plan.

This is a quick and dirty rendition (using my scanner, so not terribly clear). I hope to do another version without the f/p if I can swing it later.

I noted that you put Living as first priority and Dining as second so the kitchen is not taking up that valuable southern space. I’m not crazy about kitchens next to entries but maybe with the right cabinetry…?

Brad

That kitchen is stunning. I really like how you’ve isolated the stairwell to the basement, which is never a house’s best feature. That south wall renovation looks expensive…but who knows? Still, it looks great as well as providing a nice spot for the flue.

Terri

I agree with you opinion on entries into kitchens. I’m sure in your next iteration, you’ll find a solution, as you usually do. You have chosen a configuration that my sister recommended to us, and I think it has a lot of potential. Don’t put too much stock in me ranking living ahead of dining, they’re pretty close. Remember that I filled out the form and not my wife!

Getting back to the fireplace, I have to agree with Daniel (though my wife would disagree). I don’t think a fireplace is a necessary thing in a house. We have one and never turn it on for fear that our 1 year old will burn her hands on it. Also, the one in this house is not a particularly nice one.

Hi Leo,
I’m sorry to hear that the original fireplace isn’t particularly nice; however, you can reface it and also convert it to natural gas (the chimney is a good location for the venting). In fact, today’s Times Colonist has an article on this very subject. Timely, isn’t it?

I may not be able to attempt another iteration at this point, but I hope that whatever layout you and your wife decide upon will eventually be posted here. It’d be interesting for those of us who tried the exercise.

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Before I get into my suggestions for Leo and family I just wanted to pass along (as my daughter would say) “two thumbs waaaay up” for this version of design project. I think having an actual “client” if you will, as once again elevated the discussion and experience on the site. I think the numbers, dialogue and great proposals speak for themselves and maybe just maybe one day the “comments posted” will break the half century mark. Great evolution John!

Leo and family,
This plan works to recognize the realities of family living these days. Our household makeup is essentially the same as yours except for ages. One of the many important features for a “full size” family home is storage. It is not sexy but there you have it. Once you have included all the storage you want, put MORE in. You will not regret it. Anyways, room by room notable features:
Front hall- as a nod to the existing/vintage home the fireplace has been adjusted to have the opening face the front hall. This is not an insurmountable exercise, however if unfeasible convert it to, you guessed it storage.
Back hall- immediate storage at back hall entry door for drop off, full length wall shelving for storage in hall, wic where the contents are only visible once you are at that end of the hall such that a dual glazed pocket door can be placed into the laundry, to permit light from the front window into the back hall. If there is/are to be any four legged family members then I would rearrange the back hall/utility area to address the possible increase in “dirty” traffic.
Stairs- open and finish to the bottom (a temp gate at the top would safeguard young ones) low book case incorporated at top
Kitchen-counter/cabinets are 6” deeper behind cooktop, eating bar continues into dining bump out, dining space easily expandable
Study- like Terri I too like the side bay window/seat and so kept it for the study

The details of the exterior elements are all very basic given so many unknowns. Responding to your inquiry with respect to the foundation under the front porch/sunroom. I am a big fan of usable porches for various reasons and so my suggestion would be to have this space revert back to an open air porch rather than a sunroom or filled in and added to the main floor square footage. It is a time honored method of transitioning from the public realm to the private realm.

Paul

Another plan that for me was very much outside the box. I think for us, laundry is better on the upper floor, although I can certainly see advantages to having it near the side entrance. I agree with you wholeheartedly with respect to storage space. The only danger with having a lot of storage space is the fact that junk expands to fill a volume.

Do you expand the bump out in the back? I had thought about using the bump out to house a dining table, but felt that that would limit the area where you placed the kitchen too much. It would mean that the kitchen would have a width of I believe less than 9 feet. Maybe this is adequate; I’m not sure about critical dimensions.

Overall though, I really like your plan. It’s getting late though, and there are so many plans here with potential, I can’t really analyze all of them to make suggestions on our personal preferences.