My vision is that the center piece over the fire would be a shoulder mount bull moose. what are people's thoughts on ceiling height? Clearly i don't need as high for a moose as i would for an elk...
and i feel like going 2 full floors ~ 20 feet is over kill for the size of the room, so i am thinking of maybe going 15 feet?
or would 12 be "enough" ?
if you have shots of your moose that show floor to ceiling and you have the ceiling height, please share!!
I should also mention that i haven't actually hunted a moose yet... but i figure if i build the room, then i will have no excuse to put it off any longer!
FEIW, if you live in a colder climate, go 2 x6’s and R 19 insulation in the walls. The increased costs in that will be paid off in a few years of heating a room with that high a ceiling.
Just a suggestion, go with 3/4 plywood from about the 4ft mark all the way to the top for plenty of strong mount support and for all the extra room ya can squeeze into the area.
Luv that fireplace of mounts t-roy!
Good luck, Robb
Just my 2 pennies, and pocket full of lint.
Matt
Find a builder, get your options, then get him to advise with the architect he and you settle on for drawings. And plywood has nothing to do for holding mounts on a wall. You better be hitting studs or bracing because no interior finish is going to hold bigger mounts safely. You can get the wall ties but why build a new addition to only put holes in the interior finish? Instead, I’d have the builder brace between the studs. All that needs to be discussed and drawn into your blue print.
I’m not knocking architects or suggesting you don’t need them. I’m just advising you on the best approach for less cost and faster more satisfying results.
Spoken like a true contractor. LOL! Most builders I know couldn't design an outhouse. But then, I've only designed and built dozens of custom homes. I was both architect and builder, and I did all the carpentry work in-house, so what do I know.
Matt
Find a builder, get your options, then you can settle on an architect for drawings. The builder should know one and vice versa if you go to an architect first. And plywood has nothing to do for holding mounts on a wall. You better be hitting studs or bracing because no interior finish is going to hold bigger mounts safely. You can get the wall ties but why build a new addition to only put holes in the interior finish that aren’t backed by bracing support? Instead, I’d have the builder brace between the studs. All that needs to be discussed and drawn into your blue print.
I’m not knocking architects or suggesting you don’t need them. I’m just advising you on the best approach for less cost and faster more satisfying results.
It's like the 'Field of Dreams'..............if you build it, the mounts will come. :)
I've met a lot of contractors, like you, who have a poor opinion of architects. The funny thing is, they were all working for me.
My point is, the OPs addition should look like it's a part of the original house design, not a scabbed on afterthought built solely for hanging a moose head. Most builders I've met in my career don't have an eye for what's architecturally appealing. They just want to build it as quickly and cheaply as possible, and the end result shows it.
I also don't know what caliber of architects you've dealt with, but I've worked with some of the best there is in Colorado. If you think they don't have a "reality on cost", you are sadly mistaken.
Matt
Good luck OP. And remember that one guy gets paid to do it efficiently while the other is getting paid to draw you things in theory. And use pella windows, or GP siding, or whatever brands his salesmen buddies are representing.
You gotta have an architect because few builders will undertake something like this without a to scale blue print. It has nothing to do with inability to devise and build it. But, everything go do with being on the same page as the person paying for it. Just remember the incentives. And, don’t hesitate to ask why.
Good luck, Robb
I lived in a log home for 15 years that had a 25 foot ceiling in the great room. I’m just a WT hunter, but there was plenty of room to hang anything but way too high. It fit the style of the house and it was beautiful, but I had to sell it because the maintenance drove me nuts. I’ll never have another log home and steer people clear of them. 15-17 should serve you well.
We thought about doing an addition on our current home but decided against it because, as Grey Ghost has pointed out, it would’ve stuck out like a sore thumb and we didn’t want to spend enough money to make it look right. Good luck with your addition.
Where I drew the line was when I figured out that an eland shoulder mount could be 7 or 8 feet from top to bottom. THAT would have kicked my ceiling's ass!
Pete
