Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

An apartment (in American and Canadian English) or a flat (in British English) is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies only part of a building, correctly, on a single level without a stair. Such a building may be called an apartment building, apartment complex, flat complex, block of flats, tower block, high-rise or, occasionally mansion block (in British English), especially if it consists of many apartments for rent. In Scotland it is called a block of flats or, if it's a traditional sandstone building, a tenement, which has a pejorative connotation elsewhere. Apartments may be owned by an owner/occupier, by leasehold tenure or rented by tenants (two types of housing tenure).

The term apartment is favoured in North America (although flat is used in the case of a unit which is part of a house containing two or three units, typically one to a floor). In the UK, the term apartment is more usual in professional real estate and architectural circles where otherwise the term flat is commonly, but not exclusively, for an apartment without a stair (hence a 'flat' apartment). Technically multi-storey apartments are referred to as 'duplex' (or 'triplex') indicating the number of floors within the property. Usage generally follows the British in Ireland, Singapore, Hong Kong and most Commonwealth nations.

In Malaysian English, flat often denotes a housing block of lesser quality meant for lower-income groups, while apartment is more generic and may also include luxury condominiums. This usage has also been appearing in British English where apartment is used by developers to denote expensive 'flats' in exclusive and expensive residential areas in, for example, parts of London such as Belgravia and Hampstead.

In Australian English, the term flat was traditionally used, but the term apartment is also frequently used, as is "unit", short for "home unit".

Tenement law refers to the feudal basis of permanent property such as land or rents. It may be found combined as in "Messuage or Tenement" to encompass all the land, buildings and other assets of a property.

In the United States, some apartment-dwellers own their own apartments, either as co-ops, in which the residents own shares of a corporation that owns the building or development; or in condominiums, whose residents own their apartments and share ownership of the public spaces. Most apartments are in buildings designed for the purpose, but large older houses are sometimes divided into apartments. The word apartment denotes a residential unit or section in a building. In some locations, particularly the United States, the word connotes a rental unit owned by the building owner, and is not typically used for a condominium.

In the England and Wales, some flat owners own shares in the company that owns the freehold of the building as well as holding the flat under a lease. This is commonly known as a "share of freehold" flat. The freehold company has the right to collect annual ground rents from each of the flat owners in the building. The freeholder can also develop or sell the building, subject to the usual planning and restrictions that might apply. This does not happen in Scotland, where long leasehold of residential property was formerly unusual, and is now not possible.[1]

In some countries the word "unit" is a more general term referring to both apartments and rental business suites. The word 'unit' is generally used only in the context of a specific building; e.g., "This building has three units" or "I'm going to rent a unit in this building", but not "I'm going to rent a unit somewhere". In Australia, a 'unit' refers to flats, apartments or even semi-detached houses. Some buildings can be characterized as 'mixed use buildings', meaning part of the building is for commercial, business, or office use, usually on the first floor or first couple of floors, and there are one or more apartments in the rest of the building, usually on the upper floors.

In some parts of the world, the word apartment refers to a new purpose-built self-contained residential unit in a building, whereas the word flat means a converted self-contained unit in an older building. An industrial, warehouse, or commercial space converted to an apartment is commonly called a loft, although some modern lofts are built by design. An apartment consisting of the top floor of a high-rise apartment building can be called a penthouse.

The smallest self-contained apartments are referred to as studio, efficiency or bachelor apartments in the US, or studio flat in the UK. These usually consist of a large single main room which acts as the living room, dining room and bedroom combined and usually also includes kitchen facilities, with a separate smaller bathroom. A bedsit is a UK variant on single room accommodation which involves bathroom facilities shared with other bedsits. In Korea, the term one room (wonroom) refers to a studio apartment.[2]

Moving up from these are one-bedroom apartments, in which a bedroom is separate from the rest of the apartment. Then there are two-bedroom, three-bedroom, etc. apartments (apartments with more than three bedrooms are rare). Small apartments often have only one entrance.

Large apartments often have two entrances, perhaps a door in the front and another in the back. Depending on the building design, the entrance doors may be directly to the outside or to a common area inside, such as a hallway.

The term garden apartment is variously defined, following regional practices.

In some locales, a garden apartment complex consists of magnet rise apartment buildings built with landscaped grounds surrounding them.[3] The apartment buildings are often arranged around courtyards that are open at one end. Such a garden apartment shares some characteristics of a townhouse: each apartment has its own building entrance, or shares that entrance via a staircase and lobby that adjoins other units immediately above and/or below it. Unlike a townhouse, each apartment occupies only one level. Such garden apartment buildings are almost never more than three stories high, since they typically don't have elevators/lifts. However, the first "garden apartment" buildings in New York, USA, built in the early 1900s, were constructed five stories high.[4][5] Some garden apartment buildings place a one-car garage under each apartment. The interior grounds are often landscaped.

In other locales, a garden apartment is a unit built at or below grade or at ground level.[6] The implication is that there is a view or direct access to a garden from the apartment, but this is not necessarily the case.

In most West Coast cities in the United States, due to the need for resisting earthquakes at a low building cost, these low-rise apartments are mostly built of wooden frames with thin plaster-board based exterior and interior dry walls, despite sometimes being on as many as three or four levels.[citation needed]

When part of a house is converted for the ostensible use of a landlord's family member, the unit may be known as an in-law apartment or granny flat, though these (sometimes illegally) created units are often occupied by ordinary renters rather than family members. In Canada these suites are commonly located in the basements of houses and are therefore normally called basement suites or "mother-in-law suites".

Maisonette (from the French maisonnette, meaning "little house") typically refers to larger apartments spreading across two or more floors of an apartment building connected by staircases within the maisonette.

In the UK, the term "maisonette" may be used to distinguish dwellings which have their own entrance independent from the rest of a multi-storey block, and are located above a shop or other retail establishment. This is different from flats, which are usually reached through shared entrance doors, stairs or corridors. This definition of maisonette includes smaller maisonettes occupying a single floor of a block, including designs also known as cottage flats and Tyneside flats.

In Milwaukee vernacular architecture, a Polish flat is an existing small house or cottage that has been lifted up to accommodate the creation of a new basement floor housing a separate apartment, then set down again; thus becoming a modest two-story flat.[7]

Most apartments are on one level, which is why they are sometimes referred to as a "flat". An apartment on more than one level with its own internal staircase is often referred to as a "Duplex" - many penthouses are designed along these lines. The use of the term is derived from converting two separate units into one by connecting them with an internal private stair. Two story units in new construction are also sometimes referred to as "townhouses". Otherwise, "duplex" refers to two separate units with a common demising wall or floor-ceiling assembly. Groups of more than two units have corresponding names (Triplex, etc.).

This type of apartment developed in North America during the middle of the 20th century. The term initially described a living space created within a former industrial building, usually 19th century. These large apartments found favour with artists and musicians wanting accommodation in large cities (New York for example) and is related to unused buildings in the decaying parts of such cities being occupied illegally by people Squatting. These Loft apartments were usually located in former highrise warehouses and factories left vacant after town planning rules and economic conditions in the mid 20th century changed. The resulting apartments created a new bohemian lifestyle and are arranged in a completely different way from most urban living spaces, often including workshops and art studio spaces. As the supply of old buildings of a suitable nature has dried up developers have responded by constructing new buildings in the same aesthetic with varying degrees of success.

In Russia, a communal apartment () is a room with a shared kitchen and bath. A typical arrangement is a cluster of five or so room-apartments with a common kitchen and bathroom and separate front doors, occupying a floor in a pre-Revolutionary mansion. Traditionally a room is owned by the government and assigned to a family on a semi-permanent basis.[8]

A "serviced apartment" is any size space for residential living which includes regular maid and cleaning services provided by the rental agent. Serviced apartments or serviced flats developed in the early part of the 20th century and were briefly fashionable in the 1920s and 30s. They are intended to combine the best features of luxury and self-contained apartments, often being an adjunct of a hotel. Like guests semi-permanently installed in a luxury hotel, residents could enjoy the additional facilities such as house keeping, laundry, catering and other services if and when desired.

A feature of these apartment blocks was quite glamorous interiors with lavish bathrooms but no kitchen or laundry spaces in each flat. This style of living became very fashionable as many upper-class people found they could not afford as many live-in staff after the First War and revelled in a "lock-up and leave" life style that serviced apartment hotels supplied. Some buildings have been subsequently renovated with standard facilities in each apartment, but serviced apartment hotel complexes continue to be constructed. Recently a number of hotels have supplemented their traditional business model with serviced apartment wings, creating privately owned areas within their buildings - either freehold or leasehold.

Apartments may be available for rent furnished, with furniture, or unfurnished into which a tenant moves in with their own furniture. Serviced apartments, intended to be convenient for shorter stays, include soft furnishings and kitchen utensils, and maid service.

