Your preference…

[NotCranky]

Single story absolutely. I like the flow of a house especially including indoor to outdoor. My preference would be to have doors from every common area room and every bedroom and office ,library etc. open to the exterior. A big wrap around porch or courtyard would be ideal.Wrap for a country or view site and courtyard for urban living. A great room is really nice too.

[Coronita]

Two story, with either a loft option or a basement (effectively 3 stories).

That way, guests can be in their own area. I personally like the Pardee Homes Derby Hills Plan 3. But not at the current asking prices. 

[img_assist|nid=5962|title=selfportrait|desc=|link=node|align=left|width=100|height=80]

—– Sour grapes for everyone!

[Coronita]

Two story, with either a loft option or a basement (effectively 3 stories).

That way, guests can be in their own area. I personally like the Pardee Homes Derby Hills Plan 3. But not at the current asking prices. 

[img_assist|nid=5962|title=selfportrait|desc=|link=node|align=left|width=100|height=80]

—– Sour grapes for everyone!

[Coronita]

Two story, with either a loft option or a basement (effectively 3 stories).

That way, guests can be in their own area. I personally like the Pardee Homes Derby Hills Plan 3. But not at the current asking prices. 

[img_assist|nid=5962|title=selfportrait|desc=|link=node|align=left|width=100|height=80]

—– Sour grapes for everyone!

[Coronita]

Two story, with either a loft option or a basement (effectively 3 stories).

That way, guests can be in their own area. I personally like the Pardee Homes Derby Hills Plan 3. But not at the current asking prices. 

[img_assist|nid=5962|title=selfportrait|desc=|link=node|align=left|width=100|height=80]

—– Sour grapes for everyone!

[Coronita]

Two story, with either a loft option or a basement (effectively 3 stories).

That way, guests can be in their own area. I personally like the Pardee Homes Derby Hills Plan 3. But not at the current asking prices. 

[img_assist|nid=5962|title=selfportrait|desc=|link=node|align=left|width=100|height=80]

—– Sour grapes for everyone!

[seattle-relo]

The one negative with a single story is the need to be quiet when young children are sleeping. We have to wait at least an hour after my 5 and 6 year old are a sleep before watching a DVD with speaker/surround sound. Also another negative is difficulty having small parties with young children sleeping such as hosting a poker night with the guys from work. In in our old place we had a two story and noise wasn’t much of an issue. On the other hand, a one story is easier to maintain and clean. You mentioned that you have a 15 year old, so the evening noise issue may not apply. The one thing I would consider with a single story is the placement of the master to the secondary bedrooms – ours is just too close and, well, as you might imagine, late night noise issues must be considered. (if you know what I mean…)

[seattle-relo]

The one negative with a single story is the need to be quiet when young children are sleeping. We have to wait at least an hour after my 5 and 6 year old are a sleep before watching a DVD with speaker/surround sound. Also another negative is difficulty having small parties with young children sleeping such as hosting a poker night with the guys from work. In in our old place we had a two story and noise wasn’t much of an issue. On the other hand, a one story is easier to maintain and clean. You mentioned that you have a 15 year old, so the evening noise issue may not apply. The one thing I would consider with a single story is the placement of the master to the secondary bedrooms – ours is just too close and, well, as you might imagine, late night noise issues must be considered. (if you know what I mean…)

[seattle-relo]

The one negative with a single story is the need to be quiet when young children are sleeping. We have to wait at least an hour after my 5 and 6 year old are a sleep before watching a DVD with speaker/surround sound. Also another negative is difficulty having small parties with young children sleeping such as hosting a poker night with the guys from work. In in our old place we had a two story and noise wasn’t much of an issue. On the other hand, a one story is easier to maintain and clean. You mentioned that you have a 15 year old, so the evening noise issue may not apply. The one thing I would consider with a single story is the placement of the master to the secondary bedrooms – ours is just too close and, well, as you might imagine, late night noise issues must be considered. (if you know what I mean…)

[seattle-relo]

