The good, bad and ugly on 2 story houses

[Colleen27]

I'm fascinated by the fact that so many American homes seem to have the laundry upstairs. I've never heard of such a set up before. Is this common?

What happens when/if you want to hang something outside on the line? Isn't it a pain to have to drag heavy wet stuff through the house, particularly over carpet?

In most Australian houses the laundry opens straight out into the back yard, close to the clothes line.

Yeah it is a pain, but houses these days aren't built with the assumption that you'll be line drying clothes. Most people just use the gas or electric dryer year round. Our laundry is in the basement, just inside the back door, so I don't have to carry it far to the line when the weather is nice enough to dry it outside. But the flip side of that is that I have to carry all the dirty laundry down from the second floor to get it to the washer!

 

[yoopermom]

Not to hijack the thread, but I'd LOVE to have the toilet separate from the rest of the bathroom! I only see those on House Hunters International. And we do line dry things, but only in the three months we don't have snow

Terri

 

[luvflorida]

Most of the houses we've lived in have been two story homes. I love having all the bedrooms on the second floor, along with the laundry room. I do think, however, as we get older (husband and I are in our 50s) we'll look into buying a one story home.

I don't care for the master bedroom/bathroom set-up in the house we're in now. The master bedroom opens up to the master bathroom, which is huge. There is no door separating the shower and sink area. And for even less privacy, the shower is in a glass enclosure and the tub sits next to it. The toilet is in a little separate room that does have a door. It looks like the toilet is in a closet. To me, anyway. I wonder if this kind of set-up is more common in houses in the southwest. All the houses I'm familiar with in the New England area have bathrooms with doors on them, even if they're off the master bedrooms.

 

[luvflorida]

Not to hijack the thread, but I'd LOVE to have the toilet separate from the rest of the bathroom! I only see those on House Hunters International. And we do line dry things, but only in the three months we don't have snow

Terri

Ha! Ha! I think we posted at about the same time! You would like our master bathroom.

 

[KAMLEM]

Moving the furniture...

I was bitter about living in a second floor apt, it's not too bad now... but ohhh i hated hauling things upstairs.

I assume the OP is wondering what it's like to live in a home spread across 2 floors, not specifically what it's like to be on the 2nd floor.

Here in Australia 2 storey houses are the exception, rather than the norm, mainly due to cost. We have a 2 story house and I love it!

Are you saying that it costs more to build a 2 level in Australia? Here it costs less. The biggest cost is the foundation so if you have to make it larger for a one-level house it's a big expense.

 

[dollarmite]

Are you saying that it costs more to build a 2 level in Australia? Here it costs less. The biggest cost is the foundation so if you have to make it larger for a one-level house it's a big expense.

Yes, it definitely costs more to build a 2 storey house here.

You actually bring up a good point re the size/cost of the foundation. Maybe this is why 2 storey houses seem to be prevalant in the US (at least based on the TV shows I watch and places I have visited). We all just thought most Americans were very rich to be able to afford all these 2 storey houses!

I think the difference here is in the cost of installing staircases, equipment needed to build a higher level, additonal plumbing, more bricks (external appearance of most houses nowadays are brick or rendered brick with a wood, or very occasionally, steel frame), etc. Depending on the builder they don't seem to take any longer than a single storey to build though.

Also, it's only been in the last decade or so that 2 level houses have really taken off here and they do get a bad wrap at times (they are seen as extravagent ) and are nicknamed "McMansions", often (but not always) because the bottom level is equavalent to the entire size of a standard single storey house.

There is a subdivision near me that comprises mainly 2 storey houses, but they have no choice but to go up as their blocks are so small.

As a comparison, a standard single storey house in my state (4 bedrooms, 1 ensuite, family bathroom, toilet, laundry, kitchen, dining room/family room, maybe a study and/or rumpus room) is about $150,000-$180,000ish (base figures). I doubt you'd find a 2 storey house under $200,000 these days. $230,00 would probably be the starting point.

Oddly enough, there isn't that much difference in price between a 1 or 2 storey established house.

I honestly have to say that of all the boards I'm part of, this thread has proven to be one of the most interesting and informative ones I've ever read. It just proves that it's the 'small' differences that are the ones which really set countries/regions apart. (Separate toilets/bathrooms, which costs are involved etc).

Would it be extremely unusual to find an American home with the toilet in a separate room to the bathroom? One other thing I have noticed on my travels - US toilets are lower to the ground than Australian ones.

 

[KAMLEM]

As a comparison, a standard single storey house in my state (4 bedrooms, 1 ensuite, family bathroom, toilet, laundry, kitchen, dining room/family room, maybe a study and/or rumpus room) is about $150,000-$180,000ish (base figures). I doubt you'd find a 2 storey house under $200,000 these days. $230,00 would probably be the starting point.

What is an "ensuite"?

 

[dollarmite]

What is an "ensuite"?

A private bathroom attached to a bedroom, usually the main/master bedroom. I think it might be called the 'master bath' in the US?

 

[december]

Yes, that would be a master bathroom here.

As far as the family bathroom and "toilet" being separate, I have NEVER seen a bathroom without a toilet in it! Most newer houses even have a "half-bath" for guests that only has a sink and toilet. So bathroom here pretty much means toilet!

What I love most about the dis is finding out so much about other places!

 

[MIGrandma]

We have a large 2-story farmhouse and I have always loved it.

Downstairs is the living room, dining room, kitchen, laundry room, family room, office, bedroom and two bathrooms.

Upstairs are 3 more bedrooms and another bathroom.

There is a basement but it's not finished for living quarters.

When we first moved here in 1980 we (us, DS and DD) all slept upstairs. The bedroom on the main floor was a playroom.

As the kids got a bit older, DH and I moved to the bedroom downstairs.

They have been out on their own for several years now, so the upstairs is basically just storage.

We are both in our early 50's and when we retire in a few years I do not want a 2-story house. I want everything on the main floor so there are no stairs to deal with. We are in good enough health now to deal with stairs, but who knows in the future, so I'd just rather not have to worry about it.