[UptownBee]

We just bought a lot and have decided to build a Woodside model home with a 3 car garage. Could someone who has gone through the Woodside building process suggest some of the modifications they made to make it better?

Our sales agent had a lot of great suggestions but thought I'd reach out to The Villages community because he said a lot of the best modifications come from the buyers.

We will also be doing a expanded Lanai / birdcage and pool/hot-tub so if you have suggestions on that too it would really help. Not sure whether solar, gas, or electric pool heating is best.

Thanks.

[dtennent]

While I don't own a Woodside, I would suggest adding 4 feet to the depth of the garage to give you more storage.

[Dotneko]

My sister built a Woodside. Use the small bedroom near the master and turn it into a sitting room. Take the bath for that 'old' bedroom and make it the house powder room with entry nearer kitchen. Put in a larger walk in pantry. Blow out the garage as much as possible. The other two bedrooms on the opposite side of the house are small - stretch there if you will have many houseguests. Personally, I dont like the island in the kitchen - i would pull it out. Expand the witches hat and make that your eating area - no dining room.

[Woodbear]

We have a Woodside, this would be on our to do list
- Stretch living room and bedrooms on end by 2' minimum.
- Stretch front bedroom out towards road if you can (another 2')
- Stretch garage to give ya a depth of 4 additional feet
- Make golf cart garage a true car garage, (did not cost much, we could not do because of restrictions)
- MAKE YOUR LAUNDRY ROOM WIDER IF YOU CAN!!! ( we almost got screwed as our washer /dryer barely fit)

Our floor plan is attached.

[DAVES]

Originally Posted by UptownBee

We just bought a lot and have decided to build a Woodside model home with a 3 car garage. Could someone who has gone through the Woodside building process suggest some of the modifications they made to make it better?

Our sales agent had a lot of great suggestions but thought I'd reach out to The Villages community because he said a lot of the best modifications come from the buyers.

We will also be doing a expanded Lanai / birdcage and pool/hot-tub so if you have suggestions on that too it would really help. Not sure whether solar, gas, or electric pool heating is best.

Thanks.

I'm sure they have a computer run that will show, the lot size and potential options/modifications. I would expect selecting, expanded garage, Linai, pool may prevent other options. Seems to me, you can arrange to have someone explore this with you as well as cost. I sometimes need to hear things from different people.
Perhaps, talking to the builder is a good idea. Better windows, AC, insulation kind of stuff.

[DAVES]

Originally Posted by UptownBee

We just bought a lot and have decided to build a Woodside model home with a 3 car garage. Could someone who has gone through the Woodside building process suggest some of the modifications they made to make it better?

Our sales agent had a lot of great suggestions but thought I'd reach out to The Villages community because he said a lot of the best modifications come from the buyers.

We will also be doing a expanded Lanai / birdcage and pool/hot-tub so if you have suggestions on that too it would really help. Not sure whether solar, gas, or electric pool heating is best.

Thanks.

I don't think they will do it, but most lots are sandy, clay. Adding organic matter and stirring it in with a rototiller,vastly improves the situation. I takes a lot, min 3-4 inches stirred into the top 8 inches of soil. You will have the best lawn with the least effort.

[patfla06]

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[dahrens1]

First, good choice on Woodside design. We like ours very much, it eliminated a number of negatives we noted in other designs. I agree with the previous post about making sure the laundry room is wide enough for the modern washer/dryers being sold today which require more depth. The suggestion to bump out the width of bedroom's 2 & 3 and the living room by 2 feet is good. Also, if you intend to enclose the lanai it is a fire code requirement that bedroom #4 not be a bedroom but can be a den/office or a sitting room. The code states that all bedrooms must have at least one window that exits directly out to "fresh air" and bedroom #4 qualifies only if the lanai is screened in, not enclosed with glass or even sliding glass doors. Totally optional but an electrical outlet on the back wall next to the master bedroom toilet will make it easy to add a bedet to any standard toilet at a later date if you should decide to. Last I would recommend that a cable coax be run to the area above the cabinets near where the refrigerator is located. There should already be electrical outlets above the cabinets on both sides of the kitchen to make it easy to add led strip or xmas lighting/decorations later if desired but the coax port will make it possible to locate the Xfinity/Spectrum cable modem and wifi router of your choice in a centrally located high point of the home. A cat 6 outlet in the same location will allow you to run a cat 6 ethernet cable from there to the low voltage panel where a ethernet switch can be located to run cat 6 to every room of the house if you want although the newer wifi 6 and mesh networks have made this less of a necessity today.

