Ch-ch-changes

We've been making lots of changes as the framing goes along. Some are things the framer (the contractor's son) has brought up. He's a young guy and has quite the eye for detail, especially for what things will look like finished. Things he pointed out might look weird, mostly upstairs - due to the roof line and dormers. Most of the changes we've end up making *should (I say this with a laugh) saving us money.

Our front of the house basically had two timber frame style covered porches. We took out the really big one up at the roof line and just went with the one smaller one (though are making it a couple feet  bigger). This eliminates that whole cost of the big covered part, plus the bigger one had a curved engineered beam, which had been costly. The back covered patio will also now have a straight beam across, much, much cheaper than a curved beam. Without the whole front of the house covered, we've decided we don't need the concrete walkway area we were going to have going from the front walkway over to the mudroom side door. So, less concrete costs now. We'll just make that area between landscaped.

We took out the two little dormers, with windows, that were in the angled part of the house between the main part of house and garage. This was going to be my office room, but after framer explained how small it really will end up (and the dormer windows would have had to be up way high, so I wouldn't have had a view from my desk anyway) because of the ceiling slope and knee walls, just kind of a pass through area from upstairs rooms to the bonus room above garage.

We took out a window at the end of the bonus room, because that's most likely where we'd put a tv, so don't need a window. We made the dining room window smaller.

We took out two half baths. I didn't really want all these bathrooms anyway! They were DH's idea. But we took out the one off the mud room and increased the size of his den. We also took out a half bath upstairs that was off what was supposed to be my office and it will become a closet for one of the guest bedrooms, rather than the closet next to the dormer space.  We will still have a full bathroom in master, a half bath near foyer and a full bathroom upstairs. Plenty.

Awhile back we took out one of the islands in the kitchen and will just have one island. Much better flow to the kitchen (though that savings was already figured in).

Where we've added. The upstairs had like two small sitting rooms with in between them was open and looked down into the foyer. We are making that opening all floor upstairs, so it's one bigger sitting room. So, when you walk in our front door and look up, you will see ceiling, rather than open all they way up. I think it 's going to look better, but will need a bit more flooring costs upstairs now. I am considering making this sitting area my office - it overlooks down into the great room and out across to the huge great room windows, plus out the windows in front of house.  Our other idea is to put  my office in the bonus room over the garage. There will be a big dormer on each side and each dormer is quite a big space that a desk would fit back into and then I would still have the view I wanted from my desk of the river. We'll see, once I can go up there and get a better idea. We also won't need a hanging chandelier type light now for that entry way. Just something smaller, probably semi flush mount type light.

We added a narrow horizontal window up high in the master shower and in the master bedroom, above our bed.  We added a "dog wash shower" in the mud room. So, it will basically be like half a shower. We are adding a barn style door between our master bedroom and walk in closets/bathroom. The framer is going to be building it. The plan had no door between bedroom and master bath, but after he brought it up, yes, a door would be nice to block it off.

I'm hoping the deductions are far outweighing the additions!I would think twp less 1/2 baths, one less huge covered part w/beams and two less dormers w/windows is a good chunk of change. Taking out those two dormers simplified the roofing, some too.