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I was interested in buying a home but there's been some snags along the way, so the process is delayed. One of the things that is giving me concern is what somebody told me regarding the home's floor plan.
It's advertised as a one level with a daylight basement, which was fully finished by the builder. From the street, it looks like a rambler and when you enter, you're immediately on the main floor which has the kitchen, dining, living, master and 1.5 bathrooms.
In the entry, there are stairs which lead down to the daylight basement which has another living/"bonus" room, the two kids' rooms, and a bathroom. There is a sliding glass door in the living room which opens to the back yard.
I've had somebody tell me they didn't like having the kids' rooms in the daylight basement for two reasons:
1: It's not near the parents' master bedroom
2. The kids' rooms aren't "secure" because they're tucked in the basement which can be accessed from the outside by the sliding glass door
Is this really a big deal? The person who didn't like this arrangement thought it was odd and that the house would have been better had it been a regular two story with the kids' rooms on the second floor, which couldn't be accessed from the outside.
As a parent you may want to consider - greater possiblity of mold and mildew, and radon issues.
I would want something more secure than a sliding glass door for my kids but the truth be known the windows are so insecure anyway............I sure think it is a better arrangement than putting kids on a second floor in terms of firesafety.
I'd say that some parents would likely think twice about it, but those that would purchase a single story wouldn't, so much. Plus, it's possible that the sliding glass door could be replaced with double doors of some more secure type.
I was interested in buying a home but there's been some snags along the way, so the process is delayed. One of the things that is giving me concern is what somebody told me regarding the home's floor plan.
It's advertised as a one level with a daylight basement, which was fully finished by the builder. From the street, it looks like a rambler and when you enter, you're immediately on the main floor which has the kitchen, dining, living, master and 1.5 bathrooms.
In the entry, there are stairs which lead down to the daylight basement which has another living/"bonus" room, the two kids' rooms, and a bathroom. There is a sliding glass door in the living room which opens to the back yard.
I've had somebody tell me they didn't like having the kids' rooms in the daylight basement for two reasons:
1: It's not near the parents' master bedroom
2. The kids' rooms aren't "secure" because they're tucked in the basement which can be accessed from the outside by the sliding glass door
Is this really a big deal? The person who didn't like this arrangement thought it was odd and that the house would have been better had it been a regular two story with the kids' rooms on the second floor, which couldn't be accessed from the outside.
I'd appreciate your thoughts on this.
Well this floor plan isn't all that unusual and I actually owned one in the States with similar floor plan. First depends on the age of your kids, if they're very young like infants or something, you might want them closer to you or as an alterntive you could always install a nanny cam/monitor so you'd know during the night if there was a problem. If your kids are older, well, both you and they will like the separation of space.
As far as mold, radon etc. that could be a part of your inspection process (contingencies) because there is paint that is specifically for mitigating mold (I'm in the tropics so this I do know LOL), and on radon and using my house as an example, part of inspection including having it tested; if there were radon levels present then the seller had to put in a radon system (which he did, even though there were very low levels).
On the sliders - there are many ways they could be secured so not only people couldn't get in, but kids can't get out (whether young or teenagers LOL). Really depends on how well you like the house, the neighborhood, schools etc. but I personally liked this type floor plan so I was on main level, but my son had his own play space downstairs along with BR and bath (but he wasn't an infant at the time).
It's a common enough floor plan in hilly parts of the country- you have to do a fair amount of foundation work for those kinds of lots, and a walkout basement with one story at grade is a relatively economical way to build.
As for the sliders, if you think about it, any determined adventure toddler can get out of a window on a first floor home as easily they could get out of a slider. If you're worried about someone coming along and breaking the door, order one that meets Miami-Dade hurricane code. Those suckers can take a lot of abuse. When we lived at the beach, our balcony sliding glass door was auto glass made by the Ford motor company.
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On the sliders - there are many ways they could be secured so not only people couldn't get in, but kids can't get out
That would be like ten different kind of wrong from a fire code standpoint- they need to be able to get out quickly from that location at any time.
Your question is " will most people find this floor plan appealing? "
From my experience I would say many would not find this floor plan appealing, especially if they have young children and /or teens who might be prone to use that separate entrance to come and go, in the night.
It's a common enough floor plan in hilly parts of the country- you have to do a fair amount of foundation work for those kinds of lots, and a walkout basement with one story at grade is a relatively economical way to build.
As for the sliders, if you think about it, any determined adventure toddler can get out of a window on a first floor home as easily they could get out of a slider. If you're worried about someone coming along and breaking the door, order one that meets Miami-Dade hurricane code. Those suckers can take a lot of abuse. When we lived at the beach, our balcony sliding glass door was auto glass made by the Ford motor company.
That would be like ten different kind of wrong from a fire code standpoint- they need to be able to get out quickly from that location at any time.
I was simply stating that the walk-out basement door could be secured from either intruders trying to break in or kids wandering out. Anyway you cut it whether replacing with hurricane code glass doors or not they would need to be locked and secured. Even if replaced with standard doors, wouldn't they be kept locked? That was the only point I was making. Guess if this is a big concern to the OP they should look at something without a walkout basement. I just personally liked the sytle of the home, so did my son and we didn't have any issues.
I was interested in buying a home but there's been some snags along the way, so the process is delayed. One of the things that is giving me concern is what somebody told me regarding the home's floor plan.
It's advertised as a one level with a daylight basement, which was fully finished by the builder. From the street, it looks like a rambler and when you enter, you're immediately on the main floor which has the kitchen, dining, living, master and 1.5 bathrooms.
In the entry, there are stairs which lead down to the daylight basement which has another living/"bonus" room, the two kids' rooms, and a bathroom. There is a sliding glass door in the living room which opens to the back yard.
I've had somebody tell me they didn't like having the kids' rooms in the daylight basement for two reasons:
1: It's not near the parents' master bedroom
2. The kids' rooms aren't "secure" because they're tucked in the basement which can be accessed from the outside by the sliding glass door
Is this really a big deal? The person who didn't like this arrangement thought it was odd and that the house would have been better had it been a regular two story with the kids' rooms on the second floor, which couldn't be accessed from the outside.
I'd appreciate your thoughts on this.
People with young kids rarely want to be on separate floors from them - but people with teens would welcome an area that would be so separated
I see no problem with the floor plan at all, UNLESS, it's in a neighborhood of all first-time homebuyers with small children
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