Moving to a McMansion; how to keep costs down in unused areas?

[Villanelle]

We are moving.  Our new house is embarrassingly large, but the alternative was to move further away from work (outside comfortable biking distance), have a smaller place, and likely pay the same or more.  (Yes, we spent a lot of time looking.  While there may have been other options, we didn't find any and the market is astonishingly hot, with stuff often going in a day or less.  We actually found this via word of mouth, before it was listed, and the owners are renting it at what we think is below market value, based on other properties we looked at in the immediate area that were hundreds more.)  /justification-rationalization

So with the finished basement it is huge.  (I am truly embarrassed by this.)  Again, it made the most sense from both a financial and commute perspective, but... gulp.  But that's not the part I'm here to discuss so you you want to face punch, scream inside your heart and move along.

The plan is to not use 2 bathrooms, two bedrooms, and much of the basement.  I can close vents.  Does putting something over the vent help more than just closing it?  I found magnetic covers that are supposed to stick to the vents.  Is there a different or better option?  In a humid climate is that a recipe for mold, or will air flow under the doors be sufficient?  Would I need to toss in a desiccant or something? 

Is it sufficient (and necessary?) to flush toilets and briefly turn on the sink and shower once a month in the unused baths? 

Are there any other tips for either caring for unused portions of a house, or setting it up to keep heating and cooling costs down? 

(Our lease doesn't allow for any kind of house hacking and given both Covid and our extreme introversion, and the fact that we are fine with our finances, we would not consider a roommate.ETA: Since maybe I wasn't totally clear, we are renting and our lease does not allow any kind of sub-letting, renting out to other people, renting space, etc.) 

[Syonyk]

I can close vents.  Does putting something over the vent help more than just closing it?  I found magnetic covers that are supposed to stick to the vents.  Is there a different or better option?  In a humid climate is that a recipe for mold, or will air flow under the doors be sufficient?  Would I need to toss in a desiccant or something?

Closing vents is probably fine.  I wouldn't block them entirely, especially in a humid climate.  Pay attention to the temperature/humidity in the rooms for the first 4 seasons you're there, to figure out what is actually required.

Is it sufficient (and necessary?) to flush toilets and briefly turn on the sink and shower once a month in the unused baths?

That should be fine, though you might need to run the sinks a bit more often depending on humidity (if it's low).  The main concern in sinks is the trap drying out - and, believe me, you'll know if it's dried out by the stench of sewer gas throughout the house.  The water in the bottom makes a seal and keeps the sewer side of things on the sewer side (and up the vent stacks).  There may be some benefit to putting a bit of oil in there to help keep evaporation down, but you'd probably just trade the problem for rancid oil, so... run 'em every couple weeks until you work out the details.

Are there any other tips for either caring for unused portions of a house, or setting it up to keep heating and cooling costs down?

Don't cheap out too badly.  Ruining part of your house through mold or frozen pipes will cost far, far more than letting them get some airflow.

[PDXTabs]

Are there any other tips for either caring for unused portions of a house, or setting it up to keep heating and cooling costs down?

Don't cheap out too badly.  Ruining part of your house through mold or frozen pipes will cost far, far more than letting them get some airflow.

It's a rental!

[Gerard]

I lived in a house with two unnecessary bedrooms for quite a while, and what helped keep mold etc. away was to open up and air out those rooms (well, the whole house, kinda) on all the temperate days (mild winter afternoons, cool summer early mornings, much of the day in spring/fall). Turns out there are more days like that than I expected.

[reeshau]

I can close vents.  Does putting something over the vent help more than just closing it?  I found magnetic covers that are supposed to stick to the vents.  Is there a different or better option?  In a humid climate is that a recipe for mold, or will air flow under the doors be sufficient?  Would I need to toss in a desiccant or something?

Closing vents is probably fine.  I wouldn't block them entirely, especially in a humid climate.  Pay attention to the temperature/humidity in the rooms for the first 4 seasons you're there, to figure out what is actually required.

Leaving the vents open a crack is not just good for the room, but also the furnace.  Particularly if you are closing so many, you can cause high air pressure and make the blower work harder.  (You will notice this in the vents that are open.  If It's too loud or too much of a windstorm for your liking, open up some more)

As a rental, of course you aren't paying for the furnace / AC replacement,  But you do have to suffer if they conk out under heavy use.

