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One of the things I loved about moving to Australia was all of the houses with 10 or 12 foot ceilings. I live in a place with 12 foot ceilings now and I love it

One of the things I loved about moving to Australia was all of the houses with 10 or 12 foot ceilings. I live in a place with 12 foot ceilings now and I love it. I definitely find I feel more calm and relaxed.

danieltillett 12y ago
These are almost only ever found in old houses (pre 1970). The reason for high ceilings is cooling - Australia in general is a pretty warm place and cooling is ever a problem. I live in a property that was built in 1929 and it has 11 foot ceiling and is cool enough in summer that I don’t have air conditioning. After 1970 the regulations were changed and all the houses were built with 8 foot ceilings to save money. I hate these low ceilings as they feel totally oppressive.
- ars 12y ago
  > 8 foot ceilings to save money. Does that really save all that much money? Seems like it would be only a percent or two extra.
  - ams6110 12y ago
    Saves nearly 30% on drywall/plaster and paint, at least.
    - ars 12y ago
      Sure, but drywall/plaster and paint are a tiny tiny fraction of the cost of a house.
      - bengoodger 12y ago
        Having just raised the ceiling in my house, there are a variety of things. Taller walls tend to come with taller windows. Not just more glass... sometimes whole extra windows (transoms) which cost almost as much as the much larger ones below. Taller cabinets or soffit details to receive them. More elaborate trim work. etc. For a flipper or a production builder every dollar is saved because it adds up in the end. If there's a high ceiling it's because it's been determined to command a good profit.
      - ptaipale 12y ago
        Yeah, but then there are costs like... umm, I see that smoke alarm at a height of 4 meters above me. I need to go and get the ladder so I can change the battery. Over here, the standard room height is 2400 mm or 2500 mm, and my house has 2780 mm. I'm happy with the extra overhead space, but there are all sorts of little things. The drywall boards actually had to be ordered separately, and the price increase is not linear. They're heavier to carry - again, not linear - so installing is more difficult. Working on the top parts needs higher scaffolding. To get to the attic, I have this factory-made foldable ladder that opens from a hatch in the ceiling and then folds out with three hinges; it's factory-made for 2500 mm room height so I had to add a 35cm piece to the bottom with another hinge so that it would reach down to the floor and be steady.
  - danieltillett 12y ago
    Exactly. Given the premium paid for properties with high ceilings it does not make much sense. Edit. I did a search and in Australia raising the ceiling by 12 inches adds $3000 to a $350,000 house.
  - prawn 12y ago
    When I built a new house with a plan builder (3BR + home office), the cost to go from the default 2400mm (8') ceilings to 2700mm (9') was just under AU$10k.
    - ars 12y ago
      That seems extremely high. Did he give you a breakdown of what cost more? Or was it just that it was nonstandard? Did you do it?
      - prawn 12y ago
        When you're building a new house and have largely progressed things with a particular project builder, everything is extremely high. There are no breakdowns. And it's not just non-standard, just an expected upgrade, of which there were many no sane person would avoid - premium bench tops, better windows, etc. This was $10k in the context of a $200-250k house build. I grew up in a house with 10' ceilings (most heritage houses in Australia are 10'+). Yes, there was no question at any point that we were going to do it. Lower ceilings here make a house feel cheap and nasty, so I was thinking of resale value as well as my sanity.
- picks_at_nits 12y ago
  As Spooky23 explains elsewhere in the thread, it’s the A/C costs that matter. With 12 foot ceilings, you need the A/C less, But when A/C was a big new thing, it was much less efficient and much more expensive than it is today. And back then, adding 50% to the height of a floor made it much harder to keep at frigid temperatures.
- cylinder 12y ago
  On the flip side, the house designs completely ignore winter, lack insulation and adequate heating systems, so even in a mild 10C winter you will be extremely uncomfortable inside your own home. I was so uncomfortable in winter in Melbourne compared to New York; this is a common complaint from expats there.
  - danieltillett 12y ago
    Yes this is true. You are just expected to tough it out in winter. I grew up in an area where it would be around 70F during the day in winter, but it would get down into the 20s at the night. We had no heating in our bedrooms and would just pile on the 'donnas' to stay warm. Even now I have no heating in my bedroom, but I do now have an electric blanket :)

danieltillett 12y ago

These are almost only ever found in old houses (pre 1970). The reason for high ceilings is cooling - Australia in general is a pretty warm place and cooling is ever a problem. I live in a property that was built in 1929 and it has 11 foot ceiling and is cool enough in summer that I don’t have air conditioning. After 1970 the regulations were changed and all the houses were built with 8 foot ceilings to save money. I hate these low ceilings as they feel totally oppressive.

