Can you help to improve the detached condo?

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<p>bk,</p>

<p>I currently have the side by side appliance laundry in my condo. I would have preferred it be stacked and save the space for something else. But then I can see why it would be better to have the washer/dryer in the garage b/c of the noise level. My master bathroom has a tub which is never use and yes, the space saved would be good for the laundry units.</p>

<p> </p>
 
Hi bkshopr,





I was just about to head to bed when I read this post. Maybe any input I give you now will reflect on new detached condo designs in the future.





We have visited all the Woodbury and Portola Springs' detached condo units and here's the short of it. Please bear in mind that I'm focusing on the sub-$700k units (Decada, Bowen Court, Vientos and... Cortile I think?)





1. Laundry units in the garage is OK with me. Detached condo owners are already short on living space compared to their attached cousins (i.e. townhomes).


- I'd rather have a larger master bath, bigger pantry, extra closet or guest shower unit. Enough height clearance in the garage to stack the washer/dryer is a big plus.





2. Units that offer Lofts as an optional Bedroom are a BIG plus to me. It provides a lot of flexibility when it comes to future usage and planning. (e.g. Decada Plan 2)





3. Jack & Jill bathrooms are a minor-plus and definitely great for those Optional Loft/Bedroom units (e.g. Decada 2).





4. TV/Entertainment centers should be against a wall; not a corner. (e.g. Decada Plan 4)


I noticed that a couple of units had this layout and it was a major-turnoff due to bad/lazy(?) design.





5. Master bedroom located on top of the garage is definitely not appealing and is taken into consideration for each model I've visited.





6. The outside staircase to Floor 2 (aka. Bowen Court 1 or 1x) is lame.





For me, a detached condo is a starter home so the lack of driveway and larger yard does not bother me. I am considering these plans for 2 reasons:





1. It is not attached. Gambling with your neighbors just isn't worth it.


2. It is cheaper than a SFR. Therefore, I don't expect the luxuries of a driveway, large yard, interior washer/dryer unit or even windows on all 4 sides.


A yard just big enough to seat 4-6 people comfortably while grilling a hotdog is sufficient.








In my opinion, the larger condos (Bougainville, Stonetree...ect) are a lot better but their pricing is a bit crazy for a non-SFRs. If those drop to $600k then I'd snatch one up in a heart beat. That being said, I currently have an eye set for Portola Springs' Decada, Plan 4. What do you think of that unit?





I could go on and on regarding my thoughts on these detached condos but it's time for bed. More tomorrow.





-Ray
 
BK,





We're a couple of DINKs (not your target market, probably), but really like the layout of our current condo. It's a 2/2, approx. 1450 sq. foot and all one level. I like having a larger kitchen and a great room combo livingroom / dining room. I'd like at least one additional room. The great room allows us to maximize LR space most of the time, but if we have a family dinner, we can expand the dining area when needed. Our laundry is a side by side, about 8x6. I like having it inside. At least one downstairs bed/bath would be important to us. For us, a yard big enough for 8 - 10 people would be perfect. So long as there is sufficient guest parking in the neighborhood, we would be ok without a driveway. Given the prevalence of laptops and wireless internet access, a "tech" area is not important, but we like having our own desks, whether that be in one of the BRs made into an office or something built in. That said, Crate and Barrel and some others are creating some nice desks that incorporate into the living and other rooms nicely.





I suspect our ideal footprint is too large for the detached condo market, but since you asked ...
 
i would not pay $15k to have the laundry in the house. considering that all the new homes seem to have the laundry upstairs closer to the bedrooms, i guess i'm in the minority. i've always lived in either older single story ranch style homes here in calif. if you want to talk about dusty, back on the east coast, laundry was always in the basement. so the inside/upstairs laundry is foreign to me and just seems strange. noise, dryer heat (no matter how well you vent out the heat it'll still create heat inside), and potential for a water-related disaster! i'd rather have a problem with the laundry machine happen in the garage than inside the house, especially upstairs.





when i first moved into my home, the builder had forgot a ring in one of the shower drains which caused water from the shower to drain into the walls. fortunately the shower is right above the garage and i noticed right away. with all the complaints people have about the way tract homes are built these days, i just dont trust the upstairs laundry.





my guess is i'm in the minority? some people just some prefer every day convenience of not lugging laundry through the garage, through the house, upstairs, to the bedrooms.
 
raymonds point about the garage location is good. unfortunately theres really not much you can do with the footprint. the garage is going to be located under any living area. i think the issue is the quality of the garage opener. for entry level housing obviously they're not going to put in the rolls royce of garage openers. every time my garage opens eveyrone in the house will hear it. hell, every time any neighbor opens his garage i hear it. when i first moved in i would wake up startled, thinking someone opened my garage because of how close it sounded.





ive seen some new higher-end garage openers installed and they were near silent. i was amazed and debating whether to switch out mine but it really doesnt help much if all my neighbors dont upgrade theirs as well.





a few hundred dollars per home to install better, quieter garage doors in high density developments seems like a no-brainer to me. its not something thats easily appreciated by people going through model homes so maybe thats why builders skimp on it. once the neighborhood is built out people will realize though...
 
<p>acmpe,</p>

<p>Is yours a detached unit? Cause I live in an attached unit. And I hardly hear the garage doors opening. Whether that be mine or the neighbors.</p>
 
<p>i live in a 2/2.5 detached condo approx 1200 sq ft with 2 floors... the washer and dryer are located in a small corner of the garage. i have to squeeze through between shelves of storage and our car to get to it. it's a bit inconvenient but gotten used to it now.





sure it would be nice to have the the laundry room inside the house, but not really a "must" if it costs considerably more. </p>
 
I'm with acpme. With today's building standards, I would be afraid of the damage an upstairs/inside washer might cause. I vote for a stackable in the garage (the noise and heat considerations are spot on). I have a stackable now, was concerned it wouldn't be as good as a side by side, but it's been fine ! my 2 cents.
 