[joe189man]

we are in a similar situation with available housing inventory and being close to work, etc., but own our home, ~3500 sf, 5 beds 3.5 baths

i kept the basement vents closed in the summer to force cold air up stairs first, and try to use all the bathrooms/ showers at least once a month

i dont think you will save much in heating or cooling by closing vents, thermostat control (set temperature) seems to have more of an impact in our case, YMMV.

[ixtap]

We got a roommate to pay us for the extra bedroom suite. It's a reasonable rent for her, a little off of the rent for us, and a good use of the extra space.

[Morning Glory]

I'm joining the chorus here. Price out installing a small kitchen and separate entrance in that basement and turning it into a rental unit.

[YttriumNitrate]

So with the finished basement it is huge...The plan is to not use 2 bathrooms, two bedrooms, and much of the basement...
Are there any other tips for either caring for unused portions of a house, or setting it up to keep heating and cooling costs down?

To keep cooling costs down, plan on spending most of the summer in the large finished basement (sleep down there if possible), and spend the winter in the upper (and probably warmer) parts of the house.

[couponvan]

You could rent out the rooms as storage on one of those extra space websites.  The basement too.  There's probably plenty of people that would like to have storage for awhile.  Check out how much that adds to your insurance costs, but it might be a better alternative to actual roommates.  It would be a boost so you could keep the whole house at a certain temperature. 

[Chris22]

Depending on area of the country you’re in, you may be overthinking the real effect of the additional space. I’m in Chicagoland, and recently moved from a 1700 sq ft house (inc. basement) to a 4300 sq ft house (again including basement).  Both houses are older (previous was 1959, current 1923 with a 2015 addition on top) and both had newer high efficiency HVAC ~5 years old.

The change in electric and gas bills have been about $30/mo (not each; electric higher in summer, gas in winter; “off season” the utilities are roughly the same as in the old house).  If you live in a high cost of energy place that may not hold, but for us it really isn’t a difference worth worrying that much about. We do the low hanging fruit for energy savings like turn off lights and use LED bulbs and such, but really don’t attack it too hard. Mostly because the bills aren’t that high.

[jehovasfitness23]

Closing vents can damage your hvac and hvac ducting. I mean if you close 1 out of 20 maybe not such a big deal, maybe it is. But all my research shows closing them is not advised.

[Daleth]

Seconding rental suggestions. Is there any way you could configure things so that some or all of the space you're not planning to use could be rented out? A friend of mine did that--put up a DIY wall to block his family's space off, and then rented out the 2BR/1ba on the other side. That side had a door on it somewhere, I forget where, but my point is it had access to outdoors, so they just put a porch light out there and called it the entrance to the apartment.

We have an entire unused floor in our house, which it was possible to configure with its own separate entrance. We spent about $7k putting in a kitchen, repairing/updating the bathroom and refinishing the floors. It brings us on average $18k/yr in rent.

[TrMama]

I spent last weekend replacing moldy plywood in my own basement suite, so I'm firmly on the side of "don't cheap out in the short term because the long term costs are greater". Make sure you air it out from time to time, don't store anything pushed up against the below grade exterior walls and go down and smell it regularly. See if the landlord will get you a dehumidifier to run down there too. At the very least, run the bathroom fans every few days.

If you owned the place, I'd suggest converting the space to a 1 bedroom rental, but since you don't own it your options are a little more limited. You could sublet part of it as a home office space. Or you can enjoy it as your home yoga studio/ballroom/whatever.

[Duke03]

Second do not close vents.  It will disrupt the airflow and cause issues with the hvac. A normal ac system is designed kind of like a river air only flows one way.  When it hits a closed vent aka a dam that air gets backed up and causes performance issues.

[Dreamer40]

DH and I ended up with a bigger house than we really needed for reasons that make sense to us. Our approach was to actually just use all the extra rooms, even if they aren't all fully furnished. One of the bedrooms has a twin bed in it and 3 clothing racks for air-drying clothes. We each have a day room/office, which is great because we're both home all the time. The dogs sleep in an extra bathroom that we keep them gated in (one of our dogs uses a litter box and needs access to it all night for her tummy troubles; we fill up the rest of the space with comfy beds for them). Another bedroom could be a workout/yoga room if you do that kind of thing and still have extra rooms. We turned half of our 2-car garage into a workout area because we only have one car. After living in very small places for years, the extra space is a lot of fun!

