What Size Lot Do I Need To Build My Dream Home?

If you are building a home, it is important to know the building constraints on your property.  This will tell you how big or small your house can be.  This can be looked at two different ways.  The first is if you have a house plan picked out and are now looking at property.  The second is if you have purchased the land and are now looking at house plans.

In order to figure out what lot size you need, all you need to know is the size of the house (length and width, including all roof overhangs, exterior stairs and porches) and the site setbacks for the particular lot you are looking at.  The site setback information can be obtained from your city or county's planning department and is dependent on the zoning of the lot.

We're going to discuss this using our 2470 sf Island Cottage with Piling Foundation as an example. The size of the 2470 sf Island Cottage with Piling Foundation (including all exterior stairs and porches) is 77'-2" L x 55'-8" W.  (The sizes of our Southern Cottages homes can be seen on the ground floor plan of each Southern Cottages house on our website.)

Ground Floor Plan of the 2470 sf Island Cottage with Piling Foundation

For example, if your lot has a 25' front yard setback, a 25' rear yard setback and 10' side yard setbacks you would need a lot that is 127'-2" L x 75'-8" W in order to build the 2470 sf Island Cottage with Piling Foundation.

Sometimes uncovered stairs and some roof overhangs are allowed to encroach into the setbacks, but that is something you will need to verify with your local planning department.  That could allow your lot to be a little smaller.

Let us help you create a building to serve your needs at www.mcleodarchitect.com.
View our architect designed house plans at www.southerncottages.com.

A Letter About the Mountain Cottage

We received the following letter and picture from the owner of the Mountain Cottage: 

Hello Mike and associates,

We return to our island cottage or as you refer to it the mountain cottage on your website, in a few days, for the tenth year. It was over eleven years ago when we purchased your house plans with some minor modifications to accommodate Canadian winters.

 We lived four thousand kilometers (2,486 miles) away during construction. With your excellently detailed plans and a distinguished local builder there were few issues as it was being built. We did visit the site every several months to monitor activities.

The layout works. We can accommodate our family of 16 and 4 dogs for summer weekends and at Christmas. It is a great place to reconnect, with lots of get away places if someone requires a bit of down time.

 In August we have friends over for an annual pot luck supper, numbering over 40, without feeling too crowded. There are lots of conversation places to share news. After 10 years of enjoyment we would not change a thing.

 The structure goes through a full 4 seasons. Temperature can hover around +35 C (95 degrees F)  during summer and it has seen -35  C  (-31 degrees F) in winter.  No issues. During the hot days in July we open all the windows and enjoy a cool breeze off the lake in the evening. The design sheds snow so we do not worry about snow load during the winter months.  Attached is a picture we took during December of 2012. The structure looks capable of embracing winter.

We want to thank you for having had the privilege of enjoying your architectural skills. 

We love to get letters like this from our customers!   We are pleased that our clients are still happy after 10 years.

The Mountain Cottage is a modified version of the Island Cottage.  Both of these homes were designed for gracious informal living and include wrap-around porches, roof decks and a roof-top observation loft.  Curious what this house looks like on the interior? Please visit our blog post entitled the Island Cottage Interior.   

All of our Southern Cottages Construction Plan Packages are detailed, professional, architectural drawings with framing plans, wall sections, and construction details. They will save you many thousands of dollars over custom designed plans and save innumerable hours of time, money, and mistakes by your contractor if he were left on his own without the benefit of well-coordinated plans. Furthermore, with our plans, you will be able to get accurate contractor bid prices from bidders since all construction items are specified and detailed. Bid documents and bidder instructions are included in the project manual.

If you have built one of our Cottages and love it, let us know by emailing us at mike@mcleodarchitectpa.com.

Let us help you create a building to serve your needs at www.mcleodarchitect.com. View our architect designed house plans at www.southerncottages.com.

The Island Cottage Survived Hurricane Sandy

Last November we received the following email from a client who built the Island Cottage.

