The Dream - Page 2

  After choosing to base our house on this vintage design, we set out to create the construction drawings that would be necessary to complete the construction process. I knew that we would need to hire a licensed architect to create the final drawings and draft the construction specifications; however, I first wanted to take the original simplistic plans a bit further. I had a feeling that once we found an architect, we might have issues with the architect trying to talk us into making "practical changes" that would make the house more modern. While we were open to using modern construction practices, we were not about to compromise on the "quirky aspects" that make a Victorian house unique. In order to facilitate communicating what we wanted to the architect, I first drew up my own set of construction drawings using a house-design software program. This program let me define the room sizes and shapes, the hallways, and the locations of the windows, doorways, arches, and staircases. It let me do this for all three levels: the basement, first and second floors. Programs like this are inexpensive, fairly easy to use, and can be very helpful in pre-visualizing the final result. I did not take this process to a totally complete, three-dimensional finish, mostly because the program was not flexible enough to accurately deal with 12-foot ceilings, 8-foot doorways, and a complex roofline. However, the set of plans that I created served very well as a starting point for the architect that we hired to take the plans to the next step. The drawing below is from my initial effort.

  When we met with the architect, we brought along several books on Victorian architecture so that we could discuss our desires, and be sure that he was on board with meeting our wishes. Architects, understandably, prefer to be involved with the creative process, and generally frown upon just being asked to "park their creative ideas," and execute plans just as a homeowner wishes. But on the other hand, very few architects get to work on personal residence projects that are as unique and detailed as a New-Old Victorian.

  This phase of plan preparation called for the architect to create drawings that were detailed enough for us to take to contractors for bidding. These would not be "final construction plans," with every minute detail spelled out, but they would have to be inclusive enough for the bidding process. As the drawings started to come together, we received copies that showed elevations of every side of the house, and we could see that the drawings were looking very much like the original illustration.

  The drawing, far left, is from the original "Old Book of Victorian House Plans". The adjacent drawing is one that I created prior to meeting with the architect. We added a rear, side entrance and a laundry room, removed the servant's stairs, and added a small bathroom and pantry. We also added the breakfast nook and the accompanying wrap-around porch. This plan changed a little as we moved through the process, but it does follow the original design fairly well.

Continued on "The Dream - Page 3".