I have six iterations of this mushed pod design with a number of alternate interior layouts for most of them. This is a great design but it has a huge drawback.
For our location and lifestyle it’s important to have the kitchen with easy access to the deck. It’s also important to have a bathroom which opens onto the deck.
This design does not work for physical reasons. Roof drainage is an issue. I would have to do tricky things to the roof lines and would not be able to use a uniform slope. It’s best if there are no more than two continuous roofline joins. In this layout there are three and four contiguous joins. If we never got snow it would not be an issue, but with snow there would be damming and water buildup in the troughs on the roof. NOT good.
I really like this idea. It’s got it all. It fits in the spot where we need it to fit, it economizes on material (more space without more walls), it’s got a living room pod that can be broken into living room and den (aka place for the tv). It gives me about 21 square feet that can be glassed in for a mini greenhouse opening off the house where the two front pods connect. I can even bump the greenhouse out a bit so I have room for a table and chairs as well as my plants. With a french door opening into this area, this would be a prime winter spot to enjoy the winter sun while still staying warm. The design has a relatively flat southern face for my gardening patio. The west deck (left side of the house) is directly off the kitchen (no carrying food through the living room). The children’s rooms are separate from the master bedroom and I still have my great bathroom. Plus I am able to have the childen’s bathroom serve dual duty so I don’t need another bathroom in the kitchen/dining room pod. As I said, it’s got a lot going for it. I’ve got a place to stick the flash hot water heater for the children’s bath. The flash hot water heater for the master bathroom will also serve the kitchen and washing machine. All in all a great design, but the roof problem has to be solved.
There’s also an issue regarding the order in which the pods are built. I want to build the master bedroom pod first. That means the power meter would be mounted where the meter reader couldn’t get to it once the third pod was put into place. Oops.
This bottom layout is the most workable but the lost space on the north wall of the kitchen is an issue. The kitchen would look out onto an area that cannot be landscaped and will always be damp due to the overhang (36″) and converging rooflines and lack of sunlight.
All in all, not an ideal layout but better than the previous editions. I can do better.