Square footage per person in a residential home?

[paulsharvey]

Doesn't affect our OP if I remember right; have having the ability to divide and close of the "kids" part of the house, possibly including an exterior access, is nice.

On the small secondary rooms; it's hard to fit a queen bed, a dresser, and a small desk in a 10x12; for the nominal overall increase, 12x15 for secondary, and 15x18 min for master, IMO.

Our new house is about 1000 sq ft larger than old one, and it actually has a lot less cabinets... We now have 2 full sized upper cabinets, and 6 full sized lower; compared to 18 lowers; and 12 uppers. We didn't use all of the ones in old house, but I didn't realize how new uppers you end up with when you have an island.

I dont like having a formal dining room; that's of little use, except maybe Easter/Thanksgiving/Christmas.

Den; I could take or leave; I don't see them as completely wasted space; but I prefer 1 large living room, too, two small ones.

I will stand by, large covered porches make up a lot for a smaller house.

 

[Dftodd]

My wife and I are fixing to build a home soon.

The issue for us is finding the floor plan that meets our wants and needs.

House is gonna be 2 bed, 2 bath open concept for the living space.

Roll in/ walk in shower in the master bedroom. This way it's easy to convert to a handicap bathroom if needed.

36" doors throughout.

Good sized walk in closet for the master bedroom.

12×15 master bedroom. This gives enough room to wheel around a king sized bed and enough room at the foot of the bed for my wife's make up table.

Gas on demand water heater

Gas stove

Pellet stove for heat incase of a power outage.

Central heat and air via a heat pump.

House wired for a generator hook up for ease in case of a power outage.

This way the pellet stove can run, same with the on demand water heater.

Plus a few lights and outlets.

 

[ultrarunner]

My current master bedroom is at least 50% unused with a layout I would not have chosen but not a priority to change now.

It takes up the end of the house and is over the same square footage 3 car garage below...

3 car garage with 8' wide garage doors which are really 94" clear.

A friend that built 3 homes in 35 years for himself in the same general area said the third one is it... he learned what he really wanted and needed from his first 2 builds.

 

[dstig1]

Eddie made many great points, as usual But - On the door size, to correct his one minor error, 36" is the ADA min width, not 32". And trust me, that is a MINIMUM. My wife broke her femur a few years back and was totally off her feet for 8 weeks in a wheelchair. I made all the main doors on the main level 36" for this very reason (future ADA needs). A wheelchair barely fits through them and you need to be pretty precise going through or you are going to lose some fingers too. I was surprised how tight it was as 36" doors are pretty darn big for most houses.

For the master BR, I made ours a bit smaller, like Eddie suggested, as I made a huge master closet with upcoming built-ins (kinda that last thing on my construction list these days) instead of dressers and such in the MBR.

MBath - I hate looking at my wife's pile-o-crap so I split the sink area in 2 like this. You can guess which side is hers with all the shelves.... I put in 2 lit mirrors as shaving/make-up mirrors. Very handy as my eyesight gets worse with time. They are magnified on one side.

 

[ultrarunner]

Eddie made many great points, as usual But - On the door size, to correct his one minor error, 36" is the ADA min width, not 32". And trust me, that is a MINIMUM. My wife broke her femur a few years back and was totally off her feet for 8 weeks in a wheelchair. I made all the main doors on the main level 36" for this very reason (future ADA needs). A wheelchair barely fits through them and you need to be pretty precise going through or you are going to lose some fingers too. I was surprised how tight it was as 36" doors are pretty darn big for most houses.

For the master BR, I made ours a bit smaller, like Eddie suggested, as I made a huge master closet with upcoming built-ins (kinda that last thing on my construction list these days) instead of dressers and such in the MBR.

MBath - I hate looking at my wife's pile-o-crap so I split the sink area in 2 like this. You can guess which side is hers with all the shelves.... I put in 2 lit mirrors as shaving/make-up mirrors. Very handy as my eyesight gets worse with time. They are magnified on one side.

