Author Topic: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.  (Read 31642 times)

Lmoot

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #250 on: October 29, 2019, 05:03:34 AM »
I live in FL, so if I had a 3/1 I would have an outdoor shower/ composting toilet setup. I could only do 3/1 if the toilet and shower were in separate rooms, with the sink open in the middle.

That means brushing your teeth in the corridor?

The traditional way to solve this in The Netherlands is to have a shower and normal size sink in one room and a toilet with small handwash sink in a separate room.

It could still be in a closed off space. Someone could be in the “shower space”, another in the bathroom, and someone at the sink brushing teeth, getting ready.

But I have seen open ones, and ensuite  rooms, similarly to hotel suites.

But I like the set up you mentioned as well. The idea of not having a sink in the room with the toilet is icky when you realize everyone who uses the bathroom has to touch the handle before washing their hands.

Dicey

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #251 on: October 29, 2019, 05:50:44 AM »
You can abhor front-facing garages all you want, but in CA that's mostly what there is, so you get used to it. They are certainly more efficient use of land and convenient to boot.

I think its arguable if they are an efficient use of land. Firstly anywhere from 20 to 85 % of garages are so full of junk they are not available for their intended purpose. Secondly cars are very inefficient means of transport considering the resources they use both financial and environmental. So using prime housing space for cars seems to me to be an inefficient use of both money and space.
Your argument can be made about any garage anywhere, attached or detached, no matter which way it faces.

inefficient or not, cars are here to stay in the US, for the foreseeable future. The infrastructure that your stated position requires simply doesn't exist, partially because the country is too damn big. Driverless cars will change things and can't come fast enough. Except, everyone is going to want one, including the elderly and the visually impaired, two groups which are currently less likely to own and operate their own vehicles.

And can you please provide a citation for your statistic? That's quite a wide range.

chouchouu

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #252 on: October 29, 2019, 02:26:05 PM »
You can abhor front-facing garages all you want, but in CA that's mostly what there is, so you get used to it. They are certainly more efficient use of land and convenient to boot.

I think its arguable if they are an efficient use of land. Firstly anywhere from 20 to 85 % of garages are so full of junk they are not available for their intended purpose. Secondly cars are very inefficient means of transport considering the resources they use both financial and environmental. So using prime housing space for cars seems to me to be an inefficient use of both money and space.
Your argument can be made about any garage anywhere, attached or detached, no matter which way it faces.

inefficient or not, cars are here to stay in the US, for the foreseeable future. The infrastructure that your stated position requires simply doesn't exist, partially because the country is too damn big. Driverless cars will change things and can't come fast enough. Except, everyone is going to want one, including the elderly and the visually impaired, two groups which are currently less likely to own and operate their own vehicles.

And can you please provide a citation for your statistic? That's quite a wide range.

Direction the house faces is important because if the house is north facing in Australia and the garage takes up the majority of the front then you are losing the best aspect to position a house for solar efficiency. It would be huge loss for that to be taken up by a car. The same would be for a south facing house in the northern hemisphere.

The 20 to 85% statistic is because those were the ranges from various sources when I googled. Which seems to reflect the samples, eg california vs nationwide.

Linea_Norway

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #253 on: October 30, 2019, 03:56:27 AM »

inefficient or not, cars are here to stay in the US, for the foreseeable future. The infrastructure that your stated position requires simply doesn't exist, partially because the country is too damn big. Driverless cars will change things and can't come fast enough. Except, everyone is going to want one, including the elderly and the visually impaired, two groups which are currently less likely to own and operate their own vehicles.


I think driverless cars open up for the option of sharing cars a lot more and not owning it personally.
Why would you have a personal one sitting parked most of the time of you could call a driverless car any time you need it?

Lmoot

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #254 on: October 30, 2019, 04:41:35 AM »

inefficient or not, cars are here to stay in the US, for the foreseeable future. The infrastructure that your stated position requires simply doesn't exist, partially because the country is too damn big. Driverless cars will change things and can't come fast enough. Except, everyone is going to want one, including the elderly and the visually impaired, two groups which are currently less likely to own and operate their own vehicles.


I think driverless cars open up for the option of sharing cars a lot more and not owning it personally.
Why would you have a personal one sitting parked most of the time of you could call a driverless car any time you need it?

I think Sometimes it is over estimated how many people will use or want a driverless car. I do a lot of outdoor activities, and my job is outdoors too. My vehicle is my work horse and I keep a lot of my equipment in there. I am not going to take out and put back in my equipment every time I want to go somewhere.

Also, I like driving myself. I like my car, have genuine affection for my 17 year old Honda. I like being able to go where I want, the second I want to go. I see driverless cars to be a great option in dense areas, for individuals who can’t or don’t like to drive, and perhaps for long, planned trips. I also like having a getaway car at the ready.

