How to design a bay window!

I have had many clients in the past tell me they want a bay window. Sometimes I have been a bit reluctant to the idea because I have seen so many bad examples. The image below is a very typical example of the contemporary application of the bay. To me this just looks like they cut a hole in the wall and slapped on the window unit. It just doesn't look integrated.

Don't do this!

On the other hand my recent trip to the Napa Valley area reminded me that the bay window can be a beautiful design element when properly integrated with the architecture of the house plan. Here are a few examples on mostly craftsman style houses - all discovered in the town of Napa.

Square box bay instead of the typical angled sides. Simple shed roof with exposed rafter tails and supporting brackets. Shingle siding wraps the box out.

Here the bay walls simply extend up until they meet the roof overhang, which is deep enough to receive them. The continuous trim above the windows and the cedar shingles also help to integrate the bay properly with the house. The brackets below help to give the bay a sense of support.

Here is an angled bay window fitting below a square gabled form. This gable integrates with the house in much stronger way than our "don't do this example". Also note the small window below the bay. This completes the composition and reinforces the idea that the bay was not an afterthought.

My favorite bay window example in Napa. You can tell the designer spent a lot of time studying the form and detail to properly integrate with the house. Beautifully executed!

Simple,Unique, Small House Plans Cottage, Craftsman and Modern Home Plans

Second Landing Done

I've finished building the second landing for the stairs up to the loft. This one was a bit more difficult because of it's shape.

XHouse Cladding Options

We've completed a drawing sheet showing a range of 3 cladding options for the XHouse series of designs. This will be included in each plan set for the XHouse collection.

Our Construction Prints have always described a range of siding materials in the Owner's Choice portion of the Material List. The idea here is to show a range of siding options, from simple to more complex which would be specific to the designs. They also range in cost from less to more expensive, but our plans have always been about an open ended design that allowed the home owner to tailor the build to their budget and taste.

The first option is for painted cement siding panels a combination of board & batten and lapped siding patterns. This is the default siding pattern that is shown on our Original Collection designs. The XHouse designs also lend themselves to this cladding option as they typically include two different siding patterns on the walls. This is an accessible option as there is nothing tricky or unfamiliar about the installation, and most contractors will be completely familiar with this.

The second option is for a combination of laminate siding panels and through tinted cement siding panels. In this case the laminate siding panels are shown in a wood grain pattern. There are many siding panels available with this appearance, some with a resin impregnated wood surface, and others with a printed plastic laminate face - think formica for the walls of your house. The installation is shown for 24" high panels with metal flashed horizonal joints. This is not an inexpensive material but is quite handsome. The cement siding in this case is a through tinted material that requires no paint. The installation is a grid of panels with joints backed by metal flashing - no battens. This includes the addition of a drainage layer behind the siding for superior performance.This very siding scheme was featured on the 0751 RS House, and you can see it in those illustrations.

The third option is a combination of open wood rain screen cladding and standing seam metal panels. The rain screen is a recently popular look on many modern houses, and this is in fact the cladding scheme we have been featuring in the illustrations of the Xhouse Series designs. There are a range of woods that can be used for the siding planks, but the key component of this system is the vapor permeable water barrier that provides the final weather barrier for the wall system. The metal cladding is used on smaller portions of the XHouse designs, but is an important part of the overall look of the houses.

Just a little bit more work to complete on the XHouse2 Construction Print set. Look for the official intro before Thanksgiving.

Shingling All Done

With the help of some good weather and despite a seemingly endless list of other things to do, I've finally finished shingling the back of the house. My days as a roofer are done for now.