How difficult is it to "undo" a sunken room or raised entry? (Phoenix: renting, how much)

[JewelChick01]

My husband and I are currently renting, still trying to find a home in the Phoenix area to buy. There's a slight chance that one or both of my elderly parents could end up living with us at some point, so we're looking for a one-story home that has absolutely zero interior or exterior steps.

I keep finding these great houses that would be perfect EXCEPT for the fact that either the entry is raised, to where you have to step down into the rest of the house, or the living room is sunken. Assuming that we're only talking about something less than a foot high (or down), how difficult and/or costly is it to change this? Is it even possible?

And how can so many retirees live here with all these steps?!?

[threecats407]

Step back a moment and think about this, assuming it's structurally doable. Unless the ceiling height changes what happens when you raise the floor in a sunken room?

[Hollytree]

Same complaint- hate these houses!!! The late '50s early '60s-'70s have a lot to answer for!

I have seen some online that have sunken rooms but do have cathedral or peaked ceilings, so in some cases it might be possible to even out the floor. Window levels can be an issue, casings, etc.

[ScottsdaleMark]

Jewel, if you look on Amazon they make these little metal ramps you can deploy in your house for wheelchairs or so forth to handle that one step down. Some homes also will install a metal railing so people don't fall into the sunken living room by accident.

A sunken living room I suppose would be pretty easy to fill up, just pour more concrete into the hole, but the question I suppose would be how much concrete weight ... is the foundation thick enough to withstand the weight without cracking your floors/walls/plaster?

Given it's only a slight chance and it's easy enough to retrofit with metal railings and a wheelchair ramp, I'd say you really don't need to worry about a sunken living room too much.

[KurtAZ]

Not all retirees are invalids so I wouldn't make the assumption that homes in Phoenix would be any different form elsewhere in the country. I can't think of a single home I have lived in that didn't have at least one step in the house or access to the yard. I do believe there are companies out there that will modify your house for wheelchairs, ease of access, etc.

[observer53]

Originally Posted by JewelChick01

My husband and I are currently renting, still trying to find a home in the Phoenix area to buy. There's a slight chance that one or both of my elderly parents could end up living with us at some point, so we're looking for a one-story home that has absolutely zero interior or exterior steps.

I keep finding these great houses that would be perfect EXCEPT for the fact that either the entry is raised, to where you have to step down into the rest of the house, or the living room is sunken. Assuming that we're only talking about something less than a foot high (or down), how difficult and/or costly is it to change this? Is it even possible?

And how can so many retirees live here with all these steps?!?

You are probably looking at a much older tract home, then, those are the only ones I can think of where I have seen NO steps. Otherwise, you will need to think about ramps (which are available or can be built) if that "slight chance" comes to pass.

[JewelChick01]

That's about what I thought. Most of the homes I see like that are circa '70s and '80s, and my husband doesn't want one that old anyway. It's not as difficult to find newer homes with no steps, but we also want no pool, and that's a tall order here.

[Bird Street]

I have a friend in Tempe who lives near Guadalupe and Kyrene. When the house next door changed hands, the new owners hired a cement truck to fill up the sunken living room. I never heard how that turned out. I wouldn't have sunken rooms.

[UpTownJon]

Sunken living room is going to be easier to fix than a raised entry in my opinion, its just concrete to fill. If the raised entry is removed, you have to match it outside most likely, so maybe regrading the front, some drywall/stucco work and definitely a new door as well.

If you bought with a raised entry I would just go for a ramp, unless they are going in and out multiple times a day, it shouldn't be too bad. You can almost always tell when someones filled in a sunken living room when the outlets are about 6 inches off the floor

[smoochaz]

My whole neighborhood built in the 90s has two sunken areas in the homes in the formal living and the family room - a real pain in the butt - many have filled them up - HOWEVER, many have also had lots of problems with that because they didn't give the concrete time to cure so settling was an issue - so you have to live outside of these rooms for at least a month while the concrete settles and then your contractor comes back to put whatever flooring you need - since you're renting and still shopping for a home - why bother?! your realtor can make sure he/she is showing you homes that are single level without interior steps