Feedback on basement walkout for small residential home.
HU-775359195
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
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Mark Bischak, Architect
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoHU-775359195 thanked Mark Bischak, ArchitectRelated Discussions
Partial walkout basement presenting landscape challenge (pics)
Comments (36)Thanks everyone for the additional suggestions. I've been mulling it all over. Burntplants, I hope termites and bugs aren't a problem. We have the foundation treated twice a year and the siding is vinyl but I will check into this to make sure. I hadn't considered this an issue because the wood mulch was a suggestion from our builder and 2 of our landscapers. You have me concerned however. After some thought, I'm concluding that overhauling the grade isn't a viable option for a couple of reasons. DH is dead set against it and the second one is that I don't think it will end up being a livable space for the reasons karin and almondstriation have mentioned. The long term landscape plan involves a much larger outdoor living space in the area of our yard that is above wall and will be connected by steps to our screened porch. This little add on patio on the lower level would not likely get used much. The outdoor living area on the upper grade will be an expensive project and I hate to devote time and money to a make shift patio that will push back the timeline of the larger project. Clematis is another plant I am adding to the list of plants to try. Almondstriation, thanks for that suggestion. I just pulled a volunteer oak seedling out of there so I know there are some forms of plant life that can survive under there......how would an oak tree look in that space ? :) I was reading the thread on landscaping around garden sculpture and noticed the picture with the two large sphere's and the gel fire fire pit. The area has very little plant material but it is dramatic. I hope my space can achieve that kind of interest but not in a tacky way. I did a photo search for "spheres" on Houzz and saw some examples that have me thinking. I would love to hear some thoughts on this from some of you who work sculpture into your landscape plans....See Moreconverting an Englsh basement to a walkout
Comments (6)In the photo of my backyard, on the left side, all the drain tiles and the gutters collect into corregated black pipes, buried into the yard, and exit the house to the back of the property. The very back of the yard is a swale/fen/wetland area (build for the purpose of drainage, not a protected area). This area is much lower than the house and the GC suggested digging down to the draintile on the left side of the house and tapping into the draintile and running another pipe down to the drainage area and gravity feed water away from the house (and subsequently away from the sump pump and relieve the sump pump we have only one, and a very large footprint of the house). He's done this successfully on other houses where there is a good gravity slope away from the property. What needs to be done regarding frost footings? How does that all work?...See MoreFor those with walkouts, how'd you finish the basement level exterior?
Comments (17)We did 3 sides brick and the rear hardi siding. Probably blasphemy in some circles. There is a bit of brick wrapped a few feet where the concrete wrapped. Saved $30k. There are so many windows on the back wall, the siding doesn't look bad. And then a deck and screened porch break things up. Not 5 people have actually walked around the house and would care about the transition. The back yard is almost uniformly accessed from the inside of the house. Where there is a walkway, there is vegetation to completely break up the transition - Like you walk 50 feet and see a wall of bushes - so there is no awkward visual transition even for the 10% of people who might notice. Honestly - our next house may be brick front only which my better half has always loathed but appropriately landscaped so you don't notice is a lot cheaper than brick. We currently have this enormous brick side wall that was kind of a waste. It is 10 feet from the lot line just like our neighbors - there is no path there. The A/C contractors get to see it. There are several large trees blocking the view from the road....See MoreI can’t figure out a good layout for my small walkout basement
Comments (3)OK, at least now I know where windows are and where you are thinking of sectional. Not clear where TV would go but I'm assuming it's the only other wall that remains... at the bottom portion of your image. So then year... an L-shaped sectional where the long end of the sectional goes along/under the windows, and the short end of the sectional goes along the other wall that leads to the staircase. So then the sectional faces the far wall...and the other long end of the room...and where the TV would be. As for taking advantage of the view, if someone wants to do that and not watch TV, then they lay on the short end of the sectional, facing towards the windows. Right? You mention maybe putting a recliner in 'the opposite', but not clear if by 'opposite' you mean the same far wall where the TV would be? If you put a recliner along that far wall, it would obviously have to be on the window side of that far wall vs the bathroom side of that far wall, so as to not block access to the bathroom......See MoreHU-775359195
4 years agoHU-775359195
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agofifamom
4 years agoHU-775359195
4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
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