Linea_Norway

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #255 on: October 30, 2019, 04:56:53 AM »

inefficient or not, cars are here to stay in the US, for the foreseeable future. The infrastructure that your stated position requires simply doesn't exist, partially because the country is too damn big. Driverless cars will change things and can't come fast enough. Except, everyone is going to want one, including the elderly and the visually impaired, two groups which are currently less likely to own and operate their own vehicles.


I think driverless cars open up for the option of sharing cars a lot more and not owning it personally.
Why would you have a personal one sitting parked most of the time of you could call a driverless car any time you need it?

I think Sometimes it is over estimated how many people will use or want a driverless car. I do a lot of outdoor activities, and my job is outdoors too. My vehicle is my work horse and I keep a lot of my equipment in there. I am not going to take out and put back in my equipment every time I want to go somewhere.

Also, I like driving myself. I like my car, have genuine affection for my 17 year old Honda. I like being able to go where I want, the second I want to go. I see driverless cars to be a great option in dense areas, for individuals who can’t or don’t like to drive, and perhaps for long, planned trips. I also like having a getaway car at the ready.

I guess that personal driving will stay popular for some time, until the driverless cars reach a safety level where they cause hardly any accidents, all cars communicating with each other and automatically analyzing the best way avoid each other. After x years of driverless driving, the personal drivers will become the biggest liabilities on the road. Insurance companies might charge you very big sums to insure your car for accidents.

I also think that it is still some time away until driverless cars are safe enough to drive everywhere under all circumstances. E.g. would they function on an off road track where there are no white lines? I regularly drive on such tracks and also expect to not want a driverless car immediately.

Dicey

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #256 on: October 30, 2019, 06:58:03 AM »
inefficient or not, cars are here to stay in the US, for the foreseeable future. The infrastructure that your stated position requires simply doesn't exist, partially because the country is too damn big. Driverless cars will change things and can't come fast enough. Except, everyone is going to want one, including the elderly and the visually impaired, two groups which are currently less likely to own and operate their own vehicles.
I think driverless cars open up for the option of sharing cars a lot more and not owning it personally.
Why would you have a personal one sitting parked most of the time of you could call a driverless car any time you need it?
I think Sometimes it is over estimated how many people will use or want a driverless car. I do a lot of outdoor activities, and my job is outdoors too. My vehicle is my work horse and I keep a lot of my equipment in there. I am not going to take out and put back in my equipment every time I want to go somewhere.

Also, I like driving myself. I like my car, have genuine affection for my 17 year old Honda. I like being able to go where I want, the second I want to go. I see driverless cars to be a great option in dense areas, for individuals who can’t or don’t like to drive, and perhaps for long, planned trips. I also like having a getaway car at the ready.
I guess that personal driving will stay popular for some time, until the driverless cars reach a safety level where they cause hardly any accidents, all cars communicating with each other and automatically analyzing the best way avoid each other. After x years of driverless driving, the personal drivers will become the biggest liabilities on the road. Insurance companies might charge you very big sums to insure your car for accidents.

I also think that it is still some time away until driverless cars are safe enough to drive everywhere under all circumstances. E.g. would they function on an off road track where there are no white lines? I regularly drive on such tracks and also expect to not want a driverless car immediately.
I agree with both of you, which is why garages, particularly in the US, aren't going to go away any time soon. As to cars on demand, that'll take at least a generation, if not more. Especially in America, where getting one's first car is a right of passage and a source of pride. Also, in developments that are underparked, the surrounding streets become a parking nightmare. Garages also mean driveways. People who use their garages for other purposes (ahem) tend to park their cars in their own driveway, not on the street.

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #257 on: October 30, 2019, 04:17:23 PM »
I don’t want to share a driverless car for the same reason I don’t want to share a car with a driver - I’d have to wait around until it was my turn for the car to get here, and there’s no telling what condition it will be in. Any driverless car - and I don’t honestly see those as being right on the horizon  - would be something I own. Otherwise it’s just the same roll of the dice as an uber.

Also, what difference does it make which direction your garage faces? Wouldn’t you just put solar panels on the roof anyway? I realize that some people think a garage is ugly and want it around the side for that reason.

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #258 on: October 30, 2019, 04:34:09 PM »
I see we've moved from shitting on extra bathrooms to shitting on garages.  If you don't like garages then go live in an apartment.  Personally, after I take my morning shit in any of the 4 toilets in my house at my own leisure I proceed to my garage to admire how I'm able to fit our two cars, two motorcycles, lawn mower, rototiller, hand truck, table saw, and wheel barrow along with copious tools. Mine is even side facing so its even less socially responsible. I still lust after a three car garage as well, when I'm not busy offering to sell my my soul to satan.

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #259 on: October 30, 2019, 04:40:54 PM »
I see we've moved from shitting on extra bathrooms to shitting on garages.  If you don't like garages then go live in an apartment.  Personally, after I take my morning shit in any of the 4 toilets in my house at my own leisure I proceed to my garage to admire how I'm able to fit our two cars, two motorcycles, lawn mower, rototiller, hand truck, table saw, and wheel barrow along with copious tools. Mine is even side facing so its even less socially responsible. I still lust after a three car garage as well, when I'm not busy offering to sell my my soul to satan.

