Upstairs (me) vs downstairs (them)
RoxyCal2
11 years ago
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Comments (8)
camlan
11 years agoRelated Discussions
Laundry Room Location: Upstairs, Downstairs or Basement!
Comments (4)I personally don't believe there is a right or wrong answer here. It boils down to personal preferences and how YOU do laundry. When we bought our house we did a complete gut and reno. My laundry was located in a large closet in my kitchen (large enough for cabinet with sink, stacked machines and another storage unit to the right). Everyone convinced me to keep it there - said it would be so convenient to have it on the main floor. Fast forward a few years and two small boys later ... I hated it. I was still working full time then so weekends were laundry days (that's when I could strip beds and such). I'd be walking over laundry in the kitchen ... yuck! A couple years ago we finished our basement and down it went (where I wanted it in the first place). My issue with having it upstairs with the bedrooms is size. Unless it could be a large room than can accommodate all I want in my laundry then the basement is the only logical place for it. My husband wears suits/dress shirts to work and I iron items like sheets, linens, etc ... An ironing board always seemed to be up in my kitchen. I also like to hang dry certain items so a drying rack had to be somewhere. Anyway, you get the picture. Down in the basement I have a large dedicated room. It has my machines, cabinets and a large laundry sink. I have a large table on castors in the middle of the room for folding, crafting, wrapping gifts. We installed two large Ikea Pax units to hold out of season items and craft/wrap supplies. I've got a wall mounted tv, comfy chair and my elliptical. It's a great space and I use it all the time (as laundry never seems to end). My kids use it too for messy projects or crafts like painting. Nice to not have the mess in the kitchen anymore. I do have to carry laundry up and down but heh ... I could use the exercise ;) I really don't mind considering the space I have to work in. I wouldn't trade it for a small laundry closet upstairs. Now ... a second set of machines on the bedroom level?? That's another question all together :) If you're doing a laundry room on an upper level, I would make it a water tight space with a drain (incase of floods). You certainly don't want to ruin your nice new home. Plus you would want to reinforce the floor to take the extra weight and vibrations (to ensure a quiet spin). Friends of mine built expensive custom homes and this is how they do the (large) laundry rooms on the bedroom level. They usually install Miele front loaders and they reinforce the floors and make them water proof. I read this on waterproofing: "The best way to prevent a leak from flooding the rest of the house is to build a curb across the laundry room's threshold, waterproof the floor area, and install a floor drain. Because the drain will normally be dry, it will require a trap primer, which diverts a dribble of water from the supply line to the drain to keep the trap full and prevent sewer gas from wafting into the living space. Additional safeguards include washing-machine drip pans and electronic shutoff valves that automatically stop the flow of water when they sense a leak."...See MoreHelp- Upstairs Too Hot and Downstairs Cold, What do I do?
Comments (5)I would insulate first correctly and only then think about spending all that money for one or 2 new furnaces. If your thermostat is located on the first floor above the crawl and the crawlspace is large, its serving as a heat sink and you are losing heat thru the floor to the improperly insulated crawlspace below. This would cause im guessing the furnace to run alot longer to reach the desired temp. By the time its done so, its run so long it has overheated the 2nd floor. Where are you located and can you describe the crawlspace? Does it have vents? Crawls generally should only be insulated on the crawl walls and the vents sealed/closed depending on your location. The idea is to keep the cold air out of the crawl in winter instead of washing by some batts up on the floor. Fiberglass batts really lose R value when exposed to "wind washing". Insulate the walls of the crawlspace up to the sill with 2 inch foamboard, tape or foam all seams and put a 6 mill poly vapor barrier on the floor of the crawl. Use full sheets and overlap when needed by 12 to 24 inches and tape all seams. Run the poly up the insulated walls about 12 inches and seal it to the foamboards as well. Total cost: proly 50 to 100 bucks in supplies. Way cheaper than 2 furnaces. Good luck...See MoreDoors for upstairs remodel - should they match downstairs?
Comments (5)What style and era is your house? If there are similar houses in the area, I'd try to find antique ones before spending $1000+ (with shipping and tax) per door. Check out local architectural salvage stores, Craigslist, and even eBay (you can restrict your search to local sellers). Avoid painted doors if you can because they're expensive to strip (and tedious and messy to DIY), the paint may contain lead, and you won't be able judge the condition of the door very well. Also, pay attention to whether the doors open from the left or right. Be sure to bring pictures and measurements (width, height AND thickness, as well as the sizes of the panels and the width of the stiles and rails) when you go to look at doors, especially if you're trying for an exact match. There are lots of subtle differences between doors that you might not notice if you don't have good pictures for reference. For example, I'd like to replace a few of the 4-panel (2 over 2) doors in my 1870's house, but so far, I haven't found any with similar proportions (long upper panels and short lower panels) and panels. (My panels are raised, but only slightly.) I was amazed at the variety of 4-panel doors out there. (I decided to stop looking for now until I finish some other projects.) On Craigslist, search under Materials. Lots of contractors sell materials that they remove from remodel jobs, usually more cheaply than you could find them at salvage stores. You can also post a free wanted ad, but be sure to have great photos and be very specific about what you're looking for....See MoreUpstairs vs downstairs bedrooms
Comments (10)Just to offer another perspective....I would consider using the upstairs as your actual bedrooms. It doesn't sound like huge house, and if you use the downstairs rooms as bedrooms, the upstairs could become space that you rarely use. It might be nice to create a playroom and office space on the first floor. Not ideal to go downstairs to the bathroom, but certainly not awful, and to me it would be worth it to have a more functional, fully-utilized space. A big consideration for me would be the bathroom right off the nursery. Time goes by quickly, all of a sudden you have a toddler, who knows when the day is that he can suddenly reach the doorknob and get into the bathroom. Very dangerous. I know you don't want to do anything major, but does the layout lend itself to closing off the bathroom door to the little downstairs bedroom and creating one to the largest bedroom? Also, keep in mind that whatever you decide, it's not impossible to switch it around if things aren't working. No one likes to lug a bunch of furniture up and down stairs, but it IS possible!...See Morecamlan
11 years agoMichalrose
11 years agoGreenAir
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11 years ago
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