[thedigitalone]

That should be fine, though you might need to run the sinks a bit more often depending on humidity (if it's low).  The main concern in sinks is the trap drying out - and, believe me, you'll know if it's dried out by the stench of sewer gas throughout the house.  The water in the bottom makes a seal and keeps the sewer side of things on the sewer side (and up the vent stacks).  There may be some benefit to putting a bit of oil in there to help keep evaporation down, but you'd probably just trade the problem for rancid oil, so... run 'em every couple weeks until you work out the details.

Non-toxic antifreeze is sold for RVs and boats at most auto parts stores, use that in the unused drains rather than oil.  It won't evaporate (well, extremely slowly) won't go rancid like oil and won't harm the plumbing.  Should be under $5/gallon.

[Chris22]

That should be fine, though you might need to run the sinks a bit more often depending on humidity (if it's low).  The main concern in sinks is the trap drying out - and, believe me, you'll know if it's dried out by the stench of sewer gas throughout the house.  The water in the bottom makes a seal and keeps the sewer side of things on the sewer side (and up the vent stacks).  There may be some benefit to putting a bit of oil in there to help keep evaporation down, but you'd probably just trade the problem for rancid oil, so... run 'em every couple weeks until you work out the details.

Non-toxic antifreeze is sold for RVs and boats at most auto parts stores, use that in the unused drains rather than oil.  It won't evaporate (well, extremely slowly) won't go rancid like oil and won't harm the plumbing.  Should be under $5/gallon.

Plumber told me to use vinegar for the same application FWIW.

[Villanelle]

We are renting this home, so we can't add a kitchen or rent out the space (at least not without violating our lease, as I mentioned in my post) so those are not viable options.

 

DH and I ended up with a bigger house than we really needed for reasons that make sense to us. Our approach was to actually just use all the extra rooms, even if they aren't all fully furnished. One of the bedrooms has a twin bed in it and 3 clothing racks for air-drying clothes. We each have a day room/office, which is great because we're both home all the time. The dogs sleep in an extra bathroom that we keep them gated in (one of our dogs uses a litter box and needs access to it all night for her tummy troubles; we fill up the rest of the space with comfy beds for them). Another bedroom could be a workout/yoga room if you do that kind of thing and still have extra rooms. We turned half of our 2-car garage into a workout area because we only have one car. After living in very small places for years, the extra space is a lot of fun!

We have already planned to have an office, plus each of us having our own space (music room for DH, reading room for me), and a workout space in the basement, as well as a dedicated guest bedroom.  It's 6 bedrooms, plus an office.  For two people.  It has surprisingly little master closet space (for a house of that size) so we may use the closet in one of the remaining rooms, but could just as easily use it in one of the rooms we use.  I can certainly sit and read in a comfy chair in a room that has clothes hanging in the closet. 

We could also have an addition guest bedroom, or come up with things to do with other spaces, but that would mean buying stuff for them, and then likely ditching that stuff when we move again in 3 years to what will almost certainly be a smaller home. 

Although I do like the idea of having a drying space, and the w/d is on the same floor as the bedrooms so that would be easy.  So we might do that once we are in and settled and see how it all works out.  Thanks for that!

[maisymouser]

I appreciate your realizing and sharing that the space is obviously totally too big. And as a Mustachian I must also say damn, you sure you found the best deal for your area/situation? But that's not keeping me from trusting you found the right place, or from being a tad bit jealous... :)

I really like the idea of having space dedicated to clothes drying. We end up walking around racks in our living room in the winter about half the week (and also when it is rainy in the summer). And aw, your poor doggo! Hope it is doing OK, I've never heard of a dog that uses a litter box before.

It sounds like you're on the right track with responses from this thread. Enjoy all that extra room!

[Dreamer40]

And aw, your poor doggo! Hope it is doing OK, I've never heard of a dog that uses a litter box before.

I recognize I'm getting way off topic here - but the dog litter box thing is awesome! It's something they need to be trained to do from birth and can't usually be learned when they get older. They use horse bedding wood pellets for the litter, not cat litter. Tractor Supply sells 40 lb bags of it for cheap. It's so amazing that I don't need to let her outside to potty. If you want a litter-trained dog, check out Starborn Havanese in North Carolina. Fabulous family and really wonderful dogs. This particular doggy is ok; she's just getting old and has some bowel issues and loves to poop in the middle of the night. It would suck if she wasn't litter-trained.

[reeshau]

And aw, your poor doggo! Hope it is doing OK, I've never heard of a dog that uses a litter box before.

