House with a basement

[bigtiller]

If you decide to go with a basement, build it with I.C.F.'s, (insulated concrete forms) it will be much cheaper to heat and cool.

I haven't been in my basement for a year, knee problems. If I could wave a magic wand, I would gladly trade my basement for an extra 500 sq ft on the main level.

For your Mom's room, she needs her own living space. Rather than a second master bedroom, a few more sq ft would give her a tiny apartment. She could have a chair and TV of her own, small refrigerator and microwave, maybe a small table and chair, and most importantly, a door going outside with a small deck where she could get some fresh air easily.

It would let her get away from the busy/noisy life of a modern family and escape into her "own house" and still feel safe and secure without any of the ownership worries. My mother lives in just such a place and enjoys it.

 

[2ndhalf]

That is the huge PRO to a walk in basement, you do not have to use the stairs if it doesn’t permit.

As u can see from my previous post, I have two French doors, they both open completely, no center support column, I drive my tractor right through them.

Yes, I would often walk around to basement entrance to avoid stairs,

 

[shaeff]

Me and my wife had a modular home built about 3yrs ago. 2500sq ft Colonial on a 9' tall foundation/basement. I insulated the floor and put 1000' of radiant PEX in the concrete. Didn't think we'd have the cash to insulate the walls on the exterior so we skipped that step and I regret it daily. Oh well. :/

Our basement is a walk-out at ground level with double doors that open to 6' wide. I wouldn't have it any other way. We don't have a garage of any sort yet, so I do all my work outside the basement doors. If it's really bad weather I can pull garden tractor sized machinery inside, but not my MF35. Could probably squeeze a car in, depending on width and removing side mirrors.

Anyway, it's great to have a walkout to ground level. Very useful, especially if I'm covered in grease or mud or whatever.

 

[WVH1977]

If you decide to go with a basement, build it with I.C.F.'s, (insulated concrete forms) it will be much cheaper to heat and cool.

I haven't been in my basement for a year, knee problems. If I could wave a magic wand, I would gladly trade my basement for an extra 500 sq ft on the main level.

For your Mom's room, she needs her own living space. Rather than a second master bedroom, a few more sq ft would give her a tiny apartment. She could have a chair and TV of her own, small refrigerator and microwave, maybe a small table and chair, and most importantly, a door going outside with a small deck where she could get some fresh air easily.

It would let her get away from the busy/noisy life of a modern family and escape into her "own house" and still feel safe and secure without any of the ownership worries. My mother lives in just such a place and enjoys it.

My mom will have a study and a small kitchenette to go along with her master suite. That is why we are considering living in a daylight basement and giving her most of the upstairs. We are definitely going with 36 inch doors for bathrooms/rooms and hallways will probably be 4 feet wide.

EddieWalker I agree about stairs. This has been the number one reason I have been debating just one single floor versus having the basement. If we do decide to finish the basement we will still have to go upstairs to use the kitchen (not trying to do two full kitchens). If we do one floor living we can still do a walkout unfinished basement with a shop area and rec room for the kids.

 

[jfh28]

walkout basements are much nicer for finished space then underground basements.......if you do a walkout make sure you put in as much glass area as possible.....double whatever you are thinking will be adequate......when you have lots of natural light coming in it becomes a much more livable area.......as for bedrooms in walk out basements its very easy to meet the egress codes with either double hung or casement windows....the size requirements for ground floor egress is much less then second floor windows....check with your code official.....keep in mind that the floor will be concrete and thus cold in the winter......radiant heat would be a good choice although I hate it for the shoulder seasons......also remember that although you are thinking of living down stairs to start with there is nothing preventing you from moving upstairs in the future and sending the kids downstairs.......Jack

 

[MossRoad]

When you get old, its nice to have the master bedroom and at least one and a half baths on the first floor as a minimum. A master bath and a guest 1/2 bath near the kitchen/living areas. However, when you are young, with kids, its nice to have a basement, and bedrooms in the basement, as well as at least one full bath. Make the stairs wide enough that if, for some reason, you lose the ability to comfortably use stairs, you can put in a chair lift on the stairs. They are very nice when needed. I've also seen a few homes designed with closets over each other on multiple floors that can be converted into an elevator very easily in the future. Think about that and have the home framed accordingly in case you need it later.

Or, you could just do like this guy....

 

[preacher1]

We have lived in three houses w/ w/o basement, all finished. Where we live in Missouri the appraisal is good, maybe a littler lower than the main floor, but much more than building cost. The last 2 had storm shelters with half baths that would serve as bedroom in case of storm. With a crawl space, you also have about a 4 ft wall, and could double living space with 4 ft more of wall and floor. We have a family room and 2 bedrooms there with 3x5 ft windows and walk out door. We also face the south. I would also recommend ground source h/a. We are total electric except cooking and a gas fire place for emergency. This has been a cold winter for here, but Dec 23 to Jan 23, our total elec was $113, which is not bad for 2800 ft + of living space. No smell in basement unless in laws are there.

 

[Travelover]

I've had three houses, with full level basement, walk out basement and ranch with crawl space. I loved the walk out basement for all the reasons already stated - easy to move stuff out without carrying up stairs, access to plumbing and wiring. A single level is definitely nice as you get older, so if you made the upper floor self contained and the basement for utilities and storage, you could age out in it.

In Michigan basements or unheated spaces are not counted as square footage, but in Washington state, basements and enclosed porches seem to be counted.

 

[goeduck]

. I've also seen a few homes designed with closets over each other on multiple floors that can be converted into an elevator very easily in the future. Think about that and have the home framed accordingly in case you need it

When we were house shopping before we bought the single level we are in my wife fell in love with a 2 story, plus a second 2 story above the garage. While we were looking at it, I was going back and forth from upstairs to downstairs again and again. The real estate agent asked me what I was doing. I told her I was figuring out where the elevators would go

Now 4 years later my wife could not go up and down those stairs if she had to. Some things just work out right.

 

[Travelover]

When we were house shopping before we bought the single level we are in my wife fell in love with a 2 story, plus a second 2 story above the garage...........

Plus, for those of us in earthquake country, a garage under the second story is likely to pancake.