So, How Big IS Your House?

[Zipper]

We have a 5 level brick backsplit situated on a cul-de-sac. The lot is 1/3 of an acre backing onto a wooded greenspace with boardwalked trails.

We moved in new in 1983 and I have extensively landscaped over the years adding a large pond about 9 years ago. I use my own compost to enrich our flower beds and mature trees (sugar maple 80'., red oak 80', mulberry, white pine 90', gingko 60', Japanese red maple 30' Colorado Spruce 80' and a humungous Trumpet Vine). You should see my "big deck"!

The yard is fully wood fenced and the single garage is oversized.

3 levels are finished @ ~ 1900 sq. ft. and the 2 lower levels are semi-finished.

The house would market @ $275 000 and the property taxes are $3000. We will probably stay here another 25 years.

They say multi-level houses add 10 years to your life.

 

[travelover]

If I include my barn, should I account for the loft separately ?

 

[ziggy29]

We live in an older (1944) rock home that's about 1150 sf. We downsized when we moved, down from a 2270 sf 4/2.5 ranch style house we owned in Houston.

The property tax and utility bills are so much nicer now. And whenever I see a nice, big and expensive house on HGTV and other home shows like that, my first thought is no longer how much I'd love to have the house, but rather how much I'd hate to pay the property taxes and the cooling/heating bills!

 

[tightasadrum]

I mentioned in another post about how I [-]got roped into[/-] ended up with this place, way more space than we now, or ever did, need. But it's a very nice location: quiet 8-1/2 acres, 9-12 acre lake, wildlife everywhere, did I mention quiet?

3000 sf plus full daylight basement already half full of stuff...what IS this stuff? Master BR, Living Room, Kitchen & den overlooking the lake with a covered 10'x50' porch on the back, where I spend 8-months of the year, two car garage, and a covered front porch with two porch swings and two large old wicker rockers and a view of the old water oak and magnolia trees. Upstairs has two bedrooms and two baths and lots of places to store MORE stuff. Total of 3-1/2 bathrooms. But that doesn't seem to be enough.

I plan to build a guys room/bar and home theater in the basement, not because I need it, but because I need MY place to go when it's too hot or cold for the back porch. Do you married guys have this problem: no matter how small a place I carve out to do my stuff (pay bills, plan AA, plan projects), it is unacceptable to DW who wants to gather it all up and pile it in the corner of the closet or something. You would think 3000 minus 100 sf, ie 2900sf, would be plenty for any woman. Nope, get your trash outta here. So I'm driven to the basement to lay out my stuff where I can leave it stacked any way I want to, so I can find it, work on it as I please. Go figure.

 

[Zathras]

When we built we specifically built a man cave for me. My wonderful wife has a craft room and we share the exercise room downstairs. But the man cave is all mine (bwahahahahahahahaha). Of course, I am always happy to listen to 'suggestions'

 

[REWahoo]

If I include my barn, should I account for the loft separately ?

Yes.

 

[haha]

By the descriptions of some of these houses and neighborhoods, I should banned from this site.

Not to worry. I live in a 500+ foot one bedroom apartment, and I am glad of it. Every evening I walk down the street I am glad that I don't live in a doorway. (As an aside, these homeless people get very sharp and figuring out the warmest driest places to hole up for the night.)

I am having trouble reconciling these mansions with the budget and spending discussions we have.

You guys only buy wholesale?

Ha

 

[Nords]

Ye gods you people are livin' large. Here the lot sizes are measured in square feet and people build their ohana homes out right to the lot line. New construction is usually 1600 sq ft, two stories on a slab in a 4000 sq ft lot. We buy 'em beat up in their midlife crisis so we tend to get larger places for less money.

We have a 2400 sq ft 4BR 2.5BA on 15,688 sq ft of cul-de-sac-- next to a sewage booster pumping station. (REW, we also have a 400 sq ft garage and a couple 225 sq ft lanai.) Most of the neighborhood lots are 7000 sq ft but the developer couldn't figure out how to squeeze one more into our large steeply-sloped back yard below the sewage plant. The previous owner also built a 16x12 "storage shed" on the back slope. Locally this is a white elephant trophy home but realistically it's a cleaning & maintenance hassle with an orchard. A local family just started up a charity distributing harvest fruit to elderly shut-ins and we're about to become their best buddies.

I thought we were over the top when we upgraded our rental's 4BR 2BA 1873 sq ft by screening in the 400 sq ft lanai. That's on a 5402 sq ft lot (no idea who's in charge of determining the lot size's fourth & fifth significant digits).

A typical day is spent with spouse in the livingroom and me in the familyroom, meeting in the kitchen or at the home-improvement project site. Our kid has filled every horizontal surface with her crap (spouse isn't far behind) but when we become empty-nesters we'll have two extra bedrooms and a study mainly used for storage.

