townhouses - good or bad?

westy_1981

Hi all,

We have seen a new build townhouse that we like the look of. However, having never lived in anything with more than 2 floors it would be useful to get people's perspective who have experience of living in 3 storey properties. We are a young family ( 1 x 2y.o & 1 due in jan '12) The property seems to be one of the more sensibly laid out styles; ground floor; kitchen diner, utility room, w.c and playroom, 2nd floor; lounge and master bed with en suite, 3rd floor 3 x beds (1 x en suite) and bathroom. Garden is not huge but big enough for little ones to kick a ball round in. Garage is at rear of garden with door access from rear of garden.

Like I said it would be useful to get a perspective from those who live in / have lived in a 3 storey town house and the pros and cons associated.

Thanks

hcb42

is it a modern one? I assume so, from the layout.

Errata

My niece says living in one saves her a fortune in gym fees.

ossie

Errata wrote: »

My niece says living in one saves her a fortune in gym fees.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

hcb42

the obvious problem for one with young family is the kids are on separate floor to you.

westy_1981

haha - yes there is the stair issue, but my wife and i are both fit and active so that doesn't phase us too much.

I forgot to mention it is a new build.

Ulfar

hcb42 wrote: »

the obvious problem for one with young family is the kids are on separate floor to you.

This isn't always a problem as long as they are on the floor below.

Lokolo

I have lived in my parents town house since I was 11, now 22. The bedrooms here are all on the top floor (+ bathroom), with the lounge and kitchen on middle floor. Bottom floor has garage, utility room, study and toilet.

The only time I go downstairs is to go out the house or into the garden, spend most of the time on second and top floor.

I've never really noticed the difference to a normal house, I have lived in a 2 floor house for past 3 years during uni, with bedrooms downstairs and upstairs. Hasn't really impacted my life having lived on 3 floors for many years before.

Your layout would be pretty much the same as someone who lives in a 2 storey and has had a loft conversion, not much difference in it really.

The only definite thing you should check is to make sure windows on the top floor have child locks so they can't fully open.

sarahevie

We have looked at houses similar to the layout you suggest and what we were thinking about doing was having everyone on the top floor as there is an ensuite there for parents, and two children's bedrooms. Our children are 2 and 1 so similar t yours and we thought that we would do this jut until they are old enough to not need us during the night

westy_1981

SarahEvie

We had thought of doing the same thing - one of the beds on the top floor has an ensuite and we could then use the bed on the second floor for guests as it also has an en suite.

upsadaisy

I never understand why people make a big deal out of being on another floor. Do you stay on the same floor while your children have a nap? When the baby is little you will likely have it in your room to begin with. Then you will use a baby monitor when it goes into another room. What's the deal about a few stairs? When my children are playing during the day, I can still hear them no matter where in the house I am.