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My Two Cents

Susan Bady
Susan Bady
I’ve spent two decades reporting on the housing business from both the trade and consumer side. While writing editorials for Custom Builder provides an outlet for my personal views, I only get to do that once in awhile and I'm constrained by space limitations. Now that I can share my thoughts with you a lot more often, I hope you’ll share yours, too. And be sure to follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/CustomBuilder.


Thursday, May 29, 2008

Susan Bady

The down side of high ceilings

May 29 2008 8:12AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (7) |
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By Susan Bady

Great rooms with two-story ceilings have been a staple of large suburban dwellings for 15 years now, but will we start seeing less of them in new homes? Certainly they make a grand statement in a model presentation. Once the awe wears off, though, homeowners discover such rooms can be hard to live with.

High-ceilinged rooms are costly to heat and cool, difficult to clean and paint and often noisy, acting as an echo chamber. (Let's not even talk about washing the second-story windows.) It's no surprise that, given the current state of the housing and mortgage markets, buyers -- especially those with young children -- are more concerned about maximizing their square footage than impressing their friends. Where better to add a bedroom, playroom, exercise room or other functional space than the upper regions of a 21-foot ceiling? Also, consumers are looking to save energy and a two-story ceiling is at cross purposes with that effort.

I wonder how many builders use two-story ceilings for visual effect in their models but offer room options as an alternative. And how many others are moving away from such ceilings in favor of dining or living rooms with more intimate 10- or 11-foot ceilings?  

    


Reader Comments


at 6/3/2008 11:12:07 AM, Sharon Attra said:
If a house has high ceilings then they need to do the sealed attic system with the spray in place foam to keep the attic temperature around 80 to 85 degrees year round to help eliminate the energy loss.

at 6/4/2008 2:29:11 PM, Ramiro Palma said:
In additon to good insulation. Do cool only the lower half of the room by using side wall diffusers and sending cooling to the people.

at 6/5/2008 12:53:49 PM, Cascadia said:
Don't discard the tall space if such space suits your site and space needs. Use radiant floor heat to keep the heat where it is needed and most comfortable. Palma's suggestion for cooling may be just fine for some tall spaces.

at 6/11/2008 1:31:35 PM, Noel Susskind, PE, LEED AP said:
Ive dealt with atriums thoughout my 25 years in HVAC design. I also have a 20 foot ceiling at my rental home.
My advice, dont put air supply diffusers and return grilles above 8 feet. The air above that level can stratify and no one will complain. Believe it.
A lot of HVAC contractors put diffusers above that level but its a waste of energy to try to treat the high space other than to leave it alone.

at 1/7/2009 3:39:24 PM, Allen Crosby, PE (mech) & Contractor said:
High ceiling are not a problem for heating if the system is radiant in the floor. I did one systems in Pebble Beach with a 30' ceiling and kept the floor to ceiling stratification to only 2°F. The cooling in the Monterey climate is another issue and natural ventilation solved many of the stratification problems. In the winter a ceiling fan is very effective in getting the heat down where it is benefital to the homeowners when a conventional heating system is used. It also helps when a wood stove is used and the heat goes to the highest point in the home.

at 10/17/2009 12:25:49 AM, ContractorBids said:
hmmmm I like this post but I would love to see some on how to save on construction costs in this tough market

at 11/17/2009 2:49:09 PM, John said:
As a design / build custom homebuilder we have steered away from high ceilings unless insisted upon by clients.

In areas where dramatic ceilings make a desired impact, we have designed square, round, oval and angled step ceilings with trim and lighting details that create visual interest and complexity on a comfortable scale.

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