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  DH37K Addition Home
  Cut a doorway
  Customizing to fit a DH71K Newport
  Customizing (here)


 

 

Q: Can the New Haven Addition fit a Foxhall?

A: The New Haven (37K) addition is not a seamless customization for the Foxhall, although it can be done.  Here is the list I use for considering the applicability of an addition for any house:

  • Size and appearance
  • Foundation height
  • Floor Thickness
  • Floor-to-ceiling height
  • Construction style (layered or balloon)
  • Materials
  • Window compatibility

Here are my observations for each of these criteria with the Foxhall:
The Front-to-back size will work… the Sidewall of the Foxhall is bigger than the New Haven addition.  In its current configuration, the addition will fit under the ledge (Undermolding) of the Foxhall… more on that later.  The addition’s architectural style is not identical, but is fairly compatible with the Foxhall.

Foundation heights do not match – The Foxhall foundation is 2” tall and the addition’s foundation is 1¾” tall.  This issue is complicated by the way the bottom of the wall is displayed in the two products… The Foxhall has the wall skirt overlapping the Base Floor, so you see the line at the bottom of the wall with the Foundation stepped back from the wall ⅜”.  On the addition, however, The Foundation is topped by the Base Floor which sticks out ¼” past the walls, and the bottom of the walls sits on top of the floor.  One could block up the addition’s foundation height to bring the Base Floor into a position to match the Base Floor of the house, and dress the edge of the addition’s floor with stripwood or nosing to create a bottom line that corresponds with the house’s skirt, or one could tuck the Base Floor under the house skirt and have a step inside between the house and the addition.

As mentioned above, the combination of the foundation height and the base floor thickness adds up to locate the top of the base floor, and in this house/addition matchup, there would have to be accommodation for that to match.  An additional option to that mentioned above would be to switch or add to the base floor’s thickness (add ⅛”) so the two products match, and to add to the above foundation height only ¼” so the two foundations match.  The upper floors are the same thickness.

The Floor to ceiling height for the house is 10⅛” and the floor to ceiling height for the addition is 10", so for a match, the addition walls and Liners would need to be increased in height ⅛”

Construction style: the Foxhall walls are continuous from bottom to top, so the outside surface is flat.  The addition, however, is a ‘layer’ design with the floors sticking out from the surface of the walls.  That means the outside edge of the floors are intended to extend house floors that also stick out, but in the Foxhall they don’t.  The easiest solution to this is ⅜" floor extensions to widen the floors where they go up against the house.

Materials: the Foxhall is either smooth plywood or milled plywood, and the addition is milled MDF. If the house is Milled Plywood,  I would not expect the clapboard lines of one to be a perfect match for the other, so I would expect to separate the clapboard surfaces with stripwood to separate that matchup.  Additionally, the surface finish of Plywood isn’t identical to the surface finish of MDF, but careful sanding after the first coat of paint will help with this match.

The windows that come with the addition are kit windows that are lovely, but different from the house.  The window openings, however, are the same so compatible or possibly identical windows could be substituted (two different window products were supplied with the Foxhall over the years, the appearance is the same but slight differences might be discernable if they are side-by-side).

Finally, if the Foundations, the base floor thickness, and the wall heights are all increased to match those on the house, the top of the addition will impinge on the Ledge Molding on the house.  One could forgo those increases in height and have steps in the house from the house to the addition, but if all those things are modified to match the house, some cutting/carving of the Ledge would be necessary for the addition to fit.  I have an oscillating multitool which would make this customization pretty easy, and it would be my tool of choice for cutting the doors out and whatever other cutting comes along as well (I use mine a lot); carving with a chisel and knife would be possible too, but more laborious.

Those are the things that come to mind in this customization.  I would jump into this bash without hesitation in my own shop… each of them is fairly easy; but there are a lot of them and each one involves a bit of ‘working things out’ and some kind of additional material to make the changes.  I haven’t done this particular bash myself, so any solution I give is subject to fine tuning/correction during the build, and while I believe I have given you the heads-up on what to expect, I do not guarantee it.

Best wishes on your project!
Gary