Perfect House - one huge problem

KatieDee

Doozergirl wrote: »

Change the doors and raise the frames!

You'll still have plenty of change from that £60k that it's under budget by.

This was how I tried to sell the idea to him, although I have no idea how much this is likely to cost, or whether it would even be possible with the structure. Thank you for the suggestion!

Doozergirl

Of course it's possible. It's a pretty easy job for the right people regardless of the structure of the wall. If the house is listed you might face an issue with consents, but otherwise I wouldn't let it break a deal on the 'perfect' house.

TamsinC

I lived in a listed cottage once - my dad is 6ft, the ceilings were not - he learnt to duck. The stairs were very twisty with a low ceilings and we learnt to twist going up them. ( I can still feel the muscle memory when I think about going up them) You CAN learn to accommodate. The amount of time you spend on your feet in a house is much less than sitting or lying down. In the end though, my dad loved old houses and was very willing to adapt. You do learn not to continuously stoop.

KatieDee

TamsinC wrote: »

I lived in a listed cottage once - my dad is 6ft, the ceilings were not - he learnt to duck. The stairs were very twisty with a low ceilings and we learnt to twist going up them. ( I can still feel the muscle memory when I think about going up them) You CAN learn to accommodate. The amount of time you spend on your feet in a house is much less than sitting or lying down. In the end though, my dad loved old houses and was very willing to adapt. You do learn not to continuously stoop.

Thank you, TamsinC

The rest of the house is huge, with no low ceilings or twisty stairs. It's literally just the door frames which seem to be very small! It does have a basement which he couldn't stand up straight in (I could only just do it) but this wouldn't be a problem considering that we wouldn't live in the basement (hopefully!).

I'm trying really hard to stay balanced here. We had a deal when we started looking that we would give our honest opinion when leaving each house, and if we didn't agree then we wouldn't consider the house. We walked out of this one and I was gushing about how much I loved it and he just said "Katie, I can't fit in it" ...what a drama queen! :rotfl:

Thank you for your input though guys, I'll let him have a look at the thread later which I'm sure will lead to a discussion!

stator

Get a surveyor in to investigate the possibility of increasing the sizes of the doors.

KxMx

I think you need a house that is perfect for both of you.

If adaptions are not possible I think in fairness you need to walk away for your OHs sake.

Cash-Cows

Dump your partner. Hope that helps?

Slithery

Cash-Cows wrote: »

Dump your partner. Hope that helps?

Or just cut him in half

ThePants999

Slithery wrote: »

Or just cut him in half

Perfect - then you've got two!

EachPenny

TamsinC wrote: »

I lived in a listed cottage once - my dad is 6ft, the ceilings were not - he learnt to duck. The stairs were very twisty with a low ceilings and we learnt to twist going up them. ( I can still feel the muscle memory when I think about going up them) You CAN learn to accommodate. The amount of time you spend on your feet in a house is much less than sitting or lying down. In the end though, my dad loved old houses and was very willing to adapt. You do learn not to continuously stoop.

I agree with this. I grew up in a house with low ceilings, doorways, internal steps, and twisting stairs with unequal risers. I've not lived there for a very long time, but if I visit I can still make my way from the back door through the house and up to my old bedroom in the pitch dark without switching a single light on.

Muscle memory is amazing, and it doesn't take very long to acquire.

Although making the doorways higher is an option (if not listed), you need to consider what effect this would have on the character of the property. Would you have fallen in love with it so rapidly if all the doorways were standard size? Would a future purchaser look at the 'normal' doorways and feel they were out of keeping with the house?

One of the most critical points in a house when it comes to headroom is near the bottom of the stairs where the ground floor ceiling/first floor floor structure comes closest vertically to the line of the stairs. Climbing and descending stairs is a dynamic activity which means the top of your head will momentarily be higher than your height when standing still.

Therefore it is here (unless the stairs have sufficient clearance) that your partner is most likely to have a problem, rather than going through the doorways. It is also most likely to be a problem going up the stairs rather than down because in the 'up' direction the obstruction is above and behind your peripheral vision (which in humans is poor at the top anyway) so you have no awareness you are about to hit your head.

Usually we walk forwards towards doors so will be aware of the door frame ahead and will associate that with the need to duck, even if you don't make a conscious decision to do so.