The
floor of the finished area is stamped
and colored concrete.
The gas
stove is directed vented to the outside.
The stairs are open,
but I want a toe kick at the bottom of where the riser is rather than a
full riser. A view of the basement using 3D shows the bookcase,
stairs and the corner where the pond
and waterfall will go.
The utility room will have all the mechanicals
for the house, plumbing, gas, electricity, whole house vacuum, clothes
shoot from the kitchen and the upstairs bathroom, and any future heating
or air-conditioning that might be installed. It has direct access
up the stack via a built in ladder. Reversible fans installed in
the stack allow cooler basement air to be pulled up into the upper rooms.
Warm air can be blown/pulled down the stack to the basement. The
clothes dryers, bathroom blowers, gas water heaters and cooking ranges
are vented into their own stacks. The utility room also has
the main house washer, dryer and utility tub, a toilet and a corner shower.
The family room has two sets of double doors, the right most one will lead
out into a heated greenhouse that is earth sheltered on the north by the
slope. This greenhouse is for the orchids and the koi and goldfish
ponds. It is divided into one that is warmer, the further one is
cooler. The back of the wall has black water filled barrels for heat
regulation and an unvented gas stove for heating. When the greenhouse
warms up during the day, the heat will be blown into the house.
The first floor plan seen 3D
from above.