The one negative with a single story is the need to be quiet when young children are sleeping. We have to wait at least an hour after my 5 and 6 year old are a sleep before watching a DVD with speaker/surround sound. Also another negative is difficulty having small parties with young children sleeping such as hosting a poker night with the guys from work. In in our old place we had a two story and noise wasn’t much of an issue. On the other hand, a one story is easier to maintain and clean. You mentioned that you have a 15 year old, so the evening noise issue may not apply. The one thing I would consider with a single story is the placement of the master to the secondary bedrooms – ours is just too close and, well, as you might imagine, late night noise issues must be considered. (if you know what I mean…)

[seattle-relo]

The one negative with a single story is the need to be quiet when young children are sleeping. We have to wait at least an hour after my 5 and 6 year old are a sleep before watching a DVD with speaker/surround sound. Also another negative is difficulty having small parties with young children sleeping such as hosting a poker night with the guys from work. In in our old place we had a two story and noise wasn’t much of an issue. On the other hand, a one story is easier to maintain and clean. You mentioned that you have a 15 year old, so the evening noise issue may not apply. The one thing I would consider with a single story is the placement of the master to the secondary bedrooms – ours is just too close and, well, as you might imagine, late night noise issues must be considered. (if you know what I mean…)

[stockstradr]

>>would you choose a single story?

Ten years ago I would have answered this only in terms of liveability of the home and how it impacts resale value.

Then I moved to CA, where earthquakes kill people. If you are living anywhere near a fault line you must prepare for the eventual “Big One,” an earthquake of such magnitude it will destroy all construction of certain types within danger zone radius around fault line.

I now believe that keeping my family alive during the eventual BIG earthquake is far more important than other factors when it comes to choosing home layout and construction.

I think if you dig around on this web site you’ll find a lot of good data covering earthquake damage risk for various typical home and office building construction types in CA.

http://www.abag.ca.gov/bayarea/eqmaps/shelpop/bldg.html

If I recall correctly, of typical homes on the market in CA, the safest are wood framed single story SFH, built AFTER 1939 (better yet, built within last 10-15 years), no masonry chimney above living area, and obviously located as far as possible away from fault line and not on a liquifaction zone.

If you must get a two story, you should always ensure a bedroom is not over the garage, because generally rooms over the garage can collapse during earthquake.

(Also, older multi-story condo or apartment complexes are some of the worst places to be in an earthquake.)

I’ve noticed people are oddly IRRATIONAL about protecting themselves from REAL risks to health and life. Consider how few people think about earthquake risk when selecting a home, relative to home age, construction type, number of floors, and location.

Yet many Californians will agree there is a significant possibility that in the next 25 years an earthquake of 8 or greater magnitude hitting one or more major population centers in CA such as LA, San Diego, or Bay Area.

I know plenty of people who stopped eathing beef when a few people in Europe were stricken with “Mad Cow” disease. Then those same people stopped eating chicken when Asia had the rare “Bird Flu” deaths in the news. Yet those same people go to sleep every night in a home/apartment/condo of a construction type that WILL collapse during a major earthquake, killing them. They are being irrational.

[stockstradr]

>>would you choose a single story?

Ten years ago I would have answered this only in terms of liveability of the home and how it impacts resale value.

Then I moved to CA, where earthquakes kill people. If you are living anywhere near a fault line you must prepare for the eventual “Big One,” an earthquake of such magnitude it will destroy all construction of certain types within danger zone radius around fault line.

I now believe that keeping my family alive during the eventual BIG earthquake is far more important than other factors when it comes to choosing home layout and construction.

I think if you dig around on this web site you’ll find a lot of good data covering earthquake damage risk for various typical home and office building construction types in CA.

http://www.abag.ca.gov/bayarea/eqmaps/shelpop/bldg.html

If I recall correctly, of typical homes on the market in CA, the safest are wood framed single story SFH, built AFTER 1939 (better yet, built within last 10-15 years), no masonry chimney above living area, and obviously located as far as possible away from fault line and not on a liquifaction zone.

If you must get a two story, you should always ensure a bedroom is not over the garage, because generally rooms over the garage can collapse during earthquake.

(Also, older multi-story condo or apartment complexes are some of the worst places to be in an earthquake.)

I’ve noticed people are oddly IRRATIONAL about protecting themselves from REAL risks to health and life. Consider how few people think about earthquake risk when selecting a home, relative to home age, construction type, number of floors, and location.

Yet many Californians will agree there is a significant possibility that in the next 25 years an earthquake of 8 or greater magnitude hitting one or more major population centers in CA such as LA, San Diego, or Bay Area.

I know plenty of people who stopped eathing beef when a few people in Europe were stricken with “Mad Cow” disease. Then those same people stopped eating chicken when Asia had the rare “Bird Flu” deaths in the news. Yet those same people go to sleep every night in a home/apartment/condo of a construction type that WILL collapse during a major earthquake, killing them. They are being irrational.

[stockstradr]

>>would you choose a single story?

Ten years ago I would have answered this only in terms of liveability of the home and how it impacts resale value.

Then I moved to CA, where earthquakes kill people. If you are living anywhere near a fault line you must prepare for the eventual “Big One,” an earthquake of such magnitude it will destroy all construction of certain types within danger zone radius around fault line.

I now believe that keeping my family alive during the eventual BIG earthquake is far more important than other factors when it comes to choosing home layout and construction.

I think if you dig around on this web site you’ll find a lot of good data covering earthquake damage risk for various typical home and office building construction types in CA.

http://www.abag.ca.gov/bayarea/eqmaps/shelpop/bldg.html

If I recall correctly, of typical homes on the market in CA, the safest are wood framed single story SFH, built AFTER 1939 (better yet, built within last 10-15 years), no masonry chimney above living area, and obviously located as far as possible away from fault line and not on a liquifaction zone.

If you must get a two story, you should always ensure a bedroom is not over the garage, because generally rooms over the garage can collapse during earthquake.

(Also, older multi-story condo or apartment complexes are some of the worst places to be in an earthquake.)

I’ve noticed people are oddly IRRATIONAL about protecting themselves from REAL risks to health and life. Consider how few people think about earthquake risk when selecting a home, relative to home age, construction type, number of floors, and location.

Yet many Californians will agree there is a significant possibility that in the next 25 years an earthquake of 8 or greater magnitude hitting one or more major population centers in CA such as LA, San Diego, or Bay Area.

I know plenty of people who stopped eathing beef when a few people in Europe were stricken with “Mad Cow” disease. Then those same people stopped eating chicken when Asia had the rare “Bird Flu” deaths in the news. Yet those same people go to sleep every night in a home/apartment/condo of a construction type that WILL collapse during a major earthquake, killing them. They are being irrational.

[stockstradr]

>>would you choose a single story?

Ten years ago I would have answered this only in terms of liveability of the home and how it impacts resale value.

Then I moved to CA, where earthquakes kill people. If you are living anywhere near a fault line you must prepare for the eventual “Big One,” an earthquake of such magnitude it will destroy all construction of certain types within danger zone radius around fault line.

I now believe that keeping my family alive during the eventual BIG earthquake is far more important than other factors when it comes to choosing home layout and construction.

I think if you dig around on this web site you’ll find a lot of good data covering earthquake damage risk for various typical home and office building construction types in CA.

http://www.abag.ca.gov/bayarea/eqmaps/shelpop/bldg.html

If I recall correctly, of typical homes on the market in CA, the safest are wood framed single story SFH, built AFTER 1939 (better yet, built within last 10-15 years), no masonry chimney above living area, and obviously located as far as possible away from fault line and not on a liquifaction zone.

If you must get a two story, you should always ensure a bedroom is not over the garage, because generally rooms over the garage can collapse during earthquake.

(Also, older multi-story condo or apartment complexes are some of the worst places to be in an earthquake.)

I’ve noticed people are oddly IRRATIONAL about protecting themselves from REAL risks to health and life. Consider how few people think about earthquake risk when selecting a home, relative to home age, construction type, number of floors, and location.

Yet many Californians will agree there is a significant possibility that in the next 25 years an earthquake of 8 or greater magnitude hitting one or more major population centers in CA such as LA, San Diego, or Bay Area.

I know plenty of people who stopped eathing beef when a few people in Europe were stricken with “Mad Cow” disease. Then those same people stopped eating chicken when Asia had the rare “Bird Flu” deaths in the news. Yet those same people go to sleep every night in a home/apartment/condo of a construction type that WILL collapse during a major earthquake, killing them. They are being irrational.

[Author]

Posts