Laundry facilities may be found in a common area accessible to all the tenants in the building, or each apartment may have its own facilities. Depending on when the building was built and its design, utilities such as water, heating, and electricity may be common for all the apartments in the building or separate for each apartment and billed separately to each tenant. (Many areas in the US have ruled it illegal to split a water bill among all the tenants, especially if a pool is on the premises.) Outlets for connection to telephones are typically included in apartments. Telephone service is optional and is almost always billed separately from the rent payments. Cable television and similar amenities also cost extra. Parking space(s), air conditioner, and extra storage space may or may not be included with an apartment. Rental leases often limit the maximum number of people who can reside in each apartment.

On or around the ground floor of the apartment building, a series of mailboxes are typically kept in a location accessible to the public and, thus, to the mail carrier too. Every unit typically gets its own mailbox with individual keys to it. Some very large apartment buildings with a full-time staff may take mail from the mailman and provide mail-sorting service. Near the mailboxes or some other location accessible by outsiders, there may be a buzzer (equivalent to a doorbell) for each individual unit. In smaller apartment buildings such as two- or three-flats, or even four-flats, rubbish is often disposed of in trash containers similar to those used at houses. In larger buildings, rubbish is often collected in a common trash bin or dumpster. For cleanliness or minimizing noise, many lessors will place restrictions on tenants regarding smoking or keeping pets in an apartment.

In the United States, properties are typically put into one of four property classes. Each "class" of properties has a letter grade. These grades are used to help investors and real estate brokers speak a common language so they can understand a property's characteristics and condition quickly. They are as follows:

Class A properties are luxury units. They are usually less than 10 years old and are often new, upscale apartment buildings. Average rents are high, and they are generally located in desirable geographic areas. White-collar workers live in them and are usually renters by choice.

Class B properties can be 10 to 25 years old. They are generally well maintained and have a middle class tenant base of both white and blue-collar workers. Some are renters by choice, and others by necessity.

Class C properties were built within the last 30 to 40 years. They generally have blue-collar and low- to moderate-income tenants, and the rents are below market. This is where you'll find many tenants that are renters "for life". On the other hand, some of their tenants are just starting out and are likely to work their way up the rental scale as they get better jobs.

Class D properties house many Section 8 (government-subsidized) tenants. They are generally located in lower socioeconomic areas.

In the Classic Period Mesoamerican city of Teotihuacan,[9] apartments were not only the standard means of housing the city's population of over 200,000 inhabitants, but show a remarkably even wealth distribution for the entire city, even by contemporary standards.[10] Furthermore, the apartments were inhabited by the general populace as a whole,[11] in contrast to other Pre-Modern socieites, where apartments were limited to housing the lower class members of the society, as with the somewhat contemporary Roman insulae.

In ancient Rome, the insulae (singular insula) were large apartment buildings where the lower and middle classes of Romans (the plebs) dwelled. The floor at ground level was used for tabernas, shops and businesses, with living space on the higher floors. Insulae in Rome and other imperial cities reached up to ten or more stories,[12] some with more than 200 stairs.[13] Several emperors, beginning with Augustus (r. 30BC-14AD), attempted to establish limits of 2025m for multi-storey buildings, but met with only limited success.[14][15] The lower floors were typically occupied by either shops or wealthy families, while the upper stories were rented out to the lower classes.[12] Surviving Oxyrhynchus Papyri indicate that seven-story buildings even existed in provincial towns, such as in 3rd century Hermopolis in Roman Egypt.[16]

During the medieval Arabic-Islamic period, the Egyptian capital of Fustat (Old Cairo) housed many high-rise residential buildings, some seven stories tall that could reportedly accommodate hundreds of people. In the 10th century, Al-Muqaddasi described them as resembling minarets,[17] and stated that the majority of Fustat's population lived in these multi-storey apartment buildings, each one housing over 200 people.[18] In the 11th century, Nasir Khusraw described some of these apartment buildings rising up to fourteen stories, with roof gardens on the top storey complete with ox-drawn water wheels for irrigating them.[17]

By the 16th century, the current Cairo also had high-rise apartment buildings, where the two lower floors were for commercial and storage purposes and the multiple stories above them were rented out to tenants.[19]

The Hakka people in southern China adopted communal living structures designed to be easily defensible, in the form of Weilongwu () and Tulou (). The latter are large, enclosed and fortified earth buildings, between three and five stories high and housing up to eighty families.

In the late 19th and early 20th century, the concept of the 'flat' was slow to catch on amongst the British middle classes which generally followed the north European standard of single family houses dating far back into history. Those who lived in 'flats' were assumed to be lower class and somewhat itinerant, renting for example a 'flat above a shop' as part of a lease agreement for a maid or tradesman. In London and most of Britain, everyone who could afford to do so occupied an entire house even if this was small terraced urban rowhouse - while the working poor continued to rent rooms in often overcrowded properties, with one (or more) families per room.

During the last quarter of the 19th century, as wealth increased, ideas began to change. Both urban growth and the increase in population meant that more imaginative housing concepts were going to be needed if the middle and upper classes were to maintain a pied--terre in the capital. The traditional London town house was becoming increasingly expensive to maintain. Especially for bachelors and unmarried women, the idea of renting a modern mansion flat came increasingly into vogue.

The first mansion flats in England were:

In London, by the time of the 2011 census, 52% of all homes were flats.[20]

In Scotland, the term "tenement" lacks the pejorative connotations it carries elsewhere, and refers simply to any block of flats sharing a common central staircase and lacking an elevator, particularly those constructed before 1919. Tenements were, and continue to be, inhabited by a wide range of social classes and income groups.

During the 19th century tenements became the predominant type of new housing in Scotland's industrial cities, although they were very common in the Old Town in Edinburgh from the 15th century, where they reached ten or eleven storeys and in one case fourteen storeys. Built of sandstone or granite, Scottish tenements are usually three to five storeys in height, with two to four flats on each floor. (In contrast, industrial cities in England tended to favour "back-to-back" terraces of brick.) Scottish tenements are constructed in terraces, and each entrance within a block is referred to as a close or stairboth referring to the shared passageway to the individual flats. Flights of stairs and landings are generally designated common areas, and residents traditionally took turns to sweep clean the floors, and in Aberdeen in particular, took turns to make use of shared laundry facilities in the "back green" (garden or yard). It is now more common for cleaning of the common ways to be contracted out through a managing agent or "factor".

Tenements today are bought by a wide range of social types, including young professionals, older retirees, and by absentee landlords, often for rental to students after they leave halls of residence managed by their institution. The National Trust for Scotland Tenement House Museum in Glasgow offers an insight into the lifestyle of tenement dwellers.

Many multi-storey tower blocks were built in the UK after the Second World War. A number of these are being demolished and replaced with low-rise buildings or housing estates known in Scotland as housing schemes, often modern interpretations of the tenement.

In Glasgow, where Scotland's highest concentration of tenement dwellings can be found, the urban renewal projects of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s brought an end to the city's slums, which had primarily consisted of older tenements built in the early 19th century in which large extended families would live together in cramped conditions. They were replaced by high-rise blocks that, within a couple of decades, became notorious for crime and poverty. The Glasgow Corporation made many efforts to improve the situation, most successfully with the City Improvement Trust, which cleared the slums of the old town, replacing them with what they thought of as a traditional high street, which remains an imposing townscape. (The City Halls and the Cleland Testimonial were part of this scheme.) National government help was given following World War I when Housing Acts sought to provide "homes fit for heroes". Garden suburb areas, based on English models, such as Knightswood, were set up. These proved too expensive, so a modern tenement, three stories high, slate roofed and built of reconstituted stone, was re-introduced and a slum clearance programme initiated to clear areas such as the Calton and the Garngad.

Post Second World War, more ambitious plans, known as the Bruce Plan, were made for the complete evacuation of slums to modern mid-rise housing developments on the outskirts of the city. However, central government refused to fund the plans, preferring instead to depopulate the city to a series of New Towns.[21][22] Again, economic considerations meant that many of the planned "New Town" amenities were never built in these areas. These housing estates, known as "schemes", came therefore to be widely regarded as unsuccessful; many, such as Castlemilk, were just dormitories well away from the centre of the city with no amenities, such as shops and public houses ("deserts with windows", as Billy Connolly once put it). High rise living too started off with bright ambitionthe Moss Heights, built in the 1950s, are still desirablebut fell prey to later economic pressure. Many of the later tower blocks were poorly designed and cheaply built and their anonymity caused some social problems.

