Bungalows or not?

cwcw

I wouldn't be able to sleep on ground floor level. Plus, stairs are actually more efficient if you think about net distance travelled - living room to bedroom may be just 16 foot steps (or less if you run up them 2 or 3 at a time like me), whereas a bungalow might be 25 foot steps from one end of the building right to the other, albeit all on one level.

Fire_Fox

cwcw wrote: »

I wouldn't be able to sleep on ground floor level. Plus, stairs are actually more efficient if you think about net distance travelled - living room to bedroom may be just 16 foot steps (or less if you run up them 2 or 3 at a time like me), whereas a bungalow might be 25 foot steps from one end of the building right to the other, albeit all on one level.

You've ignored that you heave your entire bodyweight upstairs against gravity which is far less energy efficient than walking on the flat. Plenty of athletes do hill or stair training because it's evil!

cwcw

Fire_Fox wrote: »

You've ignored that you heave your entire bodyweight upstairs against gravity which is far less energy efficient than walking on the flat. Plenty of athletes do hill or stair training because it's evil!

But I gain further efficiencies with hot air rising, meaning less gas to keep the bedrooms warm.

cwcw

Plus going back downstairs is a breeze.

Another thing about having an upstairs is somewhere to escape when needed, e.g. to avoid a row, for a hobby, to avoid the mother-in-law's "advice", that kind of thing. One level living is much more intimate, which can be better or worse depending on your viewpoint.

Own_My_Own

Bungalow all the way.

No carrying the ironing upstairs :j

No hoovering the stairs :j

When we lived in a bungalow it always seemed to stay tidy.

We now always have a pile of stuff on the stairs for the' next person going up' to take with them.:(

Somehow I always seems to be ME :rotfl:

Fire_Fox

cwcw wrote: »

But I gain further efficiencies with hot air rising, meaning less gas to keep the bedrooms warm.

Why would you need to heat bedrooms more than living areas? High quality duvet plus heated underblanket with an overnight setting equals toasty occupants for pennies. :cool:

cwcw wrote: »

Plus going back downstairs is a breeze.

Another thing about having an upstairs is somewhere to escape when needed, e.g. to avoid a row, for a hobby, to avoid the mother-in-law's "advice", that kind of thing. One level living is much more intimate, which can be better or worse depending on your viewpoint.

Why would you need a mother in law? Or indeed a husband or wife?

Davesnave

One has to speak in generalities, but with their larger footprint per m2 of space, bungalows are more costly to build and may be less efficient to heat.

On the up-side they are often on good sized plots and they have the potential to connect with the outside space at more points, which people may see as good or bad.

Obviously, it depends on plot, but your average bungalow, surrounded by its garden border of trees & shrubs, might have less far-reaching views than a house, but if it's surrounded by other bungalows, the privacy of the garden should be good.

Our bungalow is the first I've lived in, and I find the lack of stairs a great advantage, as I don't want pseudo-exercise or awkward hoovering. Like many larger bungalows, it has too many corridors, so we'll be sorting that out. We did consider extending it upstairs to gain a wonderful view, but at >£40k than going outwards, we thought, "Nah!"

Davesnave

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Why would you need a mother in law?

Inheritance? :D:D:D:D

hazyjo

If I lived in a bungalow/ground floor flat, I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving my bedroom window open to sleep when it's hot (which I do now). Could make for a very hot summer!

Don't think I'd feel any different if I lived in the middle of a town, or out in the sticks.

Jx

1886

I would certainly consider living in a bungalow, I looked at a few when looking for my first house but only on RightMove. I like that bungalows often come with a fair amount of land, they have good sized gardens. You could also do a loft conversion of you needed more space in the future.

I would'nt buy a bungalow in a culdesac full of others and old people though. I would prefer one on a street with a bit more variety. On the downside, bungalows have a certain stigma attached to them of only being for OAP's