Quote:
Originally Posted by lio45
I wanted to say, I'm impressed by the size of the windows in Steely's basement.
Here (Quebec), basements usually have windows only in the upper 1/5th of the walls (which, from outside, are really just above ground level).
I wouldn't even call what Steely has a basement, it looks like it's almost closer to being a street-level story. (Officially, there's such a thing, at least here, as a "half-basement". No one here would ever call Steely's lower floor a basement.)
Here's a circa 1975 house that has two full levels. The lower level is the basement, called "a finished basement", but there's bedrooms and living rooms down there (and if I recall, a bathroom) and the ceilings are just as high as they are on the upper floor.
https://www.google.com/maps/@46.4017...7i13312!8i6656
I picked that example 'cause I'm familiar with it, but it's an extremely common house design here. You have to have the foundation go down pretty deep (the foot of it has to be low enough in the ground to never freeze) so while at it, you make sure it's got the full ceiling height of a normal story, and boom, you got an extra level (whose little "flaw" is that the windows are not in the middle of the heights of the walls, but rather, at the top).
edit--in that Street View, the neighbors on both sides are also houses that have two full levels. (So does nearly all of the street.) |
The definition of "basement" and "cellar" depends on how your local building department defines those terms. Generally speaking:
Basement = space with floor level below-grade, but with some or most of the space above grade level. Often has windows, some as large as the one that Steely's unit has.
Cellar = space with floor level below-grade, but with most or all of the space below grade level. Sometimes has small slit windows. Sometimes has no windows because the space is entirely below grade.
The legal habitability of below-grade space depends on your local building department's rules as well.
In NYC, the below-grade space in that circa-1975 Quebec house would be considered a cellar because most (or all) of the space is below grade. Therefore, it is technically illegal to have a finished living room, bedrooms, or any living areas there because NYC forbids any "living spaces" in cellars. This rule exists mainly because of NYC's traditional housing crunch situation, in which cellars are often rented out as cheap living space. The main issue with cellars is lack of enough egress points in case of fires or flooding (as we learned this past summer).
Therefore, the "basement" apartments with flooding deaths during the NYC summer nor'easter were not basements at all, but rather cellars.
The ground level apartment in Crawford's brownstone (which is technically an attached house with lime exterior, not brownstone) would be considered a basement per NYC DOB rules. Even if its floor was only one or two steps below grade, the NYC DOB defines that level as a basement. As you can see, the main difference is that there are windows, and they are large enough to provide egress in case of emergencies.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/60...!4d-73.9754501
Another issue is natural lighting & ventilation. Any room without adequate natural lighting & ventilation (whether by window or skylight) would not be considered a living area (living room or bedroom) by NYC DOB. Therefore, none of the below-grade rooms in the circa-1975 Quebec house could be legally inhabited as a living room or bedroom.
Finally, egress windows. The minimum egress window opening size and sill height above floor-finish is by code. The basics:
- minimum 44" above floor
- minimum 20" egress width
- minimum 24" egress height
- minimum 5.7 square feet egress opening area
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