5 Spectacular New Home Plans For A Wide Building Lot

written by Rob Maggin

What’s so good about a wide building lot?

Well, glad you asked.

Wide building lots have lots of advantages over narrow building lots.

In the Washington DC market, wide building lots are definitely hard
to come by. And if you can find one, many times the cost is prohibitive.

But, for the lucky ones out there who can find one that works for
your budget, here are some advantages.

1. You Can Have a Side-Load Garage

What is a side-load garage?

It’s a home configured so the main garage doors
are not seen in the front of the home.

The main garage doors are actually on the side of the garage, not the front.
Many home buyers do not prefer to see two or three garage doors the first
thing on the approach to the new home.

The challenge is trying to find a lot wide enough so the
car can actually turn into the side of the garage.

And, this requires a minimum twenty-five foot turning radius
to easily maneuver into the garage. Sometimes, if there is enough
room for a multi-point turn, less than twenty-five feet will work.

One of the negatives of a side-load garage is the cost. A side-load garage will
require more driveway than a front load garage. So, the cost of
the driveway for a side-load garage will be more than the cost of a front load garage.

(If you don’t have a wide enough building
lot for a side-load garage, you can always do a side load
garage on a corner lot.)

Garage included, just not shown. All our new home plans can be easily modified,
enlarged or decreased in size.

2. Center Entry Hall Flanked By Rooms on Each Side

Many times, with a narrower lot, it’s just not possible to squeeze
in an entry foyer in the center of the home with a room on each side
of the foyer.

Many times the combination will be a center entry foyer with
a living room and a dining room on each side.
Although now a days, we’re building more homes without a
living room

But, with a wider building lot, you don’t have to sacrifice
the wide open and spacious feel you get when you enter the
center foyer and there is a room on each side.

And many homes the other room besides the
dining room could be a parlor, or a music room
or an office. It doesn’t have to be a living room.

Garage included, just not shown. All our new home plans can be easily modified,
enlarged or decreased in size. See video of this home here.

3. Attractive Front Elevation

With a wide building lot there is enough room to have lots of
options with different types of front elevations.
The reason for this is that there is plenty of width
to vary roof lines.

This can be done with multiple gable roofs of various heights
or staggered heights.

We can also introduce curves to the roof line. Where if you try
to do the same thing with a narrower elevation, the
curves can feel truncated and not as a natural “swoop”.

And something about the wide front elevation and the home taking
up more “real estate” creates a more impressive look of. It appears
more substantial.

4. Garage Door Smaller Percentage of Front Elevation

Back to the garage again. You’re going to think I just
hate garages. But, if you choose to have a front load
garage on a wide building lot, there is another advantage.

With a wide building lot and a front load garage, the percentage
the garage doors take up of the overall front width of the home
is less than on a narrower building lot.

This just means that those large garage doors won’t be so “in your face”
on a wide lot. There are other parts of the house, like windows, water
tables, and other fenestration to divert your eyes.

Garage included, just not shown. All our new home plans can be easily modified,
enlarged or decreased in size.

5. Conclusion

Those are a few of the advantages of a wider building lot,
if you can find one.

To Summarize:

if the lot is wide enough (need minimum 25 foot turning radius) you
can move the garage to the side of the home so the large garage doors
are not the first thing seen driving up to the front of your new home.
if the lot is wide enough you can have a wider floor plan with a center
entry foyer hall to greet guests. And the foyer can be flanked by another room
to the left and to the right. And this tends to give a more open and spacious feel.
Front elevation can have a larger variety of interesting elevations. One reason
is the ability to have more variations in the height and the angles and curves
of the roof lines.
If you do choose to place the garage doors in the front of the home, the garage doors
will take up a smaller percentage of the front of the home so the door won’t be so
prominent.

And if you are looking for a wide lot in Bethesda we have a ideal prime building lot
at 7219 Marbury Court Bethesda. This lot is flat and is 12,100 square feet.

It’s in the Whitman/Pyle/Bradley Hills school cluster. And only a mile and a half to downtown
Bethesda shopping and dining.

In fact, stop by today from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m and bring your ideas and questions and I’ll be on hand to discuss
how we can design and build your dream home on this lot. I’ll have 100s of home plans to give you lots of ideas
of what you can build on this great property.