Island Cottage with crawlspace foundation

Hi Mike,

I built your coastal cottage design over ten years ago. My family and I have enjoyed the home very much and live on a point on the bay with water on both sides. We have weathered many bad storms in this house and we really owe its success to your design. The roof plays a huge role in protecting us from nor'easter storms which hit us often. This is our primary residence. Recently we were hit with hurricane Sandy the eye hitting our community directly. Homes on either side and many more were destroyed by the ferocious wind and waves. We were left with some cosmetic damage lost stairs and railings but structurally we were ok and are currently up and running in our home while unfortunately most of the community is abandoned. Thank you for designing a heavy duty house. Check out YouTube put in Tuckerton, NJ sandy you will see your design under direct attack in the storm. Also the picture was on Fox, CNN and many other news cast around the country. Most of this community calls our house the blue lighthouse and use it as a landmark and GPS and radar setting for their boats. Anyway thanks Mike.

Please watch this portion of a newscast after hurricane Sandy which shows the Island Cottage spoken about in the letter above (the home with the blue roof).  We believe that the Island Cottage would have gotten more air time if the damage hadn't been so minimal.  This is proof that the Island Cottage was designed for both style and strength.

All of our Southern Cottages house plans were designed to meet coastal conditions and codes in the state of North Carolina at the time they were designed, with a basic design windspeed of 130 mph, to make them storm resistant.  Our houses on piling foundations were designed to withstand hurricanes by meeting coastal and flood plain and high wind zone construction in the state of North Carolina at the time they were designed.  To see more storm resistant home designs for coastal conditions by Michael R. McLeod Architect, P.A., please visit the Southern Cottages website.  We have a number of house plans for the beach or any waterfront property.

Let us help you create a building to serve your needs at www.mcleodarchitect.com.  
View our architect designed house plans at www.southerncottages.com.

Porches Cottage Interior

The Porches Cottage is one of our coastal house plans.  What makes this house unique is that the design locates the living spaces on the top floor to maximize views, while the bedrooms occupy the first floor. This "inverted living area" arrangement works well for a beach community or other location where the view is a primary attribute of the site. 

This is the front of the Porches Cottage.  As the name suggests, this home has wonderful porches to take advantage of the outdoors.  Whether you are relaxing on the first floor porch or entertaining on the second floor porch, your outdoor living space will be the envy of your guests.   

The following are some interior pictures of the Porches Cottage that were sent to us from two different clients.

As mentioned earlier, the majority of the bedrooms are located on the first level of the Porches Cottage.  Each has a spacious closet, plenty of space for furniture and access to a conveniently located bathroom, which is usually attached.

The bedrooms provide a cozy space to retreat after a long day at the beach.  There are also plenty of windows that let in natural light during the day and make for an enjoyable sleeping space at night.

The living and entertaining spaces of the Porches Cottage are located on the top floor.  This provides a way to maximize the views, whether you are right on the ocean, or a lot or two beyond.  The livingroom and diningroom are arranged in one continuous space along the back of the house and toward your view.   A vaulted ceiling provides an airy feel and helps bathe the room in light.   

In another version of the house, the client added some wainscot, crown molding and decorative features to add an upscale feeling to the livingroom.  The fireplace is a central design element in the room and can provide a nice atmosphere during entertaining. 

The wainscot and molding were also continued into the diningroom, which is visually separated from the livingroom by columns.  Even though the ceiling is not vaulted, the atmosphere still provides an open feeling and a lovely space.

The kitchen is another exciting feature of the Porches Cottage.  It opens to the diningroom and livingroom to share in the exterior view and provide for a great entertaining space.  In this view from the diningroom, we look toward the kitchen and then beyond to the second level front porch door. In case you are wondering where the stairs to the first level is, it is located to the left of the porch door.  As you can see, there is still plenty of exterior light coming in through the front of the house.

In this upgraded and custom-modified-by-the-client kitchen, marble countertops, custom cabinets, and double ovens highlight what is possible in this versatile house plan.

In addition to all these features, the Porches Cottage works well on a narrow lot. Views are afforded front to back from nearly all rooms even if adjacent houses are close together on a crowded waterfront site.

There are four different versions of the Porches Cottage available.  Some of the options available are piling or crawlspace foundation, enclosed garage, a residential elevator, a roof deck and a range of three to four bedrooms.