How do we build a brand new home straight out of the 1800's?
April 5, 2010 7:11 PM Subscribe
Can you tell me your experiences with building reproduction (colonial) homes in New Hampshire?
Asking for my parents, who are looking to to build a new home. Specifically they want a reproduction colonial, but are open to working with a builder to design plans. This is in the Southern NH area.
Have you had experience with a contractor that designs reproductions in this area or been involved with building a reproduction in NH/Massachusetts?
What was your experience in terms of the planning process?
What should they be looking for and what questions should they be asking prospective contractors?
Asking for my parents, who are looking to to build a new home. Specifically they want a reproduction colonial, but are open to working with a builder to design plans. This is in the Southern NH area.
Have you had experience with a contractor that designs reproductions in this area or been involved with building a reproduction in NH/Massachusetts?
What was your experience in terms of the planning process?
What should they be looking for and what questions should they be asking prospective contractors?
Your parents may want to start with a company that sells house plans so they aren't starting from scratch.
Colonial Williamsburg sells a collection of plans by William E. Poole. The exteriors are based on actual buildings in Williamsburg, but have a more modern layout on the inside. You can buy a catalog of plans for around $45 and then purchase the full plans for just the house you want. From that point, your parents could have a local contractor build it. (And Colonial Williamsburg will be only too happy to sell them decorating books, paint chips, furniture, etc.)
I also found this site, which seems to have a good collection of plans.
Looking through a few collections like these should help your parents narrow down what kind of colonial exterior they want to go for and whether they want a colonial-style or more modern interior layout. They might also want to check with a local architect or historical society if they want to pick a design that is more New England colonial.
posted by scarnato at 10:12 PM on April 5, 2010
Colonial Williamsburg sells a collection of plans by William E. Poole. The exteriors are based on actual buildings in Williamsburg, but have a more modern layout on the inside. You can buy a catalog of plans for around $45 and then purchase the full plans for just the house you want. From that point, your parents could have a local contractor build it. (And Colonial Williamsburg will be only too happy to sell them decorating books, paint chips, furniture, etc.)
I also found this site, which seems to have a good collection of plans.
Looking through a few collections like these should help your parents narrow down what kind of colonial exterior they want to go for and whether they want a colonial-style or more modern interior layout. They might also want to check with a local architect or historical society if they want to pick a design that is more New England colonial.
posted by scarnato at 10:12 PM on April 5, 2010
Response by poster: They want to reproduce a colonial saltbox style...
posted by kmavap at 5:46 AM on April 6, 2010
posted by kmavap at 5:46 AM on April 6, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
"Colonial" is a very broad term, and "reproduction" is being misused here unless they actually plan to reproduce a particular building. Conversations with an architect will help them become much clearer and more specific about what they want.
posted by jon1270 at 7:24 PM on April 5, 2010