When your building lot has a slope, it starts to limit the choices of house designs you can build on it.
I have found that many subdivision lots were planned by developers and their engineers designing the roads, layouts, and access, such that downslopers are common, and upslopers are rare. At least that has been my experience.
I’m an easterner, though, and not familiar with things as they are done out in the intermountain west.
Put another way, roads typically get run along ridgetops, with lots being the fallaway type, suitable for homes that are 1, 1-1/2, or 2 story facing the road, and with walkout or daylight basements on the rear side.
IMHO, it is easy as pie to choose a plan to build on such a lot, simply because there are so many to choose from in stock plans and magazine articles. You can find what comes close, then use what you see to design specifically for your needs.
But try that for an upsloping lot, one which rises up from the road. Not that easy, I’ve found, because a lot fewer houses are designed for that. Your base of reference is much much smaller.
Now, remove from the equation the integral garage, and your problem becomes even worse. Quite a few houses have been notched into upslopes with street-facing garages done under the main floor. Not my idea of heaven on earth, but the garage means you’ll have car parking right under the front, and that usually results in a more or less nicely done wood or stone staircase to get guests up from the car park to the front door. The garage and drive access can sort of help to minimize the steps access.
With no garage, the stair access becomes more glaringly obvious.
I maintain that you cannot simply choose a house designed for a downsloper and 180 it on an upslope lot. My partner is not so sure. He would like to try.
My opinion is that a well-designed house with a walkout view back cannot be simply flipped, because that makes the private side of the house face the road, and the public side face the back. As you walk or drive up the hill to the house, you’ll be looking at all the large windows, decks, and patio doors that are typically on the downhill back sides of houses with walkout lowers. Things will look just plain backwards.
Can anyone refer us to well designed small house plans or photos, designed for uphill lies?
Replies
Really good question. All the "uglies" in our sloped areas are those reversed floor plan places. They look completely wrong.
The books of house plans never seem to have a reasonable plan. And they seldom take into account north/south sunlight, etc.
Is there a "to the trade" collection of plans? Sometimes an architect is worth the money.
Those who can make you believe in absurdities can make you commit atrocities- Voltaire
The view is downslope. A deck with a privacy rail will handle that.
Garage access must be from the side. Under the view deck, under the house itself, share the footprint with the basement. Or in the slope behind the house and use it's roof as the backyard.
View Image Downslope to the left. Put the garage somewhere in the red zone. Grass the roof, use landscape features for a privacy screen.
One needs a countour map to say any more.
SamT
So much of the success of a company is not determined by degrees but temperature. gb93433 83537.46
Even though you aren't looking for log homes, these are often built on uneven lots and there are tons of floorplans in the various log home magazines. Many of the ads and articles also show various floorplans on all sides of the mountain.
In many areas of the rocky mountains the floorplan is dictated more by the view than the position of the road or public vs. private space.
Also, driveways are often cut above or below the house at great expense to make the lot work better. In many areas it's simply assumed to be the price to pay if you want to play.
If we're simply talking about city lots or low in the foothills without a decent view I can't say anything above is applicable.
Cheers
Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.
Gene, you are right. Upslope can be a challenge. We did one that a homeowner was in charge of...and guess what...he wishes he had thought of all the things you've mentioned.
We discussed much of what you are talking about, but he was fixated on a style of house that doesnt fit that lot. When we stand on the street, we don't know if a roof was ever put on.
blue
"...if you just do what you think is best testing those limits... it's pretty easy to find exactly where the line is...."
From the best of TauntonU.
Another thought. These sites are well suited for modern design with a full length front decks. Sort of a wave from Evita Peron sort of deck! It breaks up the slab of house going vertical and if you can use a sloped instead of peaked roof you reduce the roofline and get more light on the shady side.Those who can make you believe in absurdities can make you commit atrocities- Voltaire
uhh, what are upsloping and downsloping lots?
txflatlander
Just kidding, I a originally from Tennessee.....we built homes with 16 block high foundation wall on one side and 1 block high on the other in Memphis.
.we built homes with 16 block high foundation wall on one side and 1 block high on the other in Memphis.and put the drive on the high side and it's a downsloper<G> "But to be honest some folks here have been pushing the envelope quite a bit with their unnecessary use if swear words. They just put a character in to replace a letter. But everyone knows what they're saying." Sancho FREE CAROLE
Here is an example of what we want to avoid. I took the two photos from the road. We are looking at what I would call the "private" side of the house.
With the exception of bathrooms, laundry, and foyer, all rooms have views looking this way, down to the nearby road.
It's a spec, asking price $1.05 million.
Uh, that is a rather dreadfull home. It looks like someone tacked the back yard onto the front yard. That deck.......hurrrrrlllllll.
How about a modern L shape? Put a one storey along the elevation line, then turn the corner and do a two storey? Do some roof line changes to break up the L so it looks more , say, "cubist"? When you look up a slope, you accentuate the height of the building, so keeping a low roofline will look better, as will keeping one storey(as best you can) Also, use your roof to minimize height. A lighter roof color or bright metal roof could offset a darker structure and lower the look.
Here in the Northwest I am seeing lots of curved metal roofs paired with a sloping shed roof in metal. Very interesting. Probably pricey. And judging by those pictures, the owners wanted footage over style. People who are greedy for footage usually get McMansions. Those who can make you believe in absurdities can make you commit atrocities- Voltaire
Speaking from the left coast, I have an architect working on just such a project now. I am excited to see what his ideas are.
As a GC in a former life, I have designed and built several upslope lots and prefer them over downslope. I do not know if my preference is just personal taste or ... I would certainly welcome any insights offered by other readers of your post. But each home was designed for the lot, with one exception. (A flat lot home was placed on an upsloping lot, but able to be sited in a cut area. It actually turned out quite well.)
In the past, I did modern styles, and one, as someone else suggested, was a modern style with a wrap around deck breaking the visual sight-line between the garage and the main house. I actually ended up living in that house (thanks to 22% prime interest rates for those of you who remember), but the deck was a complete waste of money, other than as an architectural feature.
The current house design (work in progress) I am hoping will be unique without it qualifying for HGTV's Extreme Homes. I'm sure I will be sharing more as we move along, especially as I ask about a zillion questions at BT to try to re-learn about everything that has changed over the years.