[Cawilliams]

Wow. So many options. Does anyone have list of all options? Or is it lot specific? Just tire kicking dreaming now for upgrade

[Pinball wizard]

Originally Posted by Woodbear

We have a Woodside, this would be on our to do list
- Stretch living room and bedrooms on end by 2' minimum.
- Stretch front bedroom out towards road if you can (another 2')
- Stretch garage to give ya a depth of 4 additional feet
- Make golf cart garage a true car garage, (did not cost much, we could not do because of restrictions)
- MAKE YOUR LAUNDRY ROOM WIDER IF YOU CAN!!! ( we almost got screwed as our washer /dryer barely fit)

Our floor plan is attached.

Ditto

[GPFan47]

It was a great idea on your part to ask the question on TOTV. There are some excellent suggestions here.

We have the Mason model which is the Woodside in the Veranda series homes. The Veranda series are what they call "new construction homes," meaning the developer designs them with the modifications that they choose. We like most of the modifications that were chosen for our home.

We're in our second home in TV, the first was a "dream home" so we do have some experience with the design process.

Our Mason came with a 2' stretch on the two bedroom and living room side which has been useful. We also have the 3-car garage with a 4' forward stretch and a stretched lanai.

The laundry room stretch is an excellent idea as is a stretch on the rear side of the house making the living/dining room and the two bedrooms larger on that side.

I have heard that some owners have closed the closet in the small office/bedroom (next to the master) and turned that space around and made it into an extra pantry. That would be very handy and easily done during the build.

Do what your budget will allow. If it's larger rooms that you like, you'll be glad you made the stretch modifications while you were building. Stretches can also be done in the interior of the house itself, not just on exterior walls. You can expand the kitchen and nook area to make them wider for example. That stretch might follow into the dining room or into the office area. The stretches don't have to follow a straight though the house from one side to the other. Stretches are typically done in 2' increments.

You could stretch the laundry room to make it wider and make that stretch run across into the office area or the dining room.

You can add more cabinetry if you want. The standard kitchen has a shortage of pantry space.

The concrete slab in the lanai can be raised to be just below (3/4") the level of the floor in the house. There may be no additional charge for this. I'm not positive.

I think the 2-stage air conditioner compressor (variable speed) is worth the extra expense too. It makes for lower energy costs and keeps the humidity lower in the home.

Look at adding more recessed lighting (with dimmers) in the living room, dining room, and bedroom areas. If you do add recessed lighting, keep them away from ceiling fans. Otherwise, you will get annoying shadows when the fan and lights are on at the same time. It is kind of an unpleasant strobe effect, so keep any ceiling lighting further away from fans. That would apply to solar lighting too.

You want to go into those design appointments with as many choices and ideas that you can make pre-determined. It will save a lot of time and make the experience a lot more pleasant. Go to showcase and model homes and make a list of what you like. Any sales rep can look up what the backsplash is or anything like that. Consider things like exterior colors, shingles, flooring, door designs, cabinet colors, hardware, plumbing fixtures, etc. If you really want a home design education, stop by a showcase home when the sales rep Todd Pope is there. I haven't found a sharper team than Todd, his wife, and his daughter. They are all sales reps.

The design department is very good and the designers have some great ideas and options. You are wise to prepare yourself and be ready with lots of questions. Otherwise it might turn into a "shoulda, coulda, woulda experience," if you know what I mean.

Good luck and have fun with it.