In 1970 a team from Strathclyde University demonstrated that the old tenements had been basically sound, and could be given new life with replumbing providing modern kitchens and bathrooms.[21] The Corporation acted on this principle for the first time in 1973 at the Old Swan Corner, Pollokshaws. Thereafter, Housing Action Areas were set up to renovate so-called slums. Later, privately owned tenements benefited from government help in "stone cleaning", revealing a honey-coloured sandstone behind the presumed "grey" tenemental facades. The policy of tenement demolition is now considered to have been short-sighted, wasteful and largely unsuccessful. Many of Glasgow's worst tenements were refurbished into desirable accommodation in the 1970s and 1980s[23] and the policy of demolition is considered to have destroyed fine examples of a "universally admired architectural" style. The Glasgow Housing Association took ownership of the public housing stock from the city council on 7 March 2003, and has begun a 96 million clearance and demolition programme to clear and demolish many of the high-rise flats.[24]

High-rise apartment buildings were built in the Yemeni city of Shibam in the 16th century. The houses of Shibam are all made out of mud bricks, but about 500 of them are tower houses, which rise 5 to 11 stories high,[25] with each floor having one or two apartments.[26][27] Shibam has been called "Manhattan of the desert".[27] Some of them were over 100 feet (30m) high, thus being the tallest mudbrick apartment buildings in the world to this day.[28]

In the 10th century, the Chacoan people constructed large, multi-room dwellings, some comprising more than 900 rooms, in the Chaco Canyon area of what is now northwest New Mexico.

In 1839, the first New York City tenement was built. The tenements were breeding grounds for outlaws, juvenile delinquents, and organized crime.

Tenements were also known for their price gouging rent. How the Other Half Lives notes one tenement district:

Blind Man's Alley bear its name for a reason. Until little more than a year ago its dark burrows harbored a colony of blind beggars, tenants of a blind landlord, old Daniel Murphy, whom every child in the ward knows, if he never heard of the President of the United States. "Old Dan" made a big fortune--he told me once four hundred thousand dollars-- out of his alley and the surrounding tenements, only to grow blind himself in extreme old age, sharing in the end the chief hardship of the wretched beings whose lot he had stubbornly refused to better that he might increase his wealth. Even when the Board of Health at last compelled him to repair and clean up the worst of the old buildings, under threat of driving out the tenants and locking the doors behind them, the work was accomplished against the old man's angry protests. He appeared in person before the Board to argue his case, and his argument was characteristic. "I have made my will," he said. "My monument stands waiting for me in Calvary. I stand on the very brink of the grave, blind and helpless, and now (here the pathos of the appeal was swept under in a burst of angry indignation) do you want me to build and get skinned, skinned? These people are not fit to live in a nice house. Let them go where they can, and let my house stand." In spite of the genuine anguish of the appeal, it was downright amusing to find that his anger was provoked less by the anticipated waste of luxury on his tenants than by distrust of his own kind, the builder. He knew intuitively what to expect. The result showed that Mr. Murphy had gauged his tenants correctly.[pageneeded][citation needed]

The Dakota (1884) was one of the first luxury apartment buildings in New York City. The majority, however, remained tenements.

Many reformers, such as Upton Sinclair and Jacob Riis, pushed for reforms in tenement dwellings. As a result, in 1901, New York state passed a law called the New York State Tenement House Act to improve the conditions in tenements.

More improvements followed. In 1949, President Harry S. Truman signed the Housing Act of 1949 to clean slums and reconstruct housing units for the poor.

Some significant developments in architectural design of apartment buildings came out of the 1950s and '60s. Among them were groundbreaking designs in the 860-880 Lake Shore Drive Apartments (1951), New Century Guild (1961), Marina City (1964) and Lake Point Tower (1968).

Apartment buildings are multi-story buildings where three or more residences are contained within one structure. In more urban areas, apartments close to the downtown area have the benefits of proximity to jobs and/or public transportation. However, prices per square foot are often much higher than in suburban areas.

The distinction between rental apartments and condominiums is that while rental buildings are owned by a single entity and rented out to many, condominiums are owned individually, while their owners still pay a monthly or yearly fee for building upkeep. Condominiums are often leased by their owner as rental apartments. A third alternative, the cooperative apartment building (or "co-op"), acts as a corporation with all of the tenants as shareholders of the building. Tenants in cooperative buildings do not own their apartment, but instead own a proportional number of shares of the entire cooperative. As in condominiums, cooperators pay a monthly fee for building upkeep. Co-ops are common in cities such as New York, and have gained some popularity in other larger urban areas in the U.S.

In the United States, "tenement" is a label usually applied to the less expensive, more basic rental apartment buildings in older sections of large cities. Many of these apartment buildings are "walk-ups" without an elevator, and some have shared bathing facilities, though this is becoming less common. The slang term "dingbat" is used to describe cheap urban apartment buildings from the 1950s and 1960s with unique and often wacky faades to differentiate themselves within a full block of apartments. They are often built on stilts, and with parking underneath.

Apartments were popular in Canada, particularly in urban centres like Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Hamilton, Ontario in the 1950s to 1970s. By the 1980s, many multi-unit buildings were being constructed as condominiums instead of apartments, and both are now very common. In Toronto and Vancouver, high-rise apartments and condominiums have been spread around the city, giving even the major suburbs a skyline. The robustness of the condo markets in Toronto and Vancouver are based on the lack of land availability.[29] The average cap rate in the Greater Toronto Area for Q3 2015 hit its lowest level in the last 30 years. The cap rate in Q3 2015 stood at 3.75 per cent, down from 4.2 per cent in Q2 2015 and down almost 50 per cent from the 6.3 per cent posted in Q3 2010.[30]

In Australia, the terms "unit", "flat" and "apartment" are largely used interchangeably. Newer high-rise buildings are more often marketed as "apartments", as the term "flats" carries colloquial connotations. The term condominium or condo is rarely used in Australia despite attempts by developers to market it. A high-rise apartment building is commonly referred to as a residential tower, apartment tower, or block of flats in Australia.

Apartment buildings in Australia are typically managed by a body corporate or "owners corporation" in which owners pay a monthly fee to provide for common maintenance and help cover future repair. Many apartments are owned through strata title. Due to legislation, Australian banks will either apply loan to value ratios of over 70% for strata titles of less than 50 square metres, the big four Australian banks will not loan at all for strata titles of less than 30 square metres. These are usually classified as studio apartments or student accommodation. Australian legislation enforces a minimum 2.4m floor-ceiling height which differentiates apartment buildings from office buildings.

In Australia, apartment living is a popular lifestyle choice for DINKY, yuppies, university students and more recently empty nesters, however, rising land values in the big cities in recent years has seen an increase in families living in apartments. In Melbourne and Sydney apartment living is sometimes not a matter of choice for the many socially disadvantaged people who often end up in public housing towers.

Australia has a relatively recent history in apartment buildings. Terrace houses were the early response to density development, though the majority of Australians lived in fully detached houses. Apartments of any kind were legislated against in the Parliament of Queensland as part of the Undue Subdivision of Land Prevention Act 1885.

The earliest apartment buildings were in the major cities of Sydney and Melbourne as the response to fast rising land values. Melbourne Mansions on Collins Street, Melbourne (now demolished), built in 1906 for mostly wealthy residents is believed by many to be the earliest. Today the oldest surviving self-contained apartment buildings are in the St Kilda area including the Fawkner Mansions (1910), Majestic Mansions (1912 as a boarding house) and the Canterbury (1914 - the oldest surviving buildings contained flats).[31] Kingsclere, built in 1912 is believed to be the earliest apartment building in Sydney and still survives.[32]

During the interwar years, apartment building continued in inner Melbourne (particularly in areas such as St Kilda and South Yarra), Sydney (particularly in areas such as Potts Point, Darlinghust and Kings Cross) and in Brisbane (in areas such as New Farm, Fortitude Valley and Spring Hill).

Post World War II, with the Australian Dream apartment buildings went out of vogue and flats were seen as accommodation only for the poor. Walk-up "flats" (without a lift) of two to three storeys however were common in the middle suburbs of cities for lower income groups.

The main exceptions were Sydney and the Gold Coast, Queensland where apartment development continued for more than half a century. In Sydney a limited geography and highly sought after waterfront views (Sydney Harbour and beaches such as Bondi) made apartment living socially acceptable. While on the Gold Coast views of the ocean, proximity to the beach and a large tourist population made apartments a popular choice. Since the 1960s, these cities maintained much higher population densities than the rest of Australia through the acceptance of apartment buildings.

In other cities apartment building was almost solely restricted to public housing. Public housing in Australia was common in the larger cities, particularly in Melbourne (by the Housing Commission of Victoria) where a huge number of hi-rise housing commission flats were built between the 1950s and 1970s by successive governments as part of an urban renewal program. Areas affected included Fitzroy, Flemington, Collingwood, Carlton, Richmond and Prahran. Similar projects were run in Sydney's lower socio economic areas like Redfern.

