House design, what is the purpose of this design?

[Tod osier]

The first pic looks like an area to pick up warm air from the ceiling and return it back to the house. Does it have a register up there?

Nope, the house is 100% radiant electric. Opening can of worms here, I know.

 

[dieselchessy]

Looks like the common pick a floor plan and make a few changes type house with poorly integrated vaulted ceilings. We see them all the time around here from the spec home builders.
We call those areas “dust collectors”.
Looks like they finished just enough to meet fire code.
Some folks put fake plants up on them shelves or maybe a pedestal mount. But then you need a ladder to access and clean.

I believe if they walled all that off the real tall walls and closed in space would make things feel smaller.

Edited due to poor wording.

 

[Tod osier]

Took me a minute to see all the deer in the shot.

Design wise my guess is they were after the vaulted ceiling look. They did not think it through all the way and couldn’t quite figure out how to finish that one end by the kitchen. Is there a way to install a pulldown attic ladder into the hallway behind the kitchen? It doesn’t look like there’s enough headroom for a stairway in the dining room, but there’s more headroom over the hall area, …correct?

The other thing to think about if you’re considering storage in that area is dimension of the joists? Depending on the span, If they’re 2 x 6 or more you’re probably OK. If they’re 2 x 4, they’re pretty much just enough to hold up the sheet rock and you don’t want to be stacking cases of ammo on them.

Those deer are probably all dead, they are region H deer taken at the start of winter of 2022-23.

That attic ladder idea is why I ask this sort of question. If you put one in there the hallway would support you real well on the way up and it wouldn't take extra space. Obviously, there could be some important structural stuff in the way, but I Iike that idea as a starting point and option.

 

[riversidejeep]

If you like fishing, my buddie and I were coming down the road from Tri-Divide basin to Big Piney and I stopped by the creek to take a leak and happened to look in a little pool. WOW- couldn't interest them into eating my offering but dang they were nice trout.

 

[Beendare]

Nope, the house is 100% radiant electric. Opening can of worms here, I know.

As you probably guessed, there are many guys building homes that consider the framing, or the aesthetic with no consideration of the HVAC systems inside the house which make it more efficient AND more comfortable.
IMO, the HVAC should be a primary criteria…even designing the home to take advantage of simple physics like hot air rises.

That vaulted area holds a lot of heat. It would be beneficial if you had a circulating system to offload that heat in the summer and return the heat in the winter.

 

[Sled]

It is stick built on site. We got the truss quote when we bought and given the diversity of trusses, they went to a lot of trouble to get what they wanted. I'm more of a simple guy, I kinda prefer a square box with a gable roof.

Here is a shot of the outside.
View attachment 642943

Love the squaters on your property.

Almost didn't see the 8th there

 

[Tod osier]

As you probably guessed, there are many guys building homes that consider the framing, or the aesthetic with no consideration of the HVAC systems inside the house which make it more efficient AND more comfortable.
IMO, the HVAC should be a primary criteria…even designing the home to take advantage of simple physics like hot air rises.

That vaulted area holds a lot of heat. It would be beneficial if you had a circulating system to offload that heat in the summer and return the heat in the winter.

For sure, it will be a couple years until we are in the house full time. We have the time to get figured out what works and what doesn't. I can see being able to move heat out of there in both summer and winter as a benefit.

 

[Billy Goat]

Personally I think it's probably just a design to make it feel bigger.



Took more work tho.

 

[*zap*]

nice house..

 

[Brontosaurus]

We bought this house in WY last year and we are super happy with the house and lot, but there are some head scratchers that we run across from time to time. We have never had a house with a more modern design like this and wonder why it is set up this way. We didn't buy the house for the house, so much as we bought it for the lot and view, but we are happy enough with what we got.

Here is the space I'm wondering about, above the guest bath and guest bedroom. The blue arrow points to an exterior door that goes to a large unheated storage space above the garage. Access is through an attic ladder in garage.

Is it just a poorly integrated space? A design feature we don't understand?
View attachment 642892

It is a large space and partly finished, the living space is modest, so it would be nice to utilize what we can, even if for storage.
View attachment 642893

Other end of the main room looks great for putting mounts. If there ever was a place designed for a mountain lion pouncing on a bighorn, that is the spot.
View attachment 642894

The views we bought it for.

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That's a great piece of property you got there! Welcome to Wyo! You'll like it here!

I put in doors and windows here in Wyo and all I can say is that some contractors and designers here are "special"

 

[Tod osier]

That's a great piece of property you got there! Welcome to Wyo! You'll like it here!

I put in doors and windows here in Wyo and all I can say is that some contractors and designers here are "special"

Thanks for the welcome. Love the state and the people. I think you can find "special" folks everywhere in the country without lookin too hard.

 

[Beendare]

For sure, it will be a couple years until we are in the house full time. We have the time to get figured out what works and what doesn't. I can see being able to move heat out of there in both summer and winter as a benefit.

Air exchanger with thermostat incorporated with an ERV will probably make a significant difference.

If its stick framed with the sheet rock attached to the roof rafter, that doesn’t give you much insulation or air gap. That might be worth changing especially if the house is warm in summer and cold in winter.

 

[sndmn11]

Fort lookout and sleepover space for grandkids.

 

[Crusader]

Wow, what beautiful views! I don't have a comment/suggestion about that unused space but a question--given how far away you are now and how long it will be until you move there, are there concerns about potential vandalism or other issues (weather/storm-related damage) and how to deal with them, given the house isn't occupied? Maybe you have someone periodically checking on it for you?

 

[Brontosaurus]

Wow, what beautiful views! I don't have a comment/suggestion about that unused space but a question--given how far away you are now and how long it will be until you move there, are there concerns about potential vandalism or other issues (weather/storm-related damage) and how to deal with them, given the house isn't occupied? Maybe you have someone periodically checking on it for you?

It's Wyoming
Nobody is going to vandalize it

But the weather can mess with stuff.

 

[ZValentine]

Pretty sure its for this, "It puts the lotion on its skin."

 

[MallardSX2]

Put a full mount bear up there.

 

[Tod osier]

Air exchanger with thermostat incorporated with an ERV will probably make a significant difference.

If its stick framed with the sheet rock attached to the roof rafter, that doesn’t give you much insulation or air gap. That might be worth changing especially if the house is warm in summer and cold in winter.

House is crazy well insulated, so we have that going for us. No rafters - all trusses and well insulated. 2x6 walls with EIFS on the outside of most of the house.

 

[Tod osier]

Wow, what beautiful views! I don't have a comment/suggestion about that unused space but a question--given how far away you are now and how long it will be until you move there, are there concerns about potential vandalism or other issues (weather/storm-related damage) and how to deal with them, given the house isn't occupied? Maybe you have someone periodically checking on it for you?

That is a great question and we probably wouldn't have pulled the trigger without a solution. There is a 1700 square foot apartment on the property, so we have renters and we have a rental management company handle it. It has worked out well. In addition, we have temp sensors throughout and security cams, we feel pretty covered.

 

[Jktx0710]

Heck of a view!