Weird features spotted while house hunting

[ladyknight1]

I know this is a pretty old post, but any home I ever have a hand in building, anywhere in the world will have a storm shelter in it. Poured concrete floor, concrete walls, steel frame and door with a separate ventilation system.

Plus you can store food and weapons in it in case of the Zombie Apocalypse.   

A few too many episodes of "American Preppers" have made me think a bit like that. Also, the alcohol stockpiling for use of medicine, fuel and bartering!

[gramma dishes]

The closest thing we get to a "weird" feature is a dedicated wine cellar. 

Wonderful!  How can you go wrong with that?

If there's a tornado, hurricane, or other major event, you have a safe windowless place to hide out. 

And -- If the end of the world comes, you can at least get drunk so you leave this place "happy".   

[wheeitsme]

You'd be suprised at what is in houses that you would never expect!  Our house is only 8 years old, but it has a "Narnia".  They accidently dug out an extra 300 square feet of the daylight basement when they were building this "tract" house.  So they had to finish it as room inside a closet.  Go down into the daylight basement (2nd floor leading out to the back yard).  Go to the bedroom at the end of the hall.  Open the closet door.  Go through the door inside the closet.  300 square foot room.  No windows, 2 cement walls and (currently)a cement floor.  Yes, I am thinking of painting trees on the walls, why do you ask?

[blue2000]

You'd be suprised at what is in houses that you would never expect!  Our house is only 8 years old, but it has a "Narnia".  They accidently dug out an extra 300 square feet of the daylight basement when they were building this "tract" house.  So they had to finish it as room inside a closet.  Go down into the daylight basement (2nd floor leading out to the back yard).  Go to the bedroom at the end of the hall.  Open the closet door.  Go through the door inside the closet.  300 square foot room.  No windows, 2 cement walls and (currently)a cement floor.  Yes, I am thinking of painting trees on the walls, why do you ask?

That would be so freaking COOL.

[AustenFan]

The closest thing we get to a "weird" feature is a dedicated wine cellar. 

Wonderful!  How can you go wrong with that?

If there's a tornado, hurricane, or other major event, you have a safe windowless place to hide out. 

And -- If the end of the world comes, you can at least get drunk so you leave this place "happy".   

By George, I've been missing out on the true value of a wine cellar! We haven't had anything worse than hail, but I can pretend to be scared and drink!

[jedikaiti]

You'd be suprised at what is in houses that you would never expect!  Our house is only 8 years old, but it has a "Narnia".  They accidently dug out an extra 300 square feet of the daylight basement when they were building this "tract" house.  So they had to finish it as room inside a closet.  Go down into the daylight basement (2nd floor leading out to the back yard).  Go to the bedroom at the end of the hall.  Open the closet door.  Go through the door inside the closet.  300 square foot room.  No windows, 2 cement walls and (currently)a cement floor.  Yes, I am thinking of painting trees on the walls, why do you ask?

That would be so freaking COOL.

Extremely! Where are you and can I talk you into selling? :-)

[kitty_ev]

Several had a downstairs toilet.... but the room for it came directly off the kitchen. Eeeew!

That is what happened when old houses had plumbing installed and the pantry was made into the bathroom.

Bathroom noises, even through a closed door, are Ewww! when we are eating or preparing a meal.

Oh, I'm fully aware of WHY there are toilets coming off the kitchen. It's just not hygienic. That's when building regulations now state that any new build houses or houses being remodelled need at least 2 closing doors between a toilet and the kitchen. It's not just the noises, it's the other associated bathroom... um.... atmosphere. Just not something you want nearby when you're cooking. Ever.

I'm also decidedly not keen on any toilet without a sink in the same room. Too much opportunity to spread bacteria around on door handles going from one room to the other to wash the hands. I seen far too much gastroenteritis at work and caught it often enough to be really pernickity about hand hygiene these days.

[Luci45]

Several had a downstairs toilet.... but the room for it came directly off the kitchen. Eeeew!

That is what happened when old houses had plumbing installed and the pantry was made into the bathroom.

Bathroom noises, even through a closed door, are Ewww! when we are eating or preparing a meal.