No shitting on garages here. We don't have a basement. Our garage houses husband's tools and workbench; all of our yard tools for four seasons of weather (e.g., fertilizer and spreader, potting soil, planting pots, tomato cages, lawnmower, garden shovels, rakes, snow shovels, bucket of ice-melt); ladder; pet carriers, luggage, camping gear, and the window AC units and box fans (during winter) in big shelves along the back wall, tools for auto maintenance, barbecue grills, bikes, etc. We can get one car inside and still have workspace, but not both cars.

slappy

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #260 on: October 31, 2019, 05:20:13 AM »
I see we've moved from shitting on extra bathrooms to shitting on garages.  If you don't like garages then go live in an apartment.  Personally, after I take my morning shit in any of the 4 toilets in my house at my own leisure I proceed to my garage to admire how I'm able to fit our two cars, two motorcycles, lawn mower, rototiller, hand truck, table saw, and wheel barrow along with copious tools. Mine is even side facing so its even less socially responsible. I still lust after a three car garage as well, when I'm not busy offering to sell my my soul to satan.

We just built a garage this summer, after seven years of lusting after one. It's amazing. It's beautiful. It holds our cars and tools and makes life so much easy when getting three kids loaded into the car and we hosted two birthday parties in it this summer. I don't have one single regret about building it. We even went with a higher price builder because we liked the way he treated us, our kids and our dog. No regrets. He did a great job. I'm pretty sure our garage is nicer than our house.

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #261 on: October 31, 2019, 09:30:54 AM »
Two observations about garages

1) FOr those who feel garages which face the street promote theft, I've heard similar concerns that garages (or sheds) out back make it easier for thieves. Visibility (and illumination) prevent theft.

2) As others have mentioned, garages aren't just for storing cars.  There are many items one does not need (and often should not store) indoors.
Cars on the other hand don't need to have their own bedroom.  Other than our personal comfort (e.g. avoiding rain or scraping the windshield) there's little reason to put a roof over a vehicle. yes, paint will last longer, but that's largely cosmetic and can be addressed with periodic "waxing" (actually acrylic top-copts work much better, but traditional carnauba wax serves the same purpose). 

to me, parking a car inside your own personal garage is the epitome of pampered luxury.  And I live in a very cold-winter, snowy climate.

slappy

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #262 on: October 31, 2019, 11:34:04 AM »
Two observations about garages

1) FOr those who feel garages which face the street promote theft, I've heard similar concerns that garages (or sheds) out back make it easier for thieves. Visibility (and illumination) prevent theft.

2) As others have mentioned, garages aren't just for storing cars.  There are many items one does not need (and often should not store) indoors.
Cars on the other hand don't need to have their own bedroom.  Other than our personal comfort (e.g. avoiding rain or scraping the windshield) there's little reason to put a roof over a vehicle. yes, paint will last longer, but that's largely cosmetic and can be addressed with periodic "waxing" (actually acrylic top-copts work much better, but traditional carnauba wax serves the same purpose). 

to me, parking a car inside your own personal garage is the epitome of pampered luxury.  And I live in a very cold-winter, snowy climate.

We are in NH. I agree, it is the epitome of luxury. Hence the reason I enjoy it so much. :)

nereo

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #263 on: October 31, 2019, 12:06:50 PM »
Two observations about garages

1) FOr those who feel garages which face the street promote theft, I've heard similar concerns that garages (or sheds) out back make it easier for thieves. Visibility (and illumination) prevent theft.

2) As others have mentioned, garages aren't just for storing cars.  There are many items one does not need (and often should not store) indoors.
Cars on the other hand don't need to have their own bedroom.  Other than our personal comfort (e.g. avoiding rain or scraping the windshield) there's little reason to put a roof over a vehicle. yes, paint will last longer, but that's largely cosmetic and can be addressed with periodic "waxing" (actually acrylic top-copts work much better, but traditional carnauba wax serves the same purpose). 

to me, parking a car inside your own personal garage is the epitome of pampered luxury.  And I live in a very cold-winter, snowy climate.

We are in NH. I agree, it is the epitome of luxury. Hence the reason I enjoy it so much. :)

Oh, I agree!  We have a two-bay garage and will park a car in one side during the snowy winter months.  The other half is largely my workshop plus some garden equipment, which wouldn't make much sense to have inside.

Actually, while we are on the subject my former SO worked in insurance law, and IIRC vehicle fires were among the top reasons why houses burned down.  Storing a internal combustable engine - often with an extremely hot exhaust manafold - in direct proximity to where one sleeps seems like an obvious point of failure.  One reason why our dream house has always had a detached garage... of course if we move to a BEV that will eliminate most of that risk anyway.

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #264 on: October 31, 2019, 12:48:05 PM »
Two observations about garages

1) FOr those who feel garages which face the street promote theft, I've heard similar concerns that garages (or sheds) out back make it easier for thieves. Visibility (and illumination) prevent theft.

2) As others have mentioned, garages aren't just for storing cars.  There are many items one does not need (and often should not store) indoors.
Cars on the other hand don't need to have their own bedroom.  Other than our personal comfort (e.g. avoiding rain or scraping the windshield) there's little reason to put a roof over a vehicle. yes, paint will last longer, but that's largely cosmetic and can be addressed with periodic "waxing" (actually acrylic top-copts work much better, but traditional carnauba wax serves the same purpose). 

to me, parking a car inside your own personal garage is the epitome of pampered luxury.  And I live in a very cold-winter, snowy climate.

We are in NH. I agree, it is the epitome of luxury. Hence the reason I enjoy it so much. :)

Oh, I agree!  We have a two-bay garage and will park a car in one side during the snowy winter months.  The other half is largely my workshop plus some garden equipment, which wouldn't make much sense to have inside.

Actually, while we are on the subject my former SO worked in insurance law, and IIRC vehicle fires were among the top reasons why houses burned down.  Storing a internal combustable engine - often with an extremely hot exhaust manafold - in direct proximity to where one sleeps seems like an obvious point of failure.  One reason why our dream house has always had a detached garage... of course if we move to a BEV that will eliminate most of that risk anyway.

Very interesting. While the garage was being built, the electrician was very specific about adding heat/smoke alarms to the garage. We thought it was kind of strange, but I guess it does make sense. I do need to reevaluate our escape plan now, though. We had thought we would go out the second floor window onto to the garage roof and then down to the ground. I guess that is not going to work if the garage is on fire. Also interesting to note that adding the garage only increased our home insurance by about $3 a month.

Also, happy fire safety month! haha

Dicey

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #265 on: October 31, 2019, 02:44:29 PM »
My neighbor's house caught fire when she pulled her (unbeknownst to her) burning vehicle into the garage then went inside to change her clothes. She was at the back of the house when the neighbors noticed the flames and banged on her door. The house was a total loss, except for the three roof tiles we salvaged for our flip house, and her front gate, which we are storing for her in our side yard. I hope she needs it again someday soon.

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #266 on: October 31, 2019, 08:48:58 PM »
I see we've moved from shitting on extra bathrooms to shitting on garages.  If you don't like garages then go live in an apartment.  Personally, after I take my morning shit in any of the 4 toilets in my house at my own leisure I proceed to my garage to admire how I'm able to fit our two cars, two motorcycles, lawn mower, rototiller, hand truck, table saw, and wheel barrow along with copious tools. Mine is even side facing so its even less socially responsible. I still lust after a three car garage as well, when I'm not busy offering to sell my my soul to satan.

When we moved. Our priority was like this.
1) Location
2) 3 car garage.(YES I park 3 cars in mine).
Of course with 3 bathrooms for just the 2 of us.

nereo

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #267 on: November 01, 2019, 04:37:18 AM »
Two observations about garages

1) FOr those who feel garages which face the street promote theft, I've heard similar concerns that garages (or sheds) out back make it easier for thieves. Visibility (and illumination) prevent theft.

2) As others have mentioned, garages aren't just for storing cars.  There are many items one does not need (and often should not store) indoors.
Cars on the other hand don't need to have their own bedroom.  Other than our personal comfort (e.g. avoiding rain or scraping the windshield) there's little reason to put a roof over a vehicle. yes, paint will last longer, but that's largely cosmetic and can be addressed with periodic "waxing" (actually acrylic top-copts work much better, but traditional carnauba wax serves the same purpose). 

to me, parking a car inside your own personal garage is the epitome of pampered luxury.  And I live in a very cold-winter, snowy climate.

We are in NH. I agree, it is the epitome of luxury. Hence the reason I enjoy it so much. :)

Oh, I agree!  We have a two-bay garage and will park a car in one side during the snowy winter months.  The other half is largely my workshop plus some garden equipment, which wouldn't make much sense to have inside.

Actually, while we are on the subject my former SO worked in insurance law, and IIRC vehicle fires were among the top reasons why houses burned down.  Storing a internal combustable engine - often with an extremely hot exhaust manafold - in direct proximity to where one sleeps seems like an obvious point of failure.  One reason why our dream house has always had a detached garage... of course if we move to a BEV that will eliminate most of that risk anyway.

Very interesting. While the garage was being built, the electrician was very specific about adding heat/smoke alarms to the garage. We thought it was kind of strange, but I guess it does make sense. I do need to reevaluate our escape plan now, though. We had thought we would go out the second floor window onto to the garage roof and then down to the ground. I guess that is not going to work if the garage is on fire. Also interesting to note that adding the garage only increased our home insurance by about $3 a month.

Also, happy fire safety month! haha

In our new (to us) home, the previous owner had put up a garage with the master bedroom above, but had not bothered to put drywall on either the garage ceiling or the wall alongside the house.  Drywall is required because it’s a fire break and protects the house from a burning car long enough for one to GTFO.  When our inspector looked at it his exact words were “oh f*** no, this has got to be changed”.  Which was a surprising reaction, since there was a long list of things we needed to address that he just listed without much commentary.

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #268 on: November 01, 2019, 06:38:21 AM »
1.5 bathrooms a must and a garage be it detached or not I dont care. That would be my vote if this was a poll

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #269 on: November 03, 2019, 07:40:05 PM »
I see we've moved from shitting on extra bathrooms to shitting on garages.  If you don't like garages then go live in an apartment.  Personally, after I take my morning shit in any of the 4 toilets in my house at my own leisure I proceed to my garage to admire how I'm able to fit our two cars, two motorcycles, lawn mower, rototiller, hand truck, table saw, and wheel barrow along with copious tools. Mine is even side facing so its even less socially responsible. I still lust after a three car garage as well, when I'm not busy offering to sell my my soul to satan.

All posters here either shit on extra bathrooms or shit in extra bathrooms.

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #270 on: November 04, 2019, 04:23:25 AM »
I see we've moved from shitting on extra bathrooms to shitting on garages.  If you don't like garages then go live in an apartment.  Personally, after I take my morning shit in any of the 4 toilets in my house at my own leisure I proceed to my garage to admire how I'm able to fit our two cars, two motorcycles, lawn mower, rototiller, hand truck, table saw, and wheel barrow along with copious tools. Mine is even side facing so its even less socially responsible. I still lust after a three car garage as well, when I'm not busy offering to sell my my soul to satan.

All posters here either shit on extra bathrooms or shit in extra bathrooms.

I don’t hate on having an extra bathroom - our most recent house came with one.  And yet two months in I have yet to defecate in that toilet.  So I’d say I neither shit on nor in an extra bathroom
:-P

slappy

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #271 on: November 04, 2019, 06:05:27 AM »
We technically have 1.5 baths in our house. So, two toilets. I prefer to use the one upstairs. The one downstairs is mainly used by two preschool boys. Enough said.

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #272 on: November 08, 2019, 08:35:50 AM »
You can abhor front-facing garages all you want, but in CA that's mostly what there is, so you get used to it. They are certainly more efficient use of land and convenient to boot.

There are reasons - many reasons we don't live in CA. This is another one.

DW and I have 15 acres of countryside all our own. Surrounded by tall trees, a big patch of grass to lay on, not much noise, a quick ten minute drive to town for working/shopping/entertainment. I have multiple garages for my projects and my progress bothers nobody and nobody bothers me. Its only taken 1/2 of our life to get here but we did. We've always lived in this part of the country but we lived on tiny lots surrounded by close neighbors.

We've visited many other parts of the country and some have appeal but for a day to day lifestyle, we choose here. Its easier, more affordable and more enjoyable to us here.

Just Joe

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #273 on: November 08, 2019, 08:42:56 AM »
I'm a bit at loss about street-facing garage doors. I don't particularly like the look either, but if the door isn't street-facing, how do you get your car in the garage? That's the whole point of it even though many people use it for other purposes. Maybe if a plot is so large you can add a driveway around your house to the back of the house?

My elders had a house like this. Garage entrance was on the back. They only needed the width of the driveway to access the back of the house. Eight feet width perhaps? House wall, driveway and property line - no spare inches.

The lot had to be deep enough though for the car to turn around which wasn't a problem for them b/c they had small cars at the time.

I know that in older neighborhoods and other parts of the country houses are four or five feet apart with alley access to the rear of the house in some places. Just different solutions to cars, parking and access. 

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #274 on: November 08, 2019, 08:45:13 AM »
Very few posters on these forums are fully "innocent" when it comes to spending money on things other folks would find frivolous or wasteful.


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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #275 on: November 08, 2019, 08:51:04 AM »
Well my issue is generally design principles. Every house built pre war had cross ventilation, they all had eaves. Nowadays its really hard to find new builds built with these basic principles unless they are architect designs. They're all built to be temperature controlled with aircon and use up a lot of energy because they ignore basic design. They also tend to be built with the garage taking up half the front of the house so they're ugly as anything.

That's a house shopping requirement - no street facing garage doors. Two reason: the look and the fact that whatever I have stored in my garage is visible to anyone strolling by, especially at night when I work. I have a garage workshop. I neither want to advertise my projects nor the tools I use.

Also implies the lot is bigger than those postage stamp places. Glad folks want to live like that. I don't so we live somewhere besides the crowded cities or coastal areas.

Can't you just keep the garage doors closed while you work?

I can but heat is a problem in the summer. So is grinding dust. Noise - I'd rather let the noise out if I'm not disturbing someone.

Clearly if I'm living in a zero lot line CA style neighborhood I'd be stuck with quiet hobbies like building ships in a bottle rather than woodworking or restoring old sports cars. ;) Too noisy and unkind for neighbors 5 feet away.

I see neighborhoods like that as one step up from condos and apartments. Not quite sharing walls but close. I recognize that's what it takes to moderate sprawl and cost in those places. I'd rather live elsewhere.

Just Joe

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #276 on: November 08, 2019, 09:14:46 AM »
I think a 3 bed / 1 bath house is fine. We owned one a couple of houses back. Is this seen as an advantage or an often overlooked classification advantage at buying time?

If a person has a space for a second half bath, why not have one? Once finished it costs a person no more to own a bathroom like that.

Its not like choosing the larger vehicle with worse MPG b/c once every couple of years there is a need for carrying 7 people.

That said, someday when DW are done raising children we may downsize into a 3/1.5 house in the center of town.

Less to maintain, more freedom to travel on short notice and presumably we won't have kids or grandkids or pets to manage.

Right now however we are very much enjoying being parents and pet-people and grandkids someday sounds fun too. The big house and yard have been fun too.

ender

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #277 on: November 08, 2019, 09:18:34 AM »
If a person has a space for a second half bath, why not have one? Once finished it costs a person no more to own a bathroom like that.

technically it probably does cost a bit more in property taxes as it will be assessed higher ;)

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #278 on: November 08, 2019, 09:23:01 AM »
If a person has a space for a second half bath, why not have one? Once finished it costs a person no more to own a bathroom like that.

technically it probably does cost a bit more in property taxes as it will be assessed higher ;)

Also the cost to maintain a bathroom with plumbing and fixtures is more than the cost to maintain an empty broom closet and it increases the potential for water damage. Small costs, but more than nothing.

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #279 on: November 08, 2019, 09:30:13 AM »
Not completely on topic but I get a newsletter from my mortgage refinancer, and it had some interesting numbers in it. Basically home builders have high confidence levels and ARE building more. But they are not necessarily building the kind of houses the typical buyer is looking for.

They are building houses that are significantly more expensive as well as larger than the average house purchased, which means it's not helping the housing shortage for the majority of potential buyers
Typical home purchased in 2017-2018 is 1900 sq feet, 3 bedroom, 2 bath.
Typical home being built 2018 is 2386 sq feet, 4+ bedrooms, 3+ bathroom.
Homes 200K or less declined 9.8%. Homes 750K or more grew 4.7 %

As time goes on, the part of the American dream = home ownership may not be feasible for a majority of folks, even those firmly in the middle class. The American dream or expectation of funding one's kids to complete college may fall by the wayside as well.

What do you think the American Dream will look like in 20 years? Will we return to more modest housing that more people can afford? Or will home ownership be only for the wealthy? Or will it depend on where you live?

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #280 on: November 08, 2019, 09:51:27 AM »

What do you think the American Dream will look like in 20 years? Will we return to more modest housing that more people can afford? Or will home ownership be only for the wealthy? Or will it depend on where you live?

I think you just need to look at the Blade Runner movies for a glimpse of the future.  Minus the cool technology and sexy android babes.

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #281 on: November 08, 2019, 01:46:14 PM »
If a person has a space for a second half bath, why not have one? Once finished it costs a person no more to own a bathroom like that.
technically it probably does cost a bit more in property taxes as it will be assessed higher ;)
At least where I'm at, each plumbing fixture adds about $800 in assessed value, so a half bath raises the assessment by $1600. Property taxes here are 1% of assessed value, so adding the second bathroom works out to costing 4.3 cents a day in taxes.

Of course, there are exceptions, like that one time the [now] Governor of Illinois saved $330,000 in property taxes by removing a bathroom. https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/editorials/ct-edit-pritzker-toilet-fraud-blanchard-20181002-story.html

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #282 on: November 08, 2019, 05:55:20 PM »
What do you think the American Dream will look like in 20 years? Will we return to more modest housing that more people can afford? Or will home ownership be only for the wealthy? Or will it depend on where you live?

America is not about moving backwards.  We are going to live with our parents until we get our own diminished social security if we can’t afford a big house like they can.  It is more likely the banks will find a way for a family to carry two mortgages worth of debt per house than everyone from builders to buyers settling for a small house.  How about sibling loans where your sibling is your co owner and you each get a mortgage for the McMansion?

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #283 on: November 08, 2019, 07:17:10 PM »
I agree most American houses are way too big.  3 bedrooms is great.  But I would prefer 1.5 or 2 bathrooms to 1 bathroom. 

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #284 on: November 08, 2019, 11:09:02 PM »
What do you think the American Dream will look like in 20 years? Will we return to more modest housing that more people can afford? Or will home ownership be only for the wealthy? Or will it depend on where you live?

America is not about moving backwards.  We are going to live with our parents until we get our own diminished social security if we can’t afford a big house like they can.  It is more likely the banks will find a way for a family to carry two mortgages worth of debt per house than everyone from builders to buyers settling for a small house.  How about sibling loans where your sibling is your co owner and you each get a mortgage for the McMansion?

