Why for resale? Do it for yourself; the openess of 9' ceilings I find enjoyable.

I think you are wise to consider ceilings taller than 8' because most people like to use ceiling fans in rooms and they work better on higher ceilings. 8' ceilings with fans can be dangerous!!! And it makes the room look small. I built my house in 1999 and the only room with an 8' ceiling is the kitchen. Bedrooms and hallways have 10' ceilings.

green-zeus, why 8' ceilings in the kitchen? I am wanting to do that, but was thinking that was a "no-no" since one day I may want to sell this house.

We chose all 9 ft ceilings, with the master suite and the guest suite vaulted to 12 feet. Our builder told us that it costs very little extra to go to 9 ft, but 10 ft ceilings mean quite a bit of waste in the framing lumber, since longer lengths are required that then must be cut. Also, in 10 ft ceilings, generally the doors used are the 8 ft interior doors, which are more expensive and require more framing lumber than standard doors.

Personally, I love the higher ceilings and that extra foot really makes a difference in the feel of the rooms.

I just have standard doors in the rooms that have 10' ceilings.

deanie---you always have to consider cabinets. Who wants to spend money on custom cabinets for a tall ceiling? I hate cabinets that don't reach a ceiling or soffit--just another area to clean!!!! So 8' ceilings are enough for a kitchen.

jennymana-

We did 10' downstairs, a barrel vault in the LR and vaulted upstairs. It is without a doubt one of the best decisions we made, we really love the open and airy feeling they bring. We don't have a huge house (2080 sf) or a huge budget, but we gave up stuff that can easily be replaced (fancy and pricey toilets and sinks, door hardware, counters, light fixtures, appliances and interior doors) to get features that are expensive and difficult to change or upgrade (open cell, blown in insulation, 10' ceilings, poured foundation, good windows, etc.). If you haven't already, I would suggest really looking at your "finishes" budget and see what can be cut from there. For us, having laminate counters with 10' ceilings is much nicer than having marble counters with 8' ceilings, but YMMV.

And green-zeus, I hear ya about no extra cleaning (the sandponder household is supremely disinterested in wasting time cleaning, we'd rather be outside playing) and the extra expense of tall cabs, so we went with no uppers at all in the kitchen, all windows on one side, a large pantry and a hutch on one side and 2 sides open to living areas.

sandyponder

I should mention that we have a very open floor plan with a vaulted ceiling in the living/dining area - unsure of our kitchen yet, and are planning some trey ceilings in the bedrooms...

sandyponder-I agree...I have thought about finishes, etc and DO want to make sure we get the 'bones' of the house right.

Our builder told us it would add about 15% to get 9' ceilings...don't have the price yet, but am thinkig 3-4K.
(amazing how all those 2-4K add-ons add up!!!).

I would definitely go for the 9' ceilings. The difference between 8' and 9', in my opinion, is well worth the expense. We almost had 8' upstairs, but we changed it during the framing (quite the nightmare...our draftsman drew the elevations with 9' upstairs, which is what we wanted, but he drew the wall section with 8' ceilings upstairs. Another reason for ONLY going to an architect and one who uses CADD! Anyway, my husband and I noticed this AFTER they had already put the attic floor joists in. We had them rip them out and build knee walls to give us the 9' height. A major hassle, but relatively inexpensive (about $2K) and I would have spent a lot more. The difference between what we had and what we have is immeasurable.).
My vote is that if money is too tight to justify the upcharge to find somewhere else to budget. This is not something that you can change out later!
Oh yeah, and resale will not be helped by having 8' ceilings.

I'm with the poster who said your own preference should take precedence over possible resale value.

Having said that, I was very influenced by what Susanka said about ceilings. We varied ours. Kitchen/dining nook are 8' (coziness and practicablity). Master bedroom and great room vaulted (for a spacious feel). Rooms in walkout basement are 9'.

While we were in the planning stage, we visited about 50 homes under construction. One had 10' ceilings thoughout. The entry and living areas were very impressive. The laundry room looked cold and odd with 10' ceilings. And the powder room just looked silly.

Absolutely, do 9-foot ceilings in all living areas -- for yourselves and for re-sale. That extra foot makes everything seem more spacious. Too tall can make rooms feel like "public rooms" (as in hotel or office building lobbies).

I like the cathedral in our library, but dislike the one in our guest room -- not cozy.

Basements especially benefit from higher ceilings to dispell the enclosed, "underground" feeling.

We did 9 foot throughout the downstairs and 8 foot throughout the upstairs. We couldn't justifiy the expense of doing 9 foot on both levels, so chose the downstairs where we'll do most of our living. The upstairs is mainly bedrooms and bathrooms, where cozy seems appropriate.

My opinion is bite the bullet and go 9 foot. In some markets, 8 foot ceilings are obsolete already. It is standard even in tract homes to have 9 foot ceilings. I'm with some of the others here that it's better to spend the money on the bones of your house and things you can't change later now and add the more expensive things later. WE might have to end up with budget flooring (or maybe stained concrete) just to finish our project and that's okay with me because I can change those things out later.

