As the HVAC installers work on adding the ducts for heating/cooling, they discover that the original plans did not workout as expected and some ducts need to be relocated to work around framing, beams, water pipes, etc. With the latest changes, we had to relocate some of the ducts into the area between the basement door (which leads out to the river) and the bottom of the basement stairs, which is probably the only stretch of the basement where we will regularly be walking.

This matters only because we want to have a high ceiling in the basement wherever possible, but the ducts run up against the base of the first floor so they reduce the ceiling height wherever they are located. Now the basement will be unfinished, so we are not talking about ceiling tiles. We only mean that when we have basketball players visit us, they may need to be careful if they go out to the river through the basement.

In general, the basement ceiling height will be 8 feet (actually 7′ 11.5″ to be precise). But anywhere there is a duct, the height drops by approximately a foot. In particular, the ceiling height in the middle of the area between the bottom of the stairs and the backdoor will now be 6′ 11″ (although it will be taller right at the base of the stairs).

Since the architect sent me an updated drawing for my approval, I am sharing that with you. This is the current basement ceiling plan. I asked them to add a plywood facing on the side of the duct where it faces the stairs so if you do bump into it (for example, carrying a ladder or furniture down the stairs) you will hit the plywood and not damage the duct itself.

The yellow areas are all a fraction under 8 feet tall. The white areas are all approximately a foot shorter. The utility room is a little different since it will have a drop ceiling (which is part of our EMF shielding plan).

In 30 or 40 years when we are no longer living in the house and it gets sold, the new owners may want to add a room or two in the basement, and then the lower ceilings will be their problem (as will the lack of heating capacity). For us, not as much.

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