Square Two

Great plan and very nice view. But just a thought since you are building this for your Moms. Consider a single level because of mobility issues that may not be present now. I know my parents are wishing that their home was not multi-level. Just a thought......
Christy R

Wow! This is amazing! I'm really excited for you guys! I noticed that the kitchens are a little different so I'm going to assume you included them on the design process, this has got to be so fun and I'm sure makes them both so proud!

Agreed on the mobility issue. 10 yrs ago it was not a concern, but now both the hub's and my folks are starting to have real problems with stairs- his mum is completely unable to navigate them at all by herself, and my pops is just *starting* to have issues but with his circulatory problems... yeah. And it's affecting not only them in THEIR houses, but *our* house as well- we had to build a ramp so the mother in law can actually make it in and out of our house (a rambler), and in our future plans we are making sure to include a main-level bed and full bath just in case overnight visits (or, gods forbid, long-term stays) are necessary.

Residential elevators are a potential solution, but I can just imagine the cost, plus installation, plus maintenance...

Just something to keep in mind. You might want a "back up plan" for the Momplex II.

Would it be possible to switch the placement of the master bedroom and master closet? That way the bedroom could have windows on two walls and the closet would act as a sound barrier between the two units? Looks like a great plan- I'm really excited to get to watch your progress!

As always, AMAZING!

I think the plan looks great, and perfect squares are much cheaper to build. The only thing missing from this plan seems to be a fireplace or woodstove. How will the Momplex be heated? And wouldn't a fireplace or stove make things cozier?

I would reconsider the second level. I am currently trying to relocate my husband's grandparents to a single level. She is 78 and he is 80 and it is now becoming an issue even though neither needs a walker, wheelchair or scooter, yet.

Apparently some of the commenters aren't reading and just looking at the photos. If they did, they'd realize why it is designed the way it is and all concerns about "mobility" have been taken into account.
On a side note, your moms are 2 lucky ladies and I can only wish that I have the ability to do this for mine when the time comes.

Just a thought, How about planning and building a closet that could if need be turned into an elevator shaft? Some small changes and planning now would enable if need be easy access no matter how elderly the mom's are.

... and researched. I don't understand a couple of comments up there. I thought Ana went into great detail thinking the whole thing through and making sure that moms were on the board with the plan.

Have you thought about a connecting door somewhere between the 2 units? For those just in case moments?

One thing you MUST consider that the number one cause of contamination in a house like this is not C02, its the off gassing of paint, paint thinners, stains etc from being stored in the garage. As these gasses often rise upward, they go straight into the house. Also, if they have autostarts on their cars, I had a friends autostart malfunction and and the car ran for 5 hours while they slept. Just something to consider!

Elevator is a nice idea but expensive! WHY NOT make plans for the future to add those wheelchair lifts to the stairs? If at some point they simply cannot manage stairs OR end up needing a wheelchair, you can install a lift then. Just make sure your stairs are wide enough NOW for later. Just a thought- I love what you're doing and all the thought you are putting into the plans!

Why doesn't someone film you??!!! I would watch it as a reality tv show in a heartbeat!! Your moms are very lucky, and great job figuring out how to keep those mountains in view at all times!! I love that view, and I know that is why you chose it. I also love the plans for your house. You are amazing!!!

So...did you decide whether to put doors between the public spaces so you could have huge family gatherings using both units?

I am but 63, and steps (even the 4" step into the house) are difficult to navigate because of balance issues. Stairs? Ha! I also have no use for a tub (can't get up and out), and slipping and falling scare the bejeebers out of me (a built-in non-skid tub floor are nice, though). A large, walk-in shower with comfy, wide seat and hand-held shower nozzels are wonderful (not too high up, though). The wide halls and doorways you have planned are great. Also, wouldn't hurt to have handrails installed in the shower/tub area now while you're building. Smart idea, having entry to the home from the protected garage. How about a dumbwaiter from the garage to kitchen for hauling groceries? Ha, ha. Just dreaming for the Moms.

I would give anything for my laundry room to be upstairs where are bedrooms are! Seeing that all the main living will be done upstairs, would there be a place for upstairs laundry? I can see how it wouldn't be too big of a deal, since a one-woman household probably doesn't have too much to wash, but its just a thought.

And I can't help but agree with others about the stairs, but you know your moms better than anyone, so if you think it will work, go for it! My in-laws did the same thing for a perfect view of the mountains.

What lucky moms you both have.