In the 1980s, modern apartment buildings sprang up in riverside locations in Brisbane (along the Brisbane River) and Perth (along the Swan River).

In Melbourne in the 1990s a trend began for apartment buildings without the requirement of spectacular views. As a continuation of the gentrification of the inner city, a fashion became New York "loft" style apartments and a large stock of old warehouses and old abandoned office buildings in and around the CBD became the target of developers. The trend of adaptive reuse extended to conversion of old churches and schools. Similar warehouse conversions and gentrification began in Brisbane suburbs such as Teneriffe, Queensland and Fortitude Valley and in Sydney in areas such as Ultimo. As supply of buildings for conversion ran out, reproduction and post modern style apartments followed. The popularity of these apartments also stimulated a boom in the construction of new hi-rise apartment buildings in inner cities. This was particularly the case in Melbourne which was fuelled by official planning policies (Postcode 3000), making the CBD the fastest growing, population wise in the country. Apartment building in the Melbourne metropolitan area has also escalated with the advent of the Melbourne 2030 planning policy. Urban renewal areas like Docklands, Southbank, St Kilda Road and Port Melbourne are now predominately apartments. There has also been a sharp increase in the amount of student apartment buildings in areas such as Carlton in Melbourne.

Despite their size, other smaller cities including Canberra, Darwin, Townsville, Cairns, Newcastle, Wollongong, Adelaide and Geelong have begun building apartments in the 2000s.

Today, residential buildings Eureka Tower and Q1 are the tallest in the country. In many cases, apartments in inner city areas of the major cities can cost much more than much larger houses in the outer suburbs.

There are Australian cities, such as Gold Coast, Queensland, which are inhabited predominately by apartment dwellers.

Some apartment buildings have high levels of security. For example, to enter a high-security building, a person must validate their smartcard at the main entrance. In some apartments, while at the lift, the smartcard would be used again to be able to press the button for lift access. Finally, the person walks to their apartment and uses their key to unlock the entrance door. This 2- or 3-tier security will, in most cases, prevent home invasions and theft. Some buildings may have a doorman to guard the premises. Many middle- and upper-tier apartments have video phones, whereby residents can see and verify who is at the main entrance before allowing access to the building.

Owning or renting an apartment is also more convenient than owning a house as the general maintenance and landscaping is taken care of by the owner or body corporate. This is particularly the case in regions with climate extremes, such as the long and snowy winters in the Nordic countries of northern Europe and most of Canada where there is much snow clearing work for house residents.

The total cost for the construction of an apartment is much less than the cost invested in the construction of a single house. When the cost of a single unit in the apartment is compared to a single house of the same dimension, the difference in cost is very large.[citation needed] The cost of land is shared by all the owners of the apartment. But the price at which the flats are sold is not exactly proportional to the difference, but the real estator makes a big share of profits because the price at which the flats are sold are almost equal to the price of the houses in specific areas of the city. In this way apartment construction is an advantage to the real estator.[citation needed]

In Scandinavian countries apartment dwelling and renting through non-profit housing co-operatives is commonplace. Apartment users are allowed to modify the interior of the apartment to suit their wishes. Often the extended families have a shared holiday house in the countryside. The investment in real estate for a family is reduced leading to greater disposable income for quality of life.[citation needed]

Buildings between 4 and 7 stories have a lower energy footprint per m2 than do high-rises greater than 7 stories[citation needed] . There seems to be a tradeoff with many other variables in a life cycle analysis, which would suggest that 7 stories (around fifty dwelling units per hectare for optimum transport petroleum use (Kenworthy)) is the optimum density in T1 urban areas, the city of Paris being an example (Mehaffy). Buildings not requiring lifts (around 4 floors, though it could be five with a final two storey apartment (maisonette)) are normally more energy efficient. Note, this is dependent on the particular country's accessibility requirements.

High-rise buildings cast a significant shadow over nearby buildings, reducing solar energy harvesting. They also cast shadows over public spaces, reducing their amenity value, and these spaces are a very valuable resource in mid-density cities. Wind turbulence can also be a significant problem at ground level if design provisions are not made. The prevailing cooling breezes in summer can be disrupted for nearby buildings also.[citation needed]

In most west coast cities in United States, due to the need for resisting earthquakes at a low building cost, low rise apartments, up to 3 to 4 levels, are mostly built of wooden frames with thin plasterboard-based interior dry walls with a poor noise insulation standard. As a result, it is often possible to hear neighbours clearly, sometimes well enough to hear conversations or snoring at night, as dramatized in the movie Office Space by the neighbouring characters talking through their apartment walls directly.

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Apartment - Wikipedia

New Jersey Powerwash safely cleans and protects the many surfaces that exist at your residence, including: aluminum, vinyl, steel, painted and unpainted wood siding, brick, stone, decks, driveways, patios, garage floors, etc. New Jersey Powerwash removes dirt, atmospheric pollution, mold, mildew, stains and more. Be sure to ask us about our high quality wood preservatives, concrete and paver sealers, color tints and mold/mildew prevention treatments.

The exterior surfaces of your home are constantly exposed to harmful elements, both man-made and natural. Ultraviolet light rays, wind, rain, dirt, and grime physically attack surfaces causing them to degrade, discolor, oxidize or chalk over time. Mold, mildew, birds, insects, spiders, tree sap and shot-gun spores can add to these effects. Then comes the assault caused by man-made elements such as industrial pollution and automotive exhaust, acid rain, chimney soot, and even smoke from your BBQ. These take their toll on your home over time. If not removed periodically they can destroy the beauty and reduce the value of your property dramatically.

To maintain the appearance and value of your home, periodic New Jersey Powerwash cleaning of exterior surfaces is recommended. This may include power washing your house, deck, roof, awnings, gutters, patio, walks, and driveway. The frequency of cleaning will depend on local conditions. Cleaning can greatly slow the ravages of nature and it will definitely enhance the beauty and preserve the value and livability of your house. Application of New Jersey Powerwash Spray Wax can inexpensively increase the time between washing for some surfaces. Other protective coatings and sealers can supply longer term protection and enhanced appearance. (Ask your New Jersey Powerwash representative for specifics.)

Mildew is a common problem in some areas due to local conditions of heat, humidity and surroundings. Airborne mold and fungus spores can also produce similar harmful deposits. New Jersey Powerwash uses environmentally friendly, cleaning agents designed specifically to eliminate mildew and mold while also removing dirt and pollution. Our New Jersey Powerwash cleaning agents leave behind a clean surface that is not readily hospitable to mildew and mold spores and therefore will slow their re-appearance. We can also apply a proprietary New Jersey Powerwash treatment to further retard the future growth of mold and mildew. (Ask your New Jersey Powerwash representative for specifics.)

Below is a list of exterior home surfaces we can powerwash to renew and clean your home:

Vinyl Siding Stucco & Dryvit Brick & Masonry Aluminum Siding

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Home Powerwash Services in NJ - New Jersey Powerwash

Asia Pacific Edition

By CHARLES McDERMID

Heres what you need to know to start your day.

By KAREN ZRAICK and SANDRA STEVENSON 12:10 AM ET

Heres what you need to know at the end of the day.

By MIKE McPHATE

Tuesday: Voters weigh tougher gun control, a political campaign in Irvine gets nasty, and a biographer of Alexander von Humboldt takes questions.

By MARGOT SANGER-KATZ

Insurance is a hard product to buy. Heres The Upshots simplified guide to finding the plan thats right for you.

By MONICA CASTILLO

From the Watching team, expert TV and movie recommendations for the longer, colder nights ahead.

By ADAM GOLDMAN

Noor Salman, whose husband, Omar Mateen, killed 49 people at the Pulse nightclub, described him as abusive and said she had known nothing about his plans.

By ANNE BARNARD

Meeting reporters, President Bashar al-Assad of Syria said his countrys social fabric was better than before the war, and rejected political changes until government forces had prevailed.

By DAVID BARBOZA 6:59 PM ET

The GlaxoSmithKline case, which resulted in guilty pleas and record penalties, unveiled an increasingly assertive government determined to tighten its grip over multinationals.

By SABRINA TAVERNISE 8:50 PM ET

A growing number of experts say that the portrayal of e-cigarettes as a public health threat is a profound disservice to smokers who could benefit from them.

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The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia

By Alan Fletcher - Carpet Expert & Consumer Advocate

Carpet installation fees & charges can vary greatly depending on your location; how difficult your job is; and the style and grade of Carpet you select.

Here's what you need to know...

Carpet Installation Costs, Fees and Charges - Nationwide

In different parts of the United States, the current prices for Carpet Installation vary higher or lower depending on the current supply and demand in your area. Right now is a good time to buy new carpet because installation costs are still lower due to the reduced amount of consumer spending on basic home improvements since 2008.Home sales are up and homeowners are buying new cars in record numbers... and I think carpet installation prices will be steadily increasing from now through 2015.