I recognize I'm getting way off topic here - but the dog litter box thing is awesome! It's something they need to be trained to do from birth and can't usually be learned when they get older. They use horse bedding wood pellets for the litter, not cat litter. Tractor Supply sells 40 lb bags of it for cheap. It's so amazing that I don't need to let her outside to potty. If you want a litter-trained dog, check out Starborn Havanese in North Carolina. Fabulous family and really wonderful dogs. This particular doggy is ok; she's just getting old and has some bowel issues and loves to poop in the middle of the night. It would suck if she wasn't litter-trained.

Cats figured this out a long time ago...

[TheAnonOne]

We went from a 1970s 1000sqft house to a 1990s 4200sqft house (yes 4x larger) and our power bills went from $100 to... $130, gas went up MAYBE 2x (talking few hundred a year here).

Upside is that our larger home can now fit solar, so we really have LESS bills now. Kinda insane to think about.

[Just Joe]

Just visit a different bathroom each time you need to use one.

Dust can be an issue in unused rooms. Maybe use sheets ala haunted house to cover furniture and then remove and wash from time to time.

We found uses for our extra space and heat/cool all of it. Initially our cost to heat and cool was higher but we've slowly improved the house efficiiency. Will improve further when the old HAVC wears out and we upgrade.

A basement is a great place for a projector and screen for a movie room. Just add a used stereo, Roku and a used couch.

A Roomba or similar device to toddle around to help with floor dust.

[Villanelle]

I appreciate your realizing and sharing that the space is obviously totally too big. And as a Mustachian I must also say damn, you sure you found the best deal for your area/situation? But that's not keeping me from trusting you found the right place, or from being a tad bit jealous... :)

I really like the idea of having space dedicated to clothes drying. We end up walking around racks in our living room in the winter about half the week (and also when it is rainy in the summer). And aw, your poor doggo! Hope it is doing OK, I've never heard of a dog that uses a litter box before.

It sounds like you're on the right track with responses from this thread. Enjoy all that extra room!

We have never lived in a single family home, so while that wasn't a 100% requirement, it was something we valued  After townhouse living in a downtown area with sidewalk 4 feet out our door and lots of foot traffic and noise, a bit of separation appealed to us (as did a fenced yard as we hope to get a dog).  We could have found a townhouse that was smaller, although surprisingly they aren't all that much cheaper likely because there are very few in the area.  To find them you have to go a bit further out--even about 5 miles would probably do--and that puts you closer to the major metro area with a longer commute and higher prices.  We looked at several places that were comparable (actually, I think they were all somewhat smaller and definitely had fewer bedrooms) but were priced several hundred more.  We found this place via word of mouth before it was listed, and months before it was even available, which was another huge factor.  Our market is insane, with homes often staying on the rental market for a day or less.  It's a feeding frenzy! 

So while I suspect we could have gone smaller and saved a small amount without sacrificing too much commute, it likely wouldn't have been by much and the short commute was absolutely key for us, in a place with insane traffic in general, and even a few more miles would have put it outside the radius where DH would consider biking.   So did we find the ABSOLUTE best deal/house?  Maybe not, but I think we came damn close!  I actually keep looking at listings because real estate is like porn to me, and I've still yet to see any SFH in the area at the same or lower rent, even places that are smaller.   (The litter box dog belongs to another poster!)

We actually anticipate our heating and cooling bills possibly decreasing even though this place is ~2.5 time as large because our current house is old (1800s), in bad shape, and very drafty.  But if I can push them down even further by managing the unused space, I'd like to do so, especially because I do feel guilty and weird about the size of the place!

[Villanelle]

Just visit a different bathroom each time you need to use one.

Dust can be an issue in unused rooms. Maybe use sheets ala haunted house to cover furniture and then remove and wash from time to time.

We found uses for our extra space and heat/cool all of it. A basement is a great place for a projector and screen for a movie room. Just add a Roku and a used couch.

I realize now that I conflated this with cost-savings, but not using a bathroom or two actually has to do with me not wanting to clean them.  Even if each bathroom is used half as often, I'd likely still clean them about as frequently.  If there are a couple we don't use--especially the showers--then I won't clean them much at all. 

And I don't want to spend money on a projector screen and movie room!  That's part of my issue--I don't want to buy stuff to expand into this place, especially when we will almost certainly move in three years to a smaller home. And I don't want to deal with the hedonistic adaptation where when we move we look at a smaller place but don't feel satisfied with it because it doesn't have a place for our movie room, and there's not a dedicated yoga space, and where's my reading room?, and...

