Page 5 of 6 FirstFirst 123456 LastLast
Results 61 to 75 of 79

Thread: How big is your house

  1. #61
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    South Coastal Massachusetts
    Posts
    6,824
    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Elfert View Post
    The larger lots are in areas that require septic systems.
    Good point. No town water or sewer, here.

    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Elfert View Post
    I really want a smaller house that isn't so old that I will spending all my time fixing issues...
    We're on the same page, our first house was a never ending rehab project. Our next one was fully functional from the start.


    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Elfert View Post
    The house I am working to purchase was built in 1980 so it is new enough to not have lead paint or asbestos. It is also built with modern building techniques.
    Does it seem that in your neck of the woods, people were ignoring houses like this, so builders gave them what they wanted?

    There's a brand new development adjacent to our Cul-de-sac with 4000+ square feet of living space on lots no larger than mine.
    I can't imagine the heating bills. I suppose septic systems have seen design advances since my house was built, but still....
    Last edited by Jim Matthews; 07-27-2014 at 6:27 PM.

  2. #62
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Minneapolis, MN
    Posts
    5,426
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Matthews View Post
    Does it seem that in your neck of the woods, people were ignoring houses like this, so builders gave them what they wanted?
    Actually, builders are building a fair number of new split level houses here with 1,000 to 1,200 square feet on the upper level and the lower level unfinished. Now, they are building as least as many larger two story houses. These cheap new houses seem to be built okay for the most part, but the quality of finish materials is poor. They look nice to most cosmetically, but anyone who pays any attention will see how cheap everything is. They all use sliding windows which leak air by their nature and tend to get dirty in the tracks and such. Most have three bedrooms and just one bathroom. It is rare to find a separate master bathroom unless someone buys the upgraded model.

    A 2009 built split level was for sale a while back. I looked at it, and frankly, it was not all that great a house. They did a decent job on the building, but the bedrooms were tiny and the cabinets were junk. The finish was already worn off the cabinets that got used regularly. One bedroom was so tiny it should have been a closet. The house would have been better as a two bedroom, but everyone wants three bedrooms for the most part.

  3. #63
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Glenmoore, PA
    Posts
    2,194
    Where I live in SE PA, far and away the most popular style of house is what is referred to around here is a center-hall-colonial. There seem to be literally millions of them and I have one of these also. It is about ~2600 sq ft not counting a finished basement. It has 2 full and 2 half baths including one in the finished basement. It has a 3 car garage which, except for a small mud room, is completely consumed by my shop. Living in it is myself, my wife, my two sons aged 12 and 9, plus a boxer puppy who thinks he is letting us live in his house. The layout is such that while it sounds like a decent amount of space (and it is), it is not laid out very well. Dining room and living room - we almost never go into. Kitchen - way too small. Bedrooms - too small. I like open space and this house has almost none of it. Highly likely to move / downsize when the kids are grown and gone.
    Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us.
    -Bill Watterson

    Reminds me of my safari in Africa. Somebody forgot the corkscrew and for several days we had to live on nothing but food and water.
    -W. C. Fields

  4. #64
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Anaheim, Ca
    Posts
    908
    Our house originally in 1981 was 1200sf in 1982 we added on about 600sf in 1987 we added on about 250sf then in 2003 we went crazy added on about 2700+sf we are now 5200+sf 4000 down stairs includes 1200 sf shop and 1200 sf apartment upstairs (retirement income). We live in So cal right in the heart of Orange County but the beauty is we live in the middle of the city but in an unincorporated section so they aloud the build.
    Craig Matheny
    Anaheim, Ca
    45 watt Epilog Laser, 60 watt Epilog Laser,
    Plasma Cutter, MiG Welder
    Rikon 70-100 Lathe
    Shop Smith V510, To many hand Tools and
    Universal Repair Kit (1- Hammer and 1- Roll of Duck Tape)