Currently, in the Southern states where the sun is always shining and the water is warm, there is much more competition for jobs and carpet installation prices are typically much lower than in the northern states. For example, in Miami, Florida you can have carpet installed for less than $2.00 per yard if you shop the service directories of the local newspapers. Im not saying hiring blindly from the service directory would get you a qualified install, but right now there are plenty of hungry carpet layers in the state of Florida who are willing to work very hard for very little money.

Making sure your carpet installer is qualified is your responsibility. Dont assume that every carpet installer is qualified to install your carpet. In fact, I firmly believe that less than 35% of all carpet installers are properly trained. Asking for references and making sure they are licensed, bonded (if required by your state) and insured (business liability) is your responsibility.

Read more about: How To Finda Qualified Carpet Installer

The states with the lowest carpet installation costs have typically been Florida, Texas, New Mexico, and Southern California. Other southern states like Louisiana, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Arkansas and Southern Arizona have fairly inexpensive carpet labor and installation costs too. Prices will range from $2.25 per yard to $4.50 per yard depending on the difficulty of the job and the carpet selected.

The highest carpet installation prices are in the Northeastern states like New York, Virginia, Massachusetts and Ohio and also in the Pacific Northwest like Oregon and Washington and Northern California. Prices may range from $3.50 per yard for a medium grade plush style carpet to $6.50 per yard for a heavy duty looped Berber style carpet.

In our current economy, there are a lot more hungry carpet installers out there looking for work. This is good news for those consumers who have money to spend on home renovations and are willing to do a little legwork to find a qualified carpet installer and negotiate a good deal. If you are willing to haggle with a few local Carpet Installers.

If you have a little ambition, I think you might be able to negotiate as much as 10 to 25% off their normal carpet installation charge, especially if you are willing to pay them in cash at the end of the day. (But always get a detailed written receipt and insist on at least a full 1-year written warranty) You never want to sacrifice quality installation in exchange for a discount on price, so be sure you make it clear that you expect a first class job, even if they agree to do the job for less than their usual charge.

FYI:

"Looped Berber Carpets are much more difficult to install than other styles and the installation cost may be as much as $2 per yard higher than a standard plush-style carpet. Selecting a Patterned Carpet Style may also increase the installation cost as well as increase the amount of Carpet material needed to complete the job."

Learn more about Carpet Styles

Most Retailers Bundle the Cost for Carpet, Padding and Installation.

To get your best TOTAL carpet deal, you will have to negotiate with the carpet dealers of your choice and not be afraid to ask the retailer for a discount or other incentives for you to buy from them. The smart homeowner always gets at least three bids/estimates and then takes plenty of time to negotiate a better deal. Patience is key here, and those who wait for the price to come down are the winners. Be sure you are comparing apples to apples!

Learn how toCompare Carpet

I think that asking for a minimum of a 10% to 15% discount is very reasonable as long as you are ready to write a check at the end of the day. If you are daring, ask for a 20% discount and see what happens. They may say no, but you have nothing to lose by asking. Just be sure you have selected the right carpet and padding that will meet your needs and goals! Take my free Carpet Foot Traffic Test to see what grade of carpet you need to buy.

Carpet Installation Cost - Getting the job done right!

The main thing you want to be sure of, is that the carpet installers are qualified and experienced with the type of carpet and job you are doing, and that they will use a power-stretcher to install your carpet. Gone are the days where a simple knee-kicker will do the trick unless youre installing cheap carpet in a very small room on a very hot day. Carpet needs to be stretched in tight, and the only way to ensure this is to use a power-stretcher. If they dont use a power-stretcher, then find an installer that does!

Carpet Installation Scams

Some carpet retailers choose to make additional profit by adding an extra fee or surcharge on top of the standard going rate for carpet installation charges, often adding as much as 25% to the total installation cost. I feel this is an unfair charge to the consumer and a slap in the face to the installer. Carpet retailers already make a fair and reasonable profit from the markup on carpet and pad. If you find that a carpet dealer has exorbitant installation charges, I suggest you shop elsewhere!

Carpet Installation Cost - Beyond the scope of a "Basic" Carpet Installation

Somehome improvement storesnow offer super low-cost specials on carpet installation. These super-duper specials sound too good to be true.Just $99 forcarpet installation sounds like a great deal when you first hear about it, but in the end, is it really as good as it sounds? Maybe you should ask, who is doing the installation? Are they qualified? What if you are not satisfied with the installation? How do you get a quick remedy? You should be wary.

While they continue to change the advertised prices for their "basic" carpet installation on a frequent basis, I have found that Home Depot and Lowe's basic carpet installation service does not cover very much ground. The key wording here is "basic" What is a basic installation? What is their definition of a "basic carpet installation?

Apparently, if your carpet installation job is not considered "Basic" and is determined to be more difficult or more involved, then you may find that the final bill for your carpet install is much higher than you had expected. Dont assume that their advertised low price for installation is valid for you in your situation.

After your new carpet has been installed, you may be faced with a sizable and unexpected final bill for extra fees and services that were beyond their limited definition of a "Basic Install".

About Carpet Sales Gimmicks:

I've been in the carpet business for 3 decades and I've seen every trick in the book. Trust me on this: Don't fall for any "wow factor" sales gimmicks. Don't trust any television ad that says if you buy one room of flooring then they will give you two rooms of flooring for free. Don't be so gullible. The fine print will beat you every time and you will not get the great deal you hoped for.

You need to be absolutely sure your new carpet has been installed properly. You cannot afford to take chances by having your expensive new carpet installed cheaply by a third party. If you want to get the scoop on these types of carpet installation specials click here to learn more: Big Box Carpet Installation Specials

Carpet Installation Cost - Removing your old Carpet and Padding

Tearing out and disposing of the old carpet and padding can cost anywhere from $1.00 to $2.00 per yard or more. An experienced Carpet Installation crew of three can remove 100 yards of carpet and pad in less than an hour on a normal job. I personally think $1.50 per yard is a fair price to remove the old carpet and padding because most Carpet Retailers have a large dumpster available for their installers to use free of charge.

However, I think a reasonable dump fee is a fair charge if the installer you hire has to haul your old carpet and pad to a landfill or recycling center. It takes quite a bit of time and energy to do that and local dump fees have been on the rise. Installers may charge a dump fee of $25 to $75 depending on how much old carpet and pad you have to haul away.

Carpet Installation Costs for Mobile Homes

If you need new carpet for a mobile home, there is going to be some added costs to remove the old carpet and pad if it is the original carpet. When mobile homes are made, they put down the carpet and then install the walls right down on top of the carpet and padding. This makes it very hard to remove the old carpet because it has to be cut at the base of all the walls and then new tackless strips must be installed. It takes more time to do the job right.

Most carpet installers do not like installing new carpet in mobile homes because the outer walls are not sturdy enough to leverage the foot of a power stretcher. This means using other more time consuming methods to get the carpet stretched in properly. Floor repairs are also more difficult to perform because mobile homes are built over a metal frame, not the standard 16" on-center wooden floor joists that most homes utilize. Expect to pay more if you need any floor repairs done.

Installing New Tackless Strips

All new construction jobs will require that new tack strips be installed. Its easier to install tackless strips on a wood floor than on a concrete slab. The fee for new tack strips on wood might be an additional .50 to 1.00 per yard. The fee for installing tack strips over concrete might be an additional $1.00 to $2.00 per yard or more. In existing homes with damaged tack strips that need to be replaced,the fee shouldbe about $2.00 to $3.00 per each four-foot section that must be replaced. (tackless strips come in 4' foot lengths)

What are Carpet Tackless Strips?

Tackless strips (often called tackstrip) are wooden strips with sharp pins that are installed all around the perimeter of each room near to the walls. Tackless strips are about 1" wide and 4 feet long. These tackless strips are what hold your carpet to the floor and allow it to be stretched-in tightly to prevent wrinkles. The sharp pins hold the carpet tight because they are angled towards the wall. They are nailed down to the floor. The carpet padding is butted up against the inner side of the strips. The carpet goes over the pad and stretched over the top of the tackless strips. Then the raw edge of the carpet is tucked into the wall and floor crevice or underneath the wall moulding for a nice finished look.

Carpet Transitions and Thresholds

The raw edge of the carpet will eventually end or butt up to another carpet or other types of flooring at the entry doorways and at kitchens, baths and utility rooms and must have a transition installed of some type. Examples are: Carpet to carpet, Carpet to vinyl, carpet to hardwoods, carpet to vinyl tiles, and carpet to ceramic tile are some of the most common locations where a transition or threshold of some type will be necessary.