Our "dream house" was a 1400 sq ft two-story condo/townhouse with two master suites, a back deck, and a 6'x6' front yard. We hardly spent any time there unless we were sleeping or hosting the party. I'd go back to that in a heartbeat if we could do it in a quiet neighborhood-- with adequate longboard storage.

a large cold storge room 20X20 (Utah requirement).

Do I really want to know what Utah requires you to store in a large cold room?

 

[calmloki]

...I plan to build a guys room/bar and home theater in the basement, not because I need it, but because I need MY place to go when it's too hot or cold for the back porch. Do you married guys have this problem: no matter how small a place I carve out to do my stuff (pay bills, plan AA, plan projects), it is unacceptable to DW who wants to gather it all up and pile it in the corner of the closet or something. You would think 3000 minus 100 sf, ie 2900sf, would be plenty for any woman. Nope, get your trash outta here. So I'm driven to the basement to lay out my stuff where I can leave it stacked any way I want to, so I can find it, work on it as I please. Go figure.

Isn't it strange? I do chronological vertical filing on my desk and can find most of the important stuff quickly. Been advised that my filing system is unhygenic and visually unacceptable, so every now and again i come home to find the desk looking much better and stuff neatly filed away in an attractive logical (to her) manner. Takes me weeks to find the stuff i need. She (rarely) does the same thing to the garage, and it does look better. Just not handy. For some reason the baskets overflowing with her shoes are ok.... In the main though, the cats and i have decided it's much more comfortable with her around, so we put up with her clean/de-clutter quirks. We agree that it's pretty big of us.

 

[HFWR]

1650sf, 3-2-2

I own a brick... house...

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Seems when we designed the house we had 0 grandkids, and 9 years later we have 5.

Stuff happens...

You didnt childproof well enough. We did a pretty good job but one got in despite our efforts.

 

[HFWR]

You didnt childproof well enough. We did a pretty good job but one got in despite our efforts.

Just poking fun at her, but she took you seriously?

 

[bots2019]

1100 finished SF, although 400 of that is in the 1/2 story upstairs. We consider it a 'guest room' and luxury walk-in closet (read: junk storage), so we pretty much live in the other 700 SF. Seemed to work out pretty well until we had a baby last year, now I think the lack of space is endangering our sanity. In the market for an upgrade the next year or two, not sure but will probably aim for something around 3000-3500 SF.

Oh, and my lot's 6000 SF (a pretty quick mowing job)!

 

[TromboneAl]

I wish I could figure out a way to decrease the size of our 2000 sq ft house, now that we're empty nesters.

You might think that you could just close off the unused rooms, and not have to heat or clean them, but they get stuffy and dusty. I usually close them off every other day.

 

[KB]

1670 sf 3 bed/2 bath one story, no basement. I have a 2 car garage also.

This is my downsized house; I only have 1 kid left at home and he'll be out within a year or so. Then I'll have a craft/hobby/sewing room and a guest bedroom. Can't wait.

I think my lot is 6000 sf...wish it was larger but it is what it is. My house is almost 4 years old and unless I could find another year old home that I like on a larger lot, I'm here for awhile. And while the value has dropped, it's still a $400K home, give or take a little. So, if I downsize again, I'll have some cash to add to my portfolio.

 

[Gumby]

2505 sqft. The largest room in the house is the 500 sqft kitchen.

3 BR, living room, dining room, office, sewing room, full bath, 3/4 bath and powder room. 2 car attached garage with semi-heated gym room over top.

 

[Nords]

Seemed to work out pretty well until we had a baby last year, now I think the lack of space is endangering our sanity.

The other side of the baby/space issue is that when they start cruising around in a small home, you're glad that they can't get out of eyeball range. Imagine babyproofing a 6000 sq ft McMansion, too.

Hard to believe that something so small could move so fast and get into so much trouble so quickly. Because you know the parents are totally rested, in superb physical condition, in complete control of all mental faculties, and never distracted for even a microsecond.

Luckily these problems disappear when they're teenagers.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

You might think that you could just close off the unused rooms, and not have to heat or clean them, but they get stuffy and dusty. I usually close them off every other day.

Believe it or not Al, that can actually end up costing you MORE to heat and cool your house, along with shortening the life of your furnace fan and heat exchanger. About the only time that strategy works is if you have a totally uninsulated house or if your building envelope and duct systems are 100% sealed. Which creates some different problems...

Problem is that the average home has about 30% loss due to duct leakage. Much of that happens due to bad connections in ducting thats inside the walls or inaccessible. Mine was at 30% before I had them sealed up and after extensive caulking and taping, its still around 10%.

Closing registers increases the systems static pressure. Static pressure is the buildup of air pressure created by the furnace fan in the output side of the ductwork to create forced air. Increased static pressure increases the total volume of loss through duct leaks, generally into unconditioned space like attics, crawlspaces and walls.