Oh, I'm fully aware of WHY there are toilets coming off the kitchen. It's just not hygienic. That's when building regulations now state that any new build houses or houses being remodelled need at least 2 closing doors between a toilet and the kitchen. It's not just the noises, it's the other associated bathroom... um.... atmosphere. Just not something you want nearby when you're cooking. Ever.

Only rarely have I seen a home with 2 closing doors between the kitchen and toilet. Even the most expensive house in the family has a huge dining room off the kitchen, a large foyer, than the powder room, which has the onlly closing door.

Our home has a kitchen, the small entryway for the front door, then the door to the bath is about 8 feet down a hallway; again, that's the only closing door. We have no issues with that.

I can only think of one home I've been in that had 2 closing doors, and the kitchen door was so in the way it was never closed and even may have been removed.


Where are you?

[jmarvellous]

Several had a downstairs toilet.... but the room for it came directly off the kitchen. Eeeew!

That is what happened when old houses had plumbing installed and the pantry was made into the bathroom.

Bathroom noises, even through a closed door, are Ewww! when we are eating or preparing a meal.

Oh, I'm fully aware of WHY there are toilets coming off the kitchen. It's just not hygienic. That's when building regulations now state that any new build houses or houses being remodelled need at least 2 closing doors between a toilet and the kitchen. It's not just the noises, it's the other associated bathroom... um.... atmosphere. Just not something you want nearby when you're cooking. Ever.

Only rarely have I seen a home with 2 closing doors between the kitchen and toilet. Even the most expensive house in the family has a huge dining room off the kitchen, a large foyer, than the powder room, which has the onlly closing door.

Our home has a kitchen, the small entryway for the front door, then the door to the bath is about 8 feet down a hallway; again, that's the only closing door. We have no issues with that.

I can only think of one home I've been in that had 2 closing doors, and the kitchen door was so in the way it was never closed and even may have been removed.


Where are you?

Agreed. I know I was the one who posted earlier that every house in the neighborhood I grew up in had bathrooms 'off' the kitchen, but I honestly can't think of more than one or two homes I've been in that had more than one door between the kitchen and the nearest bathroom.

As far as I know, this hasn't meant these areas have greater instances of food poisoning!

[twiggy]

hmmm, technically there are 2 doors between my upstairs toilet and the bathroom. But that's because in the bathroom there is the door to the outside, and a door between the sink/counter/mirror and the shower/toilet area. Although, now that I think about it, the toilet is on one side of the wall, and I believe the stove is on the other side of that same wall. But to get a person from one area to the other, you have to walk through the kitchen, through the living room, into the hall, and to the bathroom.

[Vall]

Our house is almost 100 years old and we have two closing doors between the kitchen and bathroom.  We have a door that separates the living areas from the hallway leading to the sleeping areas, which is where the only bathroom is.  We seldom close the hallway door though---we just close the bathroom door.

I've been mentally walking through all of the houses of our friends and family and houses we've lived in.  These houses are from different states in the US and are all different ages.  So far, I can't think of any that have two closing doors between the kitchen and bathroom, other than our current house.

I'm curious what country or region regulates that there be two closing doors.

[GreenEyedHawk]

^^ It's not where I am.  My bathroom's right off the kitchen.  I think it'd be more of an issue if there were NO doors between the bathroom and the kitchen, but that makes no sense, since it's typical (I would think) to shut the bathroom door when you're using it.  It might be an issue I guess if I left my bathroom door hanging open, but who does that?

[Outdoor Girl]

It might be an issue I guess if I left my bathroom door hanging open, but who does that?

Ummmm... I do.  I live alone.  If I close the door, the cats cry outside and drive me bonkers.  I do close the door when people are over.

My upper floor is open concept with the kitchen at the back and the living room at the front.  The bathroom goes off the living room.

[GreenEyedHawk]

Sorry, OG, I meant if the bathroom's right off the kitchen.  That'd feel a little too "public" for me.

[jedikaiti]

It might be an issue I guess if I left my bathroom door hanging open, but who does that?

Ummmm... I do.  I live alone.  If I close the door, the cats cry outside and drive me bonkers.  I do close the door when people are over.

To say nothing of my codependent dog... or the fact that the critters can open the door when I do close it...

My house only has 1 closing door between the bathroom and the kitchen, but there's a hallway and a living room between them (and one potentially-closing door), so I'd consider that at least equivalent. Stuff doesn't fly THAT far out of the throne.