ars 12y ago
> 8 foot ceilings to save money. Does that really save all that much money? Seems like it would be only a percent or two extra.
- ams6110 12y ago
  Saves nearly 30% on drywall/plaster and paint, at least.
  - ars 12y ago
    Sure, but drywall/plaster and paint are a tiny tiny fraction of the cost of a house.
    - bengoodger 12y ago
      Having just raised the ceiling in my house, there are a variety of things. Taller walls tend to come with taller windows. Not just more glass... sometimes whole extra windows (transoms) which cost almost as much as the much larger ones below. Taller cabinets or soffit details to receive them. More elaborate trim work. etc. For a flipper or a production builder every dollar is saved because it adds up in the end. If there's a high ceiling it's because it's been determined to command a good profit.
    - ptaipale 12y ago
      Yeah, but then there are costs like... umm, I see that smoke alarm at a height of 4 meters above me. I need to go and get the ladder so I can change the battery. Over here, the standard room height is 2400 mm or 2500 mm, and my house has 2780 mm. I'm happy with the extra overhead space, but there are all sorts of little things. The drywall boards actually had to be ordered separately, and the price increase is not linear. They're heavier to carry - again, not linear - so installing is more difficult. Working on the top parts needs higher scaffolding. To get to the attic, I have this factory-made foldable ladder that opens from a hatch in the ceiling and then folds out with three hinges; it's factory-made for 2500 mm room height so I had to add a 35cm piece to the bottom with another hinge so that it would reach down to the floor and be steady.
- danieltillett 12y ago
  Exactly. Given the premium paid for properties with high ceilings it does not make much sense. Edit. I did a search and in Australia raising the ceiling by 12 inches adds $3000 to a $350,000 house.
- prawn 12y ago
  When I built a new house with a plan builder (3BR + home office), the cost to go from the default 2400mm (8') ceilings to 2700mm (9') was just under AU$10k.
  - ars 12y ago
    That seems extremely high. Did he give you a breakdown of what cost more? Or was it just that it was nonstandard? Did you do it?
    - prawn 12y ago
      When you're building a new house and have largely progressed things with a particular project builder, everything is extremely high. There are no breakdowns. And it's not just non-standard, just an expected upgrade, of which there were many no sane person would avoid - premium bench tops, better windows, etc. This was $10k in the context of a $200-250k house build. I grew up in a house with 10' ceilings (most heritage houses in Australia are 10'+). Yes, there was no question at any point that we were going to do it. Lower ceilings here make a house feel cheap and nasty, so I was thinking of resale value as well as my sanity.
picks_at_nits 12y ago
As Spooky23 explains elsewhere in the thread, it’s the A/C costs that matter. With 12 foot ceilings, you need the A/C less, But when A/C was a big new thing, it was much less efficient and much more expensive than it is today. And back then, adding 50% to the height of a floor made it much harder to keep at frigid temperatures.
cylinder 12y ago
On the flip side, the house designs completely ignore winter, lack insulation and adequate heating systems, so even in a mild 10C winter you will be extremely uncomfortable inside your own home. I was so uncomfortable in winter in Melbourne compared to New York; this is a common complaint from expats there.
- danieltillett 12y ago
  Yes this is true. You are just expected to tough it out in winter. I grew up in an area where it would be around 70F during the day in winter, but it would get down into the 20s at the night. We had no heating in our bedrooms and would just pile on the 'donnas' to stay warm. Even now I have no heating in my bedroom, but I do now have an electric blanket :)