That loss outside of the building envelope causes a lowering of pressure inside the house, which is compensated by unconditioned air, dust, and whatever else is available being pulled in through every tiny crack and seam in your house.

The increased static pressure also makes your furnace fan work harder, reducing its life. Reduced airflows can also cause overheated heat exchangers to crack, and air conditioning coils to freeze.

Many HVAC systems lack adequate air flow due to poor duct design, and a high percent have excessive static pressure with all the registers open.

Closing Off Vents and Rooms to Save Energy

 

[bots2019]

The other side of the baby/space issue is that when they start cruising around in a small home, you're glad that they can't get out of eyeball range. Imagine babyproofing a 6000 sq ft McMansion, too.

A good point. We're still in the non-mobile phase and not really looking forward to all the babyproofing, although it wont be long now (he's 6 months).

Because you know the parents are totally rested, in superb physical condition, in complete control of all mental faculties, and never distracted for even a microsecond.

Luckily these problems disappear when they're teenagers.

Yep. Although I'm hoping to be retired by the time he's that age, so at least I'll have a little more time to keep on top of these things.

 

[Khan]

Do I really want to know what Utah requires you to store in a large cold room?

A year's supply of food?

 

[Sarah in SC]

1650sf, 3-2-2

I own a brick... house...

I wish I was a brick....house....! O0

Perfect 50 x 50 square--the house is an elevated (15 ft) 50 x 30 with 2 ten foot wide porches running 50 feet front and back. With that we've got 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, an office and a huge middle ground for the kitchen/liv room, plus a [-]dog bathing[/-] laundry room. Perfect for two people, 4 dogs, 5 cats and an aquarium. Plus we throw giant parties every now and then.

The lot is 4 acres fenced and we have a shed plus the entire underneath of the house is open (what are these basements of which you speak? We have water underground!) The downstairs will eventually be enclosed/concrete poured/etc and made into living space, but I have no idea when. It will likely be used as party space, but I'll also keep in mind the idea that my parents might need to live there one day and do a universal design and wet bath along with a caretakers room. We do all our own construction.

We want to add a couple of outbuildings--one I'm designing is a man-house for DH so that he can go play poker, smoke cigars, and all that manly stuff--out back by the marsh.

 

[Khan]

I have looked up the official property records:

Year Built: 1940
Rooms: 5
Bedrooms: 3
Full Baths: 1
Half baths: 1
Sq. Feet: 908
Lot: 55x125 Sq. Feet (6875)

Assessed Market Value: $65300
2007 Prop Tax: $992
==================================
Unused attic (3rd bedroom used for storage, slowly being emptied)
Main level is a kitchen and an L-shaped living/dining/family room
10x12 covered concrete patio
Unfinished basement with boiler, water heater, washing machine
Attached garage, extra long one car (gas, electric, water, cable, phone come in through garage)
Detached garage 12x21, no amenities
Downstairs window A/C
The full bath is no longer full, as I had the tub removed
Back yard is vegetable gardens and ground cover
===================================
Purchased September 1978
Mortgage paid off 1998
===================================
Have replaced:
Roof
Siding
Wiring
Outgoing plumbing
Windows
Doors
Appliances
====================================
It's too big. I am slowly rearranging and weeding out stuff with the ultimate goal of downsizing to a one bedroom apartment at some undetermined point.

And even if I never do move, a neat well-organized minimalist setup will be easier for whoever finds the body and probates the estate.

 

[UncleHoney]

Very nice. Not large compared to others here, but I bet it is worth a nice chunk of change.

Thanks Dawg52. When the housing bubble was just about to pop (2005) a real estate friend kept saying, "I can get you $325k if you want to sell". Things have slowed a little since then, maybe closer to $300k.

The only original house left is the framing and foundation, everything else has been replaced. Fully insulated, all new windows, wiring and plumbing, even the hardwood flooring and plaster. All the original red gum woodwork and doors have been restored.

 

[Walt34]

Isn't it strange? I do chronological vertical filing on my desk and can find most of the important stuff quickly. Been advised that my filing system is unhygenic and visually unacceptable, so every now and again i come home to find the desk looking much better and stuff neatly filed away in an attractive logical (to her) manner. Takes me weeks to find the stuff i need.

I think it must be that estrogen stuff than makes 'em do that. Same thing here. She's always filing stuff in it's proper place. To be expected, I guess, since I married a bookkeeper/accountant. (What are my shoes doing in the closet? No wonder I couldn't find them!) But she's cute.

 

[TromboneAl]

...costing you MORE to heat and cool your house, along with shortening the life of your furnace fan and heat exchanger.

I agree, that could be true if we used our furnace. We use our wood stove together with fans to distribute the heat. I turn on the furnace about five minutes per month so that it won't feel neglected.

If I close off a room it is much cooler than the rest of the house, showing me how much heat it would normally eat up.