upside down and buried

[Big Neil]

I know people are sometimes forced to have houses which are cut into slopes and what not. Imagine however a flat plot, how strange do we think it would be to have the bedrooms in a basement and the ground floor on the ground floor albeit above the bedrooms.

[ragg987]

Cons: Basement cost is going to be higher than double story. Bedrooms risk being dark all the time. Need to ensure fire-exit in habitable space. Harder to sell.

Pros: Bedrooms will be nice and quiet

 

So unless there is a compelling reason (e.g. planning constraints) I would avoid.

[Jeremy Harris]

I've always quite liked the idea, for several reasons.  Having the bedrooms downstairs means they will tend to be cooler, probably quieter and bedrooms don't really need windows, IMHO (I like a really dark bedroom at night).  Having no windows frees up wall space, allowing more layout flexibility.

 

The main snag is probably making sure that noise transmission from people walking around in the living rooms above is adequately attenuated.

 

 

[the_r_sole]

.

Edited September 26, 2019 by the_r_sole

[ToughButterCup]

40 minutes ago, Big Neil said:

I know people are sometimes forced to have houses which are cut into slopes and what not.[...]

 

Its very common in Germany to have a basement: usually (I mean in my experience - and that mostly in Northern Germany) for storage and garaging, and the odd spare room.

I know exactly what you mean @the_r_sole. It can be a bit gloomy. As for noise attenuation from upper floors: the houses in which I lived all had concrete ceilings at each level. Silence was the norm. But thinking about it, maybe mum insisted on Hauschuhe for a reason. Not just haus-proud 

[jamieled]

I suppose if planning dictated you could only have one storey above ground and you had a relatively small site that might make sense. Given the little time we spend awake in a bedroom it would make more sense than having the living areas in the basement.

 

If visual appearance isn't a planning restriction I could also envisage putting day rooms on the first floor if it meant you could take better advantage of the views (I've seen a couple of grand designs where that appears to have worked well).

[Tennentslager]

Americans seem to like a semi basement 

saw lots on my recent trip to Durham NC.

basement windows fairly big, steps to the front porch/deck area and dormers on first floor 

result, very pretty timber detached houses with three levels and lots of space

[MikeSharp01]

2 hours ago, AnonymousBosch said:

 

Its very common in Germany to have a basement: usually (I mean in my experience - and that mostly in Northern Germany)

Which side of the iron curtain was that then Herr Bosch!?

[puntloos]

How much would a (say) 5x5m basement cost anyway, if you're building from scratch? As a novice it "feels" that you just have to dig a 3x5x5 hole, put a plank over it, poke a hole for the stairs and the rest is the same... right?

 

(of course I'm partially joking, can anyone give me a more accurate idea? Let's say I have a house design, and on a whim I want a 5x5 cellar last-minute. How much would this add to the cost?)

Edited May 2, 2019 by puntloos

[ProDave]

If I dug a 5 by 5 by 3M hole and put a plank over it, I would very soon have a cold, muddy water swimming pool.  There is a bit more to it that that.

 

Then add the complication if you want to do that very close to your boundary and ensure that while you do so the ground does not collapse and next doors house does not end up falling into your hole.

 

[Ferdinand]

Why is this thought to be unusual?

 

Cities are full of them due to eg neighbours or conservation areas or overlooking. The Healthy House in Grand Designs last year S18 Ep3 had this arrangement, as you could also say for the early Passive Haus in the Cotswolds built under that barn etc. 

 

The design key is to put it in a big enough landscaped hole to give a two level garden, such that it does not feel as if you are a shrub being planted in a flowerbed ..rather than use a conventional basement.

 

https://www.granddesignsmagazine.com/grand-designs-houses/397-grand-designs-third-episode-2018

 

But doing one for the sake of doing it would seem a little eccentric. If it is for privacy reasons then there are probably better above ground ideas such as the interesting parallel view windows invented for the GD chap who built his house in Southwark in the ‘inner space’ of about 30 houses in a block of streets, and around an inner courtyard.

 

If you are talking earth sheltered then that is a different type of ballgame.

 

Ferdinand

Edited May 2, 2019 by Ferdinand

[puntloos]

Frankly, again, not hampered by much knowledge, my impression is that a basement just has a bunch of nice features I would appreciate having if it were cost effective:

 

- Great location for hiding "house guts" - water tanks, air conditioners, central vacuums, heaters, network closet, washing machines are all kind of in the way and ugly

- Cool by design, so long term freezers, wine cellar, network/computer stuff gets cheap cooling

- Could be used as a 'man cave' (cinema room?), but I'm def. also thinking garage. 

- Bed is not a crazy idea (see: 'cool') but it might be chilly.

[Triassic]

We’ve put our bedrooms in a basement cut into the hillside, they look fine in terms of light.

 

 

Edited May 3, 2019 by Triassic