Expert: Richard Taylor, AIA - 4/3/2006

Question
We live in the midwest and have 5 young children (15 - 2 years old).  Because of the occasional tornado and the frequent noise from several children the basement has been the best option we have ever included in a home we have built.

The area we live is growing rapidly and we have been able to gain quick equity in our homes.  

We are planning to build a new home in a custom neighborhood.  This neighborhood has several families with young children and has a good mix of ranches vs 2 story homes.

We have 2 design options we are intersted in.  

Choice one would be a traditional 2 story home (2600 sf) with 4 BRs upstairs.  We would add a 1,000 sf basement and put another 2 BRs down there.  The rest of the basement we would leave unfinished.

Choice 2 would be a 1800 sf ranch with 3 Brs (though we would use one as an office) on the main floor.  We would also have a bonus room over the garage where we would have another BR.  Then with this option the cost to finish the basement is lower than the other so we would finish the entire basement (1300 - 1500 sf) and add 3 BRs here.

Option 2, U Build It would allow us to contribute sweat equity to the project and nearly equalize the costs of the options.

If the market we live in continues to grow which, most agree we are really just in the beginnig phases, then we likely will have the opportunity in 3 years to sell this home and do it all again.

Both homes would be appealing to us and would meet our needs and then some.  We have tried to narrow the choices to homes that would meet our needs yet still be attractive to the market (not look like a hotel with so many BRS).

Do you have any ideas or suggestions that might help us decide which route to pursue?

Thanks in Indiana

Answer
Hi Dan - thanks for your question!  I'd put as few bedrooms in the basement as possible.  They're not counted as much toward value or square footage as bedrooms on the first or second floor.

Also, building codes require that basement bedrooms have "egress" windows - that will mean quite a bit of additional expense for each bedroom you put down there unless you're on a walk-out lot.  If you don't put code windows in, you may be violating code, you may have a liability issue, and you will certainly not be doing the safest thing for your family.

And you'll also close out the possibility of finishing off the basement for a recreation space - that's what's "hot" in the markets right now.  Most people expect to see a TV/media room of some sort on the lower level, or at least space to create one.

I'd go with the larger two-story - it gives you more overall potential living space and is more efficient per square foot to build.

Hope this helps!

Richard Taylor, AIA
Richard Taylor Architects, LLC
www.rtastudio.com
www.betterhomedesign.blogspot.com