We just built a walk out basement and love it! We came from Missouri so we were VERY accustomed to walk outs with the hills, but when we moved to Oklahoma, the land is just to flat. But we found a hill! Most people here have no idea what a walk out basement is until they see a picture. We have very young boys but I am not nervous about having the walk out. The deck is high but really the railing is tall and tight so I have no worries about them falling. I like having a level front yard and level backyard. Our landscaping is simple, we built a boulder retaining wall to hold back the dirt on one side of the house but the other side has a gentle slope so we just graded it off. Most people see the front of your house anyway and it just looks like a normal house. The basement ceiling is over 9ft and with huge windows so it is very bright open and doesn't feel like a basement at all. There is no doubt that we would do a walk out basement again. I love being able to access the backyard from the basement and having a patio and deck is nice. We planned the deck so we could add stairs from the deck to the backyard later if we decide to, but I like how useable the space is without stairs. The energy efficiency of the basement is so much better than a normal 2 story would be and we still get the space without a huge footprint.

We haven't discussed the 3rd floor issue with the builder yet. I am not aware of the details of what's included for $17K. I assume staircase access, sub-flooring and proper framing and HVAC configuration so the space can be finished easily if desired. I don't imagine we would get much of anything beyond a basic pull down attic stairs, and a bit if subfloor to access the HVAC which would likely be placed close to the stairs. I think the attic space is around 1,000 sq ft.

so even though the walls & ceilings are not sheetrocked the attic is decked? interesting. normally, when insulating attic floor with foam the foam is sprayed against back side of the sheetrock ceilings. since your attic floor is decked, spraying against the decking from inside the hosue would be how you'd do it. so to do that..first the perimeter of the ceiling would be sealed. you want to seal the top plates, wire, pipe penetrations. then fill the ceiling joist bay with foam. to get the full depth of the joist you'd over fill the joist bay, then trim off excess prior to installing sheetrock ceiling. this would be option three. and the one I'd chose recommend. everyone...house is North Carolina. ducts in crawlspace, so equipment is either in closet inside living space, or in crawlspace. if the roof is high, and not used for ducts then it is more cost effective to seal & insulate attic floor. OP, check into what foam is used in your area. we use open cell in hot humid climates. are you sure the ceiling joists are 2x10? if so, that gives you 9.5" for insulation with open cell..that would be about R-36 depending upon R-value per inch of product. shop foam insulators wisely. you want a full joist bay fill, not an 'average' fill. what they mean by 'average' is that if you add up low spots & high spots of foam it 'averages' out to xxx. you want full depth everywhere. excess is cut off so that sheetrock install is smooth. ask to see jobs of the foam companies in progress. ask to talk to former customers. once completed..blower door test the install to make sure it has stopped air movement between attic space above into living space below. I gotta ask....why floor the attic so early in process? and where are heating system & water heaters? tell us locations, what size & what fuel type please. how will attic above foamed floor of attic be vented? do you have recessed lights? what provision has been made for recessed lights & insulation plan? are recessed lights Insulation Contact Air Tight ICAT?? knowing the answers to these questions may change answers to previous questions. best of luck

I will tell you what i did in the same situation you have, roof trusses on 24" centers. moved into the house the attic door had no insulation just trim holding a piece of drywall up. So i took down the trim. The hole was already framed to the ceiling. I took 1 x 4 boards framed them around the edge of the ceiling drywall. picture framed the 1 x 4 with the same trim as the door trim. Cut a 2' x 2' piece of birch plywood 1/2" thick to fit on top of the 1 x4's. Painted everything. Got some 3/4" wide self stick foam weatherstripping and put it on the top of the 1 x 4's. Had a 4 x 8' sheet of blue styrofoam and cut it to the same dimensions as the plywood. glued as many pieces as I could get out of the sheet to the plywood after the plywood was in the attic. Also cut a piece of R-25 fiberglass insulation to fit on top of the plywood and foam board. I figure it insulates well enough. Also installed 2 hooks and eyes to hold the plywood tight to the weatherstripping. I could have used foil faced board at R-7 per inch like I did at the previous house we owned. When I remodeled that house,when I gutted rooms I put 1/2" foil faced board on the interior of the exterior walls, so I had plenty of scrap. I had at least 8" of foil board on the 2 attic doors.