basement without any walkup access

[Anonymous]

Hi

Is this a unique situation where a basement does not have any walk up access? i.e. the only access is from inside the house. Would it be of any concern and does anyone have an idea of why it was constructed in that manner?

Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

My house has a basement without a walkout as do several houses on my street. They were built that way because the way the lots were with the grade could not accommodate a walk out. It's very common... As long as there is an egress window there can be legal bedrooms in the basement.

[Anonymous]

I think it's pretty common for older homes that are built on flat lots. I think historically basement were unheated, lightly wired (one or two ceiling light bulbs) damp storage areas. They weren't viewed as living areas so there was no need to add to the cost of construction to dig out an egress.

Now they are viewed as highly desirable extra living space.

How old us the house you are looking at?

[Anonymous]

My house is one of the only one on the street that has outside steps to the basement. The original owner paid extra. Frankly, I think it's a pain in the ass.

[Anonymous]

There is a mix in my neighborhood, but most of the houses on my block don't have a walk out basement. Ours doesn't have one and it makes me feel safer - fewer doors for unwanted entry. The hassle is that we don't have a garage either, and so we have to schlep our gardening tools through the house.

[Anonymous]

Our basement actually connects to our garage. The basement also connects to the main floor via a stair. Apparently, insurance companies still considers the basement a walkout.

[Anonymous]

I would like a basement that was walk-out, ie: the house was built on a hill and on one side the basement floor is level with the terrain, so you can just walk out like normal.

I would not like a basement that was walk-up, ie: the house was built on a flat lot, all sides of the basement are 6 feet under grade, and there is an additional dug-out spot for exterior stairs. This is just a recipe for water problems. Read some threads on the Home Improvement forum, about the floor drains at the bottom of those steps getting clogged.

If it's a flat lot, stick with the basement with no exterior steps.

[Anonymous]

Our townhouse is like this. Depends on the property though. The townhouses across the street have walk outs, but they aren't built on a slope of a hill like our row.

[Anonymous]

Our house is like this because a sunporch was built off of the side of the house and directly above the old basement access. The basement cannot really ever be truly finished (water) and our neighborhood has rental restrictions, so we'd never want to rent it out anyway. There is a finished part of the basement that has a raised floor and is the "man cave" and unfinished storage space.

[Anonymous]

It would only be a concern if you use it for sleeping. For safety, you want two means of egress. You have one, the door going to the main house, but you don't have a second. If you want to rent out the basement or turn it into a basement bedroom you will need to make sure that if there isn't a door, that there is a window that is large and low enough to qualify as a fire escape.

[Anonymous]

I would not buy a house without a walk out basement for safety. (or add an egress window but they are expensive). It is very common as we looked at many. A walk out makes it much easier especially if you have appliances in the basement.

[Anonymous]

I'd rather have no access vs. one of those basements with steps down to the basement -- those are notorious for leaking. If you look at a lot of homes with those walk up basements, you will frequently see water damage around the door.

[Anonymous]

I think this is a fire code violation. You might have trouble selling unless you install emergency egress windows.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My house is one of the only one on the street that has outside steps to the basement. The original owner paid extra. Frankly, I think it's a pain in the ass.

why???

[Anonymous]

The bottom is never dry, plus leafs, dirt, etc. You end up avoiding opening this door as much as possible.