I wonder if ceiling heights are regional or cost driven? Locally I see scissor trusses used a lot to create vaulted ceilings (8' at the walls with a 10' peak). We are going to be building in the next year or two and were thinking 8' everywhere with vaulted ceilings in the living room (emphasis on fireplace) and sunroom (emphasis on view). The cost to go from 9' to 10' ceilings is minimal because for 9' they're just cutting down 10' studs? I do hear and see a lot of people building with taller flat ceilings and wonder what the price jump is from 8' ceilings (especially with 2x6 exterior framing). I might be inclined to go with 8' ceilings and put the savings towards better windows/insulation/hvac.

I prefer 9 or 10 feet ceilings on the exterior wall. With a 9 foot ceiling you can put in a 48" high window 3 feet above the floor and 2 feet below the ceiling which I find to be a good proportion.

Nine foot ceilings were the standard for decades until after WWII when 8 ft became the standard. When one goes above 9ft, one must consider climate and how hard it might be to heat such rooms in the winter months.

We have to be 2' above grade for flood zone and then are doing 10' first floor and 9' second floor. Even though I'm on the shorter side, I still feel somewhat claustrophobic with 8' high ceilings throughout a house.

Definitely check what the norm for your area is if you are at all concerned about resale. Here in the SE, even starter production homes have 9' ceilings if they were built in the past 10-15 years. Custom homes have at least 10' ceilings on the main floor. My dh is 6'4" and we wouldn't consider a house with 8' ceilings.

Standard lumber comes in 8-ft and 10-ft lengths. Sheetrock comes in 4x8 sheets. There is a lot that goes into it, but any time you go away from 8-ft walls the cost of sheetrock and installation goes way up. Then if you go to different heights for every room, the carpenters will charge accordingly. You might ask the architect what the difference in cost would be for designing and building as you want.

I don't know if these are rules, but I believe FHA uses them as standards for granting a loan. The sill of the house should sit a minimum 4 inches above the ground level and the ground should fall away from the house a minimum of 6 inches for the first 10 feet away from the house. That puts the sill of the house 10 inches above the grade at 10 feet out.

There is also a requirement that load bearing walls above a certain height (10 feet?) have to be upgraded to 2x6 construction. That may not be an issue, since it also gives you more space for insulation in exterior walls, but it will be a consideration in cost.

You can also keep all the walls a consistent height, but vary the style of the ceilings to make it more interesting. In my previous 1 story house we had a vaulted ceiling in the family room and in one bedroom, a tray ceiling in the formal living room and two smaller bedrooms (the tray gave more space to recess a fan/light), and a coffered ceiling in the master bedroom. The hallways and entries were the only areas with standard flat ceilings.

Bruce

Actually, I believe gypsum board comes in 4-foot widths and may be 8, 10, 12 and 14-feet long.

Sheetrock comes in 4x8 sheets.

It also comes in larger sheets.

Pro rockers don't generally use 4x8 board. 5/8" x 4' x 16' for my house.