When one carpet meets another carpet in a doorway, the two carpets may be seamed together directly underneath the door if doesn't look too unsightly, and as long as there is only a small height variance between the two carpets. You shouldn't seam together a low-pile carpet with a high-profile carpet. Not only would it look bad, it could cause excessive wear on one side of the seam. Consult your estimator or installer to discuss all your options.

Transitions can be made of wood, metal, rubber or plastic. Each transition is available in different quality levels depending on the application. The correct transition must be used to ensure a long life without failing. The cost of transitions vary widely and should be discussed with your carpet estimator/retailer/installer before the bid final is drawn up.

The least costly transitions are generally priced at $1.00 to $2.00 per lineal foot and are commonly gold or silver aluminum metals. A rubber transition in a utilitarian application should cost about $3-$5 per lineal foot. A transition of pre-finished hardwoods can easily cost $5 to $20 per foot lineal or more. Brass or other specialized transitions can be quite costly.

Go here to see the original:
Carpet Installation Cost - Carpet Professor .com

Project: Storm Windows - Install or Replace

Date: 10/30/2016

Nature of Project: Storm Window(s) - Installation

Number of Windows: Multiple Window(s)

Type of Window: Single-Hung (lower half opens)

What type of window frame, if known?: Unsure

Request Stage: Planning & Budgeting

Desired Completion Date: Timing is flexible

Property Owner: Yes

Project: New Windows - 3-5

Date: 10/30/2016

Nature of Project: New Window(s) - Installation

Number of Windows: 3 - 5

Is this an emergency?: No

Request Stage: Ready to Hire

Desired Completion Date: Timing is flexible

Comment: replacing rotting windows

Project: New Windows - 6 +

Date: 10/30/2016

Nature of Project: New Window(s) - Installation

Number of Windows: 6 - 9

Request Stage: Ready to Hire

Desired Completion Date: Timing is flexible

Project: New Windows - 6 +

Date: 10/30/2016

Nature of Project: New Window(s) - Installation

Number of Windows: 6 - 9

Request Stage: Ready to Hire

Desired Completion Date: Timing is flexible

Project: New Windows - 3-5

Date: 10/28/2016

Nature of Project: New Window(s) - Installation

Number of Windows: 3 - 5

Desired Completion Date: Timing is flexible

Project: New Windows - 6 +

Date: 10/27/2016

Nature of Project: New Window(s) - Installation

Number of Windows: 6 - 9

Request Stage: Ready to Hire

Desired Completion Date: Timing is flexible

Project: New Windows - 2

Date: 10/27/2016

Nature of Project: New Window(s) - Installation

Number of Windows: 2

Is this an emergency?: No

Request Stage: Planning & Budgeting

Desired Completion Date: 1 - 2 weeks

Comment: I have two older windows that use to have the old cords on them and need to replaced.

Project: New Windows - 6 +

Date: 10/27/2016

Nature of Project: New Window(s) - Installation

Number of Windows: 6 - 9

Desired Completion Date: Timing is flexible

Project: Install or Repair Door or Window Screens

Date: 10/27/2016

Kind of Screen: Insect screen (traditional)

Quantity Needed: 2 - 5

Request Stage: Ready to Hire

Desired Completion Date: Timing is flexible

What kind of location is this?: Home/Residence

Property Owner: Yes

Comment: I have existing good frames, I just need them re-screened.

Project: New Windows - 3-5

Date: 10/26/2016

Nature of Project: New Window(s) - Installation

Number of Windows: 3 - 5

Desired Completion Date: Within 1 week

Consumer Owns Home: Yes

More here:
25 Best Window Replacement Companies - HomeAdvisor

A basement or cellar is one or more floors of a building that are either completely or partially below the ground floor. Basements are generally used as a utility space for a building where such items as the boiler, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, car park, and air-conditioning system are located; so also are amenities such as the electrical distribution system, and cable television distribution point. However, in cities with high property prices such as London, basements are often fitted out to a high standard and used as living space.

In British English, the word "basement" is used for underground floors of, for example, department stores, but the word is only used with houses when the space below their ground floor is habitable, with windows and (usually) its own access. The word cellar or cellars is used to apply to the whole underground level or to any large underground room. A subcellar is a cellar that lies further underneath.[1]

A basement can be used in almost exactly the same manner as an additional above-ground floor of a house or other building. However, the use of basements depends largely on factors specific to a particular geographical area such as climate, soil, seismic activity, building technology, and real estate economics.

Basements in small buildings such as single-family detached houses are rare in wet climates such as Great Britain and Ireland where flooding can be a problem, though they may be used on larger structures. However, basements are considered standard on all but the smallest new buildings in many places with temperate continental climates such as the American Midwest and the Canadian Prairies where a concrete foundation below the frost line is needed in any case, to prevent a building from shifting during the freeze-thaw cycle. Basements are much easier to construct in areas with relatively soft soils, and may be foregone in places where the soil is too compact for easy excavation. Their use may be restricted in earthquake zones, because of the possibility of the upper floors collapsing into the basement; on the other hand, they may be required in tornado-prone areas as a shelter against violent winds. Adding a basement can also reduce heating and cooling costs as it is a form of earth sheltering, and a way to reduce a building's surface area-to-volume ratio. The housing density of an area may also influence whether or not a basement is considered necessary.

Historically, basements have become much easier to build (in developed countries) since the industrialization of home building. Large powered excavation machines such as backhoes and front-end loaders have reduced the time and manpower needed to dig a basement dramatically as compared to digging by hand with a spade, although this method may still be used in the developing world.

For most of its early history, the basement took one of two forms. It could be little more than a cellar, or it could be a section of a building containing rooms and spaces similar to those of the rest of the structure, as in the case of basement flats and basement offices.

However, beginning with the development of large, mid-priced suburban homes in the 1950s, the basement, as a space in its own right, gradually took hold. Initially, it was typically a large, concrete-floored space, accessed by indoor stairs, with exposed columns and beams along the walls and ceilings, or sometimes, walls of poured concrete or concrete cinder block.

A daylight basement or a walk-out basement is contained in a house situated on a slope, so that part of the floor is above ground, with a doorway to the outside. The part of the floor lower than the ground can be considered the true basement area. From the street, some daylight basement homes appear to be one storey. Others appear to be a conventional two storey home from the street (with the buried, or basement, portion in the back). Occupants can walk out at that point without having to use stairs. For example, if the ground slopes downwards towards the back of the house, the basement is at or above grade (ground level) at the back of the house. It is a modern design because of the added complexity of uneven foundations; where the basement is above grade, the foundation is deeper at that point and must still be below the frost line.

Full-size windows can be installed in a daylight basement. These can provide exits for bedrooms (building bedrooms in basements is usually illegal without an outside escape). Ventilation is improved over fully buried basement homes, with less dampness and mold problems.

Daylight basements can be used for several purposes as a garage, as maintenance rooms, or as living space. The buried portion is often used for storage, laundry room, hot water tanks, and HVAC.

Daylight basement homes typically appraise higher than standard-basement homes, since they include more viable living spaces. In some parts of the U.S. however the appraisal for daylight basement space is half that of ground and above ground level square footage. Designs accommodated include split-foyer and split-level homes. Garages on both levels are sometimes possible. As with any multilevel home, there are savings on roofing and foundations.[2][3]

In a "look-out" basement, the basement walls extend sufficiently above ground level that some of the basement windows are above ground level. Where the site slopes gently and is insufficient for a walk-out basement, a look-out basement tends to result. Sometimes, a look-out basement is deliberately constructed even on a flat site. The advantage is that the basement windows are all above grade. The disadvantage is that the main floor entry is above grade as well, utilizing stairs to access the main floor. The raised Bungalow design (known as a split-entry home in much of the US) solves this by lowering the entry halfway between the main floor and basement to make a dramatic, high-ceiling foyer. It is a very economical design because the basement is shallower, and excavation costs are reduced.

A "walk-up" basement is any basement that has an exterior entrance via a stairwell. Some designs cover the stairwell with angled "basement doors" or "bulkhead doors" to keep rain water from accumulating in the stairwell.

When initially built, the main floor joists are often exposed and the walls and floors concrete (with insulation, where appropriate). Unfinished basements allow for easy access to the main floor for renovation to the main floor. Finishing the basement can add significant floor space to a house (doubling it in the case of a bungalow) and is a major renovation project

According to the international Oxford Dictionary of English, a finished fully underground cellar is a room below ground level in a house that is often used for the storage of wine or coal;[4] it may also refer to the stock of wine itself. A cellar is intended to remain at a constant cool (not freezing) temperature all year round and usually has either a small window/opening or some form of air ventilation (air/draught bricks, etc.) in order to help eliminate damp or stale air. Cellars are more common in the UK in older houses, with most terraced housing built during late 19th, and early 20th century having cellars. These were important shelters from air raids during World War II. In parts of North America that are prone to tornadoes (See: Tornado Alley), cellars still serve as shelter in the event of a direct hit on the house from a tornado or other storm damage caused by strong winds.