There are some good plans here with the kitchen, main living, and (hopefully) laundry on the same level, but stairs up from the garage will still be a mistake. My 70 year old mother who fights severe arthritis can still drive, but even three steps into the house from the garage is hard. (And believe me, she gets plenty of exercise..).

I firmly believe you'll regret those stairs eventually.

Have you thought about using pocket doors anywhere? Having a space for grandchildren to have overnighters? I could go on forever, since I'm always building my "ideal" home in my head!

I just noticed that the washer and dryer are in the basement (or did I miss something). This is a huge, huge, huge problem. Imagine a fall and/or hip replacement surgery and the washer and dryer are downstairs???? Major blow to independence in that situation if washer and dryer are down stairs. I have two concrete examples, Mom and Grandma, where washer and dryer in basement have been a huge problem.

Living in Alaska might bring up differing issues for location on laundry. I finished our home a short while back. I'm a little younger than your moms probably but I can back up the call for laundry close to source. My life is much easier having it next to the bedrooms where the sheets, towels and our dirty socks come from. I love your thought process. Maybe because it is similar to the way I thought through our build.

Totally hear everyone on the stairs! The decision to add the stairs came from the Moms. Our moms are healthy and still quite young, and would rather spend the next thirty years enjoying the view then spend the next thirty years sacrificing the view because of the possibility of wheelchair requirements in the future - but the top level can be made ramp accessible should that need come.

I do agree that the Laundry would be better upstairs, and we are considering adding bringing the laundry room upstairs, but of course, it's all tradeoffs, and this might mean we have to move the office/craft/extra bedroom downstairs or make the bathroom smaller or walk-in closets smaller.

The great thing about this processes is hearing from you and making changes as needed to get the best Momplex that we can afford to build. Keep the advice coming, I sure appreciate everyone taking their time to make suggestions.

We've definitely gone round and round also about the drive under garages. We did consider detached garages, but in Alaska where the weather is so extreme, we felt an attached garage was the way to go. We will be insulating and sealing the garage, as well as building a shed for things like lawnmowers and paint storage.

Coming from the land of garages, we all know too well about CO2 and will be installing CO2 monitors. Our moms are also very aware of the dangers of car exhaust.

As far as the CO2 thing goes, although the garages might be a bit cooler, in addition to sealing off the garages, perhaps installing an air vent to the outdoors by the entrance into the garage would help. I'm thinking like an air return vent type thing just above the garage doors or even to the left of them.

The laundry thing I can understand being a pain bringing laundry up and down stairs but perhaps a laundry chute in the bathroom leading straight down to the washer and dryer area would at least make the first bit of doing laundry a bit easier. If you swap the position of the shower and toilet with the sink there would easily be room in the wall to allow for that kind of opening.

My last suggestion is coming from the viewpoint that eventually you may want to rent out these spaces. You could make one large laundry room accessible from both apartments. This means you only need to buy and maintain one washer and dryer. You could do this by centering the laundry room (just extending it out into the other apartment floor plan) and keeping the original entryways where they were planned. Just a thought!

I love it! You did a great job and obviously researched everything very, very well. Just a quick heads up, the link to open the larger plan of the basement is broken, I think it should be http://ana-white.com/sites/default/files/momplex-basement-2.jpg

Can't wait how you build it! And I second another commenter, they should film you and make a tv show out of it. I'd certainly watch every episode!

Great plans, Id say you have taken everything into consideration. As far as laundry goes, yes it would be easier to have it upstairs but then again there's really not that much laundry so it wouldn't be too big of a hassle to have someone go over once a week and do moms laundry.

There is a program we have watched in the past called Dream House. I vote for having the process filmed! Please look into the possibility.

I think this is a wonderful idea, and as long as your Moms like it then it doesn't matter what kind of layout it is. I'm more shocked that your Moms are willing to live next door like that! My Mom and MIL would kill each other! LOL

http://www.access-board.gov/adaag/checklist/a16.html might come in handy.

I vote for laundry upstairs - life is much easier when the clothing and sheets and the washer are all on the same level.

Walk-in showers with seats and adjustable height shower heads (the ones on the bar) are fabulous - and I'm not that much older than "the moms".

Ana, you have thought things through quite well for the Momplex. Yes, if the stairs become an issue it can be solved with a lift on the stairs. The laundry could have a stacked front loading washer and dryer. I, too, would think about pocket doors. We have some things to do in our house and we can make much better use of our space by changing some of our doors to pocket doors (bathrooms, closets, etc.). I agree the garage must be attached and the plumbing must be all together in the center of the house. Beautiful plan. Congratulations on moving forward with it.