  5. #65
    Mines 1520sf single level on 4.5 acres . 3 bed 2 full baths , open living room dining combo area decent kitchen, small laundry room . Just me and the cat now, turned one bedroom into the laser room office combo. one bedroom in to workout rm LOL it has one of those weight machines. I was using it a lot.But not right now.Might think about rent a room sometime.
    If the Help and advice you received here was of any VALUE to you PLEASE! Become a Contributor
    Rabbit RL_XX_6040-60 watt Laser engraving/cutting machine Oh wait its a 3D Printer my bad LOL
    Lasercut 5.3
    CorelDraw X5

    10" Miter Saw with slide
    10" Table Saw
    8" bench mount 5 speed Drill Press
    Dremel, 3x21 Belt Sander


  6. #66
    Ours is a 2600 square foot rambler, not including the 2 car garage and the shop/shed/greenhouse. Sits on a 1 acre lot. 4 bedroom, 2 bath, and it's just about perfect for our current needs while providing room in the future for kids. 2 of the bedrooms are being used as bedrooms, one is an office/guest room, and the last one is a craft room for my wife and mother-in-law.
    ~Garth

  7. #67
    137 square meter house, actual internal living area is 121 square meters, which comes to 1302 square feet. House is newly built, infact we haven't moved in yet, in a few weeks though! We're 4 people, two adults and two infants (twins).

    There's a free standing two car garage (43m2 or 462 sq.feet) with extra storage. Won't be keeping the car in the garage though, that's my workshop!

  8. #68
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Thomasville, Georgia
    Posts
    1,146
    When we decided to move out of Florida to southwest Georgia in 2006 for retirement, my wife and I downsizing to a smaller house wouldn't a bad thing. It's just the two of us and there is no way any kids or grandkids will be allowed to move in with us. That said, we started keeping an eye on real estate listings in Thomasville after fully researching several communities. We think we ended up in a place we can live now until we're dust.

    Our property is just over an acre at the end of a cul-de-sac in a nice development. As to downsizing, well this house is 1780sf under A/C with attached two-car garage, slightly larger than our previous home. It's a four bedroom, two bath home, but one bedroom is our home office.

    A shop or space to build one were part of our criteria for a retirement place. This property had a shop building that was 16' wide by 24' deep with a matching loft on top in a structure with a gambrel roof. After much effort on a layout, we decided to add 20' to the bottom of the shop building. That gives me about 860sf for shop space with the loft, 380sf, used as combined shop/house storage.

    Oh, if you add the lawn equipment storage building I constructed, that's another 240sf for machines and tools that one might normally have in a garage. Then, there's the two-car carport under which I park my vehicle and that also shields my smoker and grill from the elements.

    All in all, we have plenty of space for two people!
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC] Bill Arnold
    NRA Life Member
    Member of Mensa
    Live every day like it's your last, but don't forget to stop and smell the roses.

  9. #69
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Southern Kalifornia
    Posts
    37
    grew up in a 1200 Sf 3 BR/ 1.5 Bath home with my 4 other siblings and parents

    ML
    When I die I hope my wife doesn't sell my tools for what I told her I paid for them.

  10. #70
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    West of Ft. Worth, TX
    Posts
    5,815
    Our first house was 1300 sq ft, 3 bedroom, 1 3/4 bath (3/4 in master suite). Just the wife and I, no kids, anywhere from 3 to 5 Irish Setters. Converted on bedroom to a dog room by taking out the 6' wide window and installing a double french door to the back yard. Worked well with the litter of pups in 1995! Living room was Glenna's piano studio and office. Small family room and kitchen. Forward to 2005. Needed to be out of the city limits and the pet laws we were braking on a daily basis. Found new to us home in an unincorporated area just 5 miles west of the old house on .93 acre with a 2520 sq ft living area, ranch style house. 4 bedrooms, LARGE master suite, 2 2/3 bath. One bedroom had the closet wall removed and the door to the hallway to the other bedroom and master suite closed off. 5' wide open walk through to the entry created. Not sure what they used this for...maybe a dining room or formal living room. 2nd largest bedroom is on the opposite side of the entry and is my wife's piano studio. Has the 1/2 bath adjacent to it...perfect for her students and house guests. Large family room, though the doors chop it up too much, and large kitchen combination. Long utility room between kitchen and 2 car garage. The re-purposed bedroom that is open to the entry is 12 X 14 and I just knew it would be my model train room. Alas, Glenna took it over as her music annex. Has a place for students to practice on an electric piano with headphones, computer station for them to do music games, TV, VCR and DVD player for watching instructional videos, a place to put up a table when she has music camp, and sofa for students and their families waiting for their lessor or a sibling to finish. I did get the 20 X 24 out building for my shop. Enclosed the covered porch, see my Coolmeadow Shop Rehab thread in the archives, for my assembly/finishing room. Would love a larger shop, but it is functional.
    This is really too much house for 2 people, but it is secluded and very quiet considering we have IH-20 less than a mile south of us, and IH-30 less than a mile north of us!! Something about having 4 100' Pecan trees engulfing the house makes for some great noise and temperature insulation! Jim.
    Coolmeadow Setters...Exclusively Irish! When Irish Eyes are smiling....They're usually up to something!!
    Home of Irish Setter Rescue of North Texas.
    No, I'm not an electrician. Any information I share is purely what I would do myself. If in doubt, hire an electrician!
    Member of the G0691 fan club!
    At a minimum, I'm Pentatoxic...Most likely I'm a Pentaholic. There seems to be no known cure. Pentatonix, winners of The Sing Off, s3.

