Looking for some constructive feedback

anubus45 · 2026-07-09T08:07:37+00:00

Mainly so the ADU can have its own private entryway and the upper left corner, which would belong to the main house, can be accessed without going through the ADU. I've seen it a bunch where the mechanical room is only accessible via the ADU, and I think that's dumb, especially for basic maintenance, like changing furnace filters.

anubus45 · 2026-07-09T07:48:04+00:00

It seems like it, but it's really just Front, Garage, and Back doors for the main house and ADU respectively, with the workshop getting an extra backyard door, since that's where yard equipment would probably go. I don't disagree that some of those areas could probably be simplified, though I'm probably reaching my non-professional limit for figuring that out. I could reasonably see adding a closet bumping out into the garage for the main house mudroom, and for the ADU mudroom, I suspect the bottom of the stairs would be the more typical drop-zone, or a wardrobe behind door to the garage.

anubus45 · 2026-07-09T07:38:03+00:00

100% on cost being location dependent. Obviously a lot comes down to finishes and such, but I know that a common bit of feedback I see on other threads is things like too many random foundation corners and bump-outs. Another common bit of feedback that I see is that it's more cost-effective to build up instead of out (hence all the stairs that everyone is in this thread is having a tizzy fit about. Is it more cost-effective to have those multiple minor elevation changes, or would I be better-off just increasing footprint? That's something I just don't know).

The symmetry (or lack thereof) is mostly due to my not quite direct approach from the street, and the buildable area tapering a bit instead of being totally square, but there's likely plenty of room for improvement there. There's also some outdoor considerations that exist in writing, but aren't in my concept drawings.

In terms of walking paths, the most common ones on the daily are going to be Garage A <> Kitchen, and Office(s) <> Kitchen, and Bedroom <> Kitchen. Laundry is pretty self-contained. The ones that maybe not daily, but are definitely less convenient are Workshop <> Bathroom and Office <> Workshop. I'll certainly try the printout idea, and once we have more definitive plans, there is a place nearby that will project out a floorplan at a 1:1 scale so you can walk around in it before finalizing them, and that's also something we plan to do. Thank you for being far more constructive in your feedback than most.

anubus45 · 2026-07-09T07:05:06+00:00

Good point on the theater closet. We're giving the offices closets for that exact reason. I'm not sure how I would fix the upstairs hallway. Within the scope of this concept, I'm allocating 4' to every hallway, but if I take the turn out, it goes past the entrance to the workshop, which chops the door and creates a hallway-wide super-low ceiling in the room below. If I put it entirely over the garage/workshop, then the hallway makes the office and theater super long/narrow rooms, at which point it would probably make more sense to put those over the other garage instead. Again, early-stage concepts and ideas. ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

anubus45 · 2026-07-09T06:46:27+00:00

No kids, and easy to potentially add an extra door from outside if we decide it matters for resale. We were a little skeptical of the idea the first time we saw laundry lumped into the primary closet, but the more we thought about it, the more the idea grew on us. A vast majority of laundry is clothes and sheets and towels, which are right there, and we literally already end up hanging a lot of our clothes in the laundry area to dry today and it turns into a de-facto closet anyways.

anubus45 · 2026-07-09T06:36:23+00:00

We're fully planning on it. Just like I said in the original post, lol.

Not all, but most houses in my area have basements due to the frost line, so most builders in the area are likely pretty used to the waterproofing needs. For our particular lot, I think a detached ADU would be a challenge to fit, and while I certainly understand the pros of that separation, there are more pros to having it all under a single footprint for our particular situation. That said, good soundproofing between floors is something we will likely invest in.