Ok, I think I need someone to educate me.

From what I am understanding, wood is standard at 8 foot. The next longer length is 9? Or is the next higher 10?

I thought drywall came in even numbers, is lumber different?

I just visited a $3M house on the river this weekend that's for sale (and has been for almost a year). Although the house had been substantially remodeled by a prominent architectural firm, the one thing that hadn't been changed was . . . the 8' ceilings. All the interior spaces, although beautifully decorated, felt kind of squat, a sentiment that others touring the house echoed.

We've got 10' on our first floor and 9' on our second, and although the rooms indivdually are not very big, they feel incredibly spacious and light. All too often builders neglect to remember that Volume can have as big an aesthetic impact as floor size. If you can swing it, I'd definitely go with the 9' ceilings--and not just for resale but for your OWN enjoyment. Good luck.

I just went through this 2 years ago. Couldn't really afford 9 so did vauled in the kit/din/lr, a tray in the master and 9' (or is that 10' 9'finished?) in the unfinished basement which someone will no doubt want to finish in the future. Supposedly the vaulted ceiligns were cheaper? Personally I could do without the vaultedness. Its impossible to change the batteries in the fire detectors without buying a tall ladder. That plus you cant really get around in the attic to check anything.
But other people comment and like it, they are always saying how huge the basement looks - I think their reacting to the higher ceiling height.
I'd suck it up and go 9' up and down. You can upgrade to nicer light fixtures, faucets, door knobs later. In 10 years with 8' ceilings you'd be screwed.

High-end homes I built in the late '80s look so dated inside due to the nine-ft. ceilings. Now, high-end homes all have 10' first floors at least 9' on the second and even 10 ft. high basements.

It's not that much more costly to do, though I guess some builders mark it up to make it sound like a major undertaking.

Besides the extra height, you can add ceiling features to increase volume--bump-ups for a Palladian window on a bedroom, for instance. The only negative with increased heights is having to flatten the roofline to meet height restrictions.

We have 9' on the first floor (which includes the master bedroom) and 8' on the second (two bedrooms and an office). I like the 8' ceilings with the bedrooms upstairs (I think they are both 14 x 14) and think that the 8' ceiling height is well proportioned to that size room and it makes the bedrooms seem a little cozier. We have a 2 story great room that opens to a loft on the second floor and our hallway upstairs is 8' wide, so you really don't notice that the ceilings upstairs are lower than the ones on the first floor. I think that 9' on the first floor is a selling point, but if you have some vaulted/tray ceilings in some rooms then it becomes less of a selling point IMO.

A 9 foot ceiling in the basement was a must have for us. We will refinish it within a year and love how makes our walkout basement feel more like a real part of the house.

We did 8 on the first floor because of the following.

1. Foyer is 2 stories
2. Great room is 2 stories.
3. BR originally was going to have cathedral ceiling (we nixed that tho)

That only left the kitchen/Dining areas. It wasn't worth the $$$ to us. We have a very, very open floor plan and the 8 ft ceiling is fine.

The second floor has 8' ceilings in the 2 BR but the bonus room has 10'.

Depending on your location, 9' might already be normal. Here in Florida, most of the homes we build are 9' and taller. There is little to no cost difference.

We have 9" ceilings throughout new home. We will have radient heat, heat loss should not be a problem. I think it gives a small room a very spacious feel. You need to do what your budget allows and not worry about resale. I am very happy with my 9" ceilings.

Nine foot and even larger in the living room or great room on the first floor. It makes the place feel much, much larger. It also allows you to put in taller windows and, therefore, to have more natural sunlight in areas like the kitchen. It cannot do anything but help on resale.

Why are you building?

If you are building to sell, go with what is popular in YOUR market.

If you are building for yourself, you should do what you like. YOUR HOME should be YOUR HOME. Not inventory.

Is someone trying to tell you that the 20 or 30 million homes built with 8" ceilings will no longer sell after 2015?

Horsehockey (to quote Col. Potter)

You may be able to do a variety of ceiling heights, like someone else suggested. We have 9' ceilings on the first floor, for the guest bedroom, library, dining area, and kitchen. Then we have a 2 story great room & foyer, and, upstairs, we saved money by going with an 8' ceiling in the master bedroom and bath, but traying it up in the master bedroom to better accommodate a fan. An 8' tray ceiling cost us less than a 9' ceiling upstairs.

Cheers!
Heather W

Here is a link that might be useful: Our Home Construction Journal

We moved into our new home a few months ago and they are now finishing the last of the new construction in our neighborhood. There are a TON of new neighborhoods going up in the surrounding immediate area and surrounding towns. All the new construction seems to have first floor 10 foot, second floor 9 foot, basement at least 9 foot as standard-very unusual to see anything else advertised. we're in Chapel Hill, NC
Pattie