View attachment 1690751

View attachment 1690752

To maximize clear opening there is the option to use full swing door hinges which can make all the difference...

Also... don't overlook narrow wheelchairs for those in older homes with few options.

 

[BackRoad]

We did the 36 inch doorways...primary layout with master on a single level.

Also designed the master shower as curb less and walk-in, plus big enough to turn a wheelchair. It looks narrow in the photo, but it's 4' wide.

The other thing that had my builder scratching his head was asking for the shower controls to be plumbed by the doorway, not below the shower head. Now we can turn on the water and let it get hot without getting wet...(but it's really for the future should I ever need to help my wife shower without me getting all wet!)

 

[2manyrocks]

Bathroom layout has to be done extraordinarily well for it not to be a problem for wheelchairs.

 

[EddieWalker]

Eddie made many great points, as usual But - On the door size, to correct his one minor error, 36" is the ADA min width, not 32". And trust me, that is a MINIMUM. My wife broke her femur a few years back and was totally off her feet for 8 weeks in a wheelchair. I made all the main doors on the main level 36" for this very reason (future ADA needs). A wheelchair barely fits through them and you need to be pretty precise going through or you are going to lose some fingers too. I was surprised how tight it was as 36" doors are pretty darn big for most houses.

For the master BR, I made ours a bit smaller, like Eddie suggested, as I made a huge master closet with upcoming built-ins (kinda that last thing on my construction list these days) instead of dressers and such in the MBR.

MBath - I hate looking at my wife's pile-o-crap so I split the sink area in 2 like this. You can guess which side is hers with all the shelves.... I put in 2 lit mirrors as shaving/make-up mirrors. Very handy as my eyesight gets worse with time. They are magnified on one side.

View attachment 1690751

View attachment 1690752

Love the cabinets!!!

I had to double check door widths for ADA. According to this website

2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design

The 2010 Standards set minimum requirements – both scoping and technical – for newly designed and constructed or altered State and local government facilities, public accommodations, and commercial facilities to be readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.

www.ada.gov

404.2.3 Clear Width
Door openings shall provide a clear width of 32 inches (815 mm) minimum. Clear openings of doorways with swinging doors shall be measured between the face of the door and the stop, with the door open 90 degrees. Openings more than 24 inches (610 mm) deep shall provide a clear opening of 36 inches (915 mm) minimum. There shall be no projections into the required clear opening width lower than 34 inches (865 mm) above the finish floor or ground. Projections into the clear opening width between 34 inches (865 mm) and 80 inches (2030 mm) above the finish floor or ground shall not exceed 4 inches (100 mm).

EXCEPTIONS:

1. In alterations, a projection of 5/8 inch (16 mm) maximum into the required clear width shall be permitted for the latch side stop.
2. Door closers and door stops shall be permitted to be 78 inches (1980 mm) minimum above the finish floor or ground.

Figure 404.2.3

Clear Width of Doorways

My understanding is that 32 inch doors are ADA. I can see where it could be 36 inches too.

I've never had this come up with any of the jobs that I've done, I only focus on 32 inches with my elderly clients on bathroom remodels when trying to make everything as accessible as possible. It doesn't always happen on a remodel, but it's the magic number that I shoot for.

 

[paulsharvey]

I know with sidewalks, ADA allows momentary reductions to 32" for obstacles. There are also reach out restrictions, I think 7" from the face of an obstacle. This primarily affects pedestrian push buttons for signals, vs face of curb, but it could also come into play for switches, ect.

When we build some low income apartments, of 64 ground floor apartments, I believe 8 where more disabled friendly, including front face controls of the range, and maybe switch locations (can't remember for sure, it's been a long time ago).

 

[ericm979]

The other thing that had my builder scratching his head was asking for the shower controls to be plumbed by the doorway, not below the shower head.

We did the same thing for our house that's in construction.