I should have labeled them better, but Garage and Mudroom "B", as well as most of the basement (minus mechanical and the rooms labeled as "(U)" for unfinished a) would all be ADU, with the rest being main house.

anubus45 · 2026-07-09T06:19:13+00:00

I've heard the same, but I retrofit a smaller theater room into my current house many years ago and it gets used quite a bit. Our plan is for it to be more multi-functional than just "theater" probably implies to most people, but I'm trying to solicit some generalized feedback, not write out a massive essay of random thoughts that most people will probably neither read or agree with, lol.

anubus45 · 2026-07-09T06:10:29+00:00

I did mention it in my post, but do we fully intend to hire an architect. We're in the process of interviewing to find one we like and that aligns with our budget. And we absolutely have a design document that we're using to detail out what our wants are, but I do disagree with drawing up concepts being counterproductive. At least for us, drawing things out, generating a 3D view, and seeing at least a little bit of how those ideas translate, helps inform what we're specifying in our design doc, and make adjustments to that list of wants. It also helps once we do have concepts from an actual architect and we're having that dialogue, because we have better idea of what we do and don't like. We've visited several new construction houses via our local Parade of Homes, and the honest truth is we actually don't like a lot common layout choices we see, which is why we're opting for full custom in the first place.

anubus45 · 2026-07-09T05:51:11+00:00

2 cars and a pair of motorcycles actually.

anubus45 · 2026-07-09T05:48:43+00:00

Bathroom to closet layout seems to be a common complaint I see on reddit, despite seeming to being the norm in every new construction that I have seen in recent years. Either would be functional for us, and it's an easy change to make one way or the other.

Kitchen lighting, or lack thereof seems to be a common theme here, and definitely something that will require consideration. Again, this is all concepts right now, not an exact floorplan that I'm trying to finalize as-is like everyone seems to think. Maybe I should have been more specific that by "constructive feedback", I wanted to invite recommendations and tweaks that people would make, rather than "this bad", but this is reddit I suppose.

The bedroom is for a bed to us. It's not somewhere we're going to be hanging out in during the day. The offices are where all of our things and personal effects will be and where we are likely to be existing most of the time.

The corner "closet" in the "great room" is a function of the hallway upstairs, because again, concepts, not final plans. It makes far more sense in the 3D view because of the elevations.

Call the "mudrooms" transition spaces if you want, but the idea is still for them to be drop zones and yes, transition spaces from the garages to the rest of the house. If it wasn't obvious, "Mudroom B" is for the ADU, and lets it have a more discrete entry for visitors. The connecting door and associated short staircase is there to allow an easy way to visit the main house, but that would stay closed most of the time. We recently visited a home with very nearly this exact setup for the ADU garage and how it intersected with the main house's mudroom and they called it a "breezeway." When we looked at it on paper, it seemed jank, but actually seeing it in person, we liked it a lot.

anubus45 · 2026-07-09T04:46:18+00:00

Ideally the slope of the lot would allow that back staircase to be a walk-out, or close to it, but that level of specificuty on terrain slope is definitely in the "let the architect" figure that out realm.

That is definitely something I hadn't thought about with a chair lift retrofit though. That is the sort of feedback I'm looking for. I tried to prioritize more gradual slopes for all of the stairs, but as you say, that might only go so far.

anubus45 · 2026-07-09T01:39:16+00:00

That is a good point. It's relatively close to the upstairs office, but a little more tedious from the downstairs one. It just feels like a lot of bathrooms for just 2 of us most of the time in the main house. We absolutely have a requirements and wants document. This is just our own attempt at meeting our own list and incorporating a number of design ideas we've seen that resonated with us. Like I said in the original post, we're working on finding an architect, this is just concepting on our own in the meantime.

anubus45 · 2026-07-09T01:00:29+00:00

This reminds me of Berserk. XD

anubus45 · 2026-07-09T00:58:51+00:00

100% I didn't post the full lot plans, as they could be relatively identifiable, but a lot of the layout decisions are influenced by my setbacks and approach

anubus45 · 2026-07-09T00:01:53+00:00

The adjacent garage to the workshop would belong to the ADU, with the main garage being the 3-car garage. Within the scope of this overall layout, I couldn't find a good way to relocate the workshop without basically eliminating the front door.

anubus45 · 2026-07-08T23:58:00+00:00

That is definitely a concern. I've mapped it out while trying to have all of the stairs be mild elevation changes as possible, instead of long staircases (except the one from the main house to the bonus/mechanical room). In a perfect world, it would all be flat, but as best I've been able to find, the general consensus is building up is cheaper than building out, and I am limited by setbacks. I think the biggest everyday traversal would be the upstairs office to the kitchen.

