✏️ Architectural Standards and Ideas for Recovery Homes

This article follows a process through thinking about the interior and exterior layout of a recovery home and should be used when preparing floor plans or evaluating New Opportunities.

Introduction

Why is the architecture of recovery housing so important?

What is one bed worth?

• At full homes, adding one bed at $200 per week, 20% vacant, 10% expenses:
  • $200 x 52 = $10,400 x.8 = $8,320 x .9 = $7,488.00 per year in additional revenue
• $7,488 in additional revenue per year at 8% cap rate:
  • $7,488 / .08 = $93,600 in additional value in the home

What is the process for evaluating a new project?

The process for evaluating a new project is sequential and is discussed in the next sections.

Step 1: Look for New Finishable Space

The first step is to see how to maximize the total usable interior space

We often see success in improving attics, basements, attached garages, or other unused or marginally used space. Carefully go through the current conditions of the building and see if we can squeeze extra common space, bed space, storage, or other amenities. The goal is to maximize the space as much as possible.

Where to find more finishable space

1. Attics are the first logical place to start--from the top. In the highest point of the building, is there any unused or underutilized space? Remember, you can always situate beds where the foot of the bed is under a slanted ceiling to make better use of space. Pay attention to ceiling height, in general. Think about all attic spaces and consider the following:

1. Is there any space that would be really easy to finish that isn't currently finished?
2. Can we convert utility or storage space and make it part of a bedroom or common room?
3. What would it take to add a staircase to an attic area that has a pull-down staircase?

2. Basements are the next logical place to consider. Requirements:

1. All finished basements must have a minimum of 7 ft clear ceiling height
2. Must have a second means of egress that you can walk through outside of the structure. This could be a second staircase upstairs or a full door heading directly outside the building--bulk heads do not count, nor do windows.
3. All basement bedrooms must have a second means of egress, but not necessarily one that you can walk out. An egress window would count for a second means of egress from a bedroom in the basement, as long as the main entry into the bedroom also has two means of egress heading out, discussed above

3. Garages or other attached structures are another point to consider. Always consider finishing space that is attached to the main house. We haven't had much luck finishing space in detached garages or sheds or anything like that, focus on just spaces that are attached to the home.

When to finish additional space

Identifying additional finishable space is helpful, but that doesn't mean it needs to get finished during the initial project. Consider a phased approach where the first phase allows for minimal occupancy in existing finished space, and develop a plan for finishing additional space at a later date.

Step 2: Optimize Bedroom Space

Now, try to increase the size and improve the layout of each bedroom, top to bottom

Start with existing bedrooms, top floor

The logical place to start is to investigate each existing bedroom. It makes the most sense to start from the uppermost floor and work your way down. Maximize the use of space on upper floors first, then determine the need for common space after we know what we are working with in terms of number of guests.

First, look at each bedroom and see how it feels. Is it a simple single or double room? Would some layout improvements result in and extra bed or significantly better use of the floor space? Consider the following for each bedroom:

1. Eliminate hallways, stairways, closets, and other dead space to add to bedrooms
2. Close in a doorway, or open a new one up to improve the space?
3. Can we remove closet doors or walls to put the foot of a bed inside it to open up the space?
4. Can we eliminate or use dead space better?

When to create new bedrooms

Creating new bedrooms is more of an art than a science. Of course we want to maximize the capacity in the home, but we also want to be aware of the availability of common space.

• It typically makes sense to consider adding new bedrooms in upper floors and maximizing common space on the first floor or the basement.
• However, it might make sense to finish bedroom space in a basement that might not be as conducive for common area.
• Figure out how to maximize occupancy and then think about how to build sufficient common area for the capacity of the home.

Bedroom capacity considerations

Go to the plans and identify what the maximum capacity of each bedroom is, based on the square footage after having maximized as much of the square footage as we can, as discussed above. Each bedroom will fall into one of the following categories.

Private bedrooms

These are your smallest rooms. They are between 70 and 120 square feet. They are pretty simple to lay out, simply situate a bit, dresser, and potentially a nightstand in the room. If there is no closet, we will need a 3-ft hanging rack for clothing.

Double bedrooms

By far, the majority of bedrooms and Recovery housing would fall into this category. These rooms are typically 120 to 170 square feet. Some states allow them to be slightly smaller, ranging from 100 to 150 sq. ft., but this is not typical.

Triple or larger bedrooms

You may run into rooms that could fit three or more individuals. As the room size increases, the options for layout increase as well. The next section will discuss some strategies on laying out bedrooms.

