Had an idea… Maybe I can take those expensive triple pane patio sliders from living room and use them downstairs in the garage door opening. That would save a little money that I can spend for a really impressive wall opening configuration upstairs - where it will be noticed.
REALLY GOOD IDEA!
Yes, trying to brainstorm how to get a lot of storage down there. But I did make the decision to tear out the cheezy wood cabinets all over the place down there. But we found a lot of nice wood we can reuse for building stairs
Re extra storage; This is a crazy idea but, given the 15-16’ ceilings down below, i wonder if you could include a low closet above the bathroom on that floor. You definitely don’t need 16’ ceilings in a bathroom. Maybe you could enter the closet over the bathroom from the stair landing or something. There is so much volume down there!
^Interesting idea. Feasible??
I’m hoping that the draftsman/planner/design guy will have a good idea on how to do the stairs because we have to go down pretty far to get to bottom floor. I don’t have any experience with the code requirements for treads although I know it’s something like 7" stair every 12" so we need a lot of stairs!!
Can you do a spiral staircase?
Yes, I could do a spiral staircase but I really don’t like them and don’t want to do it unless I absolutely have to. My goal is to limit the amount of square footage that has to be stolen from upstairs, but I have plenty of room downstairs to do some landings and turns if I have to.
Maybe you can find a way to utilize the space under your staircase like our builder did. Our walk-in kitchen pantry takes up the space under ours. Who cares if the ceiling in the pantry is not 8’?
Great idea - storage or pantry space and a minifridge under the staircase!
Will there be a kitchenette (for visitors or to rent out on Air BNB)?
I hate using spirals …falling/sliding is inevitable.
There’s a 16’ ceiling down there? Wow.
Frame up a floor to make it an 8’ ceiling, and then you have a basement for storage.
What post number has the link to the photos?
Thanks
re storage, you could make some of the ceilings 8 or 9" tall , have a storage area above, and use a drop down ladder to access it.
like this.
https://www.google.com/search?q=drop+down+ladder+for+storage&tbm=isch&imgil=Y3gi2u6wlbc7pM%253A%253BHtgkxRCVbz9EtM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fatticaccesssantabarbara.com%25252Fabout-us%25252F&source=iu&pf=m&fir=Y3gi2u6wlbc7pM%253A%252CHtgkxRCVbz9EtM%252C_&biw=1277&bih=825&usg=__z7Qn7jKNM4q6ttFb6J3zmH4LZ8k%3D&ved=0CFwQyjc&ei=8NyKVeLZG8-yogTy64CACw#imgrc=uiWe-TOpMlEkJM%253A%3BeWsHNySYFR9O2M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.betterbarns.net%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2012%252F03%252FDrop-Down-Ladder.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.betterbarns.net%252Fbuilding-style%252Fgarages%252F%3B371%3B278&usg=__z7Qn7jKNM4q6ttFb6J3zmH4LZ8k%3D
AND/ OR you could have a door to the storage area off the middle landing for the stairs leading the the lower level.
I envison stairs that cut back on them selves, in order to keep the sq ft involved to a minimum.
like this-
a door to the storage area could be installed off the middle landing if you did not want an attic drop down door to access the storage area above.
I’d design the family room part with a soaring ceiling, and have an 8 ft ceiling in the bedroom+ bath , and have access to the storage area above them either in the bedroom room or through a door off the landing to the stairs.
Spiral staircase - definitely not practical. Particularly if you are marketing towards older buyers. We have one down from our house to the “wilder” part of our property and it is not conducive to transportation of things.
I like these built-ins using under-stairway space, but they can be pricey for drawers. Perhaps there’s an idea here for closet or shelving use of the space:
We have one under our stairway and use it for storage of luggage and H’s dozens of carry-on and gym bags (until they are purged).
I like @notrichenough 's idea of a separate storage space. One can never have enough storage.
" separate storage space. One can never have enough storage."
First of all, storage space cannot be “sold” and be accounted for as square footage. It is not inhabitable space.
Secondly, if old folks are the target, its not very practical to ask old folks to walk all those outside steps just to reach the unit.
I think real stairs and heating elements are needed to convert it to a living space which might worth the expense. To add square footage, you need a permit, which cb is trying to avoid.
^ You are behind, CB has gotten permission from the city to convert the garage into living space and is planning on pulling a permit for it.
See [url=<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/18599372/#Comment_18599372%5D#821%5B/url”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/18599372/#Comment_18599372]#821[/url].
dear god artlover- read all the posts more carefully-
1- CB is NOT trying to avoid getting a permit!
2- the downstairs area is going to have an internal staircase to the top level. She is trying to figure out how to configure it.
3- The downstairs area is not intended as seperate rent able space.
One of these pictures (the one with the panel of flush-fit closet doors and pull-out shelves with lime green edges) shows a fabulous under-stairway storage idea:
(Now I want to rip out our space and do this!)
If you have a good trim carpenter, he/she should be able to build it out for you.
The stairs here are going to present a fairly complicated three dimensional design challenge, given that you need to get down essentially two stories. As I’m sure you know, they really need to be planned carefully. I’ve seen plenty of remodels without architects involved where clearances don’t really work on the stairs and us six-footers end up smacking our heads. Make sure to have plenty of sections drawn and study the headroom on each and every step.
I would also be thinking about the elevations on the building as a whole, so that the upper and lower floors read as an integrated building design.
This seems like the kind of project where comprehensive advance planning is really required!
Since the garage space has 16’ ceiling, I wonder if some sort of a loft space can be incorporated into the design - can be used for both storage and “kiddos’ sleeping lair.”
Not advocating for this specific design, but - goshdarnit - it is so cool:
http://www.compact-living.com/loftsangar/loftsangmodell-13/attachment/loftis120-2