Love your plans Ana! I second moving the laundry upstairs, I would go for stacking front loaders. What about putting the coat closet downstairs and making that area a W/D closet??
Then they would still be fairly close to the other plumbing.
Also be sure to plan a place for your furnace room, I learned when we built our house that if you can put it in a central location it helps everything be more efficient.

I love what you are doing for your parents! I have a major suggestion on your plumbing. It looks like you have three to four plumbing walls in the house. One large wall in the basement, and 2-3 large walls on the second floor depending on where your kitchen sink is located. I know you have done a lot of work on your plans, but you may consider lining up the plumbing from downstairs to upstairs and using the shared wall between the two units as a plumbing wall. (This would decrease the amount of linear feet of plumbing required/ less linear feet of possible leakage points if there is ever a maintenance issue in the future. You may request that the kitchen sinks be lined up with each other or with the bathroom walls. In the basement, you may rework your bathroom and laundry room to be under the bathrooms upstairs. Keeping your plumbing on inside walls is definately key, buy you don't want them in every interior wall.

A possibility if you did want to put all bathroom plumbing on the center wall,
you might be able to add a pocket door from the bedroom. That is how my parents house is designed, and it works nicely. The one thing I don't like about pocket doors is that they are hard to repaint, unless I am doing it wrong ;). Also, I love a good laundry chute! My parents cut one that is accessible from their bedroom, or the hall closet that is next to their room. It was so handy, but my current house layout wouldn't allow for one.
One last thing- a huge thank you to Ana for this site. I fixed my deck today, recycled most of the old boards, and used the circular saw, miter saw, and even the handsaw with confidence I got from building plans from this site! ( the orange store was thankful, too, I'm sure ;))

Hi Ana and family,
I'm an ER nurse and I can tell you slip and falls are number one cause of injuries in HEALTHY adults of a certain age. After a mechanical fall, ( where no medical reason is the cause), an OT-Occupational Therapist is sometimes called to consult, 1500 bucks, covered by Insurance about 60% of the time. Good Grief!
That doesn't include modifications that need to be installed, chair lift and grab rails push that total to 4500. For some people this is the difference of being able to stay in their own home with assisted meds, meals,etc and an assisted living facility which can run up to 70k.
Since you're building now, perfect time to install grip rails at top and bottom of any stairs, throughout the house. extra light sources in entryways, hallways, landings. Consider raised toilet seats, bath bench, grab bars in and out of shower, off of sitting position areas.
smaller kitchens, everything in reach, so as to avoid reaching, lower cabinets so nothing falls on the head, if there are stairs, make them wider to help with balance.
Use handle levers on all faucets, same levers instead of doorknobs. GFI receptacles. Cordless phones, Safe flow of traffic through rooms. Nonskid flooring, color coding areas where floor is uneven. Last but not least, as they get on in years, it's always nice to have a bedroom, bathroom, laundry room on same level, so as to avoid too much up and down.
I could go on and on, don't want to be teachy, but you don't want to have to redo the house 10,20 years from now. And that's all you have to say to the moms, you want it safe from them AND the grandkids. Outdoors, motion sensor lights, reduced hidden corners for safety, two pretty ladies all alone want to know who's outside and why. Your RAM is right about covered entrances, stoop slips are guaranteed bonebreakers.
AARP is a referral site I give to patients, they have really good ideas about safety, and you would be surprised, it's not just the old and infirm that need these modifications. Usually it's the really active middle seniors that don't realize their limitations, or are too stubborn to admit it :). Balance, strength, eyesight are not what they used to be.
Good luck, it looks beautiful. You're doing a great thing.

The stairs study is likely in reference to people being healthier when doing any form of physical activity, even when it's a simple daily routine and something we wouldn't think of as a standard form of exercise--not necessarily stairs specifically. Here's an article regarding the elderly and how to make stairs safer (but not necessarily more comfortable) for them. The spam filter won't let me post it, but the name of the article is "Problems for Elderly People Climbing Stairs." Since you're building, I would add to their list making staircases as wide as possible. Lifts aren't ideal, but they can't be put on narrow stairs. The VA recommends that homes be single-level for anyone who is disabled--lifts, ramps, etc. are difficult and inconvenient to navigate. My father has a disability and can hardly navigate ramps with his walker. He shouldn't use ramps or stairs, but should have a straight walk-in to buildings. We now have to move due to not planning ahead, and it's not a good position to be in to move when people are in poor health.