And if we don't have furniture in those rooms, there's nothing to cover with  sheet.  A vacuum across the carpet every few months should be mostly sufficient!

[Just Joe]

Completely understand.

[Dreamer40]

I actually keep looking at listings because real estate is like porn to me, and I've still yet to see any SFH in the area at the same or lower rent, even places that are smaller.

Did you see the SNL “Zillow” skit from a week or two ago? Hilarious
https://youtu.be/yEfsaXDX0UQ

[Villanelle]

I actually keep looking at listings because real estate is like porn to me, and I've still yet to see any SFH in the area at the same or lower rent, even places that are smaller.

Did you see the SNL “Zillow” skit from a week or two ago? Hilarious
https://youtu.be/yEfsaXDX0UQ

OMG!  That's perfect, and so me!!

[Much Fishing to Do]

And aw, your poor doggo! Hope it is doing OK, I've never heard of a dog that uses a litter box before.

I recognize I'm getting way off topic here - but the dog litter box thing is awesome! It's something they need to be trained to do from birth and can't usually be learned when they get older. They use horse bedding wood pellets for the litter, not cat litter. Tractor Supply sells 40 lb bags of it for cheap. It's so amazing that I don't need to let her outside to potty. If you want a litter-trained dog, check out Starborn Havanese in North Carolina. Fabulous family and really wonderful dogs. This particular doggy is ok; she's just getting old and has some bowel issues and loves to poop in the middle of the night. It would suck if she wasn't litter-trained.

Cats figured this out a long time ago...

Heh, one of my dogs figured out that when its negative 10 degrees outside peeing on the rug in front of the door is close enough.  I'd be aggravated, but given there's no way I'd pull out any private parts in that outside temp I can't seem to find fault in it...

[reeshau]

And aw, your poor doggo! Hope it is doing OK, I've never heard of a dog that uses a litter box before.

I recognize I'm getting way off topic here - but the dog litter box thing is awesome! It's something they need to be trained to do from birth and can't usually be learned when they get older. They use horse bedding wood pellets for the litter, not cat litter. Tractor Supply sells 40 lb bags of it for cheap. It's so amazing that I don't need to let her outside to potty. If you want a litter-trained dog, check out Starborn Havanese in North Carolina. Fabulous family and really wonderful dogs. This particular doggy is ok; she's just getting old and has some bowel issues and loves to poop in the middle of the night. It would suck if she wasn't litter-trained.

Cats figured this out a long time ago...

Heh, one of my dogs figured out that when its negative 10 degrees outside peeing on the rug in front of the door is close enough.  I'd be aggravated, but given there's no way I'd pull out any private parts in that outside temp I can't seem to find fault in it...

Yes, my Mom (in Minnesota) keeps middle pads out all winter.  Nobody wants to be out, at least on the coldest days.

[reeshau]

We went from a 1970s 1000sqft house to a 1990s 4200sqft house (yes 4x larger) and our power bills went from $100 to... $130, gas went up MAYBE 2x (talking few hundred a year here).

Upside is that our larger home can now fit solar, so we really have LESS bills now. Kinda insane to think about.

There is something, too, for buying newer--the insulation (at least, original insulation) will be much better.

[WSUCoug1994]

We bought too much house for a similar reason - but to be closer to family.  I woefully underestimated how much our expenses would go up.  We did put in solar which has been a life saver but we heat with propane here and with the tall ceilings and larger rooms - it just takes a lot more energy to keep the house hot or cold.  Our house was furnished so we didn't have to buy a bunch of stuff to fill the rooms but honestly we didn't love the style of some of it. 

Bigger house - costs (time/money) to clean, to heat/cool (we live in Northern California - pretty moderate), to maintain (roof/paint/yard/etc.), property taxes, insurance, etc.  I would do it differently if I was to do it again but it was a reasonable choice not an optimal one.  I LOVE our house but every room, every bathroom, every sqft costs more money in the long run.  Then there is stupid stuff like adding an alarm - now I have like 30 doors and windows to put sensors on and to wash those windows and put shades on those windows - and wifi extender ohhhhh the wifi extenders.  lol.  My wife loves holiday decorations - the amount of lights and decorations we COULD buy is immense but we have shown some good judgement there.  This is a little petty but because we have a pool - every celebration is done at our house - costs of food and entertainment and cleaning adds up over time.

Every January I change out all of our Smoke Alarm and CO2 batteries - 15 in total - lol - the little things seem to add up.

Apology to OP - I realize I am not being helpful or answering your questions - apparently I needed to vent.