Stairs

Floor Plan

Stair Styles

Straight run stairs are the most common type of stairs.  they have no turns in them and the cost little money to build.  What is bad about them sometimes is you need a long open space and not every house had that.

'L' shaped stairs have one landing or platform somewhere on the steps and it has one turn on them. These stairs cost more money to make. ar nice when you don't have all the room in the world.

Double 'L' stairs have 2 landings in themn along wiht two platforms.  This type is used when there is very little space available. Cost more money because there are more materials.

Winder stairs have no landings on the whatsoever.  They have pie shaped treads and are used when there is no space available.  Also these stairs are not safe.

'U' shaped stairs have one landing that makes a person turn 180 degrees.  Both flights of steps are parllel to one another.  There are two styles called wide and narrow 'U'.

Spiral stairs are used when very little space is available.  This type of stair is gaining popularitly very fast in the modern houses. They are not very safe and usually have winder steps.

Circular stairs have an irregular curve and arc that goes with them.  They have trapazoid steps and are very very expensive because they have to be custom made.

Roof Designs

Gambrel Roof:

• Two sided roof with two slopes on each side.
• Top slope is shallow while the lower slope is a lot steeper.

Butterfly Roof:

• Two sloping planes.
• Both meeting in a valley, pitching downward from the eaves.

Jerkinhead Roof:

• The roof is hipped for only part of its height.
•  Forms a truncated gable on the wall below.

Mansard Roof:

• 4 sided Gambrel-style hip roof.
• Two slopes on each side. Top slope is shallow while the bottom slope is almost vertical.

Hipped Roof:

• All sides slope downwards towards the walls.
• It has no gables and is usually shaped like a pyramid.

Gable Roof:

• Two symmetrical sides sloping downwards to the walls.
• Roof makes a triangle shape.

Gazebo Roof:

• Hexagonal or Octogonal.
• Symmetrical all the way around.

Skillion Roof:

• Has one slope going from one side of the building to the other.
• No peak in roof.
• External walls are different heights.

Dutch Gable Roof:

• Hip roof with a small gable at the top.
•  

Flat Roof:

• No sloping sides.
• One plane.

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,702388-5,00.html

House Designs

Federation House:

• The house is made to create shade but still have air flow through the house hence all the bay windows on the outside.
• Always two stories or higher.
• Mostly built in foreign countries mainly Austrailia

Manor House:

• Usually surrounded by a moat.
• Has two sets of enclosing walls and a drawbridge.
• Has an open ceiling up to the roof trusses.

Georgian style Home:

• Generally a 1-2 story box style, 2 rooms deep.
• Panel front door centered with rectangular windows above it.
• 9 to 12 pane windows on the main floor.

Bi-level House:

• The floor level of the house is half way in between the floor and the ceiling of the other part of the house.
• Typically right right when you walk in you have to either go up or down stairs to get to the top or bottom level.
• Usually the basement level includes the garage and is level with the driveway.

Log Home:

• House made of logs.
• Made from logs that have been milled into conventional lumber.
• It also could be hand crafted which means that the logs were just ppeled and had nothing else done to them.

Mansion:

• 
  
  Home usually over 8,000 sq. ft.
• 
  
  Many mansions have a conservatory greenhouse.
• 
  
  Contains more than one building for the home.

Queen Anne Style Homes:

• An older style from the late 1800's.
• The English style usually has a courtyard surounded by the home.
• The American style most of the time has a wraparound front pourch.

Ranch House:

• Mostly one level/story homes.
• Longer overhang on roof.
• With it being one story they are usually longer.