The people visiting the site recommending a single level likely know from firsthand experience (with disabled or elderly parents, friends, work experience, etc.) and are saying so because we feel like we've gotten to know you, and care about the moms. :) We're not meaning to be pushy or scare you--we just have firsthand experience and don't want you to get into a difficult, unforeseen circumstance. There's a VA guide to making homes accessible that is a WONDERFUL, free, authoritative, and non-subjective resource.

Please know we mean well. I think building them a home is a wonderful idea and your moms are lucky to have you!

...as if building your own house is not stressful enough - now you've taken on building for your mother AND your mother-in-law? Then you solicited input from the general populous? I say this with love, but you must have a small masochistic streak Ana! :D

That being said, here's my ten cent opinion: You've spoken to the moms about the bi-level, and everyone is in agreement - so discussion ended. You've planned a solution if needed.

With regard to main floor laundry - I just moved my own upstairs - LOVE it. You might be able to cut the walk-in closet for the guest room in half, and put in a stackable washer/dryer, without giving up livable space. That would enable them to have main floor laundry, keep it hidden, and you could use some of the storage techniques to utilize every inch of the closet for guests.

Best wishes - this is a brave undertaking to say the least....! :D

The plans look great! Just a thought for aging in place, IMHO, it would be ideal if your bathrooms allowed for a wheelchair to turn 360°. I had this experience with Grandma who passed after breaking her leg in a bathroom fall. It sounds like a waste of space, but it could literally save a life. Good luck!

The plans look great! Just a thought for aging in place, IMHO, it would be ideal if your bathrooms allowed for a wheelchair to turn 360°. I had this experience with Grandma who passed after breaking her leg in a bathroom fall. It sounds like a waste of space, but it could literally save a life. Good luck!

You may consider doing the upstairs using bonus room trusses. This would decrease labor and costs. For instance, you would only have to put on the trusses and then of course do all the finish work instead of putting down floor joists then building the 2nd story, then putting on the trusses. In this area at least the trusses would cost about $1000 more than the standard truss, sheetrock, flooring, insulation, etc would be pretty much the same. You would increase the pitch of the roof and you would loose a little square footage along the outside edge, but you could do built-in shelves or drawers to utilize that space. Alaska may pose it's own circumstances with the need for an attic but it might be worth looking into. Great job, it is quite an experience:)

I know you're probably pretty far into it, but would it be possible (if you wanted) to have two sets of french doors, in one door frame, on the shared wall between the two moms' living rooms? It'd be like a lockout that you sometimes see at hotels. That way, if both moms wanted to have a bigger space, they both have to open their doors and the rooms would connect through the single opening. It's hard to explain if you haven't seen it. And other two cons is that I don't know how well the noise would be blocked out between units and it limits furniture placement. But, if eventually you look to rent the units out, then you can just remove the doors and make the opening into a wall and voila, back to two separate units.

I just stumbled upon your site this week and, needless to say, I am LOVING IT! I'm so excited about all my new ana.white-inspired upcoming projects. But I am really interested in the MomPlex. I've "joked" (a little truth in every joke, right?) for years that we're going to need a bigger yard as it will come down to me and mine to take care of our parents, probably our moms, in the next 15-20 years. And I've always envisioned small duplex-styled apartments in our backyard. You've gone above and beyond and your family's dedication to each other is refreshing. Thanks for spurring my thoughts!

I just found your website after reading a magazine that had building ideas in it and someone in the article mentioned he got the plans for his project from "Ana-White.com. I looked you up and fell in love with you!! I was JUST like you when I was young. When i moved into my first apartment I designed and made my coffee table and 2 end tables! My boyfriend, at the time, gave me a palm sander for my birthday. The best present ever! I'm now 65 years old and I still love making things! What part of Alaska do you live? My daughter, son-in-law and 2 grand babies, 5 & 3, are moving to Homer, Ak. in June. We live in the New Orleans area of Louisiana They spent last summer and this past winter in Homer. Talk about a weather change! They LOVE Alaska. Her dad and I spent 2 weeks with them last summer. I can certainly see why they love it. i'm soooo glad I found your site. I'm looking forward to watching your progress on the Momplex!

Hi! I came across your site yesterday and I have to say you are awesome! I love everything you've built and am now going to try to do some of them myself. I have a fear of power tools as well but my hubby is a contractor/carpenter and maybe I can get him to do all the cutting. Then again I've been trying to get him to hang a doll hammock for about 3 weeks now and it's still not up...lol. I'm better with a sewing machine than I am with a hammer and nails. But I will try. You've inspired me to do so!
Thank you for such a wonderful blog and for being so kind as to share your work with all of the crafty moms out there!