Optimize Bedroom Layout

Optimize the bedroom layout and configurations after maximizing space in the rooms

Standard bedroom layouts

• Review 🛏️ Bed Standards and Layout Ideas files in the Facility Team folder area

The actual layout of a room has a significant impact on the environment in the home, and potentially can have an impact on revenue and sustainability of the business operation as well. Now that we have determined the absolute maximum capacity of each bedroom based on the square footage, we need to lay out the bedrooms.

Standard layouts in the furniture include basic twin or twin XL beds, dressers, and potentially other furniture. There's often no reason to reinvent the wheel and do more than a standard layout with standard furniture. However, for larger rooms or more complex floor plans, it may make sense to get creative. See examples below:

 

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Space for hanging clothing

Apart from the typical closet, there are many other options for where to hang clothing. Often, putting part of a bed in a closet area and then finding a different spot in the room for hanging clothing is a good idea.

Wall mounted racks with shelves: offers an easy and cheap solution for where to hang clothing outside of a normal closet

Self-contained wardrobes: another convenient option is ordering self-contained wardrobes of varying sizes from Ikea or other online retailers

Free-standing hanging rack: yet another option is a free-standing hanging rack for clothing that you can get on Walmart. This is a good way to separate space between beds, or for larger square rooms have it jut out into the middle of the room to improve privacy

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Bed pods: improved privacy and comfort

Bed pods are worth consideration if we have a wall that is at least 13' 6" in length. Bed pods allow for a great deal of privacy and can improve retention and revenue at the home.

Standard pods

A standard bed pod requires 6' 6" across and 7' deep for a standard twin XL bed, as seen in the graphic below. These pods are typically framed out of 2x4s and could include a hanging rack for clothing on the top side of the "T" wall. Consider adding wall mounted light and plug combinations and/or standard receptacles near the head of each bed.

Variants

One option is to create the illusion of a bed pod with armoires instead of having to frame a wall. This requires slightly more space across, but is generally cheaper and offers something a little easier to put together. See below.

Bunk beds

This was the hot topic of December 2024. Bunk beds offer many great benefits, and have many drawbacks as well.

Benefits:

• Bunk beds may allow for increased capacity in a bedroom.
• Full-over-full bunk beds offer much larger beds and maybe attractive to some guests.
• Bunk beds allow for far better use of floor space and might give enough room to add a desk or other furniture.

Drawbacks:

• They are bunk beds, after all. Some people don't like the idea of sleeping above or below other people.
• They tend to be a little bit expensive, roughly $1,000 each and might require a full mattresses which are not standard for VSL.
• They introduce an element of safety concern for those on the top bunk

Bunk bed options

Bunk beds come in many shapes and sizes:

• Full over Full: the standard bunk bed, but we have gotten some complaints that they take up too much space in the room and the larger bed size just doesn't compensate for it.
• Twin XL over Twin XL: these are difficult to find without going to a custom bed manufacturer, they have been requested but there isn't enough data to determine whether this is a good standard to use.
• Other: there are other options like Full XL and Twin, and you could even try a full-over-twin or other unique configurations

Bunk bed sources

1. Purchase online: purchasing bunk beds online is quick and easy and probably the cheapest. The best options that we have found have been on AliExpress, Home Depot, Amazon, etc.
2. Custom kit: these will run about $1,000 and still need to be assembled, but they are far more durable. Look for College Bed Lofts and National Home Store--email them with your orders.
3. Built-in: we recently purchased plans to build in bunk beds. This would be by far the most expensive but would offer a remarkable custom product. We have plans in the facility folder.

Procedure for determining appropriate bedroom layout

Step 4: Address Capacity-Triggered Requirements

1 full bathroom per 6 beds, 1 fridge per 5 beds fridge standards, etc.

Full bathrooms [1 FBE per 6 beds]

1 Full Bathroom Equivalent (FBE) is required per 6 guests. This means one toilet, one bathroom sink, and one shower per six guests. This requirement can sometimes be modified. Indicate bathroom locations on a printed plan. See if we need to add any bathrooms, add showers to existing bathrooms, or add other types of bathroom elements. Tips:

• Consider creating separate shower rooms outside of bathrooms (in dead space, like closets)
• It is better to have bathrooms accessible from common areas, not directly from bedrooms

Refrigerators and other appliances [1 fridge per 5 guests]

Ensure the kitchen is appropriate. Indicate quantity and location of refrigerators and other appliances to ensure that we will have appropriate plugs to serve them.

1. Consider locating refrigerators outside of the kitchen.
2. Consider creating multiple kitchenettes throughout the house; larger homes could perhaps benefit from having multiple stoves.
3. Make note of all plug types! Indicate on the plans.

Step 5: Meet Common Area Standards

General common area standards

Now that we have a good idea on the overall layout, identify common space on the printed floor plans. Indicate if we must create new common space. Indicate location of each of the amenities or functional areas in the home, including the following: