Building a 9000SF house without 2 story foyer, is that ok?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The new high end spec homes have at least 10" or 11ft ceilings on the first floor. We are building custom and will have 12 ft on first floor and 10 ft on 2nd flr. Think about the beautiful old apartments in Paris. They have about 11 / 12 ft ceilings. It's timeless.

Anonymous wrote:10 foot ceilings?
I don't understand this. Maybe for the second floor, but I can't understand building new and not doing 12 foot ceilings.

And 6 foot for basement? Otherwise I don't see how you not have a code violation on max building height for most of the counties. So stop bluffing.

You do realize that you dig BELOW GROUND FOR A BASEMENT RIGHT?
I'm embarrassed for you.
Obviously the basement would be 10 feet.

[Anonymous]

For 9000 sqft, absolutely a two-story foyer. It makes your house look grand and inviting (which is part of these reason you're building a house of this size).
We built a 8000 sqft (3 levels) and has a two-story foyer. It looks stunning.
Ignore the sour grapes complaining it's a waste of space. You'll be living in the house, not them.

[Anonymous]

Agree. For a 9,000 square foot a 2 story foyer sends a message of wealth and grandeur to the Jehovah's Witnesses and FedEx driver.

[Anonymous]

Do you have like 18 children?

[Anonymous]

No, it's not really ok. But life is hard sometimes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For 9000 sqft, absolutely a two-story foyer. It makes your house look grand and inviting (which is part of these reason you're building a house of this size).
We built a 8000 sqft (3 levels) and has a two-story foyer. It looks stunning.
Ignore the sour grapes complaining it's a waste of space. You'll be living in the house, not them.

Can I ask why you didn't go with a 3-story foyer? I built a 12,000sf home with a 3-story foyer and turret and really think it improves the space. Maybe you can add on?

[Anonymous]

Well, I have a newer 5000 sq ft house that we're in the process of selling (to relocate to a different area). It has 10 ft ceilings but no grand foyer, stairs are towards the back of house. This was actually an issue for some with resale, some buyers really wanted the more traditional stair foyer. Our next house is going to have a more standard albeit smallish two story stair foyer plus a smaller back staircase which I think I'll prefer to our current more "modern" set up. At least I think it will be safer so far as resale goes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, I have a newer 5000 sq ft house that we're in the process of selling (to relocate to a different area). It has 10 ft ceilings but no grand foyer, stairs are towards the back of house. This was actually an issue for some with resale, some buyers really wanted the more traditional stair foyer. Our next house is going to have a more standard albeit smallish two story stair foyer plus a smaller back staircase which I think I'll prefer to our current more "modern" set up. At least I think it will be safer so far as resale goes.

+1
Ignore the rambler dwellers! They have no idea what people in your price range really want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it is unusal. Depends on the style of the house. We are a similar size and have a small two story area but I wouldn't call it grand. It is simple and fits the house design.

I don't think there is an expectation either way.

As for the others talking about how wasteful it is - ether try to be helpful or take it somewhere else. OPs question is legit. You might not like it by not every thread on this site is intended to invite your opinion.

I think it's amusing that ppl who enter bidding wars for small million dollar homes so young Milton can go to Janey are judging a wealthier person. Like the 2% judging the 1%

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree. For a 9,000 square foot a 2 story foyer sends a message of wealth and grandeur to the Jehovah's Witnesses and FedEx driver.

Lol!

This thread is so entertaining.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Serious question, what are the average utility bills for a 5000 sq foot house? 9000 sq ft? How many separate HVAC zones would you need? I'm thinking at least 4 separate HVACs in a 9000 sq foot house.

It depends on the floors and we are building with 2 x 6 construction for extra insulation and good windows.

You need 2 zones for basement/first and second floor and then three zones for basement/first, second and loft.

Our heating bills on our 5000SF house are actually lower than our previous leeky 1950s 1500 SF rambler. It all depends on how well the home is insulated.

Imagine how low they would be if you had built a reasonably sized house.

The truth is if we built a smaller home it would actually lose money because the final appraisal vs construction cost would be too close together.

Photo 9 https://www.redfin.com/VA/McLean/9165-Old-Dominion-Dr-22102/home/9165817

It's 2 stories in part of the foyer/staircase and that is most likely the case with many of these houses. If you build a smaller house you won't lose money. If you go 9000 sq feet on other than potomac river frontage you will lose money on resale. You also will have higher taxes on the larger house and that's an automatic loss per month.

You are not an embassy. If you like garish 9000 sq feet houses you need the 2 story with perhaps double stairs and over the top marble.

[Anonymous]

redfin has 73 mclean houses 7500 sq ft or larger. 1.8m and 9400 sq ft https://www.redfin.com/VA/McLean/933-Bellview-Rd-22102/home/9262050

So if you are spending more than 2 m complete inc lot etc you are throwing away money unless it has a river view.

[Anonymous]

But if you have money to throw you are employing people but using up more land thereby effecting stormwater run-off. That is an issue with development as we Houstonize ourselves. It's an issue in great Falls especially on lower Walker Road.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For 9000 sqft, absolutely a two-story foyer. It makes your house look grand and inviting (which is part of these reason you're building a house of this size).
We built a 8000 sqft (3 levels) and has a two-story foyer. It looks stunning.
Ignore the sour grapes complaining it's a waste of space. You'll be living in the house, not them.

This. The thing about a 9000 sqft home is that you have space that you can afford to "waste".

I have a 3700 sqft home and we have high ceilings (not necessarily 2 story) and it makes the house feel really spacious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But if you have money to throw you are employing people but using up more land thereby effecting stormwater run-off. That is an issue with development as we Houstonize ourselves. It's an issue in great Falls especially on lower Walker Road.

eh, one large home probably has less of an impact on the environment than 3 smaller homes crammed onto the same lot.