DIY Home Improvement Forum banner

Roof option for small entry additon

1K views 7 replies 3 participants last post by  jagans 
#1 ·
We have a brick L shaped rancher with gabled ends. Our entry door butts up against the inside corner and its location creates a very awkward interior layout. The best solution for the interior would be to angle the door in the corner. This would add a very small triangle of interior floor space which I think we could do without any need for a foundation or footers. There would be a deck/porch in the corner and I would like to add a small dormer type roof over the angled doorway and porch. I have mocked this up and it looks nice and would not require us to modify the existing roof lines. It also seems like it would push the water away from the corner where the door is, and that has created problems in the past with the gutters dripping right by the door. I do, however, worry about how the gutters would work with such a tight angle on the inside corners. I assume they would be 22-1/2 degree angles?

Here is a picture of something similar.
http://www.houzz.com/photos/138057/Grand-Slam-traditional-entry-raleigh

Hoping someone here can comment on this - will it work? can the gutters be installed to handle the flow of water? Is there a better roof line option?
 
#2 ·
Gutters could certainly be installed to handle it. The question is where is the water going to go and how much would your existing gutters have to be changed? Sounds like your existing ones aren't set up right.

As for 'will it work', that would depend on what the interior floorplan looks like. A few pictures or a drawing would help.
 
#3 ·
Here is a link to another forum that includes a layout and pic of the side of the house that would be affected.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0821274020876.html?58

I need to update the kitchen in this house and one of the key problems I want to solve is that the entry door cuts into the counter of the main cabinet run. Also hoping to make the house more attractive from the outside.

Floor joints run perpendicular to the front wall where the kitchen is.

Would really appreciate any thoughts or suggestions.
 
#4 ·
Wait, you've got the front entry door going into the side of the wall, directly into the kitchen? No foyer at all? Guests have to traipse right through the kitchen all the time? Who thought THAT was a good idea?

Or did they put the house on the lot backwards? Where that kitchen door is supposed to be leading to the back yard?

I'd be more inclined to put the door straight into the utility room, turning it into a foyer. Maybe a bit smaller that it is now, and make the laundry a bit bigger. That would combine the two. Either that or lose them entirely (move then downstairs) and turn the two into a foyer/hall that leads back into the house. Then you'd be able to close that existing doorway and use the wall for better space in the kitchen.

And that long, dead space hall leading back to the bedroom? WTF? You'd be better off rotating the bedroom to fill into that hallway. Or is your drawing not accurate? The picture shows two windows on that wall, but your drawing shows only one. Is there another bedroom down along that hall?

But back to the original question, I don't see that roof line or the proportions of the door wall as being enough to make the angled entry idea work.

I really suggest talking with a local architect. This is the sort of thing where their expertise might really come in handy. They might be able to come up with something really innovative as an alternative. Otherwise you run the risk of just some contractor hacking together something that makes it look worse.
 
#5 ·
Lol. Yes, the house was reversed because it is a lake house. And I assume they shrunk the plan and didn't take into account clearances needed for cabinets. We had the same issue in both bathrooms with cabinets running into doors. I can't afford a major remodel or an architect. But labor is cheap there and husband is very DIY savy. Trying to make the kitchen work. Don't want to put laundry in basement - getting too old and this may be our retirement home. Also we rent a lot now and pantry serves as owners closet plus there is limited kitchen storage so hoping to keep that too. Am I asking too much?
 
#6 ·
As the saying goes: Good, fast, cheap... pick two.

I don't really see a viable set of angles on the roof to make that angled entrance idea work.

What about just ditching that door and porch entirely and putting a new door on the end of that bedroom hallway? Any reasonable way to get into the house from that side instead of the kitchen door? That'd certainly be less trouble and expense. You'd get your better kitchen layout, keep the utility room and laundry, and get a better flow into the LR space for guests.

Otherwise what about changing the door to an out-swing model instead? That would, at least, keep the door from having to swing so close to the counter. But you wouldn't really gain much other than freeing up how the kitchen has to accommodate the in-swinging door. That's a nice improvement, but still not really all that much.
 
#8 ·
Good and cheap is an oxymoron. If I understand your intent, you intend to put a cabled dormer running right into a valley. This can be done but it is not often a good idea, as you are making water work to get off the roof. The more complicated you make drainage, the more likely it is you will have leaks. You will also be creating two snow traps. I agree with Bill Kearney. find a better layout.

I did not see your home, just speaking in generalities, but ranch houses usually have rather low slope roofs, like 4/12, and do not represent the example you showed which I do not think is a ranch. The lower the slope, the bigger chance of leaks there will be where you run the gable into the valley.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top