Inside is better than the garage, but not for $15K. And I don't like stackable because 1) my wife is short, and 2) the quality of units offered on stackables are limited compared to side-by-sides. Washer/Dryer units are one of those household goods, such as mattresses, where quality is more than just a luxury.

Driveway is not important unless you always have guests over and street parking is a premium.

Tech space is very useful, much better than wasting that space, and don't have to use a room for office. However, we already have a wallunit/desk combo, so not useful for me.

I like separate showers and my wife takes occasional baths, but I guess this isn't essential.
 
Interesting study you have bkshopr. The homebuilder I used to work for always had the laundry inside on the condos they built. However if it saves them $$$ in this market I would imagine they will opt to save $$$. It will be intresting to see if they do. I like the idea of the inside laundry but acpme made me think about that.
 
<p><em>few hundred dollars per home to install better, quieter garage doors in high density developments seems like a no-brainer to me. its not something thats easily appreciated by people going through model homes so maybe thats why builders skimp on it. </em></p>

<p>Ohhh, this really gets my goat. This, and bathroom fans with off-balance blade assemblies which vibrate the entire building (endemic to Aventura and Brio).</p>
 
I like having my laundry machines in the garage, they're kinda noisy. But if you prefer to have it inside and have a large bathroom, you could get one of those LG WM3431's and put it inside your master bathroom. It's a front-load washer/dryer combo (all in one, not stackable), works a lot better than those cheap Haier models, but will cost you twice as much.





Most of the indoor laundry rooms I've seen are not well designed. IMO they should either be small and fit a washer/dryer side-by-side only to save space, or large enough to have a sink and fold-down table/counter for ironing and folding. I've seen some that look like the size of a bathroom with just the plumbing for washer/dryer on the side, the "walk space" is a waste of space and probably only good for kitty litter box if you have a cat.
 
<p> </p>

<p>You are all very helpful with all your comments. </p>

<p>I agree laundry in the garage is the safest and generate less noise for the house. Acpme brought out very valid point regarding water safety, noise and heat. </p>

<p>Most of the water issue was caused by the busted hoses under constant water pressure while the appliances were off. (For some strange reason this accident often occur during family vacation) It could be the extended time when the appliance is not being used so no pressure relief for the hoses.</p>

<p>Noise is indeed a big issue. The early laundry closet solution were louver bi-fold doors that solve the ventilation issue but terrible in noise attenuation. This solution is the most space saving because the hallway circulation is already there. This is an 18sf solution ($7200)</p>

<p>The separate laundry room 36sf with the closed door could buffer some noise but the standing room in front of the 2 appliances is really wasteful and costly to the homebuyers as pointed out by Momopi unless double loading this "walk space" with ironing and folding could make it worth while. This laundry center 50sf ($20,000) is more appropriate for a more expensive house and out the range of these entry level SFD. Many of you expressed even the economy 36sf $15,000 is not worth the little added convenience.</p>

<p>A ventilation window would be really good to release the heat built-up inside the laundry closet or laundry room. This is only possible for the non stacking units. The stacked units would block the window. The stacked unit in a closet inside the house might make the most sense. It occupies only 9 sf ($3,600) and placing it in a vestibule between the kitchen and the garage man door may be the best compromise for noise since it is the farthest away from living and bedrooms. The water issue is not on the second floor and with steel wrapped hoses could solve the bursting issue. The heat at least is isolated away from the resting part of the house.</p>

<p>I will comment on other issues later.</p>

<p>Thanks again for all the good post and please keep on posting.</p>
 
I live in a detached condo in Mericort and having the washer/dryer in the garage is not a hassle at all. I wouldn't pay an extra $10k for an upstairs water disaster waiting to happen. As for inconvenience... it's not bad and we got use to keeping the hamper in the garage so I just start taking my clothes off in the garage when I get back from work (it's just my wife and me). The only thing I dislike is the small "great" room.. which I would gladly sacrifice my side yard for it. I hardly use my side yard.. too small/claustrophic for anything...
 
I too live in Mericort. We have a plan 2. Having washer/dryer in the garage is not a problem at all. Given that we still have smaller cars, not sure if we go do a full size sedans or SUVs. I hope it won't be too small then. We won't pay extra for upstairs washer/dryer. We actually thought having it in the garage is a plus. Having it inside the house downstairs would be ok as well. What I don't like our plan 2 is, when the bedroom is picked over the loft. The stair way is a bit dark. The sound insulation between upstairs and downstairs are just so so in my opinion. There are room for improvement. I agree with Raymond on all his points.
 
Most of the so called fire places installed in new homes these days (in Irvine) are these half-sized fake gas burning type that doesn't even heat up the room. Totally useless. I'd prefer it if they gave me a cast-iron stove option for that antique look, plus you can keep your coffee pot warm on top. Though I doubt the builders would offer it due to fire hazard.
 
<p>Personally, I would never want to buy new construction that had laundry in the garage. I would much rather see an efficiently designed kitchen/mudroom with space for a full size stackable front-loading set. Looks much more Euro/NYC and modern. Even better would be enough horizontal space for a side by side, but instead used for a stackable with a small counter top/storage area where the other machine would normally go.</p>

<p>Modern stackables (i.e. not those all-in-one small capacity units) are efficient and quiet. No one likes doing laundry in the garage - particularly if you have to keep an eye on young kids. Also, I wouldn't want to have stacks of fresh clothes spend time near the gas cans and motor oil.</p>
 
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