If no one can buy houses then no one will buy houses, and the prices will come down. Or people will move to lower prices areas and revitalize those areas. You can’t wrong water from stone, and banks need water to survive.

partgypsy

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #285 on: November 09, 2019, 05:50:05 AM »
What do you think the American Dream will look like in 20 years? Will we return to more modest housing that more people can afford? Or will home ownership be only for the wealthy? Or will it depend on where you live?

America is not about moving backwards.  We are going to live with our parents until we get our own diminished social security if we can’t afford a big house like they can.  It is more likely the banks will find a way for a family to carry two mortgages worth of debt per house than everyone from builders to buyers settling for a small house.  How about sibling loans where your sibling is your co owner and you each get a mortgage for the McMansion?

If no one can buy houses then no one will buy houses, and the prices will come down. Or people will move to lower prices areas and revitalize those areas. You can’t wrong water from stone, and banks need water to survive.

Or the majority of individuals and families will be renters instead of home buyers, and the majority of land and property will be held by a small number of people/companies.

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #286 on: November 09, 2019, 07:00:01 AM »
This evening we will go to a party in a one bathroom home, with no separate toilet. And a lot of people will sleep over, including us. It is a bit far driving and we want to drink, therefore we will camp in their garden. But it will be a rush on the one bathroom in the morning, especially if someone will choose to take a long shower.

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #287 on: November 09, 2019, 09:38:16 AM »
This evening we will go to a party in a one bathroom home, with no separate toilet. And a lot of people will sleep over, including us. It is a bit far driving and we want to drink, therefore we will camp in their garden. But it will be a rush on the one bathroom in the morning, especially if someone will choose to take a long shower.

Or if someone has the trots.

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #288 on: November 09, 2019, 10:33:00 AM »
I'm starting to wonder whether it would be a bad idea to have friends over for a party at our house next summer. We certainly have the room in our yard and enough grill space to cook a lot of food, but only one bathroom.

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #289 on: November 09, 2019, 11:01:20 AM »
Depending on where you live if you have the yard space, you might want to look into a composting toilet.. If anything just as an experiment and party conversation starter. You can probably rig up an outdoor shower pretty easily, just using a garden hose and camp shower set up.

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #290 on: November 09, 2019, 11:18:26 AM »
Depending on where you live if you have the yard space, you might want to look into a composting toilet.. If anything just as an experiment and party conversation starter. You can probably rig up an outdoor shower pretty easily, just using a garden hose and camp shower set up.

It would be 15-20 people for a single evening, no overnight guests. We live in an inner-ring suburb with close neighbors. Before this thread, I had honestly never considered that having only one bathroom would be perceived so poorly. It's not even something I think about when I visit other people's homes.

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #291 on: November 09, 2019, 11:30:35 AM »
Depending on where you live if you have the yard space, you might want to look into a composting toilet.. If anything just as an experiment and party conversation starter. You can probably rig up an outdoor shower pretty easily, just using a garden hose and camp shower set up.

It would be 15-20 people for a single evening, no overnight guests. We live in an inner-ring suburb with close neighbors. Before this thread, I had honestly never considered that having only one bathroom would be perceived so poorly. It's not even something I think about when I visit other people's homes.

Oof, 20ppl on one toilet?   Hope you got city sewer and not septic. I always check on zillow before going to a new house party to see how many bathrooms the hosting house has.  Followed by a trip to Google Street view to check on their garage orientation so I can be sure to get my virtue signaling lined up before I arrive.

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #292 on: November 09, 2019, 12:32:19 PM »
Depending on where you live if you have the yard space, you might want to look into a composting toilet.. If anything just as an experiment and party conversation starter. You can probably rig up an outdoor shower pretty easily, just using a garden hose and camp shower set up.

It would be 15-20 people for a single evening, no overnight guests. We live in an inner-ring suburb with close neighbors. Before this thread, I had honestly never considered that having only one bathroom would be perceived so poorly. It's not even something I think about when I visit other people's homes.

I've had 20-30 people over for parties with only one bathroom. Somehow, we all managed to get through without peeing on the rug.

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #293 on: November 09, 2019, 12:46:17 PM »
Depending on where you live if you have the yard space, you might want to look into a composting toilet.. If anything just as an experiment and party conversation starter. You can probably rig up an outdoor shower pretty easily, just using a garden hose and camp shower set up.

It would be 15-20 people for a single evening, no overnight guests. We live in an inner-ring suburb with close neighbors. Before this thread, I had honestly never considered that having only one bathroom would be perceived so poorly. It's not even something I think about when I visit other people's homes.

Just for a night? I really don't think that should be a problem. We try to limit our overnight guests to 2 or 3 (singles or couples) but that's because of morning routine logistics. We have a big shower so couples can shower and brush teeth together and only take marginally more time than singles in my experience. I have been to one garden party where they invited over 100 people and the hosts rented a mobile toilet unit. But you really don't need that for 15-20 people.

I have no idea how many toilets most of my friends have, but I have a slight preference for toilets that are seperate from the bathroom (which is the norm in my country except for small apartments). That's because some people have messy and damp bathrooms and I really don't want to see their worn underwear in the laundry hamper. If yours is clean and dry I wouldn't think twice about it at all.

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #294 on: November 09, 2019, 01:19:43 PM »
Depending on where you live if you have the yard space, you might want to look into a composting toilet.. If anything just as an experiment and party conversation starter. You can probably rig up an outdoor shower pretty easily, just using a garden hose and camp shower set up.

It would be 15-20 people for a single evening, no overnight guests. We live in an inner-ring suburb with close neighbors. Before this thread, I had honestly never considered that having only one bathroom would be perceived so poorly. It's not even something I think about when I visit other people's homes.

Oof, 20ppl on one toilet?   Hope you got city sewer and not septic. I always check on zillow before going to a new house party to see how many bathrooms the hosting house has.  Followed by a trip to Google Street view to check on their garage orientation so I can be sure to get my virtue signaling lined up before I arrive.

I realize that you're poking fun, at least in part (and yes, it is city water/sewer), but I'm an anxious hostess. We've never had more than 4 guests over at a time. It's another factor to consider, for sure.

OtherJen

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #295 on: November 09, 2019, 01:22:25 PM »
Depending on where you live if you have the yard space, you might want to look into a composting toilet.. If anything just as an experiment and party conversation starter. You can probably rig up an outdoor shower pretty easily, just using a garden hose and camp shower set up.

It would be 15-20 people for a single evening, no overnight guests. We live in an inner-ring suburb with close neighbors. Before this thread, I had honestly never considered that having only one bathroom would be perceived so poorly. It's not even something I think about when I visit other people's homes.

I've had 20-30 people over for parties with only one bathroom. Somehow, we all managed to get through without peeing on the rug.

That describes pretty much every family holiday party throughout my childhood. It's why I've never considered it as a problem before.

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #296 on: November 09, 2019, 01:36:42 PM »
Depending on where you live if you have the yard space, you might want to look into a composting toilet.. If anything just as an experiment and party conversation starter. You can probably rig up an outdoor shower pretty easily, just using a garden hose and camp shower set up.

It would be 15-20 people for a single evening, no overnight guests. We live in an inner-ring suburb with close neighbors. Before this thread, I had honestly never considered that having only one bathroom would be perceived so poorly. It's not even something I think about when I visit other people's homes.

Oof, 20ppl on one toilet?   Hope you got city sewer and not septic. I always check on zillow before going to a new house party to see how many bathrooms the hosting house has.  Followed by a trip to Google Street view to check on their garage orientation so I can be sure to get my virtue signaling lined up before I arrive.

I realize that you're poking fun, at least in part (and yes, it is city water/sewer), but I'm an anxious hostess. We've never had more than 4 guests over at a time. It's another factor to consider, for sure.

I don't even know 20ppl that I'd want to have over and I get stressed out with anything over 4ppl so you're in uncharted territory for me!   Have a plunger in the bathroom is my recommendation. 

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #297 on: November 09, 2019, 04:57:42 PM »
I’m way more impressed by the idea of camping this time of year in Norway than be a line for the bathroom.

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #298 on: November 10, 2019, 02:50:31 AM »
Depending on where you live if you have the yard space, you might want to look into a composting toilet.. If anything just as an experiment and party conversation starter. You can probably rig up an outdoor shower pretty easily, just using a garden hose and camp shower set up.

It would be 15-20 people for a single evening, no overnight guests. We live in an inner-ring suburb with close neighbors. Before this thread, I had honestly never considered that having only one bathroom would be perceived so poorly. It's not even something I think about when I visit other people's homes.

Oof, 20ppl on one toilet?   Hope you got city sewer and not septic. I always check on zillow before going to a new house party to see how many bathrooms the hosting house has.  Followed by a trip to Google Street view to check on their garage orientation so I can be sure to get my virtue signaling lined up before I arrive.

I realize that you're poking fun, at least in part (and yes, it is city water/sewer), but I'm an anxious hostess. We've never had more than 4 guests over at a time. It's another factor to consider, for sure.

OtherJen,

There is absolutely no need to be concerned about having 20 people over for an evening event with one bathroom.  Although my house has three bathrooms, one is upstairs and one is in the basement.  We routinely entertain 20 or more guests only using the one bathroom on the ground floor.  I have had 60 or 70 people or so and only used the main floor bathroom and the basement bathroom.  In a different house, I sometimes had several hundred people over and we were fine with using only the two bathrooms on the ground floor. 

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Re: In praise of the 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house.
« Reply #299 on: November 10, 2019, 03:28:18 PM »
Meanwhile this eight-month-old Wall Street Journal article on the inability to make tons of money from tons of house popped up again today. The paywall is down for Veterans Day, so anyone can read.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-growing-problem-in-real-estate-too-many-too-big-houses-11553181782?mod=e2tw