"Do you think its worth the convenience of exit to main floor from garage and giving up the build on top of it?"

It depends. There is no real clear cut answer to that without a crap ton more info.

In the house you are describing, does the driveway slope down from street level to the garage? We had that in our last house and never again. Or, is the main part of the house raised, so that you walk up a half flight or more from street level to the front door?

I've had a garage exit, and it's difficult for carrying groceries and kids, as well as times when you might have reduced mobility like crutches. I wouldn't choose it again. For a new build, why can't you choose a plan that has a main floor garage and also a room built above it?

Why are you building such a huge house on such a small lot?

Cpartist, visit North York sometime. Or anywhere in the Greater Toronto Area. That’s how they build.

Here's a recently-built entry-level luxury in-fill home in North York.

201 Northwood Drive, North York, Ontario For sale: C$3.350m (US$2.512m)

The designer has kept within the permissible envelope by lifting the main floor. The entry from the garage into the house is likely not through the basement but up a few steps. And there are two full floors above the garage.

I've been in TO real estate for a half-century and can only recall having seen a few homes with basement entries to the garage. Until sometime in the '70s, you were not even allowed a direct entry from the garage to the house.

(Incidentally, unless you're absolutely fixed on a custom build and time is of no importance there are some great bargains in recently-built luxe homes. It's 21 months since our architect completed his plans and the City of Markham has still not given us the go ahead on the most modest new build in the area.)

Much depends on the slope of your lot, as mentioned above. And, to a certain degree, on your demographic. Younger, little kids, lots of groceries, or older, etc. But you do get SNOW. And snow builds up. Drainage might be a problem, too. Good luck with your build!

Worthy, I didn’t know that about the garage entry restriction. My DSIL’s house was like that and I couldn’t figure it out: it gets cold, wet, and snowy, why do you want to go outside to go inside!

Thanks all! From what I understand, there is no slope currently and you cannot build a slope down in to garage. The driveway is flat. I think the lot is 10,000 sq ft, irregular. The 5,000 includes 2 floors main and upper.

They would raise the main floor up 4 steps, and then another 4 steps to get to the mini level on top of the garage (study or den). Then the second floor would be on top of this garage as a bedroom. Similar to the picture above by worthy.

The alternative would still give you a second floor on top of the garage but you lose the study/den. The benefit is the garage exits on the main floor.

We are young and have 2 very young kids. This is our forever home.

Mainly, if people have a garage exit to basement, how much of a hassle is it and would you wish it was to the main?

What you are describing and what is pictured above is a split level house, a side split to be more precise. My parents (ages 87 and 93) built one in 1966 and still live there. No-one has ever complained about the steps to bring the groceries into the kitchen.

Steps keep you strong. Steps while carrying heavy stuff keeps you even stronger.

The four steps up to the main floor worry me. I'd do whatever you can to reduce these steps to only one. Then figure out the garage from there, probably into the main level. You will be grateful if someone ever needs crutches or a walker.

I am a bit confused about your question. You can't build a garage in a basement any more in North York. They did away with that a few years ago because so many people were having flooding problems. So how could you have a garage exit to the basement if the garage can't be in the basement?

Or are you trying to decide between a side split that has the kitchen 4 steps up, and a 2 storey with the kitchen and garage on the same level? It seems to me you get the same floor space either way.

Our house with the below-grade garage was a split level. Came in from the garage to That lower level, up 6 steps to the main level. That never bothered is at all. In your situation, I would like the option to have that den stop the garage. The steps to the mail level from outside, not that big a deal, either. Older parts of TO see a lot of English basements, with 4-5 steps at the front door. There are also ways to mitigate the steps, with a longer front walk and spacing out the steps.

It is exactly like the picture worthy posted. The garage is level to the driveway.

If you look, there are steps to get in to the house. There are like some more steps once you enter the house, about 4 steps. On top of the garage is likely the main floor, a living room and or a study. To the right of the picture door, there is likely a study or room. This is all the main floor. The garage does not directly exit to the main floor, it either exits to the basement (midway through the basement) with steps down to the basement.

In 2 houses I saw, the garage exits to halfway height, through the basement, and requires some side steps to get down to the basement, then up the stairs, or elevator.

cpartist because not everybody lives in a suburban sprawl, and not everybody needs a humongous yard.

worthy congrats on getting a home in Toronto! I love that city.

so for our setup, we have to walk from our detached garage, up four porch stairs, and another four stairs from the foyer to the kitchen (our house is a split level, stairs everywhere inside and out). moving in and unpacking was HELL, but once we got settled, the day-to-day stuff is not bad.

your house is multiple floors so you already have a full staircase anyway. adding another small staircase shouldn't impact your life all that much. if it's important to you to be able to add a room above a garage, then go for it.

It is exactly like the picture worthy posted. The garage is level to the driveway.

Here's what it looks like from the inside looking to the front of the home over the garage.

Notice the lower ceiling height in the living room above the garage.

You get an extra room. But pay for it with a plentitude of split levels and stairs. Personally, I've never thought it was worth it and tried to keep my homes low for easy entry. Enough tripping hazards outside the home!

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congrats on getting a home in Toronto! I love that city.

I had a head start, buying a downtown semi for C$40K--when Trudeau pe´re was PM and Gerald Ford was US President. (OK, Boomer!)

oh, if it's going to be like that, I think it's fine. it's a big open concept room with huge windows, so I don't think the ceilings over the living room area will feel too low. it seems cozy to me.

When we lived in Canada our home was what was called a tri-lvel.

You could enter from the garage or the front door to a small foyer with closet and then you went either up about 7 steps to the living room/dining room and kitchen or down to the family room 7 steps. Once up the 7 steps to the main floor you could turn to the left and go up another 7 steps to the 3 bedrooms and bath that were built over the garage.

This was all on a relatively flat lot. No lot elevation needed to make it work.

Right now we live at the beach in the South in what is known as a reverse floor plan. Two single car garages, a family room and two bedrooms are on the ground level.

The two single garages open to a center hallway downstairs. Family room behind one garage, and two extra bedrooms and a bathroom behind the other.

You go up a full flight to the main level with living/dining/ sunroom and 3 bedrooms.

We are hoping to start a new build soon, a block further back than we are now, out of the flood zone, so we can come into our home and yard on the ground level. Well, it will be elevated two feet, but close enough.

As a younger person the stairs into the house never bothered me that much although lugging groceries is always a pain, but I mostly miss being able to just walk out into our backyard for a bit and then back inside without having to climb a flight of stairs, or just even viewing our yard from the indoors.