Except for Britain, Australia and New Zealand, cellars are popular in most western countries. In the UK, almost all new homes built since the 1960s have no cellar or basement due to the extra cost of digging down further into the sub-soil and a requirement for much deeper foundations and waterproof tanking. The reverse has recently become common, where the impact of smaller home-footprints has led to roof-space being utilised for further living space and now many new homes are built with third-floor living accommodation. For this reason, especially where lofts have been converted into living space, people tend to use garages for the storage of food freezers, tools, bicycles, garden and outdoor equipment. The majority of continental European houses have cellars,[citation needed] although a large proportion of people live in apartments or flats rather than houses. In North America, cellars usually are found in rural or older homes on the coasts and in the South. However, full basements are commonplace in new houses in the Canadian and American Midwest and other areas subject to tornado activity or requiring foundations below the frost line.

An underground crawl space (as the name implies) is a type of basement in which one cannot stand up the height may be as little as one foot (30cm), and the surface is often soil. Crawl spaces offer a convenient access to pipes, substructures and a variety of other areas that may be difficult or expensive to access otherwise. While a crawl space cannot be used as living space, it can be used as storage, often for infrequently used items. Care must be taken in doing so, however, as water from the damp ground, water vapour (entering from crawl space vents), and moisture seeping through porous concrete can create a perfect environment for mould/mildew to form on any surface in the crawl space, especially cardboard boxes, wood floors and surfaces, drywall and some types of insulation.

Health and safety issues must be considered when installing a crawl space. As air warms in a home, it rises and leaves through the upper regions of the house, much in the same way that air moves through a chimney. This phenomenon, called the "stack effect," causes the home to suck air up from the crawl space into the main area of the home. Mould spores, decomposition odours, and fecal material from dust mites in the crawl space can come up with the air, aggravating asthma and other breathing problems, and creating a variety of health concerns.[5]

It is usually desirable to finish a crawl space with a plastic vapour barrier that will not support mould growth or allow humidity from the earth into the crawl space. This helps insulate the crawl space and discourages the habitation of insects and vermin by breaking the ecological chain in which insects feed off the mould and vermin feed on the insects, as well as creating a physical inorganic barrier that deters entrance into the space. Vapour barriers can end at the wall or be run up the wall and fastened to provide even more protection against moisture infiltration. Some pest control agencies recommend against covering the walls, as it complicates their job of inspection and spraying. Almost unheard of as late as the 1990s, vapour barriers are becoming increasingly popular in recent years[when?]. In fact, the more general area of conditioned vs. unconditioned crawl spaces has seen much research over the last decade.

Alternatively, some find it desirable to create a "breathing home" with ample air flow, rather than "finish" a crawl space. There are contrary opinions as to what is healthier with many[who?] suggesting that vapor barriers simply create a new space where mould and mildew can flourish, trapping moisture below it and still creating a problem inside the home.

These are also sometimes known as 'Couchies' in England.[citation needed]

Structurally, for houses, the basement walls typically form the foundation. In warmer climates, some houses do not have basements because they are not necessary (although many still prefer them). In colder climates, the foundation must be below the frost line. Unless constructed in very cold climates, the frost line is not so deep as to justify an entire level below the ground, although it is usually deep enough that a basement is the assumed standard. In places with oddly stratified soil substrata or high water tables, such as most of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and areas within 50 miles (80km) of the Gulf of Mexico, basements are usually not financially feasible unless the building is a large apartment or commercial structure.

Excavation using a backhoe or excavator is commonly used to dig a basement. If shelf rock is discovered, the need for blasting may be cost prohibitive. Basement walls may need to have the surrounding earth backfilled around them to return the soil to grade. A water stop, some gravel and a french drain may need to be used to prevent water from entering the basement at the bottom of the wall. Walls below grade may need to be sealed with an impervious coating (like tar) to prevent water seepage. A polyethylene of about 6 mil (visqueen) serves as a water barrier underneath the basement.

Some designs elect to simply leave a crawl space under the house, rather than a full basement due to structural challenges. Most other designs justify further excavations to create a full-height basement, sufficient for another level of living space. Even so, basements in Canada and the northern United States were typically only 7feet 10inches (2.39m) in height, rather than the standard full 8 feet (2.4m) of the main floors.[6] Older homes may have even lower basement heights as the basement walls were concrete block and thus, could be customized to any height. Modern builders offer higher basements as an option. The cost of the additional depth of excavation is usually quite expensive. Thus, houses almost certainly never have multi-storey basements though 9 feet (2.7m) basements heights are a frequent choice among new home buyers. For large office or apartment buildings in prime locations, the cost of land may justify multi-storey basement parking garages.

The concrete floor in most basements is structurally not part of the foundation; only the basement walls are. If there are posts supporting a main floor beam to form a post and beam system, these posts typically go right through the basement floor to a footing underneath the basement floor. It is the footing that supports the post and the footing is part of the house foundation. Load-bearing wood-stud walls rest directly on the concrete floor. Under the concrete floor is typically gravel or crushed stone to facilitate draining. The floor is typically four inches (100mm) thick and it rests on top of the foundation footings. The floor is typically sloped towards a drain point, in case of leaks.

Modern construction for basement walls typically fall into one of two categories: they will be made of poured-in-place concrete using concrete forms with a concrete pump, or they will use concrete masonry units (block walls). Rock may also be used, but is less common. In monolithic architecture, large parts of the building are made of concrete; in insulating concrete form construction, the concrete walls may be hidden with an exterior finish or siding. Inside the structure, a single Lally column, steel basement jack, wooden column or support post may hold up the floor above in a small basement. A series of these supports may be necessary for large basements; many basements have the support columns exposed.

Since warm air rises, basements are typically cooler than the rest of the house. In summer, this makes basements damp, due to the higher relative humidity. Dehumidifiers are recommended. In winter, additional heating, such as a fireplace or baseboard heaters may be required. A well-defined central heating system may minimize this requirement. Heating ducts typically run in the ceiling of the basement (since there is not an empty floor below to run the ducts). Ducts extending from the ceiling down to the floor help heat the cold floors of the basement. Older or cheaper systems may simply have the heating vent in the ceiling of the basement.

The finished floor is typically raised off the concrete basement floor. In countries such as Canada, laminate flooring is an exception: It is typically separated from the concrete by only a thin foam underlay. Radiant heating systems may be embedded within the concrete floor. Even if unfinished and unoccupied, basements are heated in order to ensure relative warmth of the floor above, and to prevent water supply pipes, drains, etc. from freezing and bursting in winter. It is recommended that the basement walls be insulated to the frost line. In Canada, the walls of a finished basement are typically insulated to the floor with vapor barriers to prevent moisture transmission. However, a finished basement should avoid wood or wood-laminate flooring, and metal framing and other moisture resistant products should be used. Finished basements can be costly to maintain due to deterioration of waterproofing materials or lateral earth movement etc. Below-ground structures will never be as dry as one above ground, and measures must be taken to circulate air and dehumidify the area.[7]

Basement floor drains that connect to sanitary sewers need to be filled regularly to prevent the trap from drying out and sewer gas from escaping into the basement. The drain trap can be topped up automatically by the condensation from air conditioners or high-efficiency furnaces. A small tube from another downpipe is sometimes used to keep the trap from drying out. Health Canada advocates the use of special radon gas traps for floor drains that lead to soil or to a sealed sump pump.[8] In areas where storm and sanitary sewers are combined, and there is the risk of flooding and sewage backing up, backwater valves in all basement drains may be mandated by code and definitely are recommended even if not mandated.

The main water cut-off valve is usually in the basement. Basements often have "clean outs" for the sanitary and storm sewers, where these pipes can be accessed. The storm sewer access is only needed where the weeping tiles drain into the storm sewers.

Other than with walk-out or look-out basements, windows in basements require a well and are below grade. A clear window well cover may be required to keep the window wells from accumulating rain water. There should be drains in the window well, connected to the foundation drains.

If the water table outside the basement is above the height of the basement floor, then the foundation drains or the weeping tiles outside the footings may be insufficient to keep the basement dry. A sump pump may be required. It can be located anywhere and is simply in a well that is deeper than the basement floor.