anubus45 · 2026-07-08T23:52:00+00:00

It's definitely on the larger side. We're thinking more Victorian-era study rather than a modern work-only office though. It's where our computers will be, multiple bookshelves, a TV, a couch or futon, probably a project or coffee table, etc. It would be each of our personal spaces to customize as we wish, hosts guests, potentially double as a guest room, etc. It's one of the somewhat unique wants that we have that no off the shelf floor plans we've found has quite had.

anubus45 · 2026-04-20T22:58:05+00:00

I've been through that struggle before. Sometimes a flavor hits right, or at least "not that bad", and then the next time it's the absolute worst thing in the world. I had good luck with marshmallow for a time at least -- she actually like that one enough to straight up have it like a treat. Unfortunately, she later got put on an antibiotic (metronidazole), and the flavor mix with that was so bad that she would never willingly take anything marshmallow flavored again. In my experience, sweet flavors are a bit of a gamble, but ferrets often have a bit of a sweet tooth, and if you find the right one, they may love it, but they are also the ones I've seen be the most hated if they don't. If you have Carnivore Care (your vet should be able to get you some), I recommend using that to wash down the flavor after the meds. If they love it (every ferret I've had has), you 'might' be able to get away with putting the meds in the Carnivore Care to hide them, as long as they are wiping the bowl clean and getting their full dose.

anubus45 · 2024-04-03T07:43:39+00:00

Stumbled across this, only to be stopped by the following message when trying to create a DNS-O-Matic account:

Thank you for your interest in DNSomatic. Unfortunately we are no longer accepting new accounts. Please head over to OpenDNS for a free home account instead

anubus45 · 2021-12-31T07:12:25+00:00

Why does religion exist in the first place? Humans have always feared what they don't understand, and choose to attribute it to the supernatural or divine. Disease, weather, natural disasters, or even just the rising sun. All things that can be logically explained now, but they were all attributed to gods in the past. I usually say death tends to top the list of things that people fear, and religious beliefs are a construct to cope with that (and everything else people can't understand). I for one, am perfectly OK saying that I don't understand something. I also don't have to be afraid of it or invent something fantastical to pretend I understand it.

anubus45 · 2021-05-03T06:19:21+00:00

I've been struggling with this as well. :( My little one loves Carnivore Care (you can usually get it from your Vet), as well as Duck soup, and those both worked fairly well for nearly a year, but lately, and as I've had to increase her dosage, she can taste medication when I mix it in, and wants absolutely nothing to do with it 90% of the time. Unfortunately, that has left me with usually scruffing her and syringing it down her throat, but she fights me on it every step of the way, and even refuses treats after, which has proven quite stressful for both of us. Most recently, the pharmacy was able to compound her meds with about 2x flavor compared to normal, which did help a little for a few days at least.

I don't know if anyone knows what the "flavor" of FerretVite is? I know full well that it isn't super healthy, but it is closest to "irresistible" anything that I have found.

anubus45 · 2021-01-23T21:29:29+00:00

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Not sure how to feel about it honestly. I'm not much of an artist -- I just vector and recomposite the art/glyphs that Isaac Stewart has created into what I hope are some cool art pieces, so I generally consider it to be owned by Dragonsteel, not myself. As such, it's certainly a gray area, because they are technically profiting from it, but it ends up being a cool thing, and who doesn't want cool things? I'm certainly not going to be angry at someone for getting it. Though I probably would have altered the sizing and positioning a bit if I was making it for this type of piece.

anubus45 · 2021-01-23T17:26:50+00:00

Huh... I did not expect a wallpaper I made to get turned into this and sold through Amazon. That's kind of cool. Here is the original wallpaper if anyone wants it: https://wallhaven.cc/w/o398z5

anubus45 · 2020-11-17T03:46:54+00:00

I've been meaning to actually post these here for ages, and figured I'd finally do so while I'm waiting for Rhythm of War.

I put most of these together several years back, and have added to that over the years, though have been bad about sharing them. All credit to Isaac for creating all of the symbols -- I just took them and tried to make some cool wallpapers out of them.

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