[GPFan47]

Originally Posted by UptownBee

We just bought a lot and have decided to build a Woodside model home with a 3 car garage. Could someone who has gone through the Woodside building process suggest some of the modifications they made to make it better?

Our sales agent had a lot of great suggestions but thought I'd reach out to The Villages community because he said a lot of the best modifications come from the buyers.

We will also be doing a expanded Lanai / birdcage and pool/hot-tub so if you have suggestions on that too it would really help. Not sure whether solar, gas, or electric pool heating is best.

Thanks.

It was a great idea on your part to ask the question on TOTV. There are some excellent suggestions here.

We have the Mason model which is the Woodside in the Veranda series homes. The Veranda series are what they call "new construction homes," meaning the developer designs them with the modifications that they choose. We like most of the modifications that were chosen for our home.

We're in our second home in TV, the first was a "dream home" so we do have some experience with the design process.

Our Mason came with a 2' stretch on the two bedroom and living room side which has been useful. We also have the 3-car garage with a 4' forward stretch and a stretched lanai.

The laundry room stretch is an excellent idea as is a stretch on the rear side of the house making the living/dining room and the two bedrooms larger on that side.

I have heard that some owners have closed the closet in the small office/bedroom (next to the master) and turned that space around and made it into an extra pantry. That would be very handy and easily done during the build.

Do what your budget will allow. If it's larger rooms that you like, you'll be glad you made the stretch modifications while you were building. Stretches can also be done in the interior of the house itself, not just on exterior walls. You can expand the kitchen and nook area to make them wider for example. That stretch might follow into the dining room or into the office area. The stretches don't have to follow a straight though the house from one side to the other. Stretches are typically done in 2' increments.

You could stretch the laundry room to make it wider and make that stretch run across into the office area or the dining room.

You can add more cabinetry if you want. The standard kitchen has a shortage of pantry space.

The concrete slab in the lanai can be raised to be just below (3/4") the level of the floor in the house. There may be no additional charge for this. I'm not positive.

I think the 2-stage air conditioner compressor (variable speed) is worth the extra expense too. It makes for lower energy costs and keeps the humidity lower in the home.

Look at adding more recessed lighting (with dimmers) in the living room, dining room, and bedroom areas. If you do add recessed lighting, keep them away from ceiling fans. Otherwise, you will get annoying shadows when the fan and lights are on at the same time. It is kind of an unpleasant strobe effect, so keep any ceiling lighting further away from fans. That would apply to solar lighting too.

You want to go into those design appointments with as many choices and ideas that you can make pre-determined. It will save a lot of time and make the experience a lot more pleasant. Go to showcase and model homes and make a list of what you like. Any sales rep can look up what the backsplash is or anything like that. Consider things like exterior colors, shingles, flooring, door designs, cabinet colors, hardware, plumbing fixtures, etc. If you really want a home design education, stop by a showcase home when the sales rep Todd Pope is there. I haven't found a sharper team than Todd, his wife, and his daughter. They are all sales reps.

The design department is very good and the designers have some great ideas and options. You are wise to prepare yourself and be ready with lots of questions. Otherwise it might turn into a "shoulda, coulda, woulda experience," if you know what I mean.

Good luck and have fun with it.

[AZ SLIM]

I understand the desire to increase the size of the laundry room but I don't see how one could do that without moving the entire master bedroom/bath out a foot or two. Is there another idea or has anyone actually increased the size of the laundry room somehow?

[Dotneko]

Originally Posted by AZ SLIM

I understand the desire to increase the size of the laundry room but I don't see how one could do that without moving the entire master bedroom/bath out a foot or two. Is there another idea or has anyone actually increased the size of the laundry room somehow?

Kill the shower in that bathroom. Then that whole section can be redesigned. My relatives werent using bedroom 4 as a bedroom - just a sitting room attached to the master anyway. The bathroom becomes a powder room.
Entrance to master now goes through old bedroom 4.
Flip closet opening in bedroom 4 to kitchen wall and you now have a big pantry.
Room now for powder room, bigger laundry, pantry, and storage by redesigning garage entrance.