Even with functioning sump pumps or low water tables, basements may become wet after rainfall, due to improper drainage. The ground next to the basement must be graded such that water flows away from the basement wall. Downspouts from roof gutters should drain freely into the storm sewer or directed away from the house. Downspouts should not be connected to the foundation draintiles. If the draintiles become clogged by leaves or debris from the rain gutters, the roof water would cause basement flooding through the draintile. Damp-proofing or waterproofing materials are typically applied to outside of the basement wall. It is virtually impossible to make a concrete wall waterproof, over the long run, so drainage is the key. There are draining membranes that can be applied to the outside of the basement that create channels for water against the basement wall to flow to the foundation drains. [9]

Where drainage is inadequate, waterproofing may be needed. There are numerous ways to waterproof a basement, but most systems fall into one of three categories:

The waterproofing system can be applied to the inside or the outside walls of a basement.[10] When waterproofing existing basements it is much cheaper to waterproof the basement on the inside. Waterproofing on the outside requires the expense of excavation, but does offer a number of advantages for a homeowner over the long term. Among them are:

The unfinished design, found principally in spaces larger than the traditional cellar, is common in residences throughout the U.S. and Canada. One usually finds within it a water heater, various pipes running along the ceiling and downwards to the floor, and sometimes a workbench, a freezer or refrigerator, or a washer/dryer set. Boxes of various materials, and objects unneeded in the rest of the house, are also often stored there; in this regard, the unfinished basement takes the place both of the cellar and of the attic. Home workshops are often located in the basement, since sawdust, metal chips, and other mess or noise are less of a nuisance there. The basement can contain all of these objects and still be considered to be "unfinished," as they are either mostly or entirely functional in purpose.

In this case the space has been designed, either during construction or at a later point by the owners, to function as a fully habitable addition to the house. Frequently most or all of the basement is used as a recreation room or living room, but it is not uncommon as well to find there (either instead of or alongside the living/recreation room) a guest bedroom or teenager's room, a bathroom, a home office, a home gym, a home theater, a basement bar, a sauna, and one or more closets. Occasionally a part of the basement is unfurnished and is used for storage, a workshop, and/or a laundry room; when this is the case the water heater and furnace will also often be located there, although in some cases the entire basement is finished, and the water heater and furnace are boxed off into a closet.

The main point of distinction between this type of basement and the two others lies in its being either entirely unmodified (unlike the finished basement) beyond the addition of furniture, recreational objects and appliances, and/or exercise equipment on the bare floor, or slightly modified through the installation (besides any or all of the aforementioned items) of loose carpet and perhaps simple light fixtures. In both cases, the objects found theremany of which could be found in a finished basement as wellmight include the following: weight sets and other exercise equipment; the boom boxes or entertainment systems used during exercise; musical instruments (which are not in storage, as they would technically be in an unfinished basement; an assembled drum set would be the most easily identified of these); football tables, chairs, couches and entertainment appliances of lesser quality than those in the rest of the house; refrigerators, stand-alone freezers, and microwaves (the first and the second being also sometimes used as supplementary storage units in an unfinished basement); and sports pennants and/or other types of posters which are attached to the walls.

As the description suggests, this type of basement, which also might be called "half-finished," is likely used by teenagers and children. The entire family might utilize a work-out area. It is also common to have a secondary (or primary) home office in a partially finished basement, as well as a workbench and/or a space for laundry appliances.

Toilets and showers sometimes exist in this variety of basement, as many North American basements are designed to allow for their installation.

In London the construction of finished retrofit basements is big business with a large number of projects in the 100200 square meter bracket. There are a smaller number of projects in the 200500 square meter bracket under construction. It is also not unusual to see multi-level retrofit basements. These are considerable works of civil engineering and require some skill and intuitive understanding as well as good engineering. Given the scale civil engineering problems are rare but it is notable that long established companies have a significantly better track record than more recent start-ups.[citation needed] Some of the more grandiose of these basement projects have been widely reported in the national media, notably the "Witanhurst" project in the Highgate area of London.[11][12]

In Canada, historically the basement area was excluded from advertised square footage of a house as it was not part of the living space. For example, a "2,000-square-foot bungalow" would, in reality, have 4,000 square feet (370m2) of floor space. More recently, finished space has become increasingly acceptable as a measure which includes the developed basement areas of a home. Due to fire code requirements, most jurisdictions require an emergency egress (through either egress-style windows, or, in the case of a walk-out basement, a door) to include the basement square footage as living space.

Hospitals often place their nuclear chemistry and radiation therapy and diagnostic resources in basements to utilize the shielding from the earth.

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Basement - Wikipedia

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601 County Road 40 W

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Basements are one of the most valuable yet overlooked spaces in a house because many homeowners cannot see the potential in these expansive dull and darkened spaces. There are so many great ideas to utilize a boring unfinished basement -- the possibilities to transform this space are absolutely endless. The characteristic large open floor plans and isolation of these areas give the diy home remodeler a blank canvas to create whatever unique bonus room you can dream of, from fun home theatres and mancaves to large luxurious bedroom suites and everything in between. If you are wondering how to renovate a basement to create a stunning new space look no further. Check out our collection of the top 2016 basement pictures and ideas to discover the amazing potential of your area. Now it's easy to plan a fantastic basement makeover, quickly making it your new favorite place to spend time.

When beginning your home makeover, first browse our latest online collections of finished basement images and renovation before and after pics to discover the potential of your space. Whether you are creating an area distinct from the rest of the home or one that blends well with your existing design schemes, be sure to incorporate the latest contemporary decorating ideas to ensure that your basement is trendy and modern. Decide what uses and activities you plan for the new space then check out our best basement ideas to make those dreams a reality. If you wish to expand on the usable square footage of your home but want to save money and property, consider investing in diy basement renovations. For example, homeowners often complain about the need for more bedrooms and baths. Consider small bedroom ideas for a basement that will take advantage of the unused square footage downstairs while eliminating the increased cost and time requirement involved with constructing a large brand new addition onto the exterior of your home.

There are a wide variety of unique elements to incorporate in your basement remodel to ensure that the space is functional as well as entertaining. When planning your downstairs makeover, do not forget to include important features such as a small basement bathroom or kitchenette. If you are working under space constraints get creative with the floor plan. For example, utilize that awkward angled area underneath basement stairs to tuck away a small powder room or install a miniature kitchen space. Our favorite small kitchen ideas for a basement incorporate essential elements like stoves, microwaves and bar sinks as well as luxury features such as designer mini fridges and wine coolers. Be sure to use high quality fixtures and cabinetry to blend well with the rest of your home. Walkout basement designs become especially versatile by adding features such as a full bathroom and kitchen, creating an isolated downstairs apartment for your teen or even additional renters.

Every great home needs a cool living space for lounging and entertaining. Transform your dark and dingy unfinished basement into the ultimate man cave ideas that will make all of your guests immediately green with envy. Small basement designs are the perfect place to build a home theatre or dedicated game room and entertaining space. The expansive open layout generally found in basements floor plans make them an incredibly versatile space perfect to transform into a fun bonus room. To create the ultimate entertaining space for watching sports games or holding large gatherings, try to incorporate a wet bar in basement ideas. The unique features available for finishing your basement bar are endless, including professional grade beer taps, glassware racks and artistic bar tops. Check out popular hgtv basement designs for the latest in cool luxury products to incorporate in your own finished space to create a room that is as fun as it is decorative and functional.

The decorative finishings you choose when completing your basement renovations are just as important as the layout and design. An important thing to consider when planning your new space is characteristic low basement ceilings. To combat the enclosing feeling that this architecture can create, keep wall colors dark and ceiling paint light to draw the eye upwards and give the illusion of greater height. Dont forget that basement paint choices should reflect the purpose of the room with darker color palettes chosen for home theatres or man caves, and bold vibrant hues selected for fun bar areas and game rooms. When choosing finishings such as cabinetry, light fixtures and floor coverings keep in mind contemporary design ideas and the rooms purpose. To combat cool temps that often come with underground spaces, basement carpet ideas are great choices for floor coverings to prevent feet from getting too cold. Selecting the right decorative finishings will ensure that your do it yourself basement makeover turns out beautiful as well as functional and up to date.

Create a wonderful and fun bonus space in that overlooked basement to increase the entertainment factor and retail value of your home. These versatile spaces can be transformed into a wide variety of rooms from a basement apartment or fantastic game room to a great second living room and home theatre. Our ideas for finishing a basement will give you great inspiration for planning your makeover and ensure that you are knowledgeable of the latest trends and features in bonus room design. Dont forget to complete your design with the best home interior decorating styles to ensure that the finished space looks contemporary and blends well with the existing dcor scheme in rest of the house. Whether you want to reclaim that unused living space or need to update your boring finished downstairs area, our small basement ideas and diy home improvement plans will help you create the unique room of your dreams. With our great collection of 2016 basement design trends, diy tips and fantastic space maximizing solutions, finishing your downstairs has never been easier.

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Best Basement Designs, DIY Ideas & 2016 Pictures