  11. Mine is almost 1600 sqft which in my opinion is about 800 sqft too much now that one child has moved out and am trying to get the other to move out also.

  12. #72
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Sammamish, WA
    Posts
    7,630
    Ours is 3,000 sf, twice the size of the house we moved from in 1993. With 3 kids and frequent holiday guests it was just right for us. Now that two of them have moved out we don't need as much room but have decided to stay until I retire. I'd like to get a smaller house with more yard space, this lot is only 1/3 acre. We still get holiday guests from of of state, and have a room for our grandson when he comes to visit. He's upstairs now having his nap. In our area the typical new house now is even bigger, 3,200-4,00 sf but on even smaller lots, often 5,000 sf. People seem to like a big house but don't want to maintain a yard.



    Sammamish, WA

    Epilog Legend 24TT 45W, had a sign business for 17 years, now just doing laser work on the side.

    "One only needs two tools in life: WD-40 to make things go, and duct tape to make them stop." G. Weilacher

    "The handyman's secret weapon - Duct Tape" R. Green

  13. #73
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Southern Ontario Canada
    Posts
    430
    We raised our 2 kids in a 950 sq. ft semi. with 1 & 1/2 baths. My hobby at that time was ham radio and didn't need much space so it worked out fine. After I retired I took up woodworking and we decided we didn't really like the stairs any more. Got out of the city and got a ranch bungalow with a 220 by 250 ft lot and the house itself is about 1250 sq. ft. on one level. It does have a full basement with family room, laundry and a 25' x 25' shop for me. the shop does have it's own entrance so I don't have to carry wood etc. through the house. It's a below ground entrance with the stairs running along the outside wall so it's a little work to get a full sheet of plywood in but it can be done.
    Rick
    I support the Pens for Canadian Peacekeepers project

  14. #74
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    So Cal
    Posts
    866
    Ours is 3,500 sqft for the wife, myself and our son, plus a new puppy. It is way bigger than we actually need, but this was the only house available in the school district we wanted so we got it back in the day. I always think we can live comfortable in about 2,000 sqft, by getting rid of the stuff we actually don't need. I have no plans to move though, unless a career move, etc forces it as we renovated couple years ago and love the proximity to the beach and the views.

  15. #75
    Ours is 2500 sq. ft. plus walk out basement and 2 car garage. It is what's called a story and a half with guest rooms, bath and loft on the second floor and our living quarters etc on the first.

    We will be remodeling the master bath to make it "senior" safe. My wife is 71 and I'm 77. We were just talking about how lucky we are to have stairs that we use often during the day and how that helps to keep our legs stronger and in better condition.

    I operate my business from my basement so i'm occupying all but about a 100 square feet that is used as a pantry.
    Mike Null

    St. Louis Laser, Inc.

    Trotec Speedy 300, 80 watt
    Gravograph IS400
    Woodworking shop CLTT and Laser Sublimation
    Dye Sublimation
    CorelDraw X5, X7

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •