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Open stairway to basement

| Posted in General Discussion on July 7, 1999 11:05am

*
Original plans for the new house included a full basement, accessed by an open stairway with one finished room at the foot of the stairs. To save money, the revised plans now call for a partial basement, with the rest of the house over a crawl space. The stairway is still open (to enclose it would block the skylights), but now it just goes down to about a 4′ square landing in front of a door to the unfinished basement. The room above is carpeted, and the plan is to carpet the stairs as well.

Here’s the question: Is it going to be OK to carpet the floor at the foot of the stairs, or do I have to worry about moisture since it is below grade? It is within the conditioned space of the house, although there is no ductwork going specifically to that spot. There is a vaulted ceiling above, so there is a huge potential for stratification of warm and cool air. I figure we ought to waterproof the exterior of the stairway walls, tile, and put visqueen under the floor just like we will the basement, so hopefully exterior sources of moisture will not be a problem.

Any thoughts? Thanks.

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Replies

  1. Guest_ | Jun 30, 1999 06:16pm | #1

    *
    What did you trade off the full basement for? I sure hope it wasn't something frivolous, as it'll probably be greatly regretted down the road.

  2. Rebeccah_ | Jun 30, 1999 06:24pm | #2

    *
    Smaller mortgage, primarily. I really don't need a 2500sf basement, and I can't afford the house as originally spec'd.

  3. Guest_ | Jun 30, 1999 07:16pm | #3

    *
    There's a throw rug at the bottom of our basement steps, and I'm required to vigorously wipe my feet on it before coming upstairs. This helps keep sanding dust, dirt, and anything else from being transported to cleaner realms. I would probably not carpet the floor from the basement but would use that as a transition point. This would probably extend the stairway carpeting's life and looks.

    1. Guest_ | Jul 01, 1999 07:18pm | #4

      *Rebeccah,I'd use some kind of vinyl at the bottom landing, and I would weather strip the door to the basement.Ed. Williams

  4. Wayne_D._Muck | Jul 07, 1999 09:33am | #5

    *
    Rebeccah,

    If the size of your mortgage is the major concern. Maybe you should consider scaling down the entire project and try to incorperate some of the basement space into living space.

    Just a thought.

    Wayne

    1. Rebeccah_ | Jul 07, 1999 11:01am | #6

      *Why?I want to build a house with space I will use. I would not use living space in the basement. I can't do without natural light, and I don't tend to use spaces that require going down hallways, turning too many corners, or going up and down stairs from the most heavily used rooms, unless they are on the way to other heavily used rooms. I tend to use rooms that are visually contiguous. This whole house is designed on one floor with a fairly open floorplan, as a result. I will use the basement primarily as a place for the furnace and water heater, a place to hide in a tornado, and storage. I am not eliminating the basement entirely -- I just don't need 2500 square feet of it.And by the way, there are plenty of other "downscaling" changes that have been made as well. They just don't involve major changes to the floorplan.

      1. Rebeccah_ | Jul 07, 1999 11:05am | #7

        *That was kind of my gut feeling. The builder's wife had suggested the carpeting. I like the weatherstripping idea, too. Would you use an insulated door? Should I have a HVAC diffuser or air return at the foot of the stairs?Thanks for the input.Rebeccah

  5. Rebeccah_ | Jul 07, 1999 11:05am | #8

    *
    Original plans for the new house included a full basement, accessed by an open stairway with one finished room at the foot of the stairs. To save money, the revised plans now call for a partial basement, with the rest of the house over a crawl space. The stairway is still open (to enclose it would block the skylights), but now it just goes down to about a 4' square landing in front of a door to the unfinished basement. The room above is carpeted, and the plan is to carpet the stairs as well.

    Here's the question: Is it going to be OK to carpet the floor at the foot of the stairs, or do I have to worry about moisture since it is below grade? It is within the conditioned space of the house, although there is no ductwork going specifically to that spot. There is a vaulted ceiling above, so there is a huge potential for stratification of warm and cool air. I figure we ought to waterproof the exterior of the stairway walls, tile, and put visqueen under the floor just like we will the basement, so hopefully exterior sources of moisture will not be